2015 Toyota RAV4
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Electrical system is the leading concern among 304 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 14th highest complaint count among 26 RAV4 model years with reports.
Of the 2015 reports, 37 involved a crash and 41 involved a fire. 30 people were injured and 1 person died.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Electrical system, 12v/24v/48v batteryNov 1, 2023
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.
A battery short circuit increases the risk of a fire.
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.
Campaign 23V734000 on NHTSA.gov
Steering, electric power assist systemMar 13, 2015
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2015 Camry, Camry Hybrid, Highlander, and Highlander Hybrid, and 2014-2015 Rav4 vehicles. A component of the electric power steering (EPS) electronic control unit (ECU) may have been damaged during the manufacturing process. Over time, this damage may result in failure of the electric power steering system.
An unexpected loss of power steering increases the risk of a crash.
Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the serial number of the EPS ECU or steering column assembly. If the number is within the affected range, the EPS ECU will be replaced, free of charge. The recall began on May 7, 2015. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331.
Campaign 15V144000 on NHTSA.gov
Trailer hitchesJan 16, 2015
Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Toyota Rav4 vehicles manufactured June 1, 2013, to December 29, 2014, and equipped with an accessory trailer light module. The software within the module may incorrectly detect an electrical short and preventively turn off the electrical current and the trailer lights.
If the system incorrectly detects an electrical short and turns off the trailer lights while the trailer is being towed at night, there is an increased risk of a crash.
SET will notify owners, and dealers will replace the trailer light module with a new unit with corrected software, free of charge. The recall began on March 17, 2015. Owners may contact SET customer service at 1-866-405-4226. SET's number for this recall is SET-15A.
Campaign 15V011000 on NHTSA.gov
EquipmentDec 30, 2014
Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain model year 2014-2015 Toyota 4Runner, Tacoma, FJ Cruiser, Land Cruiser, RAV4, Scion FRS, and XB vehicles. The affected vehicles may have accessories installed by SET, such as running boards or other items, that were incorrectly installed. The accessory attaching fasteners were not tightened with the proper torque, possibly causing the accessory to detach from the vehicle.
Accessories that detach from a vehicle may result in a vehicle crash and/or personal injury.
SET will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and tighten the affected bolts, free of charge. The recall began February 23, 2015. Owners may contact SET customer service at 1-866-405-4226. SET's number for this recall is SET-14B.
Campaign 14V828000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints: engine
37 reports, newest first. Show all
Electrical system, Service brakes, Engine, Mar 2, 2026, fire
On Friday February 27, 2026 as the vehicle was being driven it caught fire. Fire department and sheriffs office was called to the scene. Vehicle fire was put out but the whole front end burned.
Engine, Jan 8, 2026
The oil filter housing is made of plastic and can crack when removing and installing and if not alert after an oil change, the engine can blow if oil drains out under pressure.
Electrical system, Engine, Sep 24, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to restart the vehicle however, there were several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V734000 (Electric System); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was approximately 109,643. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
Engine, Jul 2, 2024
The torque converter shudder is defective and causes jolting while driving between 30 and 40 mph
Electrical system, Engine, Feb 4, 2024, fire
When I try to start up my car after a full month of parking as usual I knew already it has a dead battery so I jump started then once it started I heard a very small explosion with smoke coming from underneath the glove compartment then I found a very small fire started from the same place so I left the car and I called 911 who came and extinguished the fire after the entire car was already engulfed and exploded in fire. The car closed the other two cars on both sides to melt partially as well. The picture attached has the incident number.
Engine, Dec 20, 2023
This is concerning a recall. NHTSA recall No. 23V-734. Which can has a potential for vehicle fire. The remedy will not be available to mid 2024. This is a long time to drive a vehicle like this with such a high safety risk. I have reached out to Toyota and they have refused to do anything about it such as provide a loaner vehicle while they rectify the issue. My life and my families life is at risk driving this vehicle .
Engine, Nov 9, 2023, fire
The contact owns a 2015 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel was inoperable and all the warning lights illuminated. The steering wheel was seized and the vehicle lost motive power in the middle of the street. The contact's daughter noticed the vehicle was smoking from under the hood. The contact's daughter exited the vehicle and the vehicle caught on fire. The fire department arrived and extinguished the fire. A fire or police report was not filed. The vehicle was towed to the tow yard. The insurance company declared the vehicle a total loss. The contact was informed of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V734000 (Electrical System), however, the contact stated he did not receive the recall notification. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000.
