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2002 Toyota RAV4

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

More warning signs than most RAV4 years

Owner complaints for the 2002 Toyota RAV4 are substantially higher than the model-year median of 258.5.

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When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

478 reports with mileage · 49 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Power Train. Review the 376 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 92 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Engine And Engine Cooling. Review the 41 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

36 crash reports15 fire reports26 injury reports

Interior Lighting complaints

1 reports
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91,000 miles · Jul 1, 2009
Interior LightingPower Train

IN THE BEGINNING OF JUNE I NOTICED MY RAV4 WOULD SLIGHTLY PAUSE WHEN I PRES THE GAS PEDAL AND WOULD JERK WHEN IT'S SUPPOSE TO AUTOMATICALLY SHIFT GEARS, MY REGISTRATION IS DUE & OF COURSE I NEED A SMOG CERTIFICATE. THE "TRANSMISSION WOULD SLIP" ONLY SOMETIMES. I'M JUST GUESSING IT'S THE TRANSMISSION. NOT SURE YET... OF COURSE…

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IN THE BEGINNING OF JUNE I NOTICED MY RAV4 WOULD SLIGHTLY PAUSE WHEN I PRES THE GAS PEDAL AND WOULD JERK WHEN IT'S SUPPOSE TO AUTOMATICALLY SHIFT GEARS, MY REGISTRATION IS DUE & OF COURSE I NEED A SMOG CERTIFICATE. THE "TRANSMISSION WOULD SLIP" ONLY SOMETIMES. I'M JUST GUESSING IT'S THE TRANSMISSION. NOT SURE YET... OF COURSE MY "EXTRA CARE" EXPIRED 05/30/08 MILEAGE 100,000 BUT MY MILEAGE IS ONLY 91,000. I FIGURE THIS IS GOING TO COST ME A LOAD OF MONEY THAT I DON'T HAVE AND THIS CAR HELPS ME GET TO WORK. WITH THE ECONOMY BEING SO BAD THIS DOESN'T HELP OUT MUCH AT ALL IT'S ALWAYS ONE THING AFTER ANOTHER ESPECIALLY WHEN I THOUGHT I WAS BUYING A CAR THAT IS ACTUALLY WORTH IT AND I THOUGHT SINCE I WAS BUYING IT BRAND NEW I WAS MAKING A GOOD CHOICE. MY FIANCE AND I WERE DRIVING HOME AND I WAS ON THE HWY 880 SB GOING ABOUT 65 MPH MY RPM SEEM A LITTLE HIGH BUT I WAS ON CRUISE CONTROL SO I THOUGHT IT WAS NORMAL. WHEN ALL OF A SUDDEN MY ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, THAN MY CAR STARTING MAKING A NOISE, THAN MY OIL LIGHT CAME ON, BATTERY LIGHT CAME ON AND SOMETHING FROM UNDERNEATH MY CAR FLEW OFF AND AS I LOOK IN MY REAR MIRROR I SAW PIECES OF AN OBJECT WENT FLYING AND I NOTICE CARS SWERVING TO MOVE FROM THE FLYING OBJECTS THAT WERE BURNING AND I WAS SOOO SCARED AS MY FIANCE SAID TO PULL OVER SLOWLY. I CUT CARS OFF AND I COULDN'T PRESS THE GAS PEDAL NO LONGER THE ENGINE SHUT OFF AND I STOPPED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SLOW LANE I CALLED AAA AND TOWED MY CAR TO MY HOUSE AND UNFORTUNATELY I CAN'T TAKE IT TO THE DEALER/MECHANIC YET B/C I DON'T HAVE THAT KIND OF MONEY. I FIND IT VERY STRANGE THAT I HAD NO WARNING LIGHTS BEFORE HAND OR NO SENSOR. FOR EXAMPLE THE OIL LIGHT COMES ON WHEN I NEED OIL/CHANGE, ETC. WHAT TYPE OF PAPERWORK DO I NEED TO SEND B/C I HAVEN'T TOOK IT TO THE SHOP YET AND MAY I ADD THAT THE LIGHTER DOESN'T WORK. ONCE I FIND OUT WHAT THE ACTUALLY PROBLEM IS THAN I WILL MAIL COPIES.I I TRULY BELIEVE IT'S A MANUFACTURER PROBLEM. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10275511

Official recalls

0

No recalls in this snapshot.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.

Go deeper into Toyota RAV4 problems