"How reliable is the 1999 Toyota Rav4?"

"Based on 75 NHTSA complaints, the 1999 Toyota Rav4 has a median complaint mileage of 114000 miles. The most common issue is Vehicle Speed Control."

"What are common problems with the 1999 Toyota Rav4?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 1999 Toyota Rav4 is Vehicle Speed Control, accounting for a significant portion of the 75 total complaints filed."

1999 Toyota Rav4: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 75 complaints

Total Complaints

114,000mi

Median Mileage

Vehicle Speed Control

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

87,174 25th Percentile

114,000 Median Mileage

142,254 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

Vehicle Speed Control

Air Bags

Frontal

Electrical System

Body

Frame And Members

Tank Assembly

Manual Transmission

Foundation Components

Control Arm

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"WHEN USING CRUISE CONTROL IT WOULD NOT DISENGAGE WHEN TOUCHING THE BRAKES LIGHTLY. DEALER WAS NOTIFIED ABOUT THE PROBLEM. PROBLEM HAS BEEN CORRECTED. *AK"

"CONSUMER WAS DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 65- 70 MPH ON HIGHWAY AND DROVE OVER EITHER UNEVEN PAVEMENT OR SMALL ROCK, CAUSING VEHICLE TO FLIP OVER 3 TIMES OR MORE WHICH CAUSED SERIOUS INJURIES.*AK"

"VEHICLE WAS PARKED FOR 12 HOURS, FIRE STARTED UNDERNEATH THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT DUE TO THE INSULATION BY THE FUSE BOX CATCHING ON FIRE. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION AND VIN#.*AK"

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

Vehicle Speed Control 11 complaints

Median: 89,348 mi

Body 3 complaints

Median: 189,198 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

CA: 13 WI: 9 NY: 7 IL: 5 KY: 4 PA: 4 CO: 3 TX: 3 VA: 3 CT: 3

Who Files Complaints?

29.3%

Original Owners

70.7%

Second+ Owners

Toyota Rav4 — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
1996	54	70,000	Disc	4
1997	61	110,000	Gasoline	10
1998	92	109,000	Frontal	22
2000	34	96,000	Vehicle Speed Control	6
2001	418	104,568	Automatic Transmission	28
2002	682	93,000	Automatic Transmission	49
2003	392	95,362	Automatic Transmission	24
2004	179	80,125	Air Bags	23
2005	168	80,858	Air Bags	31
2006	880	55,508	Steering	37
2007	1239	65,000	Steering	72
2008	707	66,000	Engine	56
2009	391	30,000	Vehicle Speed Control	69
2010	493	34,325	Suspension	80
2011	400	45,000	Vehicle Speed Control	68
2012	355	27,000	Visibility/Wiper	56
2013	328	17,450	Electrical System	29
2014	267	41,034	Electrical System	33
2015	394	34,000	Electrical System	61
2016	289	19,000	Electrical System	43
2017	405	22,910	Electrical System	53
2018	426	10,610	Electrical System	52
2019	1143	3,790	Fuel/Propulsion System	38
2020	778	2,800	Engine	28
2021	475	14,500	Air Bags	68
2022	183	10,000	Unknown Or Other	23
2023	215	20,050	Unknown Or Other	36
2024	221	9,000	Unknown Or Other	40
2025	65	4,250	Unknown Or Other	11

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28