Toyota RAV4 2008

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

0.82 per 1,000

1.8 times this nameplate’s own median · from 112 complaints filed in the first three years, of 574 ever. 95% lower bound 0.67.

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 137 complaints

oil	116	84%
consumption	59	43%
oil consumption	58	42%
excessive oil	32	23%
consumption test	20	15%
between oil	12	9%

Vehicle Speed Control 92 complaints

foot brake	20	22%
put neutral	13	15%
floor mat	11	12%
mat	11	12%
mats	10	11%

Suspension 81 complaints

suspension arm	13	16%
parts distribution	13	16%
distribution disconnect	13	16%
experienced parts	11	14%

When it breaks

23% of reported failures happened before 30,000 miles (median 66,010 miles, from 432 complaints that recorded one).

Failures arrive late and spread out, which looks like wear. Service history matters more than model year here.

What NHTSA did

4 investigations covering this model year, 3 of which list a recall campaign. Owners had filed 41 complaints about this component over roughly 28 months before an investigation opened.

Power Window Master Switch Fire

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:

10216599 · 10229150 · 10229620 · 10236442 · 10240748 · 10245412

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.