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2012 Toyota RAV4 recalls, complaints and safety ratings

There are 5 US recalls for the 2012 Toyota RAV4, and 4 in Canada. Owners filed 260 complaints with NHTSA, most often about visibility/wiper. Its best NHTSA overall crash rating is 4 stars.

5US recalls
0urgent recalls
260owner complaints
4★overall crash rating

Is your car affected?

Check by VIN to confirm the exact model and see every recall for it.

Recalls are issued for a make, model and model year. Whether the repair has already been done on one specific car is known only to its manufacturer and dealers. Check your vehicle's official status at nhtsa.gov/recalls or with a dealer.

US recalls (5)

Seat belts: rear/other

2016-02-19 · campaign 16V096000 · 1,123,752 vehicles

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2006-2012 RAV4 vehicles manufactured July 28, 2005, to December 19, 2012, and 2012-2014 RAV4 EV vehicles manufactured July 24, 2012, to August 29, 2014. In the event of a frontal collision, the rear seat belts for the outboard seats may be cut by the seat cushion frame.

Risk and remedy

Risk: A cut seat belt may not properly restrain the seat occupant, increasing their risk of injury in a crash.

Remedy: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will install a protector over both rear seat cushion frames, free of charge. The recall began on June 24, 2016. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is G0F.

Visibility/wiper

2015-09-18 · campaign 15V577000 · 423,456 vehicles

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2009-2012 RAV4 vehicles manufactured October 27, 2008, to December 19, 2012 and 2012-2014 RAV4 EV vehicles manufactured July 24, 2012, to August 29, 2014. In the affected vehicles, water may drip onto the joint that connects the wiper linkage to the wiper motor.

Risk and remedy

Risk: Over time, the dripping water may cause corrosion and wear at the joint, potentially resulting in the separation of the wiper linkage. Once this occurs, the wipers would not function, reducing driver visibility and increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the water diverter channel. In addition, a new wiper linkage with a wiper motor crank arm will be installed. The wiper linkage will have a protective cover over the wiper linkage joint to minimize water splash and a retainer ring to prevent the wiper arm from separating from the wiper motor. The recall began on November 7, 2016. Owners may contact Toyota's customer service number at 1-800-331-4331.

Electronic stability control (esc)

2014-02-12 · campaign 14V054000 · 261,114 vehicles

Toyota is recalling certain model year 2012 and 2013 Toyota Tacoma and Lexus RX350 vehicles and certain model year 2012 Toyota Rav4 vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the brake system contains a brake actuator that adjusts the fluid pressure of each wheel cylinder. An electrical component within the actuator may experience an increased resistance resulting in the illumination of various warning lights, including those for the Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) system, Antilock Brake System (ABS), and Traction Control system.

Risk and remedy

Risk: If this occurs, these systems could become inoperative, reducing the directional control assistance, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Toyota will notify owners, and Toyota and Lexus dealers will update the software for the Skid Control electronic control unit, free of charge. The recall began on March 28, 2014. Owners may contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331.

Equipment: other, labels

2013-04-09 · campaign 13V123000 · 7,525 vehicles

Southeast Toyota is recalling certain model year 2008 and 2010-2013 Toyota Tundra, 2010-2012 Rav4, 2012 Toyota Sequoia, 2010-2011 Toyota Corolla, 2010-2011 Toyota Camry and Camry Hybrid, 2010-2013 Toyota Highlander and Highlander Hybrid, 2010-2013 Toyota FJ Cruiser, 2011 Toyota Land Cruiser, 2010-2013 Toyota Venza, 2010-2011 Toyota 4Runner, 2010-2013 Toyota Tacoma, 2011-2012 Toyota Sienna, 2012 Toyota Prius, 2013 Scion FR-S, 2011 Scion XD, 2011 Scion XB, and 2012 Scion TC vehicles. These vehicles were sold with labels that were outside the allowable one percent of accuracy of actual weight added. Thus, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) Number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims."

Risk and remedy

Risk: An inaccurate label could lead to owners overloading their vehicles and tires. An overloaded vehicle can result in a tire failure which may result in a vehicle crash, personal injury, or property damage.

Remedy: Southeast Toyota will notify owners and provide a corrected label with instructions concerning its installation. A small group of the affected vehicles will need additonal remedies which are still being developed. The recall began on May 28, 2013. Owners may contact Southeast Toyota at 1-800-301-6859.

Seats

2013-01-16 · campaign 13V014000 · 3,235 vehicles

Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain models interspersed through model years 2009 through 2013 as follows: model year 2009-2012 Tacoma, 4Runner, Camry, Camry Hybrid, Prius, and RAV4; model year 2009-2010 Avalon, FJ Cruiser, and Highlander Hybrid; model year 2010-2013 model year Corolla, Sienna and Tundra; model year 2009-2013 Highlander and Venza; model year 2012 Prius V; and model year 2010-2012 Sequoia. During modification by SET to include accessories such as leather seat covers, seat heaters or headrest DVD systems, these vehicles may not have had the passenger seat occupant sensing system calibration tested. Without passing the calibration test, the occupant sensing system may not operate as designed.

Risk and remedy

Risk: If the front passenger seat occupant sensing system is out of calibration, the front passenger airbags may not deploy or they may deploy inappropriately for the passenger's size and position. This could increase the risk of personal injury during the event of a vehicle crash necessitating airbag deployment.

Remedy: Southeast Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will test the sensitivity of the occupant detection sensors, and recalibrate them as necessary. The recall began on March 21, 2013. Owners may contact Southeast Toyota at 1-800-301-6859.

Canadian recalls (4)

Show 4 Canadian recalls

Electrical

2021-11-24 · campaign 2021-723

Issue: This recall is for certain block heater kits installed on certain vehicles or sold as accessories at Toyota or Lexus dealerships. On certain vehicles, the engine block heater cable may not have enough heat protection and could be damaged by high temperatures. If this happens, the cable could short circuit while plugged in, and cause the wiring to overheat or melt. Note: This recall only affects the following block heater/cord part numbers: C014003034 PK5A408J09 PU14000904 C014003151 PK5A408J13 PU14000905 C014000885 PK5A489J11 PU14000907 C014000888 PK5A489J22 PU14000909 C014000907 PK5A410H00 PU14000911 C014100904 PU14000900 PU14000913 C014100907 PU14000901 PU14003571 C014100911 PU14000902 PK5A489J14 PK5A408J05 PU14000903 Safety Risk: Engine block heater wiring that overheats or melts could create the risk of a fire. Corrective Actions: Toyota recommends that you should stop using the engine block heater immediately. Toyota will notify owners by mail and instruct you to take your vehicle to a dealer to disable the engine block heater. For some vehicles, the corrective actions for this recall are under development. For others, a new engine block heater cannot be installed, and the owner will receive a refund of the purchase price of the engine block heater.

Seats and restraints

2016-02-17 · campaign 2016-075

On certain vehicles, in the event of a severe frontal collision, there is a possibility that the webbing of the seat belt in both second-row outboard seating positions could contact a portion of the metal seat cushion frame, become cut, and separate. If this occurs, the seat belt may not properly restrain the occupant, which could increase the risk of injury. Correction: Dealers will install plastic protectors on the seat cushion frame in both second-row outboard seating positions.

Structure

2015-09-17 · campaign 2015-409

On certain vehicles equipped with a water channel located underneath the cowl louver at the base of the windshield and above the windshield wiper link assembly, due to stresses applied to the water channel during the manufacturing process, a section of the channel in some vehicles may become deformed and prevent water from draining properly. If water were to collect in the channel, it may drip onto the joint that connects the windshield wiper link and wiper motor. Over time, water dripping on this joint could result in corrosion and/or wear to the joint, which could result in the separation of the wiper link from the wiper motor crank arm. If separation were to occur, the windshield wipers could become inoperative, which could limit the driver’s visibility under certain operating conditions which may increase the risk of a crash causing injury and/or damage to property. Correction: Dealers will replace the water channel, the wiper link and wiper motor crank arm with ones of an improved design.

Brakes

2014-02-12 · campaign 2014-043

On certain vehicles, a manufacturing defect could affect the functioning of the electric brake actuator, illuminating various warning lights in the instrument panel of the vehicle and disabling the antilock braking system (ABS), traction control and vehicle stability control systems. This could increase the risk of a crash causing injury and/or property damage. Correction: Dealers will update the vehicle stability control ECU software and affect repairs as necessary.

Owner complaints (260)

Owners filed 260 complaints with NHTSA about the 2012 Toyota RAV4 (36 crashes, 4 fires, 22 injuries reported). Among 32 model years of this model, it ranks #16 for the most complaints (median 260).

Most-reported problemComplaints
Visibility/wiper53
Vehicle speed control49
Service brakes34
Electrical system30
Seat belts30
Unknown or other26
Engine22
Air bags22

Crash test ratings

NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings for the 2012 Toyota RAV4.

VersionOverallFrontalSideRollover
2012 Toyota RAV4 SUV FWD4★4★5★4★
2012 Toyota RAV4 SUV AWD4★4★5★4★

Fuel economy

EPA ratings for each 2012 Toyota RAV4 version.

VersionCity MPGHighway MPGCombinedYearly fuel cost
RAV4 2WD 2.5 L Automatic 4-spd212824$2,800
RAV4 2WD 3.5 L Automatic 5-spd192622$3,050
RAV4 4WD 2.5 L Automatic 4-spd212723$2,900
RAV4 4WD 3.5 L Automatic 5-spd192622$3,050
RAV4 EV Automatic (variable gear ratios)787476$1,000
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Sources: NHTSA recalls, complaints and 5-Star Safety Ratings, US EPA fuel economy and Transport Canada's Vehicle Recalls Database (contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada). Recalls updated 2026-10-30.