2013 Toyota RAV4

small SUV / 4-door SUV

2013 Toyota RAV4 4-door SUV

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Small overlap front: driver-side
Small overlap front: passenger-side
Moderate overlap front: original test
Side: original test
Roof strength
Head restraints & seats

Crash avoidance & mitigation

Front crash prevention
Not available

Other available safety features

  • Standard daytime running lights
  • Optional blind spot detection

Key

  • G
    Good
  • A
    Acceptable
  • M
    Marginal
  • P
    Poor
  • Superior
  • Advanced
  • Basic

Some ratings use a scale of Poor to Good. Others range from Basic to Superior.

Small overlap front: driver-side

Rating applies to 2013-14 models built after April 2013

Tested vehicle: 2013 Toyota RAV4 LE 4-door 4wd

The Toyota RAV4 was redesigned for the 2013 model year. Beginning with 2013 models built after April 2013, Toyota made additional changes to better control the stability of the steering column and to provide extra padding under the footwell carpeting (note: information about when a specific vehicle was manufactured is on the certification label typically affixed to the car on or near the driver door). The changes, however, weren’t enough to lift the RAV4’s performance in the small overlap frontal test.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics
The dummy’s head barely contacted the frontal airbag before sliding off the left side as the steering column moved 19 cm to the right, resulting in little airbag cushioning for the chest. Additionally, the seat belt allowed excessive forward excursion of the dummy’s head and torso, contributing to the head hitting the instrument panel. The side curtain airbag deployed and had sufficient forward coverage to protect the head from contact with side structure and outside objects. The side torso airbag also deployed.

Action shot taken during the driver-side small overlap frontal crash test.

The dummy's position in relation to the door frame, steering wheel, and instrument panel after the crash test indicates that the driver's survival space wasn't maintained well.

During the crash, the dummy's head barely contacted the airbag before sliding off to the left as the steering column moved to the right. The seat belt allowed the dummy to move too far forward, as is evident from the gap between the seat back and the dummy's torso.

Extensive intrusion of the door hinge pillar and instrument panel contributed to a high risk of injury to the left lower leg. The dummy's left foot was trapped by the intruding structure.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID CEN1319
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm) 31
Footrest (cm) 20
Left toepan (cm) 4
Brake pedal (cm) 7
Parking brake (cm)
Rocker panel lateral average (cm) 12
Upper occupant compartment
Steering column 4
Upper hinge pillar max (cm) 21
Upper dash (cm) 17
Lower instrument panel (cm) 17

Driver injury measures

Test ID CEN1319
Head
HIC-15 283
Peak gs at hard contact not meas.
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.9
Extension bending moment (Nm) 12
Maximum Nij 0.27
Chest maximum compression (mm) 18
Femur (kN)
Left 2.9
Right 1.0
Knee displacement (mm)
Left 5
Right 1
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left 0
Right 0
Maximum tibia index
Left 1.29
Right 0.38
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left 4.8
Right 2.0
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 67
Right 125

How the driver-side small overlap front test is conducted

Small overlap front: passenger-side

Rating applies to 2013-18 models

Tested vehicle: 2015 Toyota RAV4 LE 4-door 4wd

The Toyota RAV4 was redesigned for the 2013 model year. Although Toyota reinforced the structure in later model years on the driver side to improve occupant protection in small overlap frontal crashes, no such changes were made on the passenger side.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Passenger restraints and dummy kinematics
The passenger door opened during the crash, which shouldn't happen because the driver could be partly or completely ejected from the vehicle. Still, the dummy’s head loaded the frontal airbag, which stayed in front of the dummy until rebound. The side curtain airbag deployed and has sufficient forward coverage to protect the head from contact with side structure and outside objects. The side torso airbag also deployed.
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Action shot taken during the passenger-side small overlap frontal crash test.

The dummy's position in relation to the door frame and dashboard after the crash test indicates that the passenger's survival space was not maintained well.

The frontal and side curtain airbags worked well together to keep the head from coming close to any stiff structure or outside objects that could cause injury.

