2018 Toyota RAV4 electrical problems

Counts are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many of these were sold; nothing here is a rate. NHTSA groups complaints coarsely, so “Electrical System” means the same area of the vehicle, not one fault.

Across model years: Toyota RAV4 electrical problems, every year on file →

Filed with NHTSA by the people who own these cars, about the electrical system. Quoted as written, with anything identifying removed; unverified reports — what was said, not a finding that it was true.

Recall filed under this heading

• 23V734000 High
  Nov 1, 2023 · 1,853,568 vehicles
• Toyota 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.

NHTSA investigations

• DP22005 Pedestrian alert sounds
  opened Jan 27, 2023 · closed Aug 7, 2023
• 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 ele…
• PE21005 Battery Hold Down Bracket Thermal Events
  opened Feb 25, 2021 · closed Aug 12, 2024
• 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 rep…

56 manufacturer bulletins filed under this heading

• 21TG01 Service campaign
  Jun 18, 2025
• 21TG01 Exprired - Replaced with Campaign 23TA13 During a recent investigation of reported battery fires in 2013-2018 RAV4 vehicles with gasoline engines (excluding hybrid models), Toyota discovered that many non-Toyota retailers and others who sell or install replacement batteries were recommending a small size battery for replacement. Toyota specifies a particular size replacement battery for the
• T-SB-0058-23 Rev1 Service campaign
  Jun 13, 2025
• The air conditioning dye injection tool kit has been developed to aid in identifying the location of air conditioning refrigerant leaks. The procedures outlined in this Service Bulletin aid in locating, inspecting, and repairing refrigerant leaks.

The 2 newest are listed; every one is on the model year’s page. Quote the document number at a service desk — it is a diagnosis the maker has already written down.

Trouble codes named on this system

P1603 P1604 P1605 P0A7F P0A80

Codes a bulletin or an owner’s complaint about the 2018 Toyota RAV4 names on this model year; a code with a record of its own links it.