"How reliable is the 2009 Toyota Rav4?"

"Based on 391 NHTSA complaints, the 2009 Toyota Rav4 has a median complaint mileage of 30000 miles. The most common issue is VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL."

"What are common problems with the 2009 Toyota Rav4?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2009 Toyota Rav4 is VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, accounting for a significant portion of the 391 total complaints filed."

2009 Toyota Rav4: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 391 complaints

391

Total Complaints

30,000mi

Median Mileage

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

8,414 25th Percentile

30,000 Median Mileage

75,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

SUSPENSION

ENGINE

STEERING

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

POWER TRAIN

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC

STRUCTURE:BODY

SERVICE BRAKES

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 TOYOTA RAV4. AFTER PLACING THE VEHICLE INTO PARK, THE CONTACT NOTICED SMOKE UNDER THE HOOD OF THE VEHICLE. THE SMOKE MOSTLY APPEARED ON THE PASSENGER SIDE UNDERNEATH THE DASHBOARD AND WINDSHIELD WIPERS. BY THE TIME THE FIRE DEPARTMENT ARRIVED, THERE WERE VERY STRONG FLA..."

"HEADRESTS VERY UNCOMFORTABLE. *TR"

"WE PURCHASED A NEW RAV4, IN MAY 2009. YESTERDAY WHILE THE CAR WAS PARKED THE LEFT REAR TIRE EXPLOSIVELY BLEW OUT THE SIDEWALL, THE CAR HAS 2400 MILES ON IT. THE PERSON WHO WITNESSED THE FAILURE SAID IT SOUNDED LIKE A SHOTGUN BLAST. I ALSO FOUND THIS IN OUR TOYOTA VEHICLE OWNER SERVICE RECORDS: ..."

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 91 complaints

25th: 5,000 mi Median: 12,300 mi 75th: 21,367 mi

SUSPENSION 52 complaints

25th: 29,132 mi Median: 67,865 mi 75th: 84,155 mi

ENGINE 26 complaints

25th: 33,990 mi Median: 61,534 mi 75th: 92,625 mi

STEERING 24 complaints

25th: 33,000 mi Median: 49,500 mi 75th: 81,000 mi

UNKNOWN OR OTHER 20 complaints

25th: 33,000 mi Median: 65,400 mi 75th: 131,000 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

MA: 31 NY: 28 FL: 28 CA: 26 OH: 25 PA: 22 TX: 18 WA: 16 MI: 16 IL: 16

Who Files Complaints?

3.8%

Original Owners

96.2%

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
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
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