The defect
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 linkage to the wiper motor.
The risk
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.
The 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 separating from the wiper motor. The recall began on November 7, 2016. Owners may contact Toyota's customer service number at 1-800-331-4331.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by MFR
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Toyota RAV4 | 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 |
| Toyota RAV4 EV | 2012, 2013, 2014 |
Components: VISIBILITY/WIPER
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toyota RAV4 | 2009 | 327 | 15 |
| Toyota RAV4 | 2010 | 400 | 14 |
| Toyota RAV4 | 2011 | 287 | 11 |
| Toyota RAV4 | 2012 | 260 | 5 |
| Toyota RAV4 EV | 2012 | 6 | 3 |
| Toyota RAV4 EV | 2013 | 5 | 3 |
| Toyota RAV4 EV | 2014 | 10 | 3 |
Other visibility/wiper recalls in 2015
3 of the 863 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2015 concerned the visibility/wiper; Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing filed 245 campaigns in all.
| 15V691000 23 Oct 2015 | Blue Bird Body Company |
| 15V696000 23 Oct 2015 | Blue Bird Body Company |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2015