2010 Toyota RAV4 Problems, Recalls & Reliability
498 owner complaints sit in the federal file for the 2010 Toyota RAV4, alongside 14 recall campaigns and 1 defect investigation. It scores 46/100 on the trouble index — a below-average year for this model. Suspension leads the reports, typically around 50,000 miles.
Below average
Where 2010 sits among all RAV4 years
What owners report
“Rear suspension fix of previous recall will not allow rear alignment of vehicle because of the epoxy encasement. This is not acceptable. Just spent 800.00 on tires and alignment only to find out the rear is out of alignment and can't be aligned due to toyota's fix (epoxy encasement).”— owner report to NHTSA, 2010 RAV4
“Steering becomes very hard to control with no slack and in the wheel and occasionally it feels like you hit ice and sliding when you change lanes, happens on dry paved road without warning. Also when using cruise control hitting button to slow down the headlights and dash lights fade out and then…”— owner report to NHTSA, 2010 RAV4
“Usually after a rain storm or if i go through a deep puddle the idiot lights for "check engine, slip indicator and 4 wheel drive" lights come on and stay on for about 30 miles. Wednesday they came on and stayed on even though it hasn't rained in weeks. I've talked with several dealers and they tell…”— owner report to NHTSA, 2010 RAV4
“I was about to accelerate on a main avenue, made a clunking sound and came to a halt. Couldn't pull over safely. Investigated by mechanic, said the Transmission exploded, and the differential gears broke. No warning lights.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2010 RAV4
“The contact owns a 2010 Toyota RAV4. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and approaching a stop light, with the brake pedal depressed to the floorboard the vehicle failed to stop as intended. As a result, the contact rear-ended the vehicle ahead. The air bags did not…”— owner report to NHTSA, 2010 RAV4
“Burns oil. No leaks and compression is spot on. Burns oil so bad that around every 2,000 miles, if you hit the brakes to hard it causes the car to stall. Whether it's in a parking lot or intersection. Has happened several times. Since I purchased the car in 2022. Has been inspected by Toyota…”— owner report to NHTSA, 2010 RAV4
Mileage when trouble shows up
Among the 335 reports that include an odometer reading, problems most often appear around 37,230 miles. Half of those reports fall between 12,000 and 76,159 miles — a useful range to weigh against the mileage of the exact car you're looking at.
Recalls (14)
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 is recalling certain model year 2008 and 2010-2013 Toyota Tundra, 2010-2012 Rav4, 2012 Toyota Sequoia, 2010-2011 Toyota Corolla, 2010-2011 Toyota Camry and Camry Hybrid, 2010-2013 Toyota Highlander and Highlander Hybrid, 2010-2013 Toyota FJ…
Fix: Southeast Toyota will notify owners and provide a corrected label with instructions concerning its installation. A small group of the affected vehicles will need additonal remedies which are still…
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 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…
Federal defect investigations
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 2010 Toyota RAV4 reliable?
The 2010 Toyota RAV4 drew 498 complaints in federal safety records — a below-average year for this model. Its trouble index is 46/100, scored against the model's worst year (2007).
What are the most common 2010 Toyota RAV4 problems?
The top reported problems for the 2010 Toyota RAV4 are suspension (102 complaints), speed control (83), and other (46).
At what mileage do 2010 Toyota RAV4 problems show up?
Owners most often report 2010 Toyota RAV4 problems around 37,230 miles. Half of all reports that include an odometer reading fall between 12,000 and 76,159 miles.
Does the 2010 Toyota RAV4 have recalls?
14 recall campaigns apply to the 2010 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.