Problems · by component
2006 Toyota RAV4 engine problems
109 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2006 Toyota RAV4 cite engine, 15% of all 704 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
109
15% of all complaints
Crashes
2
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
1
Reported by owners
What owners say about the engine
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“Two days ago my car was driving perfectly on the highway. The oil pressure light turned on I turned off the highway immediately and put more oil in the car. At this point my car is consuming over a quart every week and I don't drive more than a couple of hundred miles every week. I've taken several longer trips with this car. I started the car back up after checking the oil level, started driving and the light didn't come back on. About 10 more miles down the road on the highway the oil pressure light the check engine light vsc light the four-wheel drive light appear. I go to an AutoZone and I get a code p0012. I've done lots of research and I've learned that this is all related to Toyota's well-known defective design and manufacturing of their engines. I have a 2az Fe engine. I bought this car with 125,000 miles on it in 2020. It now has about 154,000 mi on it. I didn't know that the oil consumption was extreme until this point of research. Now my car is making a rattling sound most likely the engine needs to be replaced. Technically yes I can drive it but it will stall and probably light on fire if I do and this is dangerous. They had a TSB warranty extension…”
“2006 Toyota Rav4 with 2.4 liter engine burning oil rapidly. Burning approximately 4 quarts of oil in 3,000 miles. Vehicle currently has 100,000 miles. Issue persists even though I maintain routine maintenance on the vehicle. Luckily no safety hazards have occurred yet, but there is a high risk for potential safety hazard. Vehicle has been inspected by 3 different mechanics. I have been told by 3 different mechanics that this is a common issue for cars with this year/engine. About 2,800 miles after high synthetic oil change the vehicle begins to sound like it is struggling to accelerate at low speeds and the check engine oil light will briefly turn on at random then go away. Light does not stay lit or continuously flicker.”
“This 2006 Rav4 engine is known for its massive oil consumption due to the faulty piston rings. Always kept oil in it and had regular changes because of this issue. Checked the oil 2 days prior to the engine failure, and all was well. Driving down the hwy going around 70mph, the engine started to lose power and sound funny (high rpm sounds with no power), so I took my foot off the gas and coasted for a few seconds. Down to 50mph, I hit the gas pedal, and then a loud BOOM happened and car shook. Smoke from the engine, and then all the dash lights came on. Lost all power. Looked under the engine and a piston had blown a hole through the bottom of it. Needs new engine now. Mechanic inspected it and they documented with a picture. Thankfully I was not injured as that could have caused a serious wreck, especially if there was someone behind me. I've read about these engines being blown regularly online. Even some before 100k miles. No warnings before this happened.”
“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 TOYOTA RAV4. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS CONSUMING OIL AT AN EXCESSIVE RATE. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO A CERTIFIED MECHANIC WHO STATED THAT THE OIL WAS LEAKING AND EXCESSIVELY BURNING TO THE EXTENT THAT IT COULD CAUSE A POSSIBLE ENGINE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE AND INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT A WARRANTY RELATED CAMPAIGN REGARDING THE ENGINE HAD BEEN ISSUED HOWEVER, THE TIME-FRAME WAS EXCEEDED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 82,000.”
“THERE WAS A RECALL REGARDING OIL CONSUMPTION. I TOOK MY VEHICLE TO THE DEALER. THEY FILLED UP THE OIL AND TOLD ME TO COME BACK AFTER 3000 MILES BUT TO NOT FILL THE OIL. HALFWAY IN, THE OIL WAS COMPLETELY EXHAUSTED. BECAUSE IT HAD NOT BEEN 3000 MILES, I COULD NOT TAKE IT BACK FOR A FIX. I HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO ADD OIL OR THE ENGINE BLOWS. WHEN I DID TAKE IT BACK, I WAS GIVEN THE RESPONSE THAT THE VEHICLE BURNS A NORMAL AMOUNT OF OIL AND I TOLD THEM I HAD TO FILL IT IN BETWEEN TO AVOID THE ENGINE BLOWING. THEY REFUSED TO FIX THE RECALL. I CONTACTED TOYOTA WHO ALSO REFUSED TO FIX THE RECALL BECAUSE THE DEALERSHIP HAD WRITTEN "NORMAL" CONSUMPTION. THE VEHICLE BURNS OIL AT A VERY RAPID RATE AND I WOULD LIKE THIS RECALL PERFORMED ON MY VEHICLE.”
“THE ENGINE IS BURNING OIL LIKE MAD. I PURCHASED IT THREE WEEKS AGO AND THERE WERE NO ISSUES WHEN I LOOKED AT IT. I HOOKED MY OBD II SCANNER AND NO CODES POPPED, WHICH MADE ME GO AHEAD AND PURCHASE IT. I HEARD ABOUT THE TOYOTA 2AZ-FE ENGINES HAVING OIL ISSUES, BUT THIS IS GETTING OUT OF HAND. MY MECHANIC CHANGED MY OIL A LITTLE OVER A WEEK AGO AND NOTIFIED ME THAT I WAS A QUART LOW, BUT FILLED IT FOR ME. HE TOLD ME IF I WAS CONCERNED TO MONITOR IT, WHICH I HAVE. TONIGHT, FEBRUARY 27, 2020, I CHECKED MY OIL WHILE IT'S STATIONARY IN MY DRIVEWAY AND HAS NOT BEEN ON FOR OVER FOUR HOURS AND IT'S RIGHT AROUND THE LOW LEVEL LINE. I GOT MY OIL CHANGED AT 163,035 MILES. IT'S NOW LOW AT 163,260 MILES! I'M SCARED AND CONCERNED ABOUT DRIVING IT BECAUSE BEING A COLLEGE STUDENT AND WORKING, I WOULD DREAD THAT MY RAV4'S ENGINE BLOWS UP OR SEIZES ON ME OUT OF NO WHERE. PLEASE, THIS ISSUE IS SCARY AND CAN PLACE A LOT OF PEOPLE AND FAMILIES IN DANGER. I CAN PROVIDE PAPERWORK OF THE DAY OF THE OIL CHANGE AND MY ODOMETER. I TOOK A PICTURE OF IT WHICH I WILL ATTACH.”
Showing 6 of 109 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 10, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.