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2017 Toyota RAV4

HybridGas

Small Sport Utility Vehicle 4WD
5 EPA-rated configurations
Data refreshed 2026-09-11

Safety Signal

74 / 100 from the NHTSA recall record

Recalls1 critical3

Complaintsowner reports to NHTSA319

Crash ratingNHTSA overall5★

Fuel economybest combined, EPA32 mpg

2026 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016

The 2017 Toyota RAV4 is sold in the U.S. as a hybrid and gas compact SUV with 5 EPA-rated configurations. The most efficient version, the RAV4 Hybrid AWD, is EPA-rated at 32 mpg combined. NHTSA lists 3 recall campaigns for this model year, 1 rated critical, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of C. Owners have filed 319 complaints, most often about the electrical system. NHTSA crash-tested it at 5 stars overall.

Specs & fuel economy

Source: EPA fueleconomy.gov

Configuration	Powertrain	Drive	Engine / motor	City	Hwy	Comb	Annual fuel*
RAV4 Hybrid AWD	Hybrid	AWD	2.5L 4-cyl + 245V Ni-MH	34	30	32	$1,950
RAV4 LE/XLE	Gas	FWD	2.5L 4-cyl	23	30	26	$2,400
RAV4	Gas	FWD	2.5L 4-cyl	23	29	25	$2,500
RAV4 AWD	Gas	AWD	2.5L 4-cyl	22	28	25	$2,500
RAV4 Limited AWD/SE AWD	Gas	AWD	2.5L 4-cyl	22	28	24	$2,600

*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year at EPA reference fuel and electricity prices. fueleconomy.gov record ids: 38075, 38071, 38070, 38073, 38074.

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Recalls (3)

Source: NHTSA recall database

!critical

Electrical System

23TB13 / 23TA13

1,853,568 vehicles

ProblemToyota 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.RiskA battery short circuit increases the risk of a fire.FixDealers 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.

NHTSA campaign 23V734000reported Nov 1, 2023Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing

○minor

Equipment

SET19A

1,325 vehicles

ProblemSoutheast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Toyota Camry, Corolla, Rav4, Sienna, and Yaris iA vehicles equipped with factory-installed floor mats. The load carrying capacity modification label may be incorrect. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims."RiskAn incorrect label may lead to unintentionally overloading the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.FixSET will notify owners and provide a corrected label for placement over the inaccurate label, free of charge. The recall began August 23, 2019. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. SET's number for this recall is SET19A.

NHTSA campaign 19V503000reported Jun 28, 2019Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC

▲high

Tires

17R2

409 vehicles

ProblemGulf States Toyota, Inc. (Gulf States) is recalling certain 2017 4Runner , 86, Avalon, Camry, Camry Hybrid, Corolla, Corolla iM, Highlander, Highlander Hybrid, Prius, Prius C, RAV4, RAV4 Hybrid, Sienna and Yaris vehicles. The spare tire air pressure was not adjusted to the proper pressure as stated on the Tire Pressure Label.RiskA spare tire that is not inflated to the proper value may not perform as intended, increasing the risk of a crash.FixGulf States will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the spare tires, adjusting their pressure as necessary, free of charge. The recall began June 15, 2017. Owners may contact Gulf States customer service at 1-800-444-1074. Toyota's number for this recall is 17R2.

NHTSA campaign 17V295000reported May 2, 2017Gulf States Toyota, Inc.

NHTSA defect investigations

Electrical System:Propulsion System — Pedestrian alert sounds closed

NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 KG or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after March 1, 2021.On January 27, 2023, NHTSA opened Defect Petition (DP) 22-005 to evaluate the subject matt

Opened Jan 27, 2023 · closed Aug 7, 2023 · action DP22005

Electrical System:12V/24V/48V Battery — Battery Hold Down Bracket Thermal Events closed

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Preliminary Evaluation (PE) to understand the contributing factors and frequency of vehicle fires originating from the battery region of the engine compartment in Model Year (MY) 2013-2018 Toyota RAV4 vehicles on 25 February 2021. At the time of opening, ODI attributed eleven allegations and additional EWR events to this PE. PE21005 focused on replacement batteries installed in the subject vehicles. No reported fire event identified in PE21005 involved the originally supplied 12V battery. The reported fires took place in vehicles known to contain aftermarket batteries or whose age exceeded the expected life of the original equipment battery.

Opened Feb 25, 2021 · closed Aug 12, 2024 · action PE21005

Owner complaints

Source: NHTSA complaint database

319complaints filed

34 involved a crash · 24 a fire · 30 injuries · 2 deaths reported

Filed per year: 2016: 3 · 2017: 44 · 2018: 37 · 2019: 27 · 2020: 29 · 2021: 30 · 2022: 24 · 2023: 31 · 2024: 47 · 2025: 37 · 2026: 10

Most-cited components

Electrical System111

Unspecified64

Service Brakes39

Exterior Lighting31

Engine31

Air Bags20

What owners describe

“The contact owns a 2017 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid. The contact stated that on numerous occasions while the vehicle was being charged, the battery intermittently failed to charge. As a result, the vehicle failed to start. The contact stated that unknown warning lights were illuminated but turned off after the battery was on ch…”Sep 14, 2023 · Electrical System · NHTSA owner report

“My vehicle is on it's 3rd replacement in less than 5 years because it randomly fails. It will not start. This is after I had recently taken my vehicle in for service, where the service technicians have checked the battery performance as "Good". There have never been any warnings before my vehicle would not start. Absol…”Aug 27, 2022 · Electrical System · NHTSA owner report

“While traveling around 40 mph on a roadway another vehicle ran a stop sign approximately 2 feet in front of my vehicle. This vehicle came onto the roadway from a side road at a sustained speed with no braking. I swerved to avoid impact and went over an embankment. The vehicle sustained extensive damage to the front and…”Aug 22, 2022 · Air Bags · NHTSA owner report

Complaint counts are raw owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many were sold. Use them to spot patterns, not to rank.

Crash ratings

Source: NHTSA NCAP

Configuration	Overall	Frontal	Side	Rollover	Rollover risk
SUV AWD	★★★★★	★★★★☆	★★★★★	★★★★☆	17%
SUV AWD	★★★★★	★★★★☆	★★★★★	★★★★☆	17%
SUV FWD	★★★★★	★★★★☆	★★★★★	★★★★☆	17%

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program.

Compare the 2017 RAV4 with

2017 Honda CR-V →2017 Chevrolet Equinox →2017 Nissan Rogue →2017 Hyundai Tucson →2017 Kia Sportage →

Other RAV4 model years

2026 Toyota RAV4

0 recalls · 28 complaints

2025 Toyota RAV4

4 recalls · 100 complaints

2024 Toyota RAV4

4 recalls · 173 complaints

2023 Toyota RAV4

3 recalls · 159 complaints

2022 Toyota RAV4

2 recalls · 149 complaints

2021 Toyota RAV4

1 recalls · 405 complaints

2020 Toyota RAV4

6 recalls · 646 complaints

2019 Toyota RAV4

8 recalls · 897 complaints

2018 Toyota RAV4

3 recalls · 345 complaints

2016 Toyota RAV4

3 recalls · 255 complaints

Sources & method

Safety Signal starts every model-year at 100 and subtracts points per open NHTSA recall campaign by severity: critical 15 (fire risk, park-outside or do-not-drive advisories), high 8 (brakes, steering, airbags, loss of drive power, structure, battery), moderate 6, minor 3 (software, labels, lighting fixed by an update). Floor 35. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Complaint counts and NHTSA crash ratings are shown separately and are not blended into the grade.

EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records. Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed weekly.

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