2016 Toyota RAV4 Toyota RAV4 2016

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2016 Toyota RAV4 repairs by problem area

Engine (9%)

Transmission and Drivetrain (9%)

Brakes and Traction Control (11%)

Suspension and Steering (9%)

Electrical and Air Conditioning (49%)

Paint, Rust, Leaks, Rattles, and Trim (5%)

Other (9%)

Chart based on 57 repairs.
See TSBs and recalls for the 2016 Toyota RAV4.

2016 Toyota RAV4 repair cost distribution

$2500+ (3%)

$1000 - $2499 (0%)

$500 - $999 (10%)

$100 - $499 (18%)

< $100 (70%)

Worried about potential repair costs? An extended warranty can provide peace of mind.

Chart based on 40 repair trips. The repair cost chart excludes repairs made under warranty, do-it-yourself repairs, and repair trips that include maintenance.

2016 Toyota RAV4 4dr SUV

176-horsepower 2.5L I4 6-speed shiftable automatic FWD

Toyota RAV4 in Florida, United States
Apr 2016 - Jan 2022
Mar 2018

24000 mi
Faulty vacuum pump inside charcoal canister set off check engine light. Charcoal canister replaced under warranty. Car would not start. Jumped twice. Battery replaced. 
Mar 2021

51000 mi

US $300
After updating the navigation system maps SD card the navigation system went into a fatal fault lockup. Toyota replaced the radio at no charge to me other than the cost of labor to the dealer. Unfortunately, the first replacement radio was also bad. All told between diagnosis and repair the car was in the shop about 4 days. Overall, I am very happy with Toyota and the dealer given that my car was out of warranty. This repair would probably have run closer to $4000 if I had to pay out of pocket. 
Toyota RAV4 in Texas, United States
Dec 2016 - Jun 2022
Apr 2018

42000 mi
Rear passenger bearing was bad, replaced under warranty 
Apr 2022

117000 mi

US $155
Dome lights stopped working, traced issue to blown fuse. Tried to replace fuse myself, but it blew 2 more times while trying to install. Thought there was a short. Took in to have it checked, they couldn't find issue and replaced fuse just fine. 
Toyota RAV4 in California, United States
May 2016 - Jun 2022
Apr 2018

24000 mi
Battery died pretty early, covered by warranty 
Toyota RAV4 in South Carolina, United States
Nov 2020 - Jun 2022
Nov 2020

96000 mi

US $15
My remote locks worked intermittently then not at all. I did some research online and found out the small motors for the door locks go bad after a while. I took the door locks out of the front doors, disassembled them (carefully, small parts and a certain way it has to be assembled), disassembled the motors to clean the brushes, re-assembled and everything works. Most people doing the repair just buy the $5 motors online which makes the repair a little easier/quicker but I was curious about how the motors were failing. Prices for the whole lock assembly range from $50 to about $250. 
Toyota RAV4 in Minnesota, United States
Jul 2016 - Feb 2021
Sep 2017

35000 mi
Drivers side back tire had bad wheel bearings 
Toyota RAV4 in California, United States
Jan 2016 - Jun 2018
Apr 2016

4000 mi
First oil change, some problems with navigational system. System screen will go blank for no reason. 
Jun 2018

71000 mi
Routine 

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2016 Toyota RAV4 4dr SUV

176-horsepower 2.5L I4 6-speed shiftable automatic AWD

Toyota RAV4 in California, United States
Nov 2015 - Aug 2017
Jul 2017

32000 mi
Right rear bearing replaced. 
Toyota RAV4 in Ohio, United States
Feb 2016 - Dec 2022
Jun 2018

21700 mi
4-wheel alignment. After previous repair (transfer case oil leak), the dealer left the steering mis-aligned. Toyota has agreed to reimburse the cost of the alignment. Oil leak from transfer case. Major repair requiring removal of steering rack and transfer case from the vehicle. Covered under warranty. Out-of-warranty cost would have been in excess of $1,000. Dealer had to wait 5 days for parts to arrive. 
Mar 2021

42000 mi
Transfer case leaking oil again. Repairs performed under Toyota powertrain warranty. Problem not corrected - started leaking same day car returned from shop. Continuing problem with oil leak from front differential / transfer case. This is a 3rd attempt to correct the same problem. Dealer replaced entire differential / transfer case assembly, tested the vehicle and still leaking. Dealer says that they don't know how to fix the problem, Toyota is mute and does not answer dealers questions. Escalated with Toyota. Problem still not resolved. Car sitting at the dealer waiting for Toyota resolution. Very disappointed by Toyota's terrible warranty service and lack of response to a recurring vehicle problem. A quick summary: 4 repairs / 4 shop visits: 1st repair (in 2018) - 3 days, replaced transfer case seals - fixed oil leak for 2+ yrs 2nd repair - 1 day (almost immediately after the first repair) to correct front wheel alignment that was messed up during transfer case repairs 3rd repair - after 2 yrs oil leaking again, 3 days, dealer removed transfer case, replaced all seals and re-sealed the flange between transfer case and transmission. Brought car back home, oil still leaking 2 hrs later. 4th repair - 13 days in total, dealer replaced complete transfer case ($3k+), tested car, still leaking, dealer decided to keep car for further repairs. Dealer requested authorization to replace transmission, Toyota dragged their feet for a few days but finally agreed. New transmission was installed, picked up car yesterday, has been sitting in the garage for 12 hrs, no sign of oil leak. Over $10k and 20 days to repair a small oil leak. Paid by Toyota under powertrain warranty. They could have saved a lot of money and time if they did it right the first time. A quick research on the internet confirms that it is a fairly common problem, apparently caused by defective transmission cases. They probably have a TSB on this already. So if your 4th gen RAV4 is dripping gear oil on your garage floor, get it fixed before the warranty expires, because otherwise you may end up with a huge repair bill. Or you may chose to ignore it, but eventually the transfer case will end up dry with no lubrication. 
Oct 2021

47000 mi
Another fluid leak from the transmission. Dealer claims that the leak was due to loose vent/breather that wasn't installed properly when the transmission was replaced in March. 
Toyota RAV4 in Washington, United States
Mar 2016 - Oct 2019
Jul 2018

26000 mi

US $600
Worn pads 
Toyota RAV4 in New Hampshire, United States
Aug 2019 - Feb 2022
Oct 2021

64000 mi

US $80
replaced headlight bulbs 
Toyota RAV4 in Virginia, United States
Apr 2016 - Jun 2022
Jan 2022

53000 mi
Center console screw came out causing the top portion of the console to be difficult to open. 
Toyota RAV4 in Oklahoma, United States
Jan 2016 - Jun 2022
Aug 2020

63 mi

US $20
Battery terminal was corroded and needed replacing 
Toyota RAV4 in Alberta, Canada
Nov 2015 - Jun 2019
Sep 2017

42160 mi

C $150
another new battery 
Feb 2019

78120 mi

C $150
another new battery 
Toyota RAV4 in New York, United States
Mar 2016 - Jun 2022
Aug 2017

24000 mi
The car had repeated episodes of all the dashboard warning lights coming on with a warning to take to the dealer. At first it seemed to happen when going over a pothole or bump, but it occurred several times without that happening. The dealer was unable to find or replicate the problem and said we'd need to bring it in when it happens so they can see it. We have not had the opportunity to do so. 
Jun 2018

31000 mi
A sensor was replaced. Warnings that systems weren't working..antilock brakes, cruise control, lane assist, etc. 
Toyota RAV4 in Texas, United States
Nov 2015 - Dec 2019
May 2017

14000 mi
Battery would not hold charge, replaced under warranty. 
Toyota RAV4 in Pennsylvania, United States
Feb 2016 - Dec 2019
Apr 2016

1500 mi
replaced passenger side front window. Damaged before delivery 
Dec 2017

24000 mi
Left rear pads near bare metal, right rear 70%. Replaced both rear under warranty. 
Sep 2019

52000 mi

US $350
Replaced brakes and rotors all 4 wheels. second set. Not holding up well 

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2016 Toyota RAV4 4dr SUV

150-horsepower 2.5L I4 Hybrid CVT AWD

Toyota RAV4 in British Columbia, Canada
Jul 2016 - Aug 2020
May 2018

19840 mi

C $500
Camera sensors failed and this disabled the parking assistance. No damage noted to rear bumper at the time of failure 
Aug 2018

23312 mi

C $65
Gas door sensor failed. Door was closed but engine light came on indicating a failure. I was able to drive to dealer for the repair 
Toyota RAV4 in Massachusetts, United States
Apr 2016 - Jan 2022
Dec 2016

15000 mi
Collision avoidance warning system malfunction 
Toyota RAV4 in Michigan, United States
May 2016 - Jun 2022
Jun 2016 AM/FM section of Entune not working at 51 miles...System reset? 
Nov 2016

4400 mi
Volume level changes...GPS locking-up. Still having problems and we need to take it back...Wow the fun never ends? 
Aug 2017

11000 mi
Dealer says that volume changes when switching between FM and USB/Sirius are normal. No fix for that. The front end on the radio can't hold a signal. GPS fix will cost $165, to fix problems? Oil change a quart over filled. 
Dec 2017

16000 mi
Nav issue plus Pairing 
Oct 2021

43000 mi
Premature brake wear on rotors...Pads glazed at 42k 
Toyota RAV4 in Quebec, Canada
Jul 2019 - Jul 2022
Mar 2020

49910 mi

C $400
front brakes change 
Jul 2022

77345 mi

C $635
The 12v / 335CCa agm battery was out of stock for over 8 months. My Mechanic managed to find one with weakly searches. 
Toyota RAV4 in Maryland, United States
Jan 2016 - Oct 2016
Aug 2016

4600 mi
Wheel lug stud broke during tire change, was repaired at no cost to me by dealer. 
Toyota RAV4 in Pennsylvania, United States
Jan 2016 - Apr 2016
Apr 2016

2000 mi
Navi/head unit lockups. Head unit replaced. 
Toyota RAV4 in California, United States
May 2016 - Jun 2022
Jun 2018

17000 mi
Text messages from my phone are not being displayed on the head unit. Problem went from non-existent the first year, to intermittent the following six months, to most of the time now. Bluetooth is working and the phone is synced. Dealer installed software update. I removed then re-added my phone to the system. Problem still occurs. 
Toyota RAV4 in Alberta, Canada
Feb 2016 - Jun 2022
Dec 2016

11780 mi
JBL radio/GPS/phone unit failed and was replaced under warranty. 
Jun 2017

21700 mi
Power rear door failed. ECU replaced under warranty. 
Toyota RAV4 in New York, United States
Feb 2016 - May 2019
Jun 2018

19000 mi

US $48
Lubricated the liftgate mechanism. 
Toyota RAV4 in Washington, United States
Mar 2016 - Mar 2018
Apr 2017

9500 mi
Rear hatchback motor ceased to open or close rear hatch door after encountering a restriction. Problem is covered under a recall for hatch door control module. Module was replaced under warranty/recall at no charge. 
Toyota RAV4 in Ohio, United States
Dec 2015 - Jun 2022
Apr 2016

5000 mi
Rear hatch would not shut automatically. they had to replace ECU in rear door. 
Dec 2017

40000 mi
water pump leaking replace rear wheel bearing 
Mar 2022

117000 mi

US $50
replaced both headlights, one was out 
Toyota RAV4 in California, United States
Mar 2016 - Aug 2022
Sep 2017

30000 mi
rear back up sensor 
Aug 2022

100000 mi

US $700
water pump leaking 
Toyota RAV4 in Minnesota, United States
Jun 2016 - Jun 2017
Apr 2017

10000 mi
Rear door lock recall. It had appeared to act up once or twice. 
Toyota RAV4 in Ontario, Canada
Oct 2017 - Jun 2022
Feb 2018

35960 mi
Replaced trim pc under roof rack on passenger side. 
Toyota RAV4 in Washington, United States
May 2016 - Sep 2016
Aug 2016 HD Radio malfunctioned and dealer determined the radio head needed to be replaced. 
Toyota RAV4 in Alberta, Canada
Jan 2016 - Jan 2017
Jan 2017 Power Liftgate no longer working 
Toyota RAV4 in Pennsylvania, United States
Feb 2016 - May 2017
May 2016

3700 mi

US $130
had windshield replaced, and technology camera requires re-calibration on new windshield. expensive, not covered by insurance either. had prevent. maint (5K) done at same time. 

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2016 Toyota RAV4 Repair Histories

See our lemon odds and nada odds page to see vehicles with no repairs or vehicles with more than three repairs. To see how frequently 2016 Toyota RAV4 problems occur, check out our car reliability stats.