KnownCarProblems2016 Toyota RAV4 Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 240 complaints with NHTSA about the 2016 Toyota RAV4, most often about the electrical (25% of complaints, typically around 52,000 miles). It is 18th of 26 RAV4 model years by number of complaints and has 3 recalls.
Most common 2016 Toyota RAV4 problems
Electrical
59 complaints · 25%Half of these problems showed up before 52,000 miles. Parts named most often: instrument panel.
The contact owns a 2016 Toyota RAV4. The contact stated that while her husband was stopped at a traffic light, he started smelling an abnormal burning odor before flames started coming up from under the dashboard and out of the driver's and passenger's side vents. The driver pulled over and started pouring water from…
Started my 2016 RAV4 limited on 7/27/2019. After starting it none of the safety features are working. This appears to be a known issue among other Toyota owners. The vehicle was fine when I shut it off the night before. Now anti lock braking, lane departure alert, pre-collision system, and adaptive cruise control are…
Brakes
46 complaints · 19%Half of these problems showed up before 22,000 miles.
I had a grinding noise in the front brakes and took it to the dealer a couple of times finally they replaced the brakes and turn the rotors that was about seven months ago that noise started and they replace them about a month ago and now they're making noise again I don't know there's a problem or a defect
Passenger front wheel sensor harness was damaged by rodent. Vehicle has 26k miles and Toyota refused to repair the break, and would only replace the entire harness at a cost not covered of $6300. The material change of these parts attract rats. This damaged cause ABS, lane departure, blind spot monitoring and cruise…
Other or unspecified
33 complaints · 14%Half of these problems showed up before 15,000 miles.
Sunroof imploded while driving to work. Heard explosion, looked up, and glass from sunroof starting falling into car. Sunroof visor was open at the time. Sunroof was closed. Was not a warm day (as I have seen this be a problem in other cases). Looked behind the car and did not see anything that might have fallen on…
I was driving approximately 25 MPH getting onto a major highway and heard what sounded like an explosion. I continued to drive and started hearing glass fly off my car and sliding around on my roof. I quickly pulled over, put my hazards on and slid back the sunroof shade. The entire center of my sunroof had shattered…
Lights
28 complaints · 12%Half of these problems showed up before 13,500 miles.
The contact owns a 2016 Toyota RAV4. While driving at night, the headlights failed and impaired the contact's vision. As a result, the contact drove off the road. There were no injuries. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The VIN was unknown. The approximate failure mileage was…
Auto high beams - intermittently get stuck in "low" I have noticed this on multiple occasions but can't reproduce it on demand. Last instance was on a straight, flat rural road with no lights, signals or same direction traffic travelling at 55mph. Was approached by oncoming car which failed to dim lights. Mine dimmed…
Engine
25 complaints · 10%Half of these problems showed up before 14,500 miles.
My brand new car caught fire in the front while it was parked outside a restaurant. I came outside to leave and it was towed away. The car was totaled from the fire. I saw the RAV4 investigation is happening and wanted to make sure you had my report included. The fire happened in the front left (as it was stated in…
While waiting for red light on a local street (the engine was running but in a stopped foot on the brake position) the engine shut down and dashboard display message appeared stating "charging system failure".
Air bags
19 complaints · 8%Half of these problems showed up before 25,000 miles.
The contact owns a 2016 Toyota RAV4. While driving approximately 30 MPH, another vehicle crashed into the front driver side of the contact's vehicle. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was filed. The driver and passenger sustained multiple injuries that required medical attention. The vehicle was towed to a…
The contact called on behalf of his spouse who owned a 2016 Toyota RAV4. While driving 30 MPH, the contact became unconscious and the vehicle crashed into a tree. The contact stated that the air bags failed to deploy. The contact sustained a fractured nose and bruising to the ribs, which required medical attention. A…
Visibility and wipers
16 complaints · 7%Half of these problems showed up before 11,000 miles. Parts named most often: sun/moon roof assembly.
The contact owns a 2016 Toyota RAV4. While the vehicle was parked, the sun roof fractured. While the vehicle was being driven, pieces of broken glass started to fall into the cabin of the vehicle. There were no injuries. Clearwater Toyota (21799 US hwy 19 n, clearwater, fl 33765, ([phone]) was notified of the issue.…
The contact owns a 2016 Toyota RAV4. While driving approximately 65 MPH, the sun roof exploded. The contact was not sure if the failure occurred from inside or outside the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an unknown dealer and the contact was informed that she would be responsible for the repairs. The vehicle was not…
Body and structure
15 complaints · 6%Half of these problems showed up before 9,500 miles. Parts named most often: body.
When it rains the driver side flooring and mats are completely soaked absorbing up to 1 inch of water. The car isn't driven much so the problem only struck a bell this year.
My brand new car caught fire in the front while it was parked outside a restaurant. I came outside to leave and it was towed away. The car was totaled from the fire. I saw the RAV4 investigation is happening and wanted to make sure you had my report included. The fire happened in the front left (as it was stated in…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2016 Toyota RAV4 recalls
Electrical: 12v/24v/48v battery
Risk: A battery short circuit increases the risk of a fire.
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.
Full defect summary
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.
Equipment: labels
Risk: An incorrect label may result in the vehicle being overloaded, increasing the risk of a crash.
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.
Full defect summary
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."
Stability control: electronic stability control (esc)
Risk: Insufficient brake fluid pressure may cause a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.
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.
Full defect summary
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."
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Battery hold down bracket thermal events
Summary
The office of defects investigation (odi) opened a preliminary evaluation (pe) to understand the contributing factors and frequency of vehicle fires originating from the battery region of the engine compartment in model year (my) 2013-2018 toyota rav4 vehicles on 25 february 2021. At the time of opening, odi attributed eleven allegations and additional ewr events to this pe. Pe21005 focused on replacement batteries installed in the subject vehicles. No reported fire event identified in pe21005 involved the originally supplied 12v battery. The reported fires took place in vehicles known to contain aftermarket batteries or whose age exceeded the expected life of the original equipment battery.
Questions about the 2016 Toyota RAV4
- What are the most common problems with the 2016 Toyota RAV4?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: electrical (59 complaints, typically around 52,000 miles); brakes (46 complaints, typically around 22,000 miles); other or unspecified (33 complaints, typically around 15,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2016 Toyota RAV4 have?
- 3 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from November 1, 2023 (electrical). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2016 a bad year for the Toyota RAV4?
- It is 18th of 26 RAV4 model years by number of complaints, with 240 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.