2019 Toyota RAV4 Problems

While driving in the mountains on a hot day, the car suddenly reported numerous faults, including check engine, parking brake malfunction, pre-collision system malfunction, AWD system malfunction, and secondary collision brake system malfunction. The car lost power and forced us to pull over on the side of a dangerous mountain highway. We powered-off the car for a few minutes and started it again and were able to proceed to our nearby remote mountain destination without another loss of power, but the faults remained. The next day we were able to get the car to a nearby NAPA store to read the check engine codes, which there were only 2 of the "P0087" code. I had them clear the fault codes in order to be able to safely drive the car (~120 miles) back home. Some quick research shows a known issue and TSB for that in our exact high-altitude and high-temperature situation - Toyota T-SB-0058-22, related to a known design flaw with the ECM and fuel suction tube. Luckily, it did not throw the errors again during our drive home. I made an appointment at our local AutoNation Toyota Arapahoe for the following week. I detailed the issue and provided pictures of the errors - including the code reader display. The dealer claimed to not find any issues and refused to address/execute the TSB, stating that the code must be active and present in order for them to fix it and that my pictures were not sufficient proof. I explained that it was an unacceptable safety risk to have left the car in that state and that the issue is known to only occur in certain conditions (e.g. high-altitude, high-temperature mountain driving). Issue remains un-addressed, which is highly unacceptable and poses a serious on-going safety risk.

Vehicle consistently accepts only approximately 9–10 gallons of fuel when the fuel gauge indicates empty, resulting in significantly reduced driving range. Issue has been widely reported by other Toyota RAV4 Hybrid owners and appears related to fuel tank design. Manufacturer declined assistance and referred responsibility to selling dealer despite known complaints.

Component: Engine — Engine Cooling System — Coolant Pump Summary: The electric water pump on my 2019 Toyota RAV4 failed prematurely at 64273 miles. The check engine light illuminated with diagnostic trouble code P26CB (Engine Coolant Pump Performance/Stuck Off). The engine coolant temperature fluctuated rapidly / coolant level dropped. The vehicle required immediate repair to avoid engine damage. This is a recurring failure pattern on 2019–2021 Toyota RAV4 and Camry vehicles equipped with the 2.5L A25A-FKS engine, where the electric water pump seizes due to an apparent defect in its plastic housing and rotor assembly. Failures are routinely reported at 30,000–60,000 miles—far below the expected service life of the component. Loss of coolant circulation creates an overheating hazard and can lead to sudden loss of propulsion and engine damage while driving. Toyota has issued technical service bulletins related to coolant seepage at the pump but has not recalled the component or extended warranty coverage, leaving owners to bear repair costs of $600–$1,300 for a premature defect-driven failure. I request NHTSA to evaluate this defect for a safety recall.

As soon as my vehicle hit 100K mileages and there's "AWD System malfunction" sign showed up on dash. Got it done replaced it cost roughly more than $500. After 2 days later another problem shows up on dash this time it was "engine maintenance required" show on dash again. Heard people had the same issue to whoever own 2019 RAV4 and they all had the same for those 2 issues. Toyota company should pay attention for these kind of problems or like some of of recall.

As soon as my vehicle hit 100K mileages and there's "AWD System malfunction" sign showed up on dash. Got it done replaced it cost roughly more than $500. After 2 days later another problem shows up on dash this time it was "engine maintenance required" show on dash again. Heard people had the same issue to whoever own 2019 RAV4 and they all had the same for those 2 issues. Toyota company should pay attention for these kind of problems or like some of of recall.

Display of RAV4 Hybrid is malfunctioning as it randomly turns on and off at frequent intervals, the screen turns on an off in a similar manner, the display controls are not operative even if displayed. This occurred right after the Dealer (355 Toyota of Rockville, [XXX] ) conducted a recall procedure on a wire harness. Immediately after these repairs, it was noticed that the display started to malfunction. It has never malfunctioned before. I went back to the Dealership and the manager said that the display problem was unrelated to the recall maintenance. So I am reporting it here. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The rear door (lift gate) hinges are failing and tearing away from the vehicle body, causing misalignment of the rear door, operational failure of the automated lift gate, and water leaking into the interior. This has occurred under normal use conditions. It appears that the hinge design is insufficient to handle the load and forces of normal operation of the door. The failure has been documented in pictures. The Toyota dealership where the vehicle was purchased stated that the vehicle is out of warranty and there is no recall for the hinges, therefore the owner is responsible for repair costs. Had the issue not been found and the hinges failed completely, it could have been extremely hazardous.

