2006 Toyota RAV4 - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

Based on the safety rating data provided for the 2006 Toyota RAV4, we can see that the car has received high scores in certain crash tests, with a 5-star rating for the front crash driver side and side crash ratings for both the driver and passenger sides. The rollover rating is also respectable at 4 stars. Additionally, the car comes equipped with electronic stability control, which enhances its safety features.

However, it is worth noting that some aspects such as the overall rating, combined side barrier pole rating, side barrier rating overall, and side pole crash rating are not rated. The car unfortunately does not have forward collision warning or lane departure warning systems.

In terms of complaints and recalls, the 2006 Toyota RAV4 has received a notable number of complaints, totaling 697, and has had 11 recalls issued. This indicates a significant amount of reported issues and necessary fixes over the course of its usage. Overall, while the car shows strength in certain safety areas and features stability control, the presence of complaints and recalls should be taken into consideration when evaluating its overall safety performance.

Top stats at a glance

Complaint Count

697

Recall Count

11

Investigation Count

2

Safety Rating

Not Rated

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Safety Features

2006 Toyota RAV4 4-DR. Safety Features

Here are the safety features that come as standard on the 2006 Toyota RAV4 4-DR.

Electronic Stability Control (ESC)

ESC is an advanced safety feature in vehicles designed to help drivers maintain control during challenging driving conditions. By continuously monitoring various factors such as steering angle, vehicle speed, and individual wheel speeds, ESC can detect and reduce the risk of skidding or loss of control. It achieves this by automatically applying brakes to specific wheels to stabilize the vehicle.

Standard
Forward Collision Warning (FCW)

Forward Collision Warning (FCW) is a safety feature in vehicles that helps prevent frontal collisions by alerting the driver of an imminent collision with a vehicle or obstacle ahead. Using sensors such as radar or cameras, FCW monitors the distance and speed of vehicles in front, and if it detects a potential collision, it provides visual and/or auditory warnings to prompt the driver to take evasive action.

No
Lane Departure Warning (LDW)

Lane Departure Warning (LDW) is a safety feature in vehicles that alerts drivers when their vehicle unintentionally drifts out of its lane without signaling. Utilizing cameras or sensors to monitor lane markings on the road, LDW detects when the vehicle crosses these lines and triggers visual, auditory, or haptic alerts to notify the driver of potential lane departure.

No

2006 Toyota RAV4 4-DR. Safety Ratings

Here we have the crash and rollover ratings for the 2006 Toyota RAV4 4-DR. Where possible we've included the ratings for the oldest and latest models of this car so you can compare how the safety ratings have changed over time.

Frontal Crash Ratings

Combines Driver and Passenger star ratings into a single frontal rating. The frontal barrier test simulates a head-on collision between two similar vehicles, each moving at 35 mph.

Test 2005 Score 2006 Score 2024 Score
Overall Front Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated 4
Front Crash Driver Side Rating 4 5 4
Front Crash Passenger Side Rating 4 4 5

Side Crash Ratings

Combines Side Barrier and Side Pole Star Ratings into a single side rating.

Test 2005 Score 2006 Score 2024 Score
Overall Side Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated 5
Side Crash Drivers Side Rating 5 5 5
Side Crash Passenger Side Rating 5 5 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Front Not Rated Not Rated 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Rear Not Rated Not Rated 5
Overall Side Barrier Rating Not Rated Not Rated 5

Rollover Ratings

The Rollover Resistance test measures the risk of rollover in a single-vehicle, loss-of-control scenario.

Test 2005 Score 2006 Score 2024 Score
Rollover Rating Not Rated 4 4
Rollover Possibility % 0% 0% 0%
Dynamic Tip Result No Tip No Tip
Side Pole Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated 5

Complaints for the 2006 Toyota RAV4

This chart show the number of complaints for each car component. A Higher number of complaints could indicate that this car might have a common fault. Something to look out for when purchasing one.

Component Complaints

Choose a component to see what complaints people have made about them.

Complaint:
"the contact owns a 2006 toyota rav4. the contact stated that while making a right or left turn, there was a loud popping sound coming from the steering wheel. there was no warning light illuminated. additionally, the contact stated that the popping noise was progressively louder while steering to make a turn. the vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering linkage needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 86,000."
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2024-01-07

Complaint:
"while my son was driving me the vehicles steering wheel locked and he was unable to steer the vehicle. it caused us to go off the road down a steep hill and wreck. i’ve never had any problems with this vehicle so it was completely unexpected. if there had been anyone in our path we wouldn’t of been able to stop from hitting them. it has not been inspected but there are witnesses to the accident"
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2022-09-05

Complaint:
"clunking noise when turning steering wheel right or left. numerous complaints from 006 rav 4 owners. fear that my steering will fail and cause an accident or death. the issue is a defective intermediate steering shaft. toyota will not issue a recall and will only repair if vehicle is still under warranty. how many complaints, accidents, or deaths will it take for this manufacturer to do the right thing???"
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2022-03-02

Complaint:
"i bought a used 2006 rav4 3.5 l v-6, after a month a bought it. i noticed when i turn left or right i heard a clunk sound. i found out that the intermediate steering shaft is the problem. this common to most rav4, dealership it's normal but to me it doesn't fell normal when i'm driving, it feels like something is will come out or broke off. kind of scary thing to feel when driving. i think the manufacturer should find a solution to this problem before someone could hurt or die."
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2022-03-11

Complaint:
"vehicle did have an official recall(steering shaft assembly) vehicle was repaired 2x's. vehicle is experiencing same problem. steering gets tight and knocks. sent letter to toyota in california created case #[xxx] dealer refuses to repair *tt consumer stated there are 2 odi numbers #352270 and #1182873. information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *ln*jb"
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2019-01-02

