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Toyota · NHTSA safety record

2026 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

Owners have filed 35 safety complaints about the 2026 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid with the US government. Of those, 3 describe a crash, 6 people were injured and no death is recorded. One recall campaign is open against it, covering equipment.

The most complained-about system is forward collision avoidance, named in 11 complaints, 31% of the total.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers March 2026 to November 2026 · How this is counted

What is on file

35 complaints on file

35

Complaints

3

Describe a crash

0

Mention fire

6

People injured

0

Deaths

A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.

A recall is the manufacturer conceding a defect, and the repair is free. Whether one covers your particular car is a question only its VIN can answer, because a campaign covers a production range rather than a model year.

Which system owners named

Complaints naming each system
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 16 · 46%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 11 · 31%
STRUCTURE 5 · 14%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 4 · 11%
AIR BAGS 3 · 9%
SERVICE BRAKES 3 · 9%
LANE DEPARTURE 2 · 6%
WHEELS 2 · 6%
BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 · 3%
Chest Clip, Buckle, Harness 1 · 3%
ENGINE 1 · 3%
SEAT BELTS 1 · 3%
0 8 15

Red marks a system with a recall campaign against it. One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 35.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program

NHTSA has not crash tested the 2026 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid. Its New Car Assessment Program tests a selection of each year's vehicles and does not reach motorcycles, heavy trucks, motorhomes or most low-volume models, so an absence here says nothing about how the vehicle would perform. It is not a low score.

What owners have reported about this vehicle is below, and it is a different question: a crash test measures what happens to the people inside in a controlled impact, while a complaint records what broke during ordinary use.

Recall campaigns

1 on file

EQUIPMENT:OTHER:LABELS

26V571000 · September 2, 2026

The defect
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2024 Toyota Tacoma Hybrid, 2025 Tundra Hybrid, Tundra, 2026 RAV4 Hybrid, 4Runner i-Force Max Hybrid, and 4Runner vehicles. The load carrying capacity modification label may display inaccurate added weight values. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims."
The risk
A vehicle with an incorrect maximum capacity weight value may be overloaded, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the load carrying capacity modification label, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed October 18, 2026. Owners may contact Toyota's customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is 26TA18.

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing · up to 135 vehicles across all model years covered

In owners’ own words

Quoted from the complaint file

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

AIR BAGS

2 injured · crash · towed

My wife and I were involved in a bad accident in [XXX] on XXX and the main point of impact was the front of the of the vehicle. A driver ran a red light and impacted with our suv. The front was taken off of the vehicle yet no airbags were deployed. The main fuse block is up front in the engine bay and it was damaged during the crash we were bruised up and hurting pretty badly after the crash, A system malfunction lamp illuminated immediately after the crash. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA complaint 11757392. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

2 injured · crash · towed

On September 10th my wife and I were driving on IN-66 and a Corvette ran us off of the road. We went into a culvert, up and embankment and crashed into a tree and fence. Our speed was approximately 50 mph. Our front end was heavily damaged and our airbags did not deploy.

NHTSA complaint 11765684. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SUSPENSION

1 injured · crash · towed

While driving my 2026 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid (VIN [XXX], approximately 354 miles on the odometer), I was involved in a frontal collision. Event Data Recorder (EDR) data retrieved from the vehicle's Airbag Control Module via Bosch CDR tool confirms the following: The Pre-Collision System (PCS) On/Off switch was ON and the system reported "Enable" status (no fault/DTC) throughout the 5-second pre-crash window. The Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) system status was recorded as "On, Non-Engaged" for the entire pre-crash window. The PCS-PBA Request Flag (which would indicate the system requested automatic brake assist) remained OFF for the entire pre-crash window — the system never requested

NHTSA complaint 11759205, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STRUCTURE:BODY

1 injured

This RAV4 has a feature that allows you to open the Liftgate by passing you foot under the rear bumper. My wife opens the liftgate using this feature. On two occasions while she is loading my Walker into the back of the car the liftgate suddenly senses her feet (or something) under the back of the car and closes the liftgate, knocking her to the ground and seriously hurting her from the fall. I believe this under bumper trigger should only be available to open the liftgate and not for closing. I have disabled this feature.

NHTSA complaint 11775798. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Every time I go through the car wash, the electrical charging port door comes open. I believe this is a design defect in that water could enter the charging port electrical connection causing a electrical short and/or a fire. This seems to happen because the automated wash brushes push against the port door which allows the door to then swing open subjecting it to the elements.

NHTSA complaint 11775250. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Sunglass holder randomly pops open. This is dangerous as sometimes when the holder pops open, the sunglasses will fall out and is a distraction while driving. The dealer was told of the problem but didn't fix it because they said they couldn't reproduce it. No system msgs or warnings.

NHTSA complaint 11774972. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Several times I have had my overhead sunglasses holder fall open and the sunglasses fall out and hit me in the head or face. It is extremely dangerous because it happens fast and almost caused me an accident. Toyota is replacing them with an identical product which is giving the same issue.

NHTSA complaint 11774832. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

WHEELS
I have owned my RAV4 Hybrid for 3 months and have never felt safe to drive it. There seems to be some brake and stability control issues. On October 25, 2026, as I was driving on a wet road and turning a corner, the car slid and lost control, causing the side to slide against a cement wall on the freeway. This cause wheel damage to the vehicle. This is the not first time this car has felt unsteady while driving. I owned a previous 2024 RAV4 with no issues. I am suffer from anxiety and now PTSD and do not want to drive this car. I have an appointment with the dealership on October 30, 2026 for a check up.

NHTSA complaint 11774544. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
National glass shortage The back glass shattered for no reason while parked at home. It can completely separate from the bottom of the glass. Broken into many tiny pieces.

NHTSA complaint 11774146. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2025 5 2 —
2023 9 1 —
2021 22 1 —
2020 13 5 —
2019 22 3 —
2018 15 0 —
2017 14 0 —

Other 2026 Toyota models

Camry Hybrid 145 Grand Highlander 52 Tundra 37 BZ 23 Sienna Hybrid 21 Corolla 18 RAV4 Plug-IN Hybrid 14 4Runner 8

Complaints on file, same model year.

Every Toyota on this site — 284 vehicles.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. How many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst