Complaint volume
369 consumer-submitted complaints are matched to this model year. Treat the count as a research signal, then read the actual summaries for repeated symptoms.
Complaint records
2021 Toyota RAV4 Complaints
369 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2021 Toyota RAV4, grouped by component category.
369 Total complaints
45 Crash reports
7 Fire reports
28 Injury reports
Complaint data reflects consumer-submitted reports. A complaint is not proof
of a defect, recall, or manufacturer fault. Enriched severity fields come
from official bulk records when the complaint can be matched by ODI number.
Buyer interpretation
How to use these complaints before buying
Complaint records are most useful when they turn into inspection points, seller questions, and comparison checks against nearby model years.
Pattern to inspect
The most common categories are air bags, unknown or other, structure. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 45 crash reports, 7 fire reports, 28 injury reports, and 0 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 70 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 24,888 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to air bags, unknown or other, structure?
- Can I see recent maintenance and repair records?
- Has the vehicle ever been towed, involved in a crash, or repaired for the same issue twice?
- Can we also check the recall record for this 2021 Toyota RAV4?
Used-car checklist
Use these complaints before the test drive.
Build a buyer checklist to turn these issues into questions and inspection points.
2021 Toyota RAV4
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2021 Toyota RAV4 complaints?
45 Crash
7 Fire
28 Injury
0 Fatality
36 Towed
25 Medical attention
What are the most common 2021 Toyota RAV4 complaint categories?
AIR BAGS 106
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 44
STRUCTURE 14
ENGINE 13
SEATS 13
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 11
VISIBILITY 10
VISIBILITY/WIPER 10
SERVICE BRAKES 9
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 8
369 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Roof leak causing water damage to headliner. Dealership won’t fix because they ran water on it and it didn’t leak but didn’t apply pressure. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VISIBILITY,ENGINE | The contact rented a 2021 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, he heard a vibrating sound coming from the front driver’s side windshield. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic; however, the contact was informed that the vehicle was a rental and could not be diagnosed. The contact was informed to return the vehicle to Avis Car Rental. The contact stated that on a separate occasion, while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The contact stated that he was able to restart the vehicle after several minutes. The contact stated that due to the loss of motive power, the front driver’s and passenger’s side headlights failed to operate as needed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer however, the contact was informed that the vehicle could not be diagnosed since the vehicle was a rental. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacture was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 53,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 53,000 |
| Jul 2023 | AIR BAGS | The contact owned a 2021 Toyota Rav 4. The contact stated that while sitting in traffic, the contact's vehicle was rear-ended at 45 MPH, and due to the impact, the contact rear-ended the vehicle in front. The "malfunction" warning message was displayed after the crash. The driver's side air bag did not deploy. The vehicle was declared a total loss by the insurance company. The contact stated that she suffered a concussion and memory loss due to the accident that required medical attention. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance and did not confirm the status of the black box inspection. The failure mileage was approximately 10,100. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 1 Towed Medical attention | 10,100 |
| Jul 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY/WIPER | We have water becoming stuck in our back passenger door due to a weather strip design flaw in Toyota Rav4 Hybrids. This will begin to happen to all weather strips and eventually destroy the interior and electrical if not repaired. This is a common design flaw in newer Toyota Rav4 Hybrids and we are lucky it's just our one door so far. I've been informed (by our Toyota Tech) that eventually all of the doors and the roof will leak due to this Toyota design flaw. When we took the car to get fixed at the dealership, they let us know it was an expensive repair, advised it was a design flaw, other customers are affected, and allowed us time to research before paying for the repair. We may attempt it ourselves since Toyota corporate has refused a reimbursement for the repair. This is a Toyota design flaw and requires a recall. They are charging hundreds to fix this. This will literally destroy the cars electrical. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2023 | AIR BAGS | Airbags deployed without collision. Car went slightly off road, after attempted correction to get back onto the road the curtain airbags deployed. