2018 Toyota RAV4
Hybrid Gas Compact SUV
The 2018 Toyota RAV4 is sold in the U.S. as a hybrid and gas compact SUV with 5 EPA-rated configurations. The most efficient version, the RAV4 Hybrid AWD, is EPA-rated at 32 mpg combined. NHTSA lists 3 recall campaigns for this model year, 1 rated critical, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of C. Owners have filed 345 complaints, most often about electrical system. NHTSA crash-tested it at 5 stars overall.
Specs & fuel economy (EPA)
| Configuration | Powertrain | Drive | Engine / motor | City | Hwy | Comb | Annual fuel* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAV4 Hybrid AWD | Hybrid | AWD | 2.5L 4-cyl + 245V Ni-MH | 34 | 30 | 32 | $1,950 |
| RAV4 LE/XLE | Gas | FWD | 2.5L 4-cyl | 23 | 30 | 26 | $2,400 |
| RAV4 | Gas | FWD | 2.5L 4-cyl | 23 | 29 | 25 | $2,500 |
| RAV4 AWD | Gas | AWD | 2.5L 4-cyl | 22 | 28 | 25 | $2,500 |
| RAV4 Limited AWD/SE AWD | Gas | AWD | 2.5L 4-cyl | 22 | 28 | 24 | $2,600 |
*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year and EPA reference fuel/electricity prices. Source: fueleconomy.gov vehicle records.
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Recalls (3)
Electrical System
criticalProblem: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2013-2018 RAV4 vehicles. Certain replacement 12-volt batteries may not fit properly in the battery tray, allowing the battery to move and contact the hold-down bracket, possibly causing a short circuit.
Risk: A battery short circuit increases the risk of a fire.
Fix: Dealers will replace the battery clamp sub-assembly, battery tray, and positive terminal cover, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed December 27, 2024, to 2013-2014 RAV4 owners. Additional owner notification letters will be mailed in phases, phase 2 will begin on May 14, 2025, and phase 3 in late July 2025. Owners may contact Toyota's customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's numbers for this recall are 23TB13 and 23TA13.
Equipment
minorProblem: Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Toyota Camry, Corolla, Rav4, Sienna, and Yaris iA vehicles equipped with factory-installed floor mats. The load carrying capacity modification label may be incorrect. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims."
Risk: An incorrect label may lead to unintentionally overloading the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: SET will notify owners and provide a corrected label for placement over the inaccurate label, free of charge. The recall began August 23, 2019. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. SET's number for this recall is SET19A.
Equipment
minorProblem: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2017-2018 Toyota 4Runner and Tundra, 2018 Toyota Highlander, RAV4 and Lexus GX460 and 2017 Toyota Sienna and Tacoma vehicles. These vehicles may have incorrect load carrying capacity modification labels. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims."
Risk: An incorrect load information label can result in the operator overloading the vehicle and increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Toyota will notify owners and provide them with corrected labels, free of charge. The recall began on January 23, 2018. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's numbers for this recall are H0Z for Toyota vehicles, and HLF for Lexus vehicles.
NHTSA investigations
Electrical System:Propulsion System — Pedestrian alert sounds (closed)
NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 KG or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after March 1, 2021.On January 27, 2023, NHTSA opened Defect Petition (DP) 22-005 to evaluate the subject matt
Opened Jan 27, 2023 · closed Aug 7, 2023 · action DP22005
Electrical System:12V/24V/48V Battery — Battery Hold Down Bracket Thermal Events (closed)
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Preliminary Evaluation (PE) to understand the contributing factors and frequency of vehicle fires originating from the battery region of the engine compartment in Model Year (MY) 2013-2018 Toyota RAV4 vehicles on 25 February 2021. At the time of opening, ODI attributed eleven allegations and additional EWR events to this PE. PE21005 focused on replacement batteries installed in the subject vehicles. No reported fire event identified in PE21005 involved the originally supplied 12V battery. The reported fires took place in vehicles known to contain aftermarket batteries or whose age exceeded the expected life of the original equipment battery.
Opened Feb 25, 2021 · closed Aug 12, 2024 · action PE21005
Owner complaints
345 complaints filed
33 involved a crash, 32 a fire, 19 injuries, 0 deaths reported by owners.
Filed by year — 2017: 2 · 2018: 37 · 2019: 52 · 2020: 31 · 2021: 42 · 2022: 27 · 2023: 34 · 2024: 45 · 2025: 59 · 2026: 16
Most-cited components
- Electrical System — 132
- Unknown Or Other — 74
- Engine — 32
- Service Brakes — 30
- Power Train — 28
Complaint counts are raw owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many were sold. Use them to spot patterns, not to rank.
Crash ratings
| Configuration | Overall | Frontal | Side | Rollover | Rollover risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SUV AWD | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ | 17% |
| SUV AWD | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ | 17% |
| SUV FWD | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ | 17% |
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program. Standard driver-assist: forward collision warning, lane departure warning, automatic emergency braking.
Compare the 2018 RAV4 with
Other RAV4 model years
2026 RAV4
0 recalls · 28 complaints
C2025 RAV4
4 recalls · 100 complaints
C2024 RAV4
4 recalls · 173 complaints
B2023 RAV4
3 recalls · 159 complaints
B2022 RAV4
2 recalls · 149 complaints
A2021 RAV4
1 recalls · 405 complaints
F2020 RAV4
6 recalls · 646 complaints
F2019 RAV4
8 recalls · 897 complaints
C2017 RAV4
3 recalls · 319 complaints
D2016 RAV4
3 recalls · 255 complaints
Sources & method
Safety Signal starts every model-year at 100 and subtracts points per open NHTSA recall campaign by severity: critical 15 (fire risk, park-outside or do-not-drive advisories), high 8 (brakes, steering, airbags, loss of drive power, structure, battery), moderate 6, minor 3 (software, labels, lighting fixed by an update). Floor 35. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Complaint counts and NHTSA crash ratings are shown separately and are not blended into the grade.
EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records (ids 39373, 39366, 39365, 39371, 39372). Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed weekly.