"How reliable is the 2004 Toyota Rav4?"

"Based on 179 NHTSA complaints, the 2004 Toyota Rav4 has a median complaint mileage of 80125 miles. The most common issue is AIR BAGS."

"What are common problems with the 2004 Toyota Rav4?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2004 Toyota Rav4 is AIR BAGS, accounting for a significant portion of the 179 total complaints filed."

2004 Toyota Rav4: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 179 complaints

179

Total Complaints

80,125mi

Median Mileage

AIR BAGS

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

46,231 25th Percentile

80,125 Median Mileage

116,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

AIR BAGS

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

POWER TRAIN

ENGINE

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"NEW 2004 RAV4 SUFFERS COWL RATTLE WHEN TEMPERATURE IS BELOW 25F AND THE COWL AREA IS DRY. THIS SEEMS TO BE A NEW PROBLEM FOR THE 2004 RAV4 FOR THE DEALER HAS NO CLUE HOW TO FIX IT. PLEASE INVESTIGATE. *LA"

"SUDDEN AND RAPID ACCELERATION WHEN AUTO WAS PUT IN REVERSE. BRAKES DID NOT WORK. CAR FORCED INTO PARK AND CONTINUED TO ROLL BACKWARDS WHILE ENGAGED IN PARK. *AK"

"WHEN I ACCELERATE, THERE IS A WHISTLING/RATTLING NOISE COMING FROM THE ENGINE OR FRONT OF THE CAR. THE DEALERSHIP CLAIMS THAT THIS IS A NORMAL NOISE ASSOCIATED WITH THE INTAKE, BUT NO NEW CAR SHOULD RATTLE/WHISTLE THIS LOUDLY!THE NOISE BECOMES MORE AUDILBLE AS THE ENGINE GETS WARMER OR THE TEMPERATU..."

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.

AIR BAGS 43 complaints

25th: 48,654 mi Median: 85,000 mi 75th: 114,612 mi

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 18 complaints

25th: 41,177 mi Median: 61,000 mi 75th: 80,573 mi

POWER TRAIN 13 complaints

25th: 50,000 mi Median: 94,046 mi 75th: 112,000 mi

ENGINE 11 complaints

25th: 73,984 mi Median: 100,000 mi 75th: 138,425 mi

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 9 complaints

25th: 40,000 mi Median: 91,000 mi 75th: 115,000 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

CA: 24 NY: 23 NJ: 15 MA: 12 FL: 11 PA: 10 NC: 9 MD: 7 IL: 7 TX: 7

Who Files Complaints?

12.8%

Original Owners

87.2%

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	SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:DISC	4
1997	61	110,000	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE	10
1998	92	109,000	AIR BAGS:FRONTAL	22
1999	75	114,000	VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL	18
2000	34	96,000	VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL	6
2001	418	104,568	POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION	28
2002	682	93,000	POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION	49
2003	392	95,362	POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION	24
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