Engine, Aug 7, 2023
The engine oil is being consumed faster than normal. I have to keep taking it in for oil because the oil light turns on before the 5k miles!!
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Engine, Mar 9, 2023, fire
Approximately two minutes after turning the vehicle off, smoke started coming from the engine area. Within the next two minutes, flames emerged. The fire quickly engulfed the vehicle in flames causing a total loss. The fire department declared it a loss and stated a cause will likely not be known by them. I was not in the vehicle at the time of the smoke. A truck next to the vehicle quickly moved away. Insurance company is in route to investigate. No warning signs prior.
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Engine, Feb 25, 2023, fire
Today I started my RAV4 in my driveway to warm it up and went back in the house. Approximatly 5-10 minutes later someone knocked on the door to let me know the car was on fire. The fire department said it was likley that the fire started in the engine and spread to the rest of the vehicle.
Engine, Feb 13, 2023, fire
The contact owned a 2015 Toyota Rav-4. The contact stated that while her son was driving at 60 MPH, he heard an abnormal, popping sound as a burning odor began to emit from the vehicle. Her son and the other occupants immediately exited as flames began to emit from the vehicle's engine. The fire and police departments arrived at the scene and the fire was extinguished. No one was injured due to the failure. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed from the scene and taken to an independent tow yard. The dealer nor the manufacturer were notified of the failure. The vehicle was totaled. The failure mileage was unknown.
Electrical system, Engine, Nov 3, 2022, fire
Car caught on fire in my driveway .
Engine, Aug 24, 2022
The car hesitates when I press the gas and also does this when the cruise control is activated
Engine, Jul 22, 2022
OUR 2015 RAV 4 IS EXPERIENCING A TORQUE CONVERTER SHUDDER AT ABOUT 40MPH. WE CAN FEEL THIS RATTLE OR AS TOYOTA HAS EXPLAINED IN A WARRANTY POLICY BULLETIN # POL17-06 DATED 9-15-2017 AND REVISED IN 2021, A SHUDDER, AND HAVE CONCERNS FOR OUR SAFETY WHILE DRIVING. OUR MECHANIC TEST DROVE THE CAR AND FELT THE SHUDDER. HE THEN PROVIDED THE WARRANTY POLICY BULLETIN WHICH WE THEN PRESENTED TO BALISE TOYOTA ON POST RD IN RHODE ISLAND. THEY ALSO DOCUMENTED AND EXPERIENCED THE SHUDDER CONFIRMING OUR CONCERNS AND THOSE OF OUR MECHANIC. BALISE TOYOTA TOLD US OUR vin # WAS OUTSIDE THE WARRANTY COVERED PERIOD. TOYOTA IS COVERING VEHICLE TO NOV. 2014 AND OUR VEHICLE WAS PRODUCED FEB. 9, 2015. THE WARRANTY ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM (ZH1) WARRANTY EXTENSION FOR TORQUE CONVERTER SHUDDER ON CERTAIN 2013-2015 MY RAV4 OFFERING A SECONDARY COVERAGE FOR 8 YEARS FROM DATE OF FIRST USE OR 150,000 MILES. OUR VEHICLE FALLS WITHIN THIS COVERAGE ALLOWANCE, TOYOTA CORPORATE REFUSED OUR CLAIM FOR INCLUSION. HOWEVER, WE ARE SUSPICIOUSLY CLOSE TO THE INCLUSION DATE, EXPERIENCING THE VERY ISSUE, HAVE CONFIRMATION FROM A MECHANIC AND THE DEALERSHIP HAS ALSO CONFIRMED EXISTENCE OF PROBLEM UPON TEST DRIVE. WE NOTICED THE SHUDDER ABOUT A MONTH BEFORE HAVING IT CHECKED OUT. I WILL PERSUE TOYOTA FURTHER BUT WOULD LIKETO REPORT THIS ISSUE AS THEY ARE NOT COVERING ALL VEHICLES PRODUCED BETWEEN 2013-2015 AS I THINK THEY SHOULD. MY RAV4 IS BEHAVING EXACTLY AS THEY DESCRIBE A VEHICLE WITH A FAULTY TORQUE CONVERTER WILL. PROBLEM THEY ACKNOWLEDGE THE ISSUE BUT WILL NOT CONSIDER MY CAR AS IT IS OUTSIDE THE DATE THEY HAVE DECIDED TO MAKE. THEY NEED TO EXTEND THAT DATE OUT TO COVER ALL VEHICLES EXPERIECING THE ISSUE.
