NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has received eleven complaints and additional Early Warning Report (EWR) data alleging a non-crash thermal event originating in the left side of the engine compartment of the fourth generation (XA40 platform, Model Year 2013-2018) Toyota RAV4 vehicles. A majority of thermal events occurred during driving conditions, with four taking place with the ignition off. Drivers experienced stalling prior to the thermal event in half of the instances where the vehicle was in motion. The twelve-volt battery was identified as the area of origin in a majority of the incidents reviewed. Improper battery installation or prior front end collision repair was a factor in the EWR Field Reports. Despite these external influences on the battery retaining method, the overall number of vehicle fire allegations with the battery as the area of origin is larger than its peer population.This Preliminary Evaluation has been opened to better understand the contributing factors and frequency of vehicle fires originating from the battery region of the subject vehicles relative to peer vehicles. The ODI reports cited above can be reviewed at: www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchNHTSAID using the following complaint identification numbers: 11394683, 11378273, 11362502, 11348663, 11327143, 11317639, 11316999, 11315799, 11311546, 11271217, 11034782.
