2007 Toyota RAV4 - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

The 2007 Toyota RAV4 4-DR. w/SAB has received high safety ratings in various crash tests, with a 5-star rating for the front crash driver side and a 4-star rating for the front crash passenger side. The vehicle also scored 5-stars in both the overall side crash and side crash driver side ratings. It is equipped with standard electronic stability control, which enhances the safety of the vehicle by helping maintain control during sudden maneuvers or slippery road conditions. However, it does not have forward collision warning or lane departure warning features.

In terms of recalls and complaints, the vehicle has 14 recalls reported, indicating potential safety issues that may require attention. Additionally, there have been 989 complaints filed, which could suggest areas of concern for potential buyers to consider.

Top stats at a glance

Complaint Count

989

Recall Count

14

Investigation Count

4

Safety Rating

Not Rated

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Safety Features

2007 Toyota RAV4 4-DR. w/SAB Safety Features

Here are the safety features that come as standard on the 2007 Toyota RAV4 4-DR. w/SAB

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

2007 Toyota RAV4 4-DR. w/SAB Safety Ratings

Here we have the crash and rollover ratings for the 2007 Toyota RAV4 4-DR. w/SAB 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 2007 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 2007 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 2007 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 2007 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:
"at 65270 miles rav4 failed steering inspection which is mandated by nc. parts replaced passed inspection but squealing continues gets worse after abut 15 minutes of city driving - metal to metal contact? 265 complaints something is wrong with the overall steering system squealing occurs at idle with brake depressed, release brake turn left or right squealing starts until engine shutdown. no vibrations felt steering wheel. sunday in city driving - 15 minutes after start up."
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2023-03-01

Complaint:
"knock in the steering wheel when turning and have paid over $2,500.00 with the problem never getting fixed because everyone thinks it is something else and they are always wrong."
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2020-03-03

Complaint:
"toyota 2007 rav4 steering makes a klunking / popping noise while driving, when turning either direction, while pulling out of driving. no sounds on freeway. issues seems to be steering column."
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2019-01-05

Complaint:
"defective steering assembly, makes a clunking sound when turning slowly. i found multiple complaints for the same problem and a serious accident resulted when the driver lost control of steering"
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2020-05-08

Complaint:
"my 2007 rav4 is experiencing a clunking sound in the steering column when turning at low speeds and the steering feels suspect at times at highway speeds. a online search, revealed that this has been a common problem for some time with this model and year. toyota diagnoses this as a problem with the intermediate steering column.is the nhtsa aware of this problem and is it a safety concern?"
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2018-01-11

Complaint:
"ongoing and very loud clunking noise when the wheel is turned at low speeds, at times the noise can also be heard when going straight. this appears to be an ongoing issue with this rav4 model and it seems toyota has not taken any steps to remedy this. it is a very serious safety concern, the proper function of the steering mechanism is extremely important to the safety of the driver and passengers at all times."
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2018-03-09

Complaint:
"tl* the contact owns a 2007 toyota rav4. while driving various speeds making a right or left turn, the steering wheel made a metal to metal grinding noise. the failure recurred numerous times. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering column middle shaft failed. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 40,000."
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2011-06-12

Complaint:
"audible clunk sound in the steering when turning the steering wheel. the driver can also feel a knock through the steering wheel. i am worried that this is a safety issue. this appears to be a common issue for this model and year (e.g., about 40 complaints of this kind have been filed for 2007 rav4s on carcomplaints.com). it appears to be related to the intermediate steering shaft; toyota has for example issued tsb 0318 08 to address this problem. according to our toyota dealership, it is due to a shaft tolerance that is too loose; the clunk sound would only be an annoyance, but not a safety concern. given that the steering is critical for control and safe operations of the car, i feel that any noise in the steering might indicate a serious problem that needs to be addressed. we bought the car used with 107874 miles (from the first owner) on 05/09/2014, and noticed the problem immediately during the first weeks of use. we believe the condition had already existed before we purchased the car, but we have no information at which mileage the previous owner started to notice it."
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2014-02-06

Complaint:
"constant clunking of the steering wheel"
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2017-06-02

Complaint:
"whenever you make a left or right turn, there is a clunking noise. i have contacted several different dealerships regarding this issue for over 5 years & yet there doesn't seem to by a remedy. this issue should be fixed by toyota. i am not the only person to make this complaint. please look into this issue & fix the dangerous problem before someone gets seriously injured. this problem happens all the time when the vehicle is in motion on highways & city streets."
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2014-07-07

Recalls for the 2007 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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