Steering, Electrical system, Engine, May 23, 2022
Power to the vehicle was lost while making a turn under a stop light. Emergency flashers were used. All dashboard lights came on at the time the vehicle lost power. Radio stopped. The car was turned off and was able to be restarted after several seconds. The danger was having a vehicle stopped under a stop light for several seconds. The problem has yet to be repeated. It happened just this morning 5/23/22. No other warnings were given before loss of power. We have not yet had an inspection by any other parties but will plan on it as we are aware there had been an issue with a 12 volt battery case in the past on this model.
Engine, Mar 3, 2022, fire
The contact's father owned a 2015 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked unattended, the vehicle dashboard spontaneously caught fire. There were no reported injuries or property damage. It was unknown who extinguished the fire. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was approximately 50,000.
Electrical system, Service brakes, Engine, Aug 25, 2021, fire
Slow down to make a right turn, the car completely shut off. Put on emergency lights pulled into nearest safest parking lot, braking systems failed, finally put car in park. Pulled keys out of ignition. Took a look around nothing was physically wrong, got back into vehicle started it, with no problem. Took it through the same parking lot, through the drive-thru. Started smoking at the second window, pulled back into the parking lot, shut off vehicle. Got out of vehicle to access smoke, fire started, got back int car then an explosion. Grabbed my daughter and my things the best I could. There was about two or three more explosions afterwards, the fire department came to take out the flames; this was after other employees from the same area tried to put out the fire with fire extinguishers but it wasn’t much help. It halfway burned into the ground, the Fireman had to use the jaws of life to get the hood off of the car to extinguish the fire.
Engine, Aug 20, 2021, fire
The contact owned a 2015 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while his wife was driving and making a right turn the vehicle loss motive power and stalled without warning. The contact stated that his wife coasted to the side of the road, restarted the vehicle, and several unknown warning lights flashed on the instrument panel and then disappeared. While driving through the drive-thru at McDonalds his wife was notified by an employee of an abnormal burning odor. While pulling out of the drive-thru, the vehicle stalled. The driver restarted the vehicle and pulled into a parking space and the vehicle caught on fire underneath the hood. The contact stated that after his wife removed the child from the vehicle there were a series of explosions. The Fire Department was called out and the fire was extinguished. A fire report was filed. The vehicle was towed from the scene and deemed a total loss. There was no injuries and no medical attention was needed. The dealer and the manufacturer were not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 90,000.
Engine, Aug 18, 2021, fire
The contact owns a 2015 Toyota RAV4. The contact stated that while driving approximately at 45 mph when they noticed the vehicle's speed began to lower as if it wanted to stall. The contact was able to pull over and turn their vehicle off. The contact attempted to restart the vehicle however the vehicle failed to restart. They noticed smoke coming from underneath the hood of the vehicle. The contact opened the hood of the vehicle to cool the vehicle down however in about 1-2 minutes they noticed flames near the engine of the vehicle. The fire department was called and put out the fire. A report was not filed. There were no injuries and no medical assistance needed. The vehicle was towed. The contact was waiting on the status of the vehicle from their insurance report. The dealer was not made aware of the issue. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The approximate failure mileage was unknown.
Other or unspecified, Engine, Jul 28, 2021, fire
Was driving along when some warning lights came on, specifically the check engine light, traction control off light and the AWD light. 2 seconds later I heard a loud pop, saw smoke coming from the hood. I pulled over and looked in the engine compartment and saw flames. I suspect the coolant line popped and caught fire. My safety could have been at risk if the battery exploded or oil/gas components were to catch fire. The car is currently at a dealer to be inspected. A NHP accident report was filled out and can be available if needed.
