If you are planning on purchasing a Toyota RAV4 for the model years 2013-2018 just hold your horses as drivers are complaining of fire outbreak.

Nigeria’s best selling compact crossover SUV, the Toyota RAV4, according to monitored trends on , is being investigated by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) over potential fire risks.

The vehicle which is behind only the Toyota Highlander and Lexus RX in general SUV popularity in Nigeria has piqued the attention of the administrative body following 11 fire reports against models falling in the 2013-2018 year range.

“Toyota is aware that NHTSA has opened this investigation and we are cooperating with the agency,” said Ed Hellwig, spokesman for Toyota.

The RAV4 is the Japanese automaker’s best selling brand in the US and one of the overall best selling cars in the country.

Preliminary evaluation began after half of the complainants experienced stalling while the vehicle was in motion just before the fire broke out.

The NHTSA have postulated that an improper installation of battery installation or previous front-end collision repair was a factor in the reported fire incidences.

Yet even with the possibility of there being causes independent of the factory, the agency stated that investigations have been “opened to better understand the contributing factors and frequency of vehicle fires originating from the battery region of the subject vehicles”.

One of the incidences took place in Lyons, Colorado, when a 2017 RAV4 hybrid caught fire as a driver was cruising at a 50 miles per hour speed. The engine light is reported to have illuminated, before being followed shortly by white smoke emanating from beneath the hood.

The 2013-2018 model years is the fourth generation of the RAV4, and the late years of 2017 and 2018 performed well according to auto site cars.com which rated each an impressive 4.8.

Regarding the battery of the fourth generation, which has been attributed as a causative factor by the NHTSA, carbuyers.co.uk had this to say,

“The Toyota RAV4 Hybrid is practical and safe, but its small battery puts it at a serious disadvantage next to plug-in hybrid SUVs”

www.mitrobe.com/nigerias-best-selling-suv-under-investigation-in-usa-over-reports-of-fire/