NHTSA lists 3 safety recalls and 257 owner complaints for the 2016 Toyota RAV4 (including the hybrid).
3Safety recalls
257Owner complaints
37Complaints citing a crash
12Complaints citing a fire
Data: NHTSA recall and complaint filesUpdated Sep 27, 2026
Recalled components: electrical system, tires, and brakes. Most-reported area: electrical system (60 complaints, 23%; median mileage when it happened: 49,500). Includes the RAV4 Hybrid and the plug-in hybrid (sold as the RAV4 Prime for 2021 to 2024).
3 safety recalls for the 2016 Toyota RAV4
Newest first. Summaries are NHTSA's own wording. Open a recall for the fix and the full notice.
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2013-2018 RAV4 vehicles. Certain replacement 12-volt batteries may not fit properly in the battery tray, allowing the battery to move and contact the hold-down bracket, possibly causing a short circuit.
Risk: A battery short circuit increases the risk of a fire.
The fix and full notice
Fix: Dealers will replace the battery clamp sub-assembly, battery tray, and positive terminal cover, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed December 27, 2024, to 2013-2014 RAV4 owners. Additional owner notification letters will be mailed in phases, phase 2 will begin on May 14, 2025, and phase 3 in late July 2025. Owners may contact Toyota's customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's numbers for this recall are 23TB13 and 23TA13.
NHTSA listing: RAV4. Toyota campaign 23TB13 / 23TA13.
Tires
Apr 22, 2016
Fails federal standard 110 (tire and rim labeling)
Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain model year 2016 Toyota Yaris, Rav4, Land Cruiser and 4Runner vehicles, and Scion FR-S, iM, and TC vehicles manufactured January 28, 2016, to March 14, 2016. The Load Carrying Capacity Modification Label may not reflect the correct added weight of the installed accessories. As a result, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims for Passenger Cars."
Risk: An incorrect label may result in the vehicle being overloaded, increasing the risk of a crash.
The fix and full notice
Fix: SET will notify owners, and provide them a corrected label to be installed over the inaccurate label, free of charge. The recall began on June 3, 2016. Owners may contact SET customer service at 1-866-405-4226. SET's number for this recall is SET16A.
NHTSA listing: RAV4. Components: Equipment: labels; Tires. Toyota campaign SET16A.
Brakes
Apr 7, 2016
antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip
Fails federal standard 126 (electronic stability control)
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2016 Toyota RAV4 vehicles manufactured October 30, 2015, to February 3, 2016, 2016 Lexus RX350 vehicles manufactured October 26, 2015, to February 8, 2016, and 2016 Lexus ES350 vehicles manufactured September 1, 2015, to February 29, 2016. These vehicles are equipped with an ABS actuator that may have a damaged O-ring which could result in improper brake fluid pressure control during ABS, Traction Control, or Stability Control activation. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 126, "Electronic Stability Control Systems."
Risk: Insufficient brake fluid pressure may cause a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.
The fix and full notice
Fix: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the brake actuator, replacing it as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on May 4, 2016, 2016. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is G0I, GLC.
Questions about any of these recalls: call NHTSA's Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236 (TTY 888-275-9171) or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
What owners report
The areas named in the 257 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2016 RAV4. NHTSA does not verify complaints.
Electrical system60 · 23%
Median 49,500 miles at failure (26 reports)
Brakes50 · 19%
Median 19,000 miles at failure (39 reports)
Exterior lighting28 · 11%
Median 13,400 miles at failure (18 reports)
Engine27 · 11%
Median 13,300 miles at failure (16 reports)
Air bags19 · 7%
Body structure19 · 7%
Most named: body (17)
Visibility/wiper15 · 6%
Unknown or other38 · 15%
Median 13,500 miles at failure (26 reports)
A complaint can name more than one area, so shares add up to more than 100%. Mileage is shown where at least 15 owners reported it.
Toyota RAV4 recalls and complaints by model year
The highlighted bars are the 2016 model year. Newer model years have had less time on the road, so their counts are lower. Counting complaints filed in each model year's first three years, the 2019 RAV4 drew the most (437) and the 2016 drew 107.
Owner complaints
2016: 257 complaintsTap or drag across the chart for other years.
Show as a table
Owner complaints by model year, Toyota RAV4
Model year
Complaints
2016
257
2017
321
2018
346
2019
900
2020
647
2021
507
2022
171
2023
226
2024
204
2025
102
2026
32
Safety recalls
2016: 3 recallsTap or drag across the chart for other years.
Show as a table
Safety recalls by model year, Toyota RAV4
Model year
Recalls
2016
3
2017
3
2018
3
2019
8
2020
6
2021
5
2022
3
2023
3
2024
4
2025
4
2026
1
Crash test ratings
NHTSA's 5-Star Safety Ratings for each version it tested. Rollover risk is NHTSA's estimate of the chance of rolling over in a single-vehicle crash.
Tested version
Overall
Frontal
Side
Rollover
Toyota Rav4 SUV AWD
Rollover risk 16.9%
Toyota Rav4 SUV FWD
Rollover risk 17.4%
Questions
What are the most common 2016 RAV4 problems?
The areas owners name most often in NHTSA complaints: electrical system (60), brakes (50), exterior lighting (28). NHTSA does not verify complaints, and one complaint can name several areas.
Is the 2016 Toyota RAV4 safe?
In NHTSA crash tests every tested version of the 2016 Toyota RAV4 earns 5 stars overall. The table above lists each tested version.
How do I check if my RAV4 has an open recall?
Enter the 17-character VIN from your dashboard, door jamb or registration at nhtsa.gov/recalls. The lookup lists unrepaired recalls for that exact vehicle. Safety recall repairs are free at Toyota dealers.
Sources and method
NHTSA recalls file (NHTSA datasets), dated Sep 27, 2026; every campaign checked against NHTSA's recalls API.
NHTSA owner complaints file, dated Sep 26, 2026. Counted by complaint number, so a complaint naming three components counts once in the total.
NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings (NCAP).
NHTSA model names covered: RAV4, RAV4 HYBRID.
Complaint counts are unverified owner reports. They rise with sales volume and time on the road, so compare model years with care. How we build these pages. Spotted an error? Tell us.