2018 Toyota RAV4 Problems

What owners report

Complaints on this model year center on the 12-volt battery and related electrical trouble: owners describe batteries going flat, warning lights appearing at random, and occasional stalling or no-start conditions, often at fairly low mileage. Smaller groups of complaints describe soft or slow-responding brakes, delayed accelerator response with hesitant shifting, and sunroof glass shattering on the road, with some reports of smoke or fire from the engine bay.

1. 1
   Electrical system

   12-volt battery drains and goes dead

   • 86 complaints (26%)
   • median 19,200 mi at 3.6 yrs old (27 state mileage)
   • 10 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2018–2026

   Owners describe the battery losing charge repeatedly, sometimes within a year or two of purchase, leaving the vehicle unable to start and requiring a jump start or replacement. A few report the dealer attributing it to short trips, an accessory device, or the wrong size battery being installed, and in some cases the battery was replaced more than once. Several complaints mention a charging system warning or power failure message around the same time, and some say the remedy described in a battery-related recall campaign was not yet available. Often reported at low mileage, many within the first 20,000 miles, and some vehicles had more than one battery replaced.

   Recall 23V7340008 related service bulletins

   What to check: Ask whether the battery campaign work was completed and whether the battery currently installed is the correct size for the tray. Have a shop load-test the battery and check for parasitic drain if the car sits for long periods.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “I was waiting at the traffic light to turn green once it did I pressed the gas pedal to go and the vehicle stall and lost power completely and gave a message saying power failure and a picture of a battery after this happened the vehicle was able to start back up”

   NHTSA complaint #11416227, filed 2021-05, 21,000 miles

   “I purchased this car in february 2018 and on february 2019 the first failure occurred. I was driving when the engine stopped and charging system failure was displayed on the dash. With this failure, the owners manual says take it to the dealer. The car did start up and I was able to drive home. The selling dealer could not find any problems. I ignored the same failure a couple more times, but with the last failure, I took the car to ball Toyota, charleston, wv. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11349726, filed 2020-08, 19,200 miles
2. 2
   Electrical system

   Stalling, power loss, or smoke/fire from engine bay

   • 71 complaints (21%)
   • median 18,600 mi at 3.4 yrs old (36 state mileage)
   • 33 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2018–2026

   Owners describe the engine shutting off while driving, sometimes with a charging system or power failure message, and in some cases smoke or flames appearing under the hood or from the dash area afterward. Several complaints say the vehicle was jump-started or restarted and driven on, while others report the car was destroyed or towed. Dealers are described as unable to reproduce the problem or finding no fault codes. Reported across a wide range of mileage, from a few thousand miles up to well past 100,000.

   Recall 23V7340004 related service bulletins

   What to check: Check for any signs of scorching, melted connectors, or a burning smell near the battery and fuse box, and ask whether the battery recall campaign was performed. Have the charging system and battery cables inspected.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “I had been using the adaptive cruise control at highway speed on the westbound ca 134 in glendale/burbank, ca. I had to merge into traffic from the hov lane disengaging the cruise control. I then used the auto transmission to shift to a lower gear to gain more torque in changing lanes when the car went into a stall and lost all power. Consequently we were rear-ended by another car. Our car went into a lockout and had to be pushed to the shoulder by the california highway patrol. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11321128, filed 2020-04, 17,300 miles

   “This car started a fire on the road while it was in motion, and after I drove it over a mile on a city street on april 22nd, 2019. I stopped the car and turned off the car after I saw smoke came out of the hood in front of driver side windshield. I left the car immediately to call for help. Less than a minute, after I left the car, the fire started, the flames went up to 10 feet high in a short 2 minutes, in less than 10 minutes, before the firemen put fire off, the car was burned to the frame with nothing left inside. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11402838, filed 2021-03, 6,000 miles
3. 3
   Brakes

   Brake pedal soft or needing heavy pressure

   • 20 complaints (6%)
   • median 18,000 mi at 1.5 yrs old (13 state mileage)
   • 7 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2017–2023

   Owners report the brake pedal feeling soft or having to be pressed close to the floor to slow the car, and some describe a squishy or grinding sound when braking. A few say the dealer added brake fluid or found a vacuum leak but the pedal feel did not change, and others were told the behavior was normal. Several complaints tie the poor pedal response to near-misses or to a collision that the automatic braking did not prevent. Appears from a few thousand miles up to roughly 70,000 miles, and some owners mention it most in cold, damp morning driving.

