Toyota RAV4 2020

Safety complaints filed by owners in the first three years, per 1,000 sold.

0.56 per 1,000

1.2 times this nameplate’s own median · from 248 complaints filed in the first three years, of 647 ever. 95% lower bound 0.49.

Against its own model years

The model year carries far more information than the badge, so this is the comparison that matters.

Model year	Per 1,000	Complaints
2008	0.82	112
2009	0.94	135
2010	0.86	137
2011	0.40	61
2012	0.51	78
2013	0.49	96
2014	0.15	37
2015	0.29	86
2016	0.32	107
2017	0.29	111
2018	0.29	122
2019	1.00	437
2020	0.56	248
2021	0.46	194
2022	0.22	88
2023	0.33	138

What owners describe

Phrases over-represented in these complaints compared with the same component on every other vehicle. Counts are complaints containing the phrase.

Engine 182 complaints

coolant	143	78%
valve	125	68%
bypass	123	67%
coolant bypass	117	64%
bypass valve	103	56%
engine maintenance	86	47%

Electrical System 121 complaints

bypass	23	19%
coolant	22	18%
coolant bypass	21	18%
valve	21	18%
maintenance	21	18%
bypass valve	19	16%

Unknown Or Other 121 complaints

bypass	42	35%
valve	42	35%
coolant	42	35%
bypass valve	38	31%
coolant bypass	37	30%
maintenance	32	26%

When it breaks

82% of reported failures happened before 30,000 miles (median 3,000 miles, from 201 complaints that recorded one).

Failures cluster early, which is the signature of how the car was built rather than of wear. A low-mileage example has not yet passed the risk window.

What NHTSA did

1 investigation covering this model year, 1 of which list a recall campaign.

Pedestrian alert sounds

What owners and forums say

Not built yet. This panel is meant to carry community sentiment beside the filed-complaint data, so the two can be compared. Showing something weaker here would defeat its purpose.

Check this yourself

Example records behind this page:

11282630 · 11291750 · 11292178 · 11298061 · 11299574 · 11299594

Limits of this figure. It counts safety complaints filed with the federal government, which is a floor on failures and not a census: problems that only cost money are under-reported. Complaint rates also reflect how likely a brand’s owners are to file, which cannot be separated from how often the car fails. Sales are calendar-year and the denominator for this nameplate is verified against a published figure.