2016 Toyota RAV4 Problems

Half of the owners who gave a mileage had the problem by about 52,000 miles.

What to check before you buy

• Test every switch: windows, locks, mirrors, seat heaters, the screen, the backup camera, Bluetooth and every USB port.
• Watch the dash at startup. Every warning light should come on briefly and then go out.
• Have the battery and charging system tested. A weak alternator or battery drain shows up here.

Tools that help

What owners said

The repair shop I was able to pull into as I was experiencing the issue with my vehicle reported: "Battery is unstable and is arcing off of the positive terminal. Battery tray, battery hold down tie, and battery j hook hold down were missing upon arrival." The issue was fixed by a Brakes Plus location, given I was able to pull in there -…Owner complaint, filed 2026

Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2016 Toyota Rav4. It was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. The vehicle was purchased from a private seller. At the time of the purchase, the mileage was 98,000. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, and a Carfax report indicated that in November 2025, the mileage was…Owner complaint, filed 2025, at 170,000 miles

Half of the owners who gave a mileage had the problem by about 22,000 miles.

What to check before you buy

• The pedal should feel firm and the car should stop straight without pulling, grinding or a pulsing pedal.
• The ABS and stability control lights should go out after startup and stay out.
• Look through the wheels at the rotors. A deep lip on the edge means brakes are due soon, which is a fair thing to negotiate on.

Tools that help

What owners said

The braking system malfunctioned during Winter and snowy road conditions. Several instances happened during the month of December 2023 and 2024. Latest were December 10 and 13, 2024. The brake pad was soft when depressed that the car accelerated instead of stopping.Owner complaint, filed 2024

The contact owned a 2016 Toyota RAV4. The contact stated that while driving 40 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed, however, the vehicle failed to stop as intended. The contact stated that due to the failure, the vehicle in front of the contact's vehicle was rear-ended. The Police and ambulance arrived on the scene. A Police report was…Owner complaint, filed 2024, at 61,000 miles

Half of the owners who gave a mileage had the problem by about 10,000 miles.

What to check before you buy

• Check every light: headlights on low and high, fog lights, brake lights, turn signals and reverse lights.
• Run the wipers on every speed with washer fluid, and run the defroster front and back.

Tools that help

What owners said

Headlights and taillights are fogging/hazing up to where they dimmed out the lights when turned on making is somewhat difficult to see or others behind me to see me.Owner complaint, filed 2025

A fogging/white residue has developed over time on the inside of the tail lights. As this continues to progress it would make the lights much dimmer and harder to see. ( I see several references to the same issue doing an online search for 2016 rav4 taillight fogging)Owner complaint, filed 2024

Half of the owners who gave a mileage had the problem by about 15,000 miles.

What to check before you buy

• Ask the seller not to warm the car up, and start it cold. Listen for ticking, knocking or a rough idle in the first minute.
• Pull the oil dipstick and the oil cap. Low oil, a gasoline smell or a milky film on the cap are reasons to walk away or get an inspection.
• Plug in an OBD2 scanner. Stored or pending codes matter, and so do readiness monitors that show "not ready", which usually means the codes were cleared right before the sale.
• Ask for oil change records. A gap in the records on a model known for engine complaints is a negotiating point at minimum.

Tools that help

What owners said

The contact owns a 2016 Toyota Rav4. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V734000 (Electrical System). The contact stated that while his wife was driving at approximately 35 MPH, the check engine warning light and an additional unknown warning light illuminated. The vehicle was driven home. The vehicle was taken…Owner complaint, filed 2024, at 65,000 miles

The contact owns a 2016 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that the vehicle consumed an excessive amount of engine oil. The engine consumed half a quart of oil every 300 to 400 miles. The dealer was made aware of the failure and scheduled an upcoming appointment for an oil consumption test. The vehicle was not yet diagnosed or repaired. The…Owner complaint, filed 2022, at 47,000 miles

Half of the owners who gave a mileage had the problem by about 25,000 miles.

What to check before you buy

• The air bag (SRS) light should come on at startup and go out within a few seconds. If it stays on, the system may not work in a crash.
• Air bag recalls are some of the most serious. Check this exact VIN for open recalls and get proof any recall work was done.

Tools that help

What owners said

​"The red master warning triangle and an 'SRS Airbag System Malfunction' message illuminated unexpectedly on the dashboard of my 2016 Toyota Rav4 XLE under normal driving conditions. I contacted a certified Toyota dealership, and they confirmed that this dashboard warning indicates the vehicle's airbag system is completely disabled…Owner complaint, filed 2026

Air bags malfunction. There is a warning ⚠️ pop up message on my dashboard that says, Air bags malfunction contact manufacturer dealer. This is clearly a safety issue and it should be part of a recall or a recall needs to be started with this issue.Owner complaint, filed 2026

Half of the owners who gave a mileage had the problem by about 15,000 miles. Parts named most: Body (14).

What to check before you buy

• Look underneath with a flashlight. Utah road salt is hard on frames, brake lines and the bottoms of doors.
• Open and close every door, the hood and the liftgate, and lock and unlock each one.
• Use a paint thickness gauge and compare panels. A panel that reads very differently from the rest has likely been repaired.

Tools that help

What owners said

Vehicle: 2016 Toyota RAV4 Color: Factory Super White / Blizzard Pearl (whichever applies) I am filing a complaint regarding a well-known latent manufacturing defect involving peeling factory paint on my 2016 Toyota RAV4. The original factory-applied white paint is peeling and delaminating from the exterior metal body panels under normal…Owner complaint, filed 2026

The contact owns a 2016 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that the liftgate failed to properly close while pressing the electrical buttons on both the key fob and the two liftgate buttons located inside or outside the vehicle. The contact stated that the liftgate had to be closed manually to securely close the liftgate. The contact stated…Owner complaint, filed 2025, at 108,000 miles

Half of the owners who gave a mileage had the problem by about 4,000 miles.

What to check before you buy

• On the test drive, press the gas gently and firmly. The response should be smooth with no lag or surge.
• Set the cruise control, then use resume and cancel to make sure each one works.

Tools that help

What owners said

I was in a parking lot when I started my car and put it in reverse. With my foot on the brake the car reed with the tachometer reaching three. It was difficult to keep the car from jumping backward. This is not the first time this has happened. I had the car checked out on april 19, 2012. At that time I was told that I must have hit the…Owner complaint, filed 2021, at 58,000 miles

2016 toyota rav4 was stopped at red light and suddenly [VIN] at high rpm causing the vehicle to lung forward. Holding the brake pedal hard did not keep the vehicle from going forward. There was no traffic at the time, was stopped at a red light with brake engaged, at intersection on us17, jacksonville, fl. Very serious safety discrepancy…Owner complaint, filed 2019, at 36,100 miles

What to check before you buy

• Drive it from cold if you can. Shifts should be smooth in every gear, including reverse.
• Feel for slipping (revs rise without the car speeding up), shudder at low speed and a delay when you put it in gear.
• Listen for whining, which is a common CVT complaint, and clunks when you go from drive to reverse.
• If it has 4WD or AWD, engage it on the test drive and ask when the transmission and differential fluids were last changed.

Tools that help

What owners said

shudder in the torque converter of certain 2013–2018 Toyota RAV4 models. The shudder could occur while driving at light throttle between 25–50 miles per hour.ÂOwner complaint, filed 2025

While driving around 60 mph the engine suddenly started jumping revs and would not catch back into gear. Turned engine off and on and vehicle would shift normally from 1-3 but would not go into 4-6 gear. Had to place transmission in manual mode and select gear 3 to drive home. Brought to a local transmission shop and was told it was the…Owner complaint, filed 2024

Half of the owners who gave a mileage had the problem by about 6,000 miles.

What to check before you buy

• Turn the wheel lock to lock while parked and listen for groaning, clicking or binding.
• On a straight road the car should track straight with the wheel centered and no loose feeling.
• A power steering warning on the dash, even briefly, deserves a mechanic’s look before you buy.