Despite extensive intrusion of the door hinge pillar and dashboard, risk of injury was moderate and limited to both lower legs.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on passenger side

Test ID CN15002
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm) 40
Footrest (cm) 40
Right toepan (cm) 23
Center toepan (cm) 21
Rocker panel lateral average (cm) 17
Upper occupant compartment
Center dash (cm) 10
Upper hinge pillar max (cm) 26
Upper dash (cm) 23
Right lower dash (cm) 21

Passenger injury measures

Test ID CN15002
Head
HIC-15 102
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.1
Extension bending moment (Nm) 15
Maximum Nij 0.23
Chest maximum compression (mm) 21
Femur (kN)
Left 0.7
Right 2.2
Knee displacement (mm)
Left 2
Right 4
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left 0
Right 0
Maximum tibia index
Left 0.91
Right 0.89
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left 0.9
Right 1.4
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 71
Right 118

Driver injury measures

Test ID CN15002
Head
HIC-15 33
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.6
Extension bending moment (Nm) 12
Maximum Nij 0.15
Chest maximum compression (mm) 24
Femur (kN)
Left 2.0
Right 1.3
Knee displacement (mm)
Left 2
Right 3
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left 0
Right 0
Maximum tibia index
Left 0.38
Right 0.25
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left 1.1
Right 0.6
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 32
Right 50

How the passenger-side small overlap front test is conducted

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 2013-18 models

Tested vehicle: 2013 Toyota Rav4 LE 4-door 4wd

The Toyota RAV4 was redesigned for the 2013 model year. Moderate overlap frontal ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by Toyota as part of frontal crash test verification.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Leg/foot, left
Leg/foot, right
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics
Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID VTF1221
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm) 6
Left (cm) 9
Center (cm) 6
Right (cm) 5
Brake pedal (cm) 5
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm) 1
Right (cm) 1
Steering column movement
Upward (cm) -1
Rearward (cm) -4
A-pillar rearward movement (cm) 1

Driver injury measures

Test ID VTF1221
Head
HIC-15 237
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.7
Extension bending moment (Nm) 12
Maximum Nij 0.31
Chest maximum compression (mm) 27
Legs
Femur force - left (kN) 1.0
Femur force - right (kN) 1.2
Knee displacement - left (mm) 0
Knee displacement - right (mm) 1
Maximum tibia index - left 0.48
Maximum tibia index - right 0.40
Tibia axial force - left (kN) 2.3
Tibia axial force - right (kN) 2.6
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 68
Right 81

How the moderate overlap front test is conducted

Side: original test

Rating applies to 2013-18 models

Tested vehicle: 2013 Toyota RAV4 LE 4-door 4wd with standard front and rear head curtain airbags and standard front seat-mounted torso airbags

The Toyota RAV4 was redesigned for the 2013 model year. Two side tests of the RAV4 were conducted, one by the Institute and the other by Toyota as part of side crash test verification. Ratings are based on both tests.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Driver head protection
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Rear passenger head protection

View of the vehicle and barrier just after the Institute's crash test.

View of the vehicle after the crash with doors removed, showing the side airbags and damage to the occupant compartment (Institute test car shown).

Smeared greasepaint shows where the driver dummy's head was protected from being hit by hard structures by the side curtain airbag in the Institute's test.

Smeared greasepaint shows where the rear passenger dummy’s head was protected by the side airbag.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID VTS1225 CES1302
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm) -14.5 -15.0
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Driver injury measures

Test ID VTS1225 CES1302
Head HIC-15 277 201
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.6 0.4
Compression (kN) 0.1 0.2
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 47 36
Lateral force (kN) 2.2 1.8
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 38 19
Average deflection (mm) 26 13
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 6.10 2.50
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.51 0.16
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 1.9 2.3
Acetabulum force (kN) 2.4 1.9
Combined force (kN) 4.2 4.2
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 1.0 0.2
L-M moment (Nm) 124 107
A-P moment (Nm) 34 -17

Passenger injury measures

Test ID VTS1225 CES1302
Head HIC-15 136 152
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.2 0.2
Compression (kN) 0.7 0.7
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 33 20
Lateral force (kN) 1.4 1.2
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 42 30
Average deflection (mm) 25 16
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 3.30 2.49
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.76 0.37
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 0.6 0.8
Acetabulum force (kN) 1.9 1.3
Combined force (kN) 1.9 1.5
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 1.4 1.7
L-M moment (Nm) 192 206
A-P moment (Nm) -30 -63

How the side crash test is conducted

Roof strength

Rating applies to 2013-18 models

Tested vehicle: 2013 Toyota RAV4 LE 4-door 4wd

Overall evaluation
Curb weight 3,516 lbs
Peak force 17,575 lbs
Strength-to-weight ratio 5.00

How the roof strength test is conducted

Head restraints & seats

Seat type: Manual cloth seats

Overall evaluation
Dynamic rating
Seat/head restraint geometry
Technical measurements for this test
Seat type Manual cloth seats
Geometry
Backset (mm) 22
Distance below top of head (mm) 10
Seat design parameters
Pass/fail Pass
Max T1 acceleration (g) 14.1
Head contact time (ms) 65
Force rating 1
Neck forces
Max neck shear force (N) 0
Max neck tension (N) 470

How the head restraint & seat test is conducted
Currently, IIHS tests apply only to front seats.

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