2004 Toyota RAV4 problems and complaints

Owners have filed 154 complaints with NHTSA about the 2004 Toyota RAV4. The most-reported areas: Air Bags (47), Power Train (23), Vehicle Speed Control (20).

Key takeaways

  • 154 owner complaints on file with NHTSA.
  • 16 involve a crash, 4 a fire, 15 reported injuries.
  • Complaints are unverified owner reports; recalls are confirmed defects.
Complaints by component
ComponentComplaintsShare
Air Bags4731%
Power Train2315%
Vehicle Speed Control2013%
Engine And Engine Cooling1812%
Engine117%
Electrical System106%
Service Brakes85%
Electronic Stability Control (esc)75%
Visibility75%
Unknown Or Other64%
Visibility/Wiper43%
Structure43%

One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.

NHTSA 5-Star crash ratings
VersionOverallFrontSideRollover
2004 Toyota RAV4 4-DR.Not ratedNot ratedNot ratedNot rated

Latest complaints, as filed

Owner-written and unverified by NHTSA.

Suspension - filed 2026-07-31

Rear suspension control arm assembly (that supports the springs, control arm rods, shocks, as well as the the hub, brakes and wheel ) breaks completely due to rust and corrosion. It is a poor design that you can see this would happen at the weakest and narrowest section of the part. This causes the entire wheel assembl...

Service Brakes - filed 2026-06-04

The inspection sticker mechanic inspected the car and found the rear brake hoses rubbing against the sway bar indicating that there should be a clip somewhere to prevent rubbing. See picture attached. See if a possible safety recall can be done on all Toyota RAV4 vehicles.

Power Train - filed 2026-04-25

I have 2003 registered as 2004.This vehicle that I has Manufactured November 2003 base on the sicker beside driver side door and it's been registered as 2004 .Now the problem that I have is slow moving to first gear suddenly jump to second gear (This is Automatic Trnasmission) I thought it was accelerator pedal issues...

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More for the 2004 Toyota RAV4

Complaints are reports filed by owners with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them, and counts rise with how many cars were sold, so compare years of the same model rather than different models. Crash ratings are NHTSA's own 5-Star Safety Ratings results.