   What to check: Test the pedal feel on a cold start and after the car has sat; a firm, high pedal is expected. Ask for brake fluid and vacuum-booster inspection records if the pedal feels low.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “I have had this vehicle for 18,000 miles now and I have noticed serious issues with the braking system. When I apply the brakes, I have to (almost) completely floor the brake pedal in order for the car to stop. I had a 2015 honda cr-v for three years and it never had any issues like that. In other words, the brake pedal is too soft compared to similar vehicles. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11309442, filed 2020-02, 18,000 miles

   “Since I brought this RAV4 when I start driving the first 5 minutes in the morning and cold weather when I step on the brake it's make noise and when I took the car in for 5k,10k,15k and 20k service I told them about the brake and there answer was that's normal. For me this is a brand new car.”

   NHTSA complaint #11321331, filed 2020-04, 4,000 miles
4. 4
   Engine

   Hesitation and delayed acceleration

   • 32 complaints (10%)
   • median 13,400 mi at 2.5 yrs old (20 state mileage)
   • 8 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2017–2026

   Owners describe pressing the accelerator and getting little or no response for several seconds, sometimes with the engine revving without the car moving, and occasional stalling when pulling away. Some report the dealer could not find a fault or reproduce it, while others describe warning messages or codes being stored. A few complaints link the sluggish response to rough or delayed downshifting at moderate speeds. Mostly reported between roughly 10,000 and 70,000 miles, often during passing or merging maneuvers.

   What to check: Drive the car at part and full throttle from a stop and at highway speed, and note any lag or harsh downshifts. Ask whether any transmission or throttle-related software updates were applied.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Car is failing to speed up past 60 unless using cruise control then the car used a lot more gas then normal. I also tried to pass a car to get up to highway speed and was unable to, very dangerous on the highway. Then the car would not go past 40 I tried to switch from eco to sport to normal thinking that maybe the computer was confused but that did nothing. So after trying to speed up multiple times I got a hybrid malfunction light and told to pull over. This has happened to me in the past as well. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11353870, filed 2020-09, 66,000 miles

   “I purchased my 2018 RAV4 in november 2019. I had the car for about 3 months when I drove to work, the car acted sluggish, was pressing on the gas pedal but wasn't going faster. Then I had to go to bank, my car wouldn't move the rpms went up to 5 but car didnt move, finally car jumped so I pressed on gas an it tried to stall so I let off, then car acted like it had power again the car did this all the way to bank. It sat ideal while I was at the bank I noticed the car smelled gassy, then it did the same all the way back to work. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11316432, filed 2020-03, 1,500 miles

Buying note. Focus a used-car inspection on the battery and electrical system, including recall campaign completion and any signs of prior smoke or wiring damage, and test the brakes and accelerator response on a cold start and at highway speed. Ask for service records showing battery replacements and any sunroof glass work.

Summary written with AI from a sample of 60 NHTSA complaints for this model year (picked at random, with complaints that state a mileage and recent ones taken first), then checked automatically against the source records. Where a problem shows a complaint count, every complaint for this model year was matched with fixed keyword rules (written with AI and tested against the sample), and the mileage, age and repair figures are calculated from those complaints; owners' figures are as stated, not verified. Other counts refer to the sample. The excerpts come from NHTSA's public complaint records and are unverified; capitalisation is normalised, NHTSA staff notes are removed, and shortened text ends with “…”. Something wrong? Request a correction.