The 2012 Toyota RAV4 Ev has 3 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 1,549,705 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 11 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the power train. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Recall campaigns
SEAT BELTS16V0960002016-02-191,123,752 affected
Defect
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 frontal collision, the rear seat belts for the outboard seats…
Consequence
A cut seat belt may not properly restrain the seat occupant, increasing their risk of injury in a crash.
Remedy
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 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is G0F.
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 vehicles, water may drip onto the joint that connects the wiper…
Consequence
Over time, the dripping water may cause corrosion and wear at the joint, potentially resulting in the separation of the wiper linkage. Once this occurs, the wipers would not function, reducing driver visibility and increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
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 protective cover over the wiper linkage joint to minimize water splash and a retainer ring to prevent the wiper arm from…
Toyota Motor Engineering & manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2012-2014 Rav4 EV vehicles manufactured July 24, 2012, to August 29, 2014. Due to a software issue within a component of the Electric Vehicle Traction Motor Assembly, the electric propulsion motor may shift to "neutral" resulting in a…
Consequence
A loss of drive power may increase the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will update the Electric Vehicle Traction Motor Assembly software, free of charge. The recall began on September 10, 2015. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331.
Complaints by component
POWER TRAIN
3
2crashes
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
1
1crashes
ENGINE
1
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
1
SEAT BELTS
1
STEERING
1
STRUCTURE:BODY
1
1crashes
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
1
1crashes1injuries
VISIBILITY/WIPER
1
Total complaints11
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“Tl* the contact owns a 2012 toyota rav4 ev. The contact received notification of nhtsa campaign numbers: 15v577000 (visibility/wiper) and 16v096000 (seat belts) however, the parts to do the recall repair were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable…”
“Tl* the contact owns a 2012 toyota rav4 ev. The contact received notification of nhtsa campaign numbers: 15v577000 (visibility/wiper) and 16v096000 (seat belts) however, the parts to do the recall repair were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable…”
“My 2012 rav4 ev has an unsafe condition where the electronic transmission does not actually engage from r to d, or d to r when stationary, even though the vehicle instrumentation indicates so. The vehicle instead moves inadvertently in the wrong direction. It has been a chronic issue with the…”
“Tl* the contact owns a 2012 toyota rav4 ev. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the dealer for a manufacturer's recall remedy. Five days after the recall remedy was performed, the contact experienced unintended acceleration. While driving in a parking lot at 5 mph, the vehicle surged…”
“On october 17 shortly before 2 pm pst in clear weather, I was pulling into a parking spot on private property at about 2 to 3 mph. I turned the vehicle into the spot and applied the brakes but the car surged over the curb, hit a tree, went over an embankment and crashed onto a parked car. (the…”
“On october 17 shortly before 2 pm pst in clear weather, I was pulling into a parking spot on private property at about 2 to 3 mph. I turned the vehicle into the spot and applied the brakes but the car surged over the curb, hit a tree, went over an embankment and crashed onto a parked car. (the…”
“On october 17 shortly before 2 pm pst in clear weather, I was pulling into a parking spot on private property at about 2 to 3 mph. I turned the vehicle into the spot and applied the brakes but the car surged over the curb, hit a tree, went over an embankment and crashed onto a parked car. (the…”
“While driving 35 on a local road, the vehicle lost all power to the propulsion system. Power steering and brakes worked as I was lucky to be able to coast safely to a turnout. The vehicle warning light saying "check ev system, have dealer check immediately" was illuminated on the information…”
Defect investigations
InvestigationDP22005 Opened 2023-01-27 · closed 2023-08-07
Pedestrian alert sounds
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…
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2012 Toyota RAV4 Ev as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.