Toyota RAV4 1996–2026

This page is a draft. It has not been approved yet, so read it with care.

The 1998–2000 Soft Top is the rare one enthusiasts seek. Ask about oil use on a 2006–2008 four-cylinder, test the shifting on a 2001–2003, and check that a 2019–2020 Hybrid's tank fills.

6 generations
31 model years
9 warnings
43 recalls

Learn

Generations

1996–2000
1st gen 1996–2000

A small two- or four-door on car parts, with a 2.0L four, front- or all-wheel drive, and a soft-top convertible from late 1998.

7 colors, 1 interior, 1 rare catch

No warnings recorded yet.
- 1996
- 1997
- 1998
- 1999
- 2000
Options, colors and years for the 1st gen →
2001–2005
2nd gen 2001–2005

Bigger, with an all-aluminium 2.0L four and a 2.4L from 2004. Early years drew many complaints about shifting.

15 colors, 5 interiors

No walk-away warnings.
- 2001
- 2002
- 2003
- 2004
- 2005
Options, colors and years for the 2nd gen →
2006–2012
3rd gen 2006–2012

Larger again, with an optional 3.5L V6, an optional third row, and a side-hinged rear door. Automatic only.

11 colors, 6 interiors

No walk-away warnings.
- 2006
- 2007
- 2008
- 2009
- 2010
- 2011
- 2012
Options, colors and years for the 3rd gen →
2013–2018
4th gen 2013–2018

A 2.5L four with a 6-speed automatic, a liftgate in place of the side door, and no V6. A hybrid joined in 2016, and the Adventure in 2018.

16 colors, 4 interiors, 3 rare catches

No warnings recorded yet.
- 2013
- 2014
- 2015
- 2016
- 2017
- 2018
Options, colors and years for the 4th gen →
2019–2025
5th gen 2019–2025

A full redesign with a 203 hp 2.5L four and an 8-speed automatic, a hybrid, the TRD Off-Road from 2020, and the plug-in Prime from 2021.

11 colors, 5 interiors, 1 rare catch

No walk-away warnings.
- 2019
- 2020
- 2021
- 2022
- 2023
- 2024
- 2025
Options, colors and years for the 5th gen →
2026
6th gen 2026

Hybrid or plug-in hybrid only, in three designs and seven grades, with the first GR SPORT.

5 colors, 3 interiors

No warnings recorded yet.
- 2026
Options, colors and years for the 6th gen →

Timeline

1st gen 1996–2000
What changed, year by year (5)
1. 1996 On sale in the US. Edmunds calls it the first sport utility with front-wheel drive.^1,2
2. 1997 New fabric in the two-door, a sunroof offered on the four-door for the first time, and more sound deadening in the dash.³
3. 1998 Small changes to the grille, lamps and cabin, new seat fabric in the four-door, and the Soft Top late in the year.⁴
4. 1999 The L Special Edition package with leather seats and color-keyed cladding, color-keyed mirrors and door handles, and a full-size spare.⁵
5. 2000 Largely unchanged. New cupholders, and the two-door convertible is gone.⁶
2nd gen 2001–2005
What changed, year by year (5)
1. 2001 A full redesign, larger, with a more powerful four.⁷
2. 2002 Cosmetic changes only: gray bumpers and overfenders with the Quick Order package, and color-keyed ones with the L package.⁸
3. 2003 An optional sport package.⁹
4. 2004 A 2.4L four, a light restyle, and optional front side airbags and full-length curtain airbags.¹⁰
5. 2005 The JBL audio system is dropped, and the Sport package gets a metal mesh grille and silver pedals.¹¹
3rd gen 2006–2012
What changed, year by year (5)
1. 2006 The third generation: larger, with an optional V6 and an optional third-row seat, and automatics only.¹²
2. 2007 Front side airbags and side curtain airbags for both rows are standard, and the JBL audio gains steering-wheel controls and Bluetooth.¹³
3. 2009 More power for the four, a new grille and bumpers, and active front head restraints.¹⁴
4. 2010 Minor interior trim changes.¹⁵
5. 2012 A touchscreen audio unit becomes available. Otherwise unchanged.¹⁶
4th gen 2013–2018
What changed, year by year (4)
1. 2013 The fourth generation, on sale from January 2013: a 2.5L four, a 6-speed automatic, a roof-hinged liftgate, and the V6 dropped.¹⁷
2. 2015 A stronger front structure for the small-overlap crash test, new XLE wheels and an optional power liftgate, and a Blizzard Pearl package for the Limited.¹⁸
3. 2016 A refresh, a new SE grade, and the first RAV4 Hybrid, with AWD-i.¹⁹
4. 2018 The Adventure grade, with more ground clearance.²⁰
5th gen 2019–2025
What changed, year by year (6)
1. 2019 A full redesign, with a 203 hp four and an 8-speed automatic.^21,22
2. 2020 The TRD Off-Road, with its own suspension, tires and wheels, and a red-stitched cabin.²³
3. 2021 The Prime, the first plug-in RAV4, in SE and XSE grades, with AWD standard and Supersonic Red new to the RAV4.²⁴
4. 2022 A 9-inch touchscreen becomes an option, in place of the 8-inch.²⁵
5. 2023 The Hybrid Woodland Edition, and a new multimedia system that can be updated over the air, with a 10.5-inch screen standard on several grades and a 12.3-inch digital cluster standard on the Limited.²⁶
6. 2025 The Adventure and TRD Off-Road are dropped. The last year of the generation.²⁷
6th gen 2026
What changed, year by year (1)
1. 2026 The sixth generation: hybrids only, the hybrid with front-wheel drive for the first time, the GR SPORT, and the Woodland as a grade.²⁸