The rear hatch hinges are undersized causing them to fail and undue stress on the motor.

transmission went out at 109,217 k miles had to pay for it out of pocket Toyota doesn't recommend transmission fluid replacement until 120k miles

The 8-speed automatic on my 2019 RAV4 (2.5L 4 Cyl) has been shifting super rough at lower speeds, to the point to where downshifts can send the revs into redline territory, but the car really doesn't move. No warning lights, passed state inspection, recently serviced. purchaced this car in Janurary with 50k miles on it and noticed it within a few weeks of driving. I am now at 57k and the issue is signifigantly worse than it was before. Will be taking it to Toyota soon. The safety issues arise when I do not know how the car is going to accelerate or respond to throttle input in traffic. I don't trust the car to handle any fast throttle input if I need to move out of the way quickly.

While driving in the mountains on a hot day, the car suddenly reported numerous faults, including check engine, parking brake malfunction, pre-collision system malfunction, AWD system malfunction, and secondary collision brake system malfunction. The car lost power and forced us to pull over on the side of a dangerous mountain highway. We powered-off the car for a few minutes and started it again and were able to proceed to our nearby remote mountain destination without another loss of power, but the faults remained. The next day we were able to get the car to a nearby NAPA store to read the check engine codes, which there were only 2 of the "P0087" code. I had them clear the fault codes in order to be able to safely drive the car (~120 miles) back home. Some quick research shows a known issue and TSB for that in our exact high-altitude and high-temperature situation - Toyota T-SB-0058-22, related to a known design flaw with the ECM and fuel suction tube. Luckily, it did not throw the errors again during our drive home. I made an appointment at our local AutoNation Toyota Arapahoe for the following week. I detailed the issue and provided pictures of the errors - including the code reader display. The dealer claimed to not find any issues and refused to address/execute the TSB, stating that the code must be active and present in order for them to fix it and that my pictures were not sufficient proof. I explained that it was an unacceptable safety risk to have left the car in that state and that the issue is known to only occur in certain conditions (e.g. high-altitude, high-temperature mountain driving). Issue remains un-addressed, which is highly unacceptable and poses a serious on-going safety risk.

Rav4 2019 - We lost engine power while driving on the highway at 75 mph. We were in the #2 lane and were fortunate to be able to coast to the side of the road. Quite scary as there were semi trucks behind us.We had been driving for approximately 3.5 hours on the highway at 70-75 MPH. The outside temperature registering on our vehicle began at 110 and continued to increase on up to 118 degrees at the time of the incident. When we lost engine power, the following errors began flashing on the dashboard: PKSB Malfunction, Pre Collision System Malfunction, Secondary Collision Brake System Malfunction. We cleaned the sensors, turned the car off for 5 minutes and then turned it back on. Same warnings appeared. Got towed to the Toyota dealership. Next day all malfunction warnings gone. Car was behaving normally. Toyota service team was unable to reproduce the problem. They inspected the electrical, battery, sensors, etc. but could not find anything. Ultimately the service lead stated that the intense heat could have caused sensor malfunction. Scary!! We fortunate!

Was in a front driver side T-bone @ 35 miles and hour accident and no Airbags deployed

It happened yesterday , November 3rd at 8:45 am Approx. speed was 35mph to 40 •Location: 934 York Road, Towson, MD •Description: Front-right impact at 40 mph, no airbag deployment, two children in back seat, vehicle had recent 50K service and roof-rail repair, CSP 22TE05, at Sheehy Toyota Cockeysville. Vehicle now at Caliber Collision Cockeysville. Claim #060381946 I am experiencing neck, shoulder and rib pain right now, my 5 year old complain about right ankle pain and apparently hit his head on the right side.My 3 year old complain about neck pain yesterday. There was no sign showing any kind of failure on my dashboard. I asked my vehicle to be investigated formally by Toyota engineer asap or forensic expert. I asked my vehicle to be freeze right until proper airbag inspection have been conducted. I have picture of the car showing clearly that none of the airbags worked.

Was in a front driver side T-bone @ 35 miles and hour accident and no Airbags deployed

Braking while pulling into a parking space. Instead of slowing down the car accelerated and went over the curb. Maintained pressure on the break but it did not slow the car. Instead the car kept accelerating down an embankment, across an empty street and towards a telephone pole. Turning the steering wheel to the left to avoid the telephone pole the car further descended into a ditch. The car had to be towed and is now deemed to be totaled. The brake- pads had been inspected during a routine maintenance check the day before this accident occurred and they were good. No other vehicle was involved. My personal injury was an abrasion and bruise where my seat belt did it's job. My muscles are sore. The side airbags did deploy after the car stopped. The floor mats were locked in place.

We were driving down the highway passing another vehicle when we lost steering and the dash said "Steering Power Loss". We pulled to the side of the road where the vehicle stalled and would not restart. Probably 10-15 minutes later the vehicle started and we eventually made it to our destination. It was quite scary trying to get to the side of the road, in heavy traffic, and pulling over where there really was no shoulder, and not knowing whether the car would eventually restart or what. Although 2019 Toyota Rav4's have been recalled for this very issue, for some reason our VIN is not listed.