Complaint:
"steering 'clunks' and car won't turn at low speeds/stationary, radio momentarily cuts out and dash lights flash. can turn the steering wheel further after a few seconds. happens intermittently, so far only at low speeds/while parking or leaving a parking space."
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2019-06-12

Complaint:
"hear clunk sound when turning the steering. check with toyota sunnyvale dealer, they said the steering intermediate shaft needs to be replaced"
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2010-01-01

Complaint:
"to whom it may concern, while driving on highway today the car did not stall but all the dash lights came on and there was a complete loss of power steering. luckily i was in the right land and on a straight roads i glided to the shoulder and stopped. i could not start the car so i jumped started the car and proceeded to get off next exit and problem happened again!!!! i read about issues with the electronic steering on toyota vehicles. i am checking the charging system and battery but want to find out if there is a recall. there were other people with this issue while searching the internet. i understand that batteries and alternators do go bad but loss of steering while moving could have resulted in a serious accident had i been in a curve in the road. i had previous cargo in the car too.....my 22 month old granddaughter!!! please advise if this is a known problem. sincerely, [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr"
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2019-02-09

Complaint:
"steering pops whenever i make a turn."
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2020-07-05

Complaint:
"the electric power steering went out while my daughter was driving the vehicle. she could not turn the steering wheel. luckily she did not have an accident. the electric power steering was replaced by milton ruben toyota at the cost of $1134.00."
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2019-12-01

Recalls for the 2006 Toyota RAV4

Component Recalls

Choose a component to see what recalls people have made about them.

Recall:
"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 vehicles have rear suspension arms (rear tie rods) with adjusting lock nuts that may have been improperly tightened after servicing. as a result of being loose, the arm may have thread damage and may rust, possibly leading to the failure of the arm and an abrupt change in the vehicle's alignment."
Consequence:
Failure of the rear tie rod could cause a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy:

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 service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's numbers for this recall are G0V for Toyota vehicles and GLK for Lexus vehicles. Note: This recall supersedes recall 13V-383, in which some vehicles were only inspected, sealed, and did not have both arms replaced. The affected vehicles were previously recalled under 13V-383, but did not have both rear suspension arms replaced at that time. Those vehicles need to have both arms replaced as part of this recall remedy.

Component(s) Involved: SUSPENSION > REAR
Date of incident: 2016-08-12

Recall:
"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 suspension arm (rear tie rod) may develop unwanted movement and rust, leading to thread damage and eventual failure. failure of the rear tie rod will cause an abrupt change in the vehicle's alignment."
Consequence:
Failure of the rear tie rod could cause a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy:

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 improper servicing in the future. The recall began on November 30, 2012. Owners may contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331 or Lexus at 1-800-255-3987.

Component(s) Involved: SUSPENSION > REAR
Date of incident: 2012-08-02

Recall:
"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 suspension arm (rear tie rod) may develop unwanted movement and rust leading to thread damage and eventual failure. failure of the rear tie rod will cause an abrupt change in the vehicle's alignment."
Consequence:
Failure of the rear tie rod could cause a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy:

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 epoxy to prevent future environmental damage. Due to limitations in parts, the recall remedy will be launched in phases from September 2013 through mid-April 2014. All owners will receive notification of the recall, with most receiving second notifications when parts are available in their area. IMPORTANT: This recall supersedes Toyota and Lexus recall 12V-373. All vehicles that have been inspected and remedied under the previous recall need to be re-inspected and have the appropriate remedy applied.

Component(s) Involved: SUSPENSION > REAR
Date of incident: 2013-08-28

TOYOTA Overall Complaint Ranking

This table shows the ranking of car manufacturers when it comes to most complaints and recalls. The manufacturer with the most complaints is at the top. However this doesn't necassarily mean they should be avoided. Some manufacturers might just have more popular or affordable cars which a lot of people have bought. Which means there's more scope for a complaint to be made. Use the ranking table below as a part your wider research into buying a car.

TOYOTA ranks 3 out of 44 in the complaints ranking table.

Manufacturer Complaint Count Recall Count Ranking
FORD 208,358 3,259 1
CHEVROLET 111,306 2,082 2
TOYOTA 81,019 1,852 3
HONDA 61,937 1,268 4
NISSAN 56,226 930 5
DODGE 45,756 827 6
HYUNDAI 44,150 649 7
GMC 34,441 1,410 8
KIA 29,832 501 9
CHRYSLER 27,698 254 10
TESLA 26,230 730 11
BMW 24,890 1,877 12
VOLKSWAGEN 23,125 829 13
MERCEDES-BENZ 19,066 2,925 14
SUBARU 18,513 703 15
MAZDA 10,599 364 16
PONTIAC 10,430 138 17
CADILLAC 9,434 444 18
AUDI 7,865 1,093 19
BUICK 7,851 279 20
SATURN 7,672 84 21
MERCURY 7,374 135 22
LEXUS 6,373 408 23
LINCOLN 5,897 423 24
ACURA 5,722 382 25
MINI 5,585 366 26
INFINITI 4,000 187 27
MITSUBISHI 3,912 397 28
VOLVO 3,875 727 29
PORSCHE 2,646 1,231 30
SUZUKI 2,272 123 31
FIAT 2,205 80 32
SAAB 1,536 76 33
JAGUAR 1,195 198 34
SMART 528 17 35
GENESIS 436 42 36
ISUZU 249 37 37
ALFA ROMEO 161 37 38
MASERATI 76 46 39
BENTLEY 46 159 40
POLESTAR 42 2 41
LUCID 14 6 42
CODA 4 2 43
MAYBACH 0 0 44

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