Buy

Rare catches

Rare options, colors and interiors to look out for, and whether finding one is good news.

Good find Soft Top Trim · 1st gen
Sold in the US from 1998 to 2000 only²⁹

Why it is a good find: The Autopian calls the soft-top convertible an even cooler version of the three-door RAV4, and found none for sale.²⁹
Rare Super White over Classic Silver Metallic Color · 4th gen
Two-tone paint for the SE¹⁹
Rare Black Sand Pearl over Classic Silver Metallic Color · 4th gen
Two-tone paint for the SE¹⁹
Rare Electric Storm Blue over Classic Silver Metallic Color · 4th gen
Two-tone paint for the SE¹⁹
Rare Magnetic Gray Metallic with Ice Edge roof Color · 5th gen
TRD Off-Road only²³

Recalls 43

00V212000 1998–2000
Front brake rotors can crack if the lug nuts are over-tightened. Dealers replace the rotors, and the steel wheels with aluminium ones.^30,31,32
00V211000 1998–2000
Shifting into P again and again without the parking brake can break the parking lock rod.^30,31,32
06V096000 2005
Some side or curtain airbag inflators were assembled with too little heating agent, and the airbag may not fully inflate.³³
09V223000 2006–2009
The load capacity label was missing. A new label is supplied.^34,35,36,37
10V017000 2009–2010
The accelerator pedal can stick, be hard to press or be slow to return. Dealers fit a reinforcement bar.^37,38
11V113000 2006–2010
An unsecured or wrong floor mat can trap the accelerator pedal.^{34,35,36,37,38}
11V245000 2007–2008
If both roll-angle sensors fail at nearly the same time, the curtain airbags and seat belt pretensioners can fire.^35,36
12V029000 2011
Some curtain airbag initiators have the wrong propellant, so one or both curtain airbags may not deploy.³⁹
12V373000 2006–2011
Rear alignment nuts tightened wrongly can let the rear tie rod rust and fail.^{34,35,36,37,38,39}
12V491000 2007–2009
Uneven grease on the power window master switch can let it overheat and melt.^35,36,37
13V383000 2006–2011
Rusted rear tie-rod threads are replaced and sealed. This replaces the remedy of recall 12V373000.^{34,35,36,37,38,39}
14V054000 2012
A part in the brake actuator can gain electrical resistance, lighting warning lamps and switching off stability control, ABS and traction control.⁴⁰
14V168000 2006–2008
Turning the steering wheel can damage the driver airbag's flat cable, and the airbag may not work.^34,35,36
15V144000 2014–2015
The power steering control unit may have been damaged in manufacture, and steering assist can fail.^41,42
15V284000 2004–2005
Moisture can get into the driver airbag inflator over time, and it can rupture.^43,33
15V577000 2009–2012
Water dripping onto the wiper linkage joint can corrode it, and the wipers can stop working.^37,38,39,40
15V689000 2006–2011
Uneven grease on the power window master switch can cause a short circuit, melting and fire.^{34,35,36,37,38,39}
16V096000 2006–2012
In a frontal crash, the rear seat cushion frame can cut the outboard rear seat belts.^{34,35,36,37,38,39,40}
16V198000 2016
An O-ring in the ABS actuator may be damaged, which can affect brake fluid pressure.⁴⁴
16V596000 2006–2011
Rear tie-rod locknuts left loose can corrode and fail, and the driver can lose control. Both rear arms are replaced.^{34,35,36,37,38,39}
17V831000 2018
The load capacity label may be wrong, so the vehicle could be overloaded. New labels are mailed.⁴⁵