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2023 | WHEELS | there is no access to tpms data unless purchasing subscription from toyota to read the onboard computer where the data is readily available. this leaves a major safety feature is behind a paywall and should not be counted as installed as it does not work independantly. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Driving with cruise control on, on a 2 lane road with a left turn lane. Approx 40MPH. Vehicle ahead of me by 4-5 car lengths got into left lane. When I has about 10 feet from him my brakes automatically slammed on, he was in his lane, I was in my lane. This has happened 4-5 times since I've had the veh. I now stay aware that this might happen and stay ready to cancel the cruise. This could be very dangerous if someone was right behind me. Dealer test drove and ran scan no problem found. Which as expected, if it doesn't happen when they test drive there's not a lot they can do. I understand this. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2023 | STEERING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | On April 29, 2023 I notice that there was a bad chemical smell in my car. I continued to try to find the issue and then I went to the back seat and discovered the floor of my 2021 RAV4 was completely flooded with water. I attempted to call Toyota but the service department was closed. I went to the local car wash to have them suck up the water in the meantime. I scheduled an appointment with Toyota on 5/1/2023 @3:45 to explain the issue that was going on. When I got there they serviced my vehicle and informed me that they weren’t able to find the source of a leak and they would need to keep my car. I asked would I be provided with a rental and the service advisor [XXX] told me no as this would need to be paid out of pocket. I didn’t agree and told them I’d have to bring it back. The following week I still noticed that there was water somewhere in my vehicle so I called to schedule another appointment on 5/10/2023 @3:45. This time I was connected with [XXX] who was very accommodating and set me up with a rental for one day. On 5/11/2023 I was contacted by [XXX] and he informed that they would need to keep my car for 3 weeks. He informed me that there was a lot of damage to the car and it would be fully covered. On 5/27/23 I was called and [XXX] told me I could pick up my vehicle. When I left on 5/27/23 I drove the car and when I put it in reverse my steering wheeled locked up and a message came across the screw saying “low voltage power steering.” I called the service department but they were closed until 5/30/23 for the holiday. I also contacted my service provider [XXX] and left a voicemail. He called me back 5/28/23 and informed me that he was out of town and to drop the car back of 5/30/23. I dropped the car off and they put me in another vehicle. 5/31/23 [XXX] called me back to inform me that the car was ready. I pick it up and it flooded in the inside again. I discovered there was a recall that it was never informed about and now they want me to pay. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2023 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | While traveling on highway with adaptive cruise control engaged and maximum following distance selected, adaptive cruise control applies excessive braking force than necessary when vehicle in front exits highway. Safety concern because following vehicles must abruptly apply brakes. Internet search reveals numerous, similar complaints. We were almost rear-ended on the highway. This feature is great, but needs attention for safety reasons. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2023 | ENGINE | The hybrid system stopped working thus AWD, automatic emergency brake and other components stopped working as well. Message Hybrid System malfuction output power reduce visit your dealer AWD System malfuction 2wd mode engage visit dealer Engine light turn on | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2023 | TIRES | The contact’s daughter owns a 2021 Toyota Rav4 equipped with Firestone Tires, Tire Line: Destination LE2, Tire Size: 225/65/R17, DOT Number: 8X2Y6 DE8. The contact stated that upon inspecting his daughter’s vehicle, he noticed that the tread all four tires was worn. The contact stated that he used a tire tread gauge identifier that confirmed that the front passenger’s and driver’s side tires had 6/32 tread, and the rear driver’s and passenger’s side tires had 7/32 tread remaining. The dealer was notified of the failure and confirmed that the normal tire replacement was at 40,000 miles, while the tire warranty was 60,000 miles. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was advised to contact Firestone. The contact notified the manufacturer however, no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 18,800. | Crash: No Fire: No | 18,800 |
| May 2023 | AIR BAGS | On May 20th, 2023 @ approximately 9:50 P.M. we struck a deer head on. Impact was severe enough that the passenger airbag should have deployed, but failed to deploy. I looked at the wiring guide for this vehicle after the incident, and I believe that in photo #4, it shows the path of the airbag wire and the airbag wire was cut at the time of impact. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Towed | Unknown |