Electrical system, Engine, Jul 24, 2021, fire
Driver was driving on the highway when the screen turned off and on and the steering wheel seized momentarily. Approximately 5 minutes later, screen went blank again and could not accelerate. Driver pulled over to the side of the road. Strange noises were coming from under the hood and the car starting smoking and then caught on fire.
Electrical system, Engine, Jul 15, 2021, fire
The contact owned a 2015 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that after pulling into the driveway after driving for approximately 30 minutes, the contact parked and exited the vehicle. The contact stated that approximately 10 minutes later there was a loud explosion heard. The contact looked out to see the vehicle on fire. The fire department was called and extinguished the fire. The contact was unsure if a fire report was filed. The vehicle was deemed a total loss. The cause of the failure was unknown. There were no injuries sustained. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 123,000. The VIN was not provided.
Engine, Mar 9, 2021, fire
I WAS DRIVING WITH MY 2 SONS FROM JFK AIRPORT TO WOODSIDE, QUEENS IN NEW YORK. WE JUST GOT OFF THE VAN WYKE HIGHWAY AND WERE TRAVELING WEST ON QUEENS BOULEVARD. THE SPEED LIMIT ON QUEENS BOULEVARD IS 25. WE WERE APPROACHING A RED LIGHT WHEN WE NOTICED SMOKE COMING FROM THE UNDER THE HOOD. I PULLED OVER AND TURNED OFF THE CAR, WHEN WE GOT OUT OF THE CAR WE NOTICED THERE WERE FLAMES STARTING TO COME OUT FROM UNDER THE HOOD. WE IMMEDIATELY GRABBED OUR ITEMS, PURSE, PHONE, COATS AND GOT AWAY SAFELY FROM THE CAR. WE CALLED 911 AND WITHIN A FEW MINUTES THE FIRE DEPARTMENT ARRIVED AND PUT OUT THE CAR. THE WHOLE FRONT OF OUR CAR AND DASH WERE BURNED AS WELL AS PART OF THE DRIVERS SEAT. OUR INSURANCE STATED THE CAR WAS TOTALED. OUR CAR WAS INSPECTED IN DECEMBER AND HAD LESS THAN 5,000 MILES. WE PURCHASED THE CAR NEW FROM TOYOTA IN 2015 AND HAD IT SERVICED BY THE DEALER EVERY 6 MONTHS. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT SAID LEAVES HAD CAUGHT FIRE, BUT IT HAD RAINED THAT DAY AND THE ENGINE SHOULD NOT GET HOT ENOUGH TO LIGHT LEAVES ON FIRE. AN ENGINE FIRE ON A 2015 CAR WITH LESS THAN 5000 MILES SHOULD NOT HAPPEN.
Steering, Electrical system, Engine, Mar 3, 2021
CAR RANDOMLY SHUT OFF ON MONDAY OF THIS YEAR.ALSO THE RADIO IS DEFECTIVE AND CAR TRY'S TO SWITCH GEARS WHILE DRIVING
Steering, Electrical system, Engine, Jan 24, 2021
DRIVING NORMAL, MADE A RIGHT TURN AND CAR SUDDENLY RESTARTS, STEERING WHEEL LOCKS UP DURING TURN FOR A COUPLE SECONDS. ELECTRIC RESTART ENGINE AND TURNS OFF THE CAR AND CAN'T GAS IT, ONLY BRAKE. CAR COMES BACK ON WITHOUT ME TURNING IT ON AND DOES NOT HAPPEN AGAIN REST OF THE DRIVE. DRIVING NORMAL FOR 2 DAYS AND ON THE 3RD DAY, ENGINE RESTARTS AGAIN RANDOMLY WHILE MAKING A RIGHT TURN, SAME EXACT DESCRIPTION AS DESCRIBED PREVIOUSLY. DRIVEN CAR FOR A DAY AND INCIDENT HASN'T REPEATED YET. BUT, NOW NOT SURE IF THIS AFFECTED IT, SENSORS OF CAR DOOR OPEN SIGN IS ON WHEN CAR IS TURNED OFF AND ALL DOORS AND WINDOWS ARE IN PLACE FOR LOCKING. ONLY WHEN CAR IS OFF AND I CANNOT FIX IT.