Tools that help

What owners said

At about 40,000 miles on the 2016 Toyota Rav4, the steering wheel response became sticky, in the sense that when the driver moves it from left to right (or right to left), it has resistance at certain spots and the driver has to use extra force to move the steering wheel against the resistance. Once the driver uses that extra force to…Owner complaint, filed 2023

The contact owns a 2016 toyota rav4. While driving approximately 15 MPH and making a left turn, the power steering became very difficult to steer. The contact crashed into a curb and sideswiped another vehicle. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was not filed and there were no injuries. The vehicle was towed to an independent…Owner complaint, filed 2018, at 23,000 miles

What to check before you buy

• Smell around the engine bay and under the rear of the car for raw fuel.
• On the test drive, accelerate firmly from a stop and up a grade. Stumbling, surging or a flashing check engine light are red flags.
• Fuel pump recalls are common. Check this exact VIN for open recalls before you buy.

Tools that help

What owners said

When slowing to a stop with foot off gas pedal and on the brake pedal engine suddenly revs to approximately 7K rpms. Mashing brake pedal and turning off engine is only way to control the vehicle. Restarting motor has returned it to normal operation until last occurrence when it took about 5-6 restarts before it returned to normal…Owner complaint, filed 2023

The contact’s daughter owns a 2016 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while the vehicle was idle, the warning message “System Failure” illuminated and the vehicle shuddered, shut off, and lost electrical power. The contact’s daughter shifted into Park. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who diagnosed the failure as a loose vacuum hose…Owner complaint, filed 2022, at 1,200 miles

What to check before you buy

• Where it is safe, try the adaptive cruise and lane keeping on the test drive and watch for sudden braking or warnings with nothing there.
• Check the windshield in front of the camera and the bumper sensors for cracks, chips or poor repairs.
• Ask whether the windshield has been replaced. The camera has to be recalibrated afterward, and many shops skip it.

Tools that help

What owners said

I was driving 9/3 and my left blinker light came on solid. I was not using my blinker. Within a few seconds my check engine light came on and another light. Then within 2 minutes the front left engine/tire caught fire.Owner complaint, filed 2026

While changing the lane towards right, suddenly my vehicle over accelerated and was about to crash the vehicle ahead of me and quickly I decided to maneuver towards the right shoulder lane and within few seconds and speedy semi-truck passed from the left and saved our lives of 4 people in the car in the busy highway approaching the…Owner complaint, filed 2022

What to check before you buy

• Pull out and latch every seat belt, and let each one retract on its own.
• Try every seat adjuster, and watch for a passenger air bag "off" light when an adult is in the seat.

Tools that help

What owners said

Rear seat belt passenger side would not unlatch, trapping the passenger. This was and is the only time we have ever used this seat belt.It took two people to help get her thru the upper part of seat belt,had to exit over the top of back seat passenger. This life saving mechanism was and is unsafe and could of caused death if in the event…Owner complaint, filed 2025

The contact owns a 2016 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the seat belt alert chime would intermittently engage while the seat belt was in use. The seat belt warning light was also illuminated. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired.…Owner complaint, filed 2022, at 74,800 miles

What to check before you buy

• Drive over a few bumps and potholes slowly with the radio off and listen for clunks or rattles.
• Check the tires for uneven wear on the inside or outside edges, a sign of alignment or suspension trouble.
• Look behind the wheels for oily, wet shocks or struts.

Tools that help

What owners said

Mechanic said he thought rear lower rearward; non-adjustable control arms, lateral arms were a recall. They were falling apart. I've been complaining about a clunky noise for a year or so. Thank you for your help [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)Owner complaint, filed 2026

The cv joins on both sides wore off to premature. I had to fixed it because of the noise they were making. It began with less than 60k miles. I thought it was a safety issue. Many new toyotas are having the same issu.Owner complaint, filed 2019, at 60,000 miles

What to check before you buy

• Read the four-digit DOT date on each tire. Tires older than about six years should be replaced, whatever the tread looks like.
• Check tread depth on all four. On AWD vehicles all four tires should match.
• The tire pressure light should go out after startup.

Tools that help

What owners said

The contact owns a 2016 toyota rav4 equipped with bridgestone radial tires, size: p225/65r/17 (na). While the vehicle was parked, the front passenger side tire experienced a blowout. The vehicle was towed to a tire dealer where it was diagnosed that the tire model was defective. The tire was replaced with a spare. The [VIN] was notified…Owner complaint, filed 2016, at 1,900 miles