37 problems related to air bag have been reported for the 2004 Toyota RAV4. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2004 Toyota RAV4 based on all problems reported for the 2004 RAV4.
My mother was involved in a side impact crash (passengers side) in 2014. Her car was totaled as the other car essentially speared hers caving in the right side. She was wearing seatbelt and the airbag deployed. Mom survived with no internal injuries. However she was left with severe lacerations to the scalp, face and hematoma to the head which needed surgery. I suspect this injury was from the airbag deploying violently. My husband who is a retired firefighter/medic inspected the car after the wreck and he feels the same. There was no indication that her head hit the side window or windshield. There was blood on the airbag and all over her seat. This incident happened in florida on a hot August day. The car has been in FL for the last ten years.
I was stopped at a red light with ~1 car length between me and one car in front of me. When the light turned green and the car ahead began to move, I took my foot off the brake and moved it to the accelerator as usual. At that point, my car rapidly accelerated out of control and hit the car in front. My brakes wouldn't engage and my car continued to accelerate rapidly. I had to swerve around the car I'd hit while my car continued at high speed through 2 stop signs in a residential neighborhood. During this time, I had to swerve to avoid hitting oncoming cars. All the while I was trying to apply brakes, but they wouldn't engage and my speed didn't decrease. After approximately 1/2 mile, the brakes finally engaged and I was able to bring the car to a stop. My airbags didn't deploy after the initial impact, perhaps because of the initial low speed.