2013 Toyota RAV4: owner complaints and recalls

Complaints about the 2013 Toyota RAV4 include 1 report of a fatality, alongside 22 crashes and 28 fires across 255 filings.

255
Complaints
2
Recalls
22
Crash reports
28
Fire reports
15
Injuries
163.1
Severity index

Severity index 163.1 - High. It weights crashes, fires, injuries and fatalities per 100 complaints, so a vehicle attracting serious reports scores above one attracting many trivial ones (how this is calculated).

Middle half of all tracked vehiclesThis vehicle: 163.1p25 35p75 96cleanestworst
Where the 2013 Toyota RAV4 sits against the quartiles of every vehicle we track.

Among the 145 2013 vehicles we track with at least 40 complaints on file, the 2013 Toyota RAV4 ranks 9 of 145 by severity, where 1 is the worst. Its severity is higher than 94% of its model-year peers. See the full 2013 ranking.

What actually fails

Electrical SystemElectrical System: 73 complaints (28.6%)73 29%Unknown Or OtherUnknown Or Other: 40 complaints (15.7%)40 16%EngineEngine: 29 complaints (11.4%)29 11%Power TrainPower Train: 29 complaints (11.4%)29 11%StructureStructure: 28 complaints (11.0%)28 11%Service BrakesService Brakes: 23 complaints (9.0%)23 9%Vehicle Speed ControlVehicle Speed Control: 17 complaints (6.7%)17 7%Air BagsAir Bags: 13 complaints (5.1%)13 5%
Systems named in complaints. One complaint can name several, so shares overlap.
ComponentComplaintsShare of complaints citing it
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM7328.6%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER4015.7%
ENGINE2911.4%
POWER TRAIN2911.4%
STRUCTURE2811.0%
SERVICE BRAKES239.0%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL176.7%
AIR BAGS135.1%

Complaints filed per year

020392013: 392014: 302015: 272016: 172017: 142018: 122019: 172020: 132021: 182022: 142023: 112024: 232025: 142026: 6 (partial year)133914151617181920212223242526
Complaints filed per calendar year, not model year. The hatched bar is the current year and is still incomplete.
YearComplaints
201339
201430
201527
201617
201714
201812
201917
202013
202118
202214
202311
202423
202514
2026 (year to date)6
Complaint volume is broadly steady year over year.

Recall campaigns

CampaignReportedComponentSummary
15V01100016/01/2015TRAILER HITCHESSoutheast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Toyota Rav4 vehicles manufactured June 1, 2013, to December 29, 2014, and equipped with an accessory trailer light module. The software within the module may incorrectly detect an electrical short
23V73400001/11/2023ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:12V/24V/48V BATTERYToyota 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.
Source. US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration public complaint and recall APIs (api.nhtsa.gov), retrieved 2026-07-25. Complaints are unverified consumer reports; volume is influenced by how many units were sold and how long the vehicle has been on the road. Not affiliated with NHTSA or any manufacturer.