While driving the 2019 Toyota RAV4, I found that the steering wheel was getting hard to turn and the car kept making grinding sound when turning. Due to I was short on time, I asked an old mechanic friend to check the RAV4 out before my road trip. He was unable to get the vehicle back; therefore, I used my other vehicle. While I was out of town the Mechanic contacted me, and ask if the car had been in water and I replied no. He suggested that I might want to see if there’s a recall. I googled recall for RAV4 vehicles and found that a recall had been issued for certain groups of power, steering boxes. This may allow water to enter the box that could corrode and cause loss of power steering that could cause an accidents. I’ve reached out to several Toyota representatives with this issue, but have been unsuccessful and getting them to see that this car may have been overlooked.

The wipers started acting up a few months ago, the low setting would cycle 7 times then stop randomly, the high setting would cycle 11 times then stop randomly. I could reset it by turning off, then on. On 9/22/2026 I was driving home when it started to down pour. The wipers at first did as previous. But at a critical moment they completely stopped and would not cycle again. I had to pull over to the side while in traffic and not being able to see. I have replaced the wiper motor and switch but to no avail.

On February 2, 2026, while driving approximately 65 mph on the freeway in Wisconsin, the panoramic sunroof glass on my 2019 Toyota RAV4 XLE Premium (VIN: [XXX] ) spontaneously exploded. The ambient temperature was approximately 20°F. Crucially, the glass buckled outward, indicating the failure was caused by internal pressure or a structural defect, rather than an external impact (such as a rock). There were no other vehicles immediately ahead of me that could have kicked up debris. Safety Risk: The explosion created a loud, gunshot-like noise that caused severe driver distraction at highway speeds. While no crash occurred and no injuries were sustained this time, the sudden structural failure posed a significant risk of loss of vehicle control. Status: No warning lights or messages appeared prior to the failure. The vehicle had no prior damage to the roof area. Photos of outward buckling available upon request INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The contact owns a 2019 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while accelerating, the vehicle started shaking, jerking, and vibrating abnormally before stopping. Additionally, the exterior door handles on the front passenger’s side door, rear passenger’s side door, and rear driver’s side door had detached from the vehicle. There were no warning lights illuminated. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 69,053.

A recall was issued for a roof leak defect that allowed water intrusion into my vehicle. The recall repair was performed at Autonation Toyota of Weston dealership, where the roof was replaced due to water staining. However, water intrusion which led to black mold growth into the interior carpeting and floor board remained after the repair. The dealership stated that the remaining water intrusion affecting the carpeting was caused by another source. Documentation showing that the recall repair procedure was completed according to the manufacturer’s requirements was requested but has not been provided. The defect involving water entering the vehicle interior remains unresolved. I was last told by the General Manager that my requests and concerns were forwarded to legal, but I have not heard back from October of 2025.

I was driving to Kansas on a road trip and we stopped for gas when we noticed the rear drivers side tire tilting inwards (top of tire angled towards the car). We then drove it to a mechanic in Kansas to see if it is safe to drive further. She noticed the bolt for the rear suspension loose and almost out entirely. She then told us we could not drive the car any further because a few more bumps and the bolt would fall out and create major safely concerns. She also noted that she could see where the bolt was rubbing on the rear suspension sub-plate and could see the old rusted damage along with the new damage from recent driving. She also noted the uneven wear on the tire with the tread worn significantly more on the inner side of the tire. We towed it to Denver to have it looked at and the said the bolt and nut need to be replaced along with a tire alignment. There were no warning signs other than my car felt more bouncy than normal. The car bolt has been replaced but you can inspect the surrounding damage if needed. Both the safety of the people in my vehicle and those around me would have been at risk if we didn't notice the tilt and continued the road trip.

Many things

The contact owns a 2019 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that the rear hatch door failed to remain securely closed. The contact stated that the failure intermittently occurred and became more frequent over time. Additionally, the front driver’s side seat belt buckle and rear passenger’s side seat belt buckle failed to buckle and lock securely. They also stated that the front driver's side electronic reclining seat made grinding sounds while operating. The contact also stated that water was leaking into the vehicle from the rear passenger’s side quarter panel. The cause of the failures was not yet determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failures, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 32,000.

Complaint Summary: Seatbelt failure on 2019 Toyota RAV4. Complaint Description: I own a 2019 Toyota RAV4, and the driver-side seatbelt has begun failing. The retractor and locking mechanism are not working reliably. Sometimes the belt won’t retract, sometimes it locks up randomly, and other times it doesn’t lock at all. This is a major safety hazard. I’ve owned many vehicles over my lifetime—older cars, newer cars, even vehicles over 50 years old—and I’ve never had a seatbelt go bad. This is the first time I’ve experienced a critical safety component failing like this. Toyota has issued seatbelt-related recalls on other RAV4 model years, but not on the 2019, even though the symptoms match what others have reported. This failure puts me at risk in the event of a crash, and it needs to be investigated. I am reporting this because I believe this is a safety defect, not normal wear, and