| May 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | We were on a drive back from Nashville like normal. My mom had picked me up from work at around 07:15. The car started making strange sounds as we were driving down the highway. It started yelling at us to pull over to a safe spot and slowing down. All of the lights had come on flashing at this time. It didn’t even make it to the shoulder; We made a stop on the triangle area for when cars come in from the exit. As soon as we stopped, smoke started engulfing us and 2 guys who saw this happening parked on the shoulder and came running out of their van with fire extinguishers and started telling us to get out. When we went around the car to check what was going on, we noticed the fire that had started from the bottom of it. They fired the extinguishers a couple of times to the bottom of it where we could see the fire but it didn’t help much so we had to retreat to a safer spot. We called 911 to ask them to send assistance. Not long after, the front half of the car was engulfed in flames. 10-20 minutes later, the fire department came to extinguish the flames. Once they got the fire under control, they towed the car to the shoulder of the road where we proceeded to salvage anything that was salvagable from the car. Where I got my hands cut up from broken shards that were littered all over the interior. We waited for awhile for another form of transportation to be able to make it home and it took a little bit due to the traffic that this incident had caused. We got the car towed back to Toyota for evaluation of the incident. It was supposed to be done within 2 months, but we still hadn’t heard anything about it going into 3. We called them to inquire about the car and the situation, and they said that they had closed the case and had to reopen it for further investigations. They had closed the case and not told us anything about it. We received an email on the 23rd of January that stated the vehicle was too far damaged for them to be able to evaluate anything. | Crash: No Fire: Yes | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | While traveling on highway with adaptive cruise control engaged and maximum following distance selected, adaptive cruise control applies excessive braking force than necessary when vehicle in front exits highway. Safety concern because following vehicles must abruptly apply brakes. Dealership or police have not inspected vehicle. No visual or audio warnings. Internet search reveals numerous, similar complaints. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | I have a 2021 Rav4 gas LE. I bought it new in May 2021 and have 38,000 miles on it. I was casually driving the car going 30-40mph when the car dashboard lit up. The first notification I got was on the screen display saying a malfunction in the charging system was detected and to stop in a safe location. Next, all my dashboard lights turned on (tire pressure, traction control, check engine, ABS, brake, battery light, etc.) and got the following messages on the dashboard: - parking brake malfunction - pre collision malfunction - brake power low - stop in a safe place - secondary collision brake system malfunction - antilock brake system malfunction voltage ability - Voltage abnormality - steering power low And then finally, the “engine stopped” message when the emergency brakes engaged on their own while I was slowing down at a red light. Before this, I never got any warning lights or messages. I tried to get the car towed since jump starting the car didn’t work. The emergency brakes would not disengage in neutral. I had to call a tow truck. I took the car to the Toyota dealership. They said it was the battery and replaced it, but when I went to pick it up, the dashboard lights still wouldn’t go away even after resetting. The power locks still don’t work when the car is off and my key fob to unlock/lock also still doesn’t work. The display screen still isn’t turning on and the usb plugs in the car also aren’t drawing any power. The headlights and interior lights also don’t work. They said it’s an electrical problem but quoted me $520 to diagnose the problem ONLY since the car is now out of the 3 years/36k miles basic warranty. I have had this car less than two years and has 38k miles. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The Glass sunroof spontaneously exploded while driving. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | AIR BAGS,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | While accelerating ~6ft from a complete stop, a minor collision occurred affecting the front right headlight. The air-bags did not activate and the engine compartment was immediately on fire. Within ~1minute, the fire had spread to and completely engulfed the passenger compartment. The contents were immediately destroyed. The speed with which the fire spread through the vehicle was a significant risk to my life and the motorists around me. There were no warning lights on the dashboard prior to the incident, and the car had never before experienced an accident. Witnesses and firefighters estimated that any fire barrier between the engine and passenger compartments had failed, and