What ownership is like, what breaks at what mileage, what the repairs cost, and what to check before you buy one.
NHTSA complaints per catalog listing run from 1.62 for 2011 (287 complaints across 177 listings) to 10.67 for 2006 (704 across 66), against a generation median of 2.79. The highest year, 2006, is 3.8 times that median. Flagged by our rule: 2006. The NHTSA components behind 2006 are Steering (183), Engine (84), Suspension (52), and behind 2007 are Steering (225), Engine (165), Suspension (86). Steering and engine lead both years; we have not read those complaints one by one, so we do not say what failed in steering.
| Miles | Item | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commonly shows between 70,000 and 120,000 miles (one fetched page) | Excessive oil consumption, 2.4L 2AZ-FE (2006-2008) | $2,800-$4,500 for a piston ring repair at an independent shop and $3,500-$6,000 for an engine replacement (one fetched page); one owner post on CarComplaints quotes a dealer at $5,300 for the rings (a single owner claim) | The 2.4L 2AZ-FE engine in 2006-2008 RAVs burns oil. Toyota's ZE7 memo (read on NHTSA's site) covers certain 2006-2008 RAV4s with that engine: primary coverage ran to October 31, 2016 regardless of mileage, then 10 years from first use or 150,000 miles, whichever comes first, after a dealer oil consumption test under T-SB-0158-14. By date, 10 years from first use has run out for all 2006-2008 cars, so for most of them the program is history, not coverage; ask what was done under it. The cost and mileage figures are from one fetched page plus one owner post; the other sources confirm the problem and the years, not the price. |
| any | Recalls on file (20 campaigns in our records): 09V223000 (2006-2009), 10V017000 (2009-2010), 10V035000 (2006-2010), 10V036000 (2006-2010), 11V113000 (2006-2010), 11V245000 (2007-2008), 12V029000 (2011), 12V373000 (2006-2011), 12V491000 (2007-2009), 13V014000 (2009-2012), 13V123000 (2010-2012), 13V383000 (2006-2011), 14V054000 (2012), 14V168000 (2006-2008), 14V743000 (2007-2011), 15V577000 (2009-2012), 15V689000 (2006-2011), 16V096000 (2006-2012), 16V396000 (2006-2011), 16V596000 (2006-2011) | Free at a Toyota dealer when open | Includes 16V596000 and 12V373000 (rear suspension, 2006-2011), 14V168000 (air bag, 2006-2008), 11V113000 and 10V017000 (accelerator pedal) and 12V029000 (2011 curtain air bags). Equipment, label and EV-only recalls are left out. Confirm by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. |
A year is flagged by our rule only when all three hold: (1) its NHTSA complaints per catalog listing is at least 2.0x the median for its generation, (2) the share of ads that mention a problem is above the generation median, and (3) we track at least 30 listings for that year. The cutoff was fixed before we looked. Ad mentions are not failures, and a flag is a reason to inspect harder, not a verdict on any one car. We also re-ran the ad test with the 'rust' flaw left out, because the ad reader counts phrases like 'no rust' as mentions, and publish a flag only if it passes both ways.
Complaints add up over a car's whole life, so older years in a generation can look worse here than they are. Read this flag next to the complaint details below.
| Year | Complaints | Top components | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 704 | Steering, Engine, Suspension | |
| 2007 | 1,003 | Steering, Engine, Suspension | |
| 2008 | 575 | Engine, Vehicle Speed Control, Suspension | |
| 2009 | 327 | Vehicle Speed Control, Suspension, Power Train | |
| 2010 | 400 | Suspension, Vehicle Speed Control, Power Train | |
| 2011 | 287 | Vehicle Speed Control, Visibility/wiper, Seat... | |
| 2012 | 260 | Visibility/wiper, Vehicle Speed Control, Seat Belts |
source: NHTSA complaints database (api.nhtsa.gov). Complaints are owner reports, not confirmed failures.
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We don't tell you to skip a year; we flag by a fixed rule, and it flags 2006 (704 complaints across 66 listings, 10.67 per listing against a 2006-2012 median of 2.79, on only 66 listings) and 2020 (652 complaints across 116 listings, 5.62 per listing against a 2019-2025 median of 1.84). Third-party lists name 2006-2008, 2013-2014 and 2019. In our data 2013 has 1.14 per listing and 2014 has 1.29, both under our cutoff.
The 2.4L 2AZ-FE engine in those years has a documented oil consumption problem. Toyota's ZE7 memo, hosted on NHTSA's site, covers certain 2006-2008 RAV4s: primary coverage to October 31, 2016, then 10 years from first use or 150,000 miles, after a dealer oil consumption test. By date, that secondary coverage has run out. One fetched page puts the ring repair at $2,800-$4,500 at an independent shop and an engine replacement at $3,500-$6,000; one owner reports a $5,300 dealer quote.
Owners report a shudder under light throttle with the U760E/F six-speed automatic. Toyota's ZH1 program covers certain 2013-2015 RAV4s, about 433,200 vehicles, with primary coverage to December 31, 2018 (April 30, 2018 in the revised policy bulletin) and then 8 years from first use or 150,000 miles. That secondary window has run out by date. One fetched shop page lists an updated torque converter at $1,750-$2,450 at an independent specialist and $3,200-$4,200 at a Toyota dealer.
Yes. In July 2010 Toyota extended the automatic transmission and ECM warranty on about 235,500 2001-2003 RAV4s to 10 years/150,000 miles from new, the New York Times reported. A 2011 settlement, approved in 2012, kept the same coverage. Ten years from new has run out for every one of those cars.
Yes. The RAV4 Hybrid and RAV4 Prime are trims of the same model, and we merge their NHTSA complaints into the RAV4 counts, removing duplicates by complaint number. The RAV4 EV is a different vehicle and is not counted.
We don't rank generations. Our own numbers: the 2013-2018 generation has a median of 1.34 NHTSA complaints per catalog listing, the 2019-2025 generation has 1.84, and 2006-2012 has 2.79. Those rates are not directly comparable across generations, because newer cars have had less time and different ways of being reported.