19V544000 2019
The brake booster pump can fail, switching off stability control and brake assist.⁴⁶
19V576000 2019
A damaged connector can stop the backup camera showing in reverse.⁴⁷
19V741000 2004–2005
The replacement passenger airbag inflator, of the same design, can explode.^43,33
20V033000 1998–2000
The driver airbag inflator can take in moisture, and then rupture or under-inflate in a crash.^30,31,32
20V064000 2019–2020
Porous engine castings can crack and leak coolant, and the engine can overheat.^47,48,46,49
20V286000 2019–2020
The front lower suspension arms can crack and separate from the wheel assembly. Both are replaced.^47,48,46,49
20V373000 2019–2020
Water can get into the steering gearbox cover and power steering assist can be lost. The gearbox is replaced.^47,48,49
20V682000 2019–2020
The low-pressure fuel pump in the tank can fail and stall the engine.^47,48
20V698000 2021
Headlight aiming caps may be left open, so the beam can be moved sideways.⁵⁰
20V734000 2020
Steering column breakaway pins damaged in production can affect how the driver airbag works. The steering column is replaced.^48,49
22V239000 2021–2022
Stability control switched off may not come back on after a restart.^51,50,52
22V519000 2022
Front passenger seat parts can upset the occupant sensor, so the passenger airbag may not respond correctly to who is sitting there.^53,51,52
23V041000 2021
Hard acceleration in EV mode in cold weather can shut the powertrain down. The software is updated.⁵⁰
23V478000 2021–2022
A rectifier damaged in production can make the DC-DC converter short circuit and overheat.^50,52
23V734000 2013–2018
The battery may not sit properly in its tray, can shift against the hold-down bracket, and short circuit.^{54,41,42,44,55,45}
23V865000 2020–2021
A short circuit in the passenger occupant sensor can stop the passenger airbag deploying.^48,56,49,57
24V911000 2024
Front brake caliper and hub bearing bolts may be loose, which can damage a brake hose or let a wheel come off.⁵⁸
25V595000 2023–2025
A software fault at start-up can stop the instrument panel showing speed and warning lights.^{59,58,60,61,62}
25V744000 2023–2025
A software error can freeze the camera image or leave the screen blank in reverse.^{59,58,60,63,64,61,62}
26V179000 2024–2025
The load label may show wrong figures for the weight of added parts.^65,64
26V256000 2025
Front seat rail brackets may have faulty welds.⁶⁰
26V571000 2026
The load label may show wrong figures for the weight of added parts. The label is replaced.⁶⁶

Checked against NHTSA records on 21 October 2026.

Before you pay

A buyer's checklist for each generation: every warning and recall, with a box to tick.

Sources

The specs and year changes here are facts from Toyota, Edmunds and the motoring press, with most chassis codes from Wikipedia alone. Colours for the older generations come from one model year's specs page each. The claims and issues are reputation, from the press, a complaints site, Toyota's own programs and an owner forum, where the text counts the people, and none is measured against sale prices yet. Recalls are Toyota's own, from NHTSA's records, checked for every model year.

Generations

1st gen 1996–2000

2nd gen 2001–2005

3rd gen 2006–2012

4th gen 2013–2018

5th gen 2019–2025

6th gen 2026