Toyota RAV4 Years to Avoid and the Best Years

Years to avoid: 2019 At least twice the 130 complaints of a typical RAV4 year. Most reported area: fuel and propulsion system.
Best years: 2022 Under three quarters of the 130 complaints of a typical RAV4 year since 2016, with no open NHTSA investigation or do-not-drive or park-outside recall.

Based on owner complaints filed with NHTSA in each model year's first three years, not adjusted for sales. The 2024 to 2026 models are too new to judge. See every year ranked

Data: US EPA and NHTSAUpdated Nov 12, 2026

Every model year since 2010 in one place: EPA fuel economy, NHTSA recalls, owner complaints and crash test ratings. The best fuel economy rating, 43 mpg combined, arrived in 2026. Includes the RAV4 Hybrid, the plug-in hybrid (sold as the RAV4 Prime for 2021 to 2024) and the electric RAV4 EV of 2012 to 2014.

RAV4 problems by year, ranked by owner complaints

How the years are ranked

Model years ranked by owner complaints filed with NHTSA in their first three years (model year Y: filed by the end of Y+2), so every year is measured over the same time on the road. Years without three full years of data, and launch or final years with very few sold, are left out. Counts are not adjusted for how many were sold.

A typical RAV4 year drew 130 complaints in its first three years: the median of its years since 2016, higher than the median of all its ranked years (109). Years to avoid drew at least twice that, and at least 50. Best years are up to three years since 2016 with the fewest complaints, each under three quarters of a typical year since 2016 (130), with no open NHTSA investigation and no do-not-drive or park-outside recall that covers all versions; the 2020 is never picked, as its first three years fell in the pandemic. How the verdict works.

Model year	First 3 years	All complaints	Recalls
2019 RAV4 Avoid Most reported: fuel and propulsion system	437	909	8
2020 RAV4 Most described: a dead battery or battery drain	248	654	6
2021 RAV4 Most described: a shattered sunroof	198	511	5
2023 RAV4 Most described: gauge cluster or speedometer failures	138	241	3
2010 RAV4 Most described: unintended acceleration or surging	137	400	14
2018 RAV4 Most described: stalling or shutting off	122	348	3
2017 RAV4 Most described: shaking, shuddering or vibration	111	322	3
2016 RAV4 Most described: a shattered sunroof	107	257	3
2013 RAV4 Most described: stalling or shutting off	99	262	5
2022 RAV4 Best Most described: a shattered sunroof	90	177	3
2015 RAV4 Most described: smoke or a burning smell and power steering problems or locked steering	86	305	4
2012 RAV4 Most described: unintended acceleration or surging	81	266	6
2011 RAV4 Most described: unintended acceleration or surging	61	287	11
2014 RAV4 Most described: smoke or a burning smell	46	208	7

Compare other models' worst years in the worst model years guide.

Check your RAV4 for open recalls

Opens NHTSA's lookup in a new tab; your VIN goes to NHTSA, not to us. The VIN is on the driver's side dashboard, the door jamb and your registration. Safety recall repairs are free at Toyota dealers for vehicles up to 15 years old from first sale.

How to check a car for recalls, step by step

Get a vehicle history report from EpicVIN (opens in a new tab): a paid report with the car's title, odometer and salvage records, from an approved NMVTIS data provider. Affiliate link: we earn a commission if you buy. If you typed a full VIN above, the link sends it to EpicVIN and opens its checkout page for that VIN. Check the price before you pay: EpicVIN's $1 trial lasts 3 days, then becomes a monthly subscription until you cancel ($49.99 to $99.99 a month on its pages as of Oct 2, 2026). Disclosure

Year by year

Model year	Best rating	Recalls	Complaints	Crash test
2026 MPG · Recalls and problems	43 mpg Hybrid	2	52	Not rated
2025 MPG · Recalls and problems	39 mpg Hybrid	4	113
2024 MPG · Recalls and problems	39 mpg Hybrid	4	208
2023 MPG · Recalls and problems	40 mpg Hybrid	3	241
2022 MPG · Recalls and problems	40 mpg Hybrid	3	177
2021 MPG · Recalls and problems	40 mpg Hybrid	5	511
2020 MPG · Recalls and problems	40 mpg Hybrid	6	654
2019 MPG · Recalls and problems	40 mpg Hybrid	8	909
2018 MPG · Recalls and problems	32 mpg Hybrid	3	348
2017 MPG · Recalls and problems	32 mpg Hybrid	3	322
2016 MPG · Recalls and problems	32 mpg Hybrid	3	257
2015 MPG · Recalls and problems	26 mpg Gas	4	305	4 to 5 stars
2014 MPG · Recalls and problems	26 mpg Gas	7	208
2013 MPG · Recalls and problems	26 mpg Gas	5	262
2012 MPG · Recalls and problems	24 mpg Gas	6	266
2011 MPG · Recalls and problems	24 mpg Gas	11	287
2010 MPG · Recalls and problems	24 mpg Gas	14	400	Not rated

Best rating leaves out the plug-in hybrid, which EPA rates on gas and on electricity separately, and the 2012 to 2014 electric version. Each year's MPG page lists every version.

Owner complaints by model year

All complaints filed so far. Counts rise with sales volume and with time on the road, so recent years look better than they may turn out. The highlighted bar is the model year with the most complaints in its first three years.

2019: 909 complaints

Show as a table

Owner complaints by model year, Toyota RAV4
Model year	Complaints
2010	400
2011	287
2012	266
2013	262
2014	208
2015	305
2016	257
2017	322
2018	348
2019	909
2020	654
2021	511
2022	177
2023	241
2024	208
2025	113
2026	52

Best combined rating by model year

The best-rated version in each model year. Gas: 24 to 30 mpg (2010 to 2025); 30 since 2019. Hybrid: 32 to 43 mpg (2016 to 2026); highest in 2026.

Best gas version
Best hybrid version

2026: gas not offered · hybrid 43 mpg

Show as a table

Toyota RAV4 best combined mpg by model year
Model year	Best gas version	Best hybrid version
2010	24	–
2011	24	–
2012	24	–
2013	26	–
2014	26	–
2015	26	–
2016	26	32
2017	26	32
2018	26	32
2019	30	40
2020	30	40
2021	30	40
2022	30	40
2023	30	40
2024	30	39
2025	30	39
2026	–	43

Every RAV4 year's ratings in one table

Comparisons

Questions

Which Toyota RAV4 years should you avoid?

The 2019 RAV4 is the year to avoid: it drew at least twice the 130 owner complaints of a typical RAV4 year in its first three years. The area named most for the 2019: fuel and propulsion system. Complaints can't tell you whether a particular car is sound, so whatever the year, check its open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls before you buy. Safety recall repairs are free at Toyota dealers for vehicles up to 15 years old from first sale.

What are the best Toyota RAV4 years?

The 2022 RAV4 is the best year: it drew 90 owner complaints in its first three years, under three quarters of the 130 complaints of a typical RAV4 year since 2016, and it has no open NHTSA investigation or recall telling owners not to drive or to park outside. Only years since 2016 are considered, since owners filed fewer complaints in the early 2010s. The 2024, 2025, and 2026 are not ranked yet: they have had fewer than three full years on the road.

Which Toyota RAV4 years have the most problems?

Counting owner complaints filed with NHTSA in each model year's first three years, the 2019 (437) drew the most, then the 2020 (248). Most-reported area for the 2019: fuel and propulsion system.

Which Toyota RAV4 years have the most recalls?

The 2010 has the most safety recalls in NHTSA's file (14), then the 2011 (11). A recall can cover a problem that affects only a few cars, so open a year's page to see what each one covers. No recall for 2010 to 2026 models tells owners not to drive the car or to park it outside.

What are the most common Toyota RAV4 problems?

In the 5,520 owner complaints NHTSA lists for 2010 to 2026 models, owners most often describe stalling or shutting off (248 complaints); unintended acceleration or surging (228 complaints); and shaking, shuddering or vibration (213 complaints). One complaint can describe several problems. Each year's recalls and problems page lists what owners describe for that year.

Which Toyota RAV4 year has the best MPG?

The best EPA fuel economy is 43 mpg combined, first reached by the 2026 hybrid version. The plug-in hybrid, rated separately, gets up to 38 mpg on gas alone and 94 MPGe on electricity.

Sources and method

US EPA fuel economy data (fueleconomy.gov), file dated Nov 4, 2026.
NHTSA recall file dated Nov 12, 2026 and owner complaint file dated Nov 11, 2026; NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings.

Complaint counts are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume. How we build these pages. Spotted an error? Tell us.