Toyota RAV4 2018

Safety complaints filed by owners in the first three years, per 1,000 sold.

0.29 per 1,000

0.6 times this nameplate’s own median · from 122 complaints filed in the first three years, of 347 ever. 95% lower bound 0.24.

Against its own model years

The model year carries far more information than the badge, so this is the comparison that matters.

Model year	Per 1,000	Complaints
2008	0.82	112
2009	0.94	135
2010	0.86	137
2011	0.40	61
2012	0.51	78
2013	0.49	96
2014	0.15	37
2015	0.29	86
2016	0.32	107
2017	0.29	111
2018	0.29	122
2019	1.00	437
2020	0.56	248
2021	0.46	194
2022	0.22	88
2023	0.33	138

What owners describe

Phrases over-represented in these complaints compared with the same component on every other vehicle. Counts are complaints containing the phrase.

Electrical System 131 complaints

part recall	44	33%
tool	39	29%
confirms parts	38	29%
tool confirms	38	29%
confirms	38	29%
repair yet	33	25%

When it breaks

71% of reported failures happened before 30,000 miles (median 12,000 miles, from 157 complaints that recorded one).

Failures cluster early, which is the signature of how the car was built rather than of wear. A low-mileage example has not yet passed the risk window.

What NHTSA did

2 investigations covering this model year, 2 of which list a recall campaign.

Battery Hold Down Bracket Thermal Events

What owners and forums say

Not built yet. This panel is meant to carry community sentiment beside the filed-complaint data, so the two can be compared. Showing something weaker here would defeat its purpose.

Check this yourself

Example records behind this page:

11054484 · 11056950 · 11060925 · 11071997 · 11073038 · 11074413

Limits of this figure. It counts safety complaints filed with the federal government, which is a floor on failures and not a census: problems that only cost money are under-reported. Complaint rates also reflect how likely a brand’s owners are to file, which cannot be separated from how often the car fails. Sales are calendar-year and the denominator for this nameplate is verified against a published figure.