that a fire of that severity from such a minor accident indicated some fault with the vehicle. The vehicle was an immediate total loss as inspected by our insurer. | Crash: Yes Fire: Yes Towed | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | STRUCTURE | Somebody just hit my car and left. My car was parked in my community. | Crash: Yes Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | BACK OVER PREVENTION,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | While driving to friends house, the collision warning popped on screen 1 or 2x but no vehicle was close to front of the car. When I turned into driveway and pulled onto yard to park the collision warning went off and red screen flased and I tried to brake but brakes would not depress. The car suddenly lurched forward quickly and I tried to steer away but it slammed into a line of cars with great force. I crashed into the parked car in front of me with such force it pushed a line of 4 cars. I had mild issues after crash: Whiplash, neck pain, head pain, and soreness. The RAV-4 had passed inspection with the dealer with no issues, The car had less than 15K miles driven. The collision warning lights seemed to start to have issues the day of the crash; approximately 15 min before the crash. Post-note for 3/27/2023 - we picked up from the collision repair and the car and the collision control was still flashing in error - and will be taken back to Toyota dealer on 3/28/2023 to have them read the computer. Other similar incidents have been reported for 2021 RAV-4 - and a similar recall went out for Toyota Prius we found after the crash. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Towed | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | SERVICE BRAKES | 2021 Toyota Rav4 Hybrid XLE Premium. Purchased new from the dealer. It currently has 75,000 miles (predominantly highway). Condition: The Braking mechanisms behind the firewall intermittently make a noise when the brake pedal is pressed fast (emergency) and/or released. It sounds like a seal barking when the pedal is moving either up or down. These are not your typical noises from a pad or rotor wear. Cause: At approximately 28,000 miles, the seal barking sound was there but very faint. As I added miles the sound became more frequent and louder. I did take it to the dealer who was not able to help. Environment: This seal barking sound can happen at any time and any condition, but is almost always going to happen when I want to avoid hitting an object that suddenly appears in my lane of travel and must brake quickly. Research: I’ve researched several Toyota and Lexus owner forums and found that other owners have the same issue. They described the sound as “seal barking” or “farting” (sorry for the wording, but that is what was used in the forums). Other forum members stated that it could possibly be tied to the master cylinder, brake actuator pump or ABS Brake Pump Booster (or all of them). Conclusion: I’m very concerned because this noise happens when brake components are activated and then may lead to failure. Please let me know if you need more information or an audio recording of the condition. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2023 | FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | I purchased car in 12/20. The car has a 14.5 gal sized tank, and gets avg 42 mpg -calculated by miles driven to empty divided by gas pumped when empty- as well as on dashboard display. Since purchase the car registers empty 150 or more miles sooner than the 560 dashboard estimate and than 14.5*42 mpg. I am only able to fill less than 11 gallons when the fuel Guage reads empty with less than 20 miles remaining. The service dept assures me the car is able to drive 560 on a full tank, as the fuel Guage and miles-to-empty ignore a "buffer " of several gallons in the tank. It is unsafe to drive over 150 miles with the car registering no miles remaining. It is unsafe to plan a trip based on dashboard or tank size/gallons mileage, where I could run out of gas in an unsafe region. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2023 | SUSPENSION | Rust under the hood just where the front suspension mounted. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,SERVICE BRAKES | and Brakes202022 HighlandAR of Th RcosearhostEN9 & Brake& steercar was freewheeling,ENg.LOST stee and slbeingr | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 2 Towed Medical attention | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | I was pulling into a parking space with my foot on the brake, had just touched the parking bar, and the engine started racing. The car went forward over the parking bar before I cold stop it by stomping on the brake. The only thing stopping me from going over the side of the hill was a chain link fence. Luckily the brakes worked. This is a 2021 RAV4 and I have never had this problem before. I am scheduled to go into the Toyota dealer to have them look at it. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | -Rear passenger door lock actuator fails -Safety risk of door not automatically locking when driving -Problem has been reproduced because it has occurred more than once -No inspection has taken place -No warning lamps or messages | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |