2004 Toyota RAV4 problems
Owners have filed 183 complaints about the 2004 Toyota RAV4 with NHTSA. Air bags account for 26.2% of them — the clear leader, ahead of power train at 12.6%.
Complaints183
Crashes23
Fires5
Injuries21
Deaths0
What owners report breaking
Air bags 26.2% · 48
Power train 12.6% · 23
Vehicle speed control 10.9% · 20
Engine and engine cooling 10.4% · 19
Engine 6.0% · 11
Electrical system 5.5% · 10
Electronic stability control (ESC) 3.8% · 7
Visibility 3.8% · 7
Severity
Of those complaints, 23 describe a crash, 5 describe a fire and 21 report an injury.
Reading the numbers
Across the 25 model years of the Toyota RAV4 in this data, 2004 draws comparatively few complaints; 2007 is the outlier year.
Filings are rising — 10 in the last three years against 6 in the three before. For a vehicle this age that usually points to a wear-related failure owners are hitting now.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 80,125 miles.
In owners' own words
Takata recall. The contact owns a 2004 Toyota RAV4. The contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 15v284000 (air bags); however, the part needed to repair the vehicle was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was notified of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect. Air bags
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota RAV4. The contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 15v284000 (air bags), however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. 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 contact had not experienced a failure. Updated 11/20/15*lj updated 2/3/2016 Air bags
Toyota sent out safety recall notice on 13 may 2015 about the front driver airbag inflator, until today the 25 june 2015 the remedy is still not available. I am concerned about my own safety driving this car and/or the road safety. Since it is the driver's airbag that has problem, I highly demand to have all the 2004-2005 model year RAV4 collected back to Toyota for a full check up or replacement. Air bags · reported at 158,000 miles
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…