The defect
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2013-2018 RAV4 vehicles. Certain replacement 12-volt batteries may not fit properly in the battery tray, allowing the battery to move and contact the hold-down bracket, possibly causing a short circuit.
The risk
A battery short circuit increases the risk of a fire.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the battery clamp sub-assembly, battery tray, and positive terminal cover, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed December 27, 2024, to 2013-2014 RAV4 owners. Additional owner notification letters will be mailed in phases, phase 2 will begin on May 14, 2025, and phase 3 in late July 2025. Owners may contact Toyota's customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's numbers for this recall are 23TB13 and 23TA13.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by ODI
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Toyota RAV4 | 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 |
Components: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:12V/24V/48V BATTERY
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 | 2013 | 257 | 2 |
| Toyota RAV4 | 2014 | 197 | 4 |
| Toyota RAV4 | 2015 | 305 | 4 |
| Toyota RAV4 | 2016 | 240 | 3 |
| Toyota RAV4 | 2017 | 307 | 3 |
| Toyota RAV4 | 2018 | 333 | 3 |
Other electrical system recalls in 2023
178 of the 894 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2023 concerned the electrical system; Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing filed 245 campaigns in all.
| 23V904000 29 Dec 2023 | Cake 0 Emission USA Inc |
| 23V901000 26 Dec 2023 | Hyundai Motor America |
| 23V888000 22 Dec 2023 | Prevost Car (US) Inc. |
| 23V894000 22 Dec 2023 | Rosenbauer America |
| 23V879000 21 Dec 2023 | Daimler Trucks North America, LLC |
| 23V873000 21 Dec 2023 | REV Ambulance Group Orlando, Inc. |
| 23V867000 20 Dec 2023 | Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. |
| 23V864000 20 Dec 2023 | Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2023