2009 Toyota RAV4 Problems, Recalls & Reliability
397 owner complaints sit in the federal file for the 2009 Toyota RAV4, alongside 15 recall campaigns and 3 defect investigations. It scores 38/100 on the trouble index — a below-average year for this model. Speed control leads the reports, typically around 12,300 miles.
Below average
Where 2009 sits among all RAV4 years
What owners report
“Four incidents of unintended acceleration , in all instances foot was on break petal NOT on gas petal, 3 instances vehicle was stopped at traffic light, last incident was pulling into a parking space foot on brake, in all instances braked hard and shifted vehicle into neutral and turned vehicle off…”— owner report to NHTSA, 2009 RAV4
“The rear suspension arm bolts on my rav 4 rusted out and failed. They were supposed to be replaced as part of a recall, but the dealership failed to do that. Because the bolts failed, i am being asked to pay for new rear lower suspension arms and an alignment.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2009 RAV4
“All lights come on check engine,4wd,trac , come and goes, going 6 times already to dealer last 2 weeks.. Rav4 with low miles .. Toyota very dissatisfied”— owner report to NHTSA, 2009 RAV4
“Brake pedal goes very low to the floor before engaging. Seems to be a common problem that i have heard lots of complaints about for this model. In other similar cases toyota has told customers is normal. Since this has started the brakes have been bled with no improvement. Also (probably a separate…”— owner report to NHTSA, 2009 RAV4
“I no longer own this vehicle, it was traded in in 2014 to west herr toyota 4141 southwestern blvd, orchard park, ny 14127, how do i stop recall notices for this vehicle?”— owner report to NHTSA, 2009 RAV4
“Growling noise from rear differential while driving. 4 months past enhanced warranty period. Recall is needed. Unsafe to drive and very expensive repair.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2009 RAV4
Mileage when trouble shows up
Among the 284 reports that include an odometer reading, problems most often appear around 32,450 miles. Half of those reports fall between 9,000 and 75,676 miles — a useful range to weigh against the mileage of the exact car you're looking at.
Recalls (15)
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2006-2011 Toyota RAV4 vehicles manufactured October 31, 2005, to September 7, 2010, and 2010 Lexus HS250h vehicles manufactured July 6, 2009, to August 26, 2010. The affected…
Fix: Toyota will notify owners and dealers will replace both rear suspension arms and encapsulate the locknuts, free of charge. The recall began on September 30, 2016. Owners may contact Toyota customer…
Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain 2005-2011 4Runner, Highlander, Sequoia, and Sienna, 2005-2010 Avalon and Tundra, 2006-2008 Camry Solara, 2006-2010 Highlander hybrid, 2006-2011 Rav4 and Tacoma, 2007-2010 FJ Cruiser, 2007-2011…
Fix: SET will notify owners, and dealers will disconnect the seat heaters, free of charge, and refund the purchase price of the seat heater accessory. The recall began on July 14, 2016. Owners may contact…
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2006-2012 RAV4 vehicles manufactured July 28, 2005, to December 19, 2012, and 2012-2014 RAV4 EV vehicles manufactured July 24, 2012, to August 29, 2014. In the event of a…
Fix: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will install a protector over both rear seat cushion frames, free of charge. The recall began on June 24, 2016. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at…
Toyota Motor Company (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2009-2011 Tundra, Sequoia, Corolla, Corolla Matrix and Scion xB, 2008-2011 Highlander and Highlander Hybrid, 2007 Camry and Camry Hybrid, 2009 Camry and Camry Hybrid, 2006-2011 RAV4, 2006-2010…
Fix: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the switch, applying a lubricant if no abnormality is found. If abnormality is found, the PWMS circuit board will be replaced, free of charge. The…
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2009-2012 RAV4 vehicles manufactured October 27, 2008, to December 19, 2012 and 2012-2014 RAV4 EV vehicles manufactured July 24, 2012, to August 29, 2014. In the affected…
Fix: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the water diverter channel. In addition, a new wiper linkage with a wiper motor crank arm will be installed. The wiper linkage will have a…
Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain model year 2010-2011 Prius and Corolla, 2009-2011 Venza, 2006-2010 Avalon, 2007-2010 FJ Cruiser, 2005-2011 Sienna and Sequoia, 2006-2011 Tacoma 4x2 and 4x4, Camry, Highlander, Tundra 4x2 and 4x4,…
Fix: SET will notify owners, and dealers will disconnect the heaters with copper strand heating elements and refund the purchase price of the seat heater accessory, free of charge. The recall is expected…
Toyota is recalling certain model year 2006 through 2011 RAV4 and 2010 Lexus HS250h passenger vehicles manufactured from October 2005 through September 2010. If the nuts for adjusting the rear wheel alignment are improperly tightened during service, the rear…
Fix: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the tie rods and replace any that have rust or corrosion on the alignment adjustment threads. All of the rear tie rods will then be encased in an…
Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain models interspersed through model years 2009 through 2013 as follows: model year 2009-2012 Tacoma, 4Runner, Camry, Camry Hybrid, Prius, and RAV4; model year 2009-2010 Avalon, FJ Cruiser, and…
Fix: Southeast Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will test the sensitivity of the occupant detection sensors, and recalibrate them as necessary. The recall began on March 21, 2013. Owners may…
Toyota is recalling certain model year 2007-2009 Camry, Camry Hybrid, RAV4, Corolla, Corolla Matrix, Tundra, Sequoia, Highlander, Highlander Hybrid, Yaris, Scion xB, Scion xD and Pontiac Vibe vehicles. The power window master switch assemblies in some of…
Fix: Toyota will notify its owners, and dealers will inspect the switch and apply a special grease that inhibits heat build up or replace any switch damaged by the defect, free of charge. Toyota owners…
Toyota is recalling certain model year 2006 through 2011 RAV4 and 2010 Lexus HS250h passenger vehicles manufactured from October 2005 through September 2010. If the nuts for adjusting the rear wheel alignment are improperly tightened during service, the rear…
Fix: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the rear tie-rod nut for looseness and replace any suspect tie-rod found loose. Dealers will also affix instructions in multiple places to prevent…
TOYOTA IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2008 THROUGH 2011 LEXUS LX570, 2003 THROUGH 2009 TOYOTA 4RUNNER, AND 2006 THROUGH 2010 RAV4 VEHICLES. THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL CAN GET STUCK IN THE WIDE OPEN POSITION DUE TO ITS BEING TRAPPED BY AN UNSECURED OR…
Fix: THE REMEDY IS NOW AVAILABLE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN EARLY APRIL 2011. THE REMEDY WILL INVOLVE MODIFICATION OR REPLACEMENT OF THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL AND REPLACEMENT OF ANY TOYOTA ALL-WEATHER FLOOR…
SOUTHEAST TOYOTA IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2005-2011 PASSENGER VEHICLES FOR FAILING TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 110, "TIRE SELECTION AND RIMS." THESE VEHICLES WERE SOLD WITHOUT THE REQUISITE LOAD…
Fix: DEALERS WILL MAIL TO CONSUMERS THE CORRECTED LABEL OR THE CUSTOMER WILL HAVE THE OPTION FOR DEALERS TO INSTALL THE LABEL FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON MAY 27, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT…
GULF STATES TOYOTA IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2005-2010 VEHICLES FOR FAILING TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 110, "TIRE SELECTION AND RIMS." THESE VEHICLES WERE SOLD BETWEEN SEPTEMBER 1, 2005 AND JUNE 2, 2008…
Fix: DEALERS WILL MAIL TO CONSUMERS THE CORRECTED LABEL OR THE CUSTOMER WILL HAVE THE OPTION FOR DEALERS TO INSTALL THE LABEL FREE OF CHARGE. DEALERS WILL ALSO CORRECT THE OWNER'S MANUAL. THE SAFETY…
TOYOTA IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2005-2010 AVALON, MODEL YEAR 2007-2010 CAMRY, MODEL YEAR 2009-2010 COROLLA, COROLLA MATRIX, RAV4, MODEL YEAR 2010 HIGHLANDER, MODEL YEAR 2008-2010 SEQUOIA, AND MODEL YEAR 2007-2010 TUNDRA VEHICLES. DUE TO THE MANNER IN…
Fix: DEALERS WILL INSTALL A REINFORCEMENT BAR IN THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WHICH WILL ALLOW THE PEDAL TO OPERATE SMOOTHLY. GM WILL NOTIFY OWNERS FOR THE PONTIAC VIBE PLEASE SEE 10V-018. THIS SERVICE WILL BE…
TOYOTA IS RECALLING 27,080 MODEL YEAR 2005 THROUGH 2010 PASSENGER CARS BUILT FROM SEPTEMBER 1, 2005 TO MAY 4, 2009. THESE VEHICLES WERE NOT EQUIPPED WITH LOAD CARRYING CAPACITY MODIFICATION LABELS WHICH FAILS TO CONFORM WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR…
Fix: TOYOTA WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND PROVIDE THEM WITH A NEW, ACCURATE LABEL TO BE INSTALLED OVER THE INACCURATE LABEL FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON AUGUST 18, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT TOYOTA…
Federal defect investigations
Led to recall campaign 12V491000.
Led to recall campaign 11V112000.
Complaint history for this model year
When owners filed their reports — a long tail means problems kept surfacing for years.
Questions buyers ask
Is the 2009 Toyota RAV4 reliable?
The 2009 Toyota RAV4 drew 397 complaints in federal safety records — a below-average year for this model. Its trouble index is 38/100, scored against the model's worst year (2007).
What are the most common 2009 Toyota RAV4 problems?
The top reported problems for the 2009 Toyota RAV4 are speed control (99 complaints), suspension (55), and engine (35).
At what mileage do 2009 Toyota RAV4 problems show up?
Owners most often report 2009 Toyota RAV4 problems around 32,450 miles. Half of all reports that include an odometer reading fall between 9,000 and 75,676 miles.
Does the 2009 Toyota RAV4 have recalls?
15 recall campaigns apply to the 2009 Toyota RAV4. Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer.
Every number on this page is a count of records in the federal complaint, recall, and investigation files published by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation. Check any specific vehicle's open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.