2002 Toyota Rav4: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 682 complaints
682
Total Complaints
93,000mi
Median Mileage
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Top Issue
49
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

73,072 25th Percentile
93,000 Median Mileage
118,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
255
POWER TRAIN
118
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
88
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
34
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
23
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
23
ENGINE
22
AIR BAGS
17
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)
16
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
13

Severity Assessment

49
Crashes
20
Fires
71
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"RE: FUEL THROTTLE LINKAGE FAILURE: HIGH IDLE SPEED; UNPREDICTABLE IDLE SPEED OSCILLATION / SURGES, UNPREDICTABLE ACCELERATION / DECELERATION (PARTICULARLY WHEN ENGINE IS COLD). CAR WILL SOMETIMES FAIL TO DECELERATE AFTER TAKING FOOT OFF GAS WHEN AT LOW SPEEDS (10-25 MPH), FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN TURNING..."
"RE: FUEL THROTTLE LINKAGE FAILURE: HIGH IDLE SPEED; UNPREDICTABLE IDLE SPEED OSCILLATION / SURGES, UNPREDICTABLE ACCELERATION / DECELERATION (PARTICULARLY WHEN ENGINE IS COLD). CAR WILL SOMETIMES FAIL TO DECELERATE AFTER TAKING FOOT OFF GAS WHEN AT LOW SPEEDS (10-25 MPH), FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN TURNING..."
"ENGINE COMPARTMENT CAUGHT ON FIRE RIGHT AFTER CONSUMER PARKED VEHICLE. CONTACTED DEALER, AND THE DEALER WAS NOT WILLING TO DO ANYTHING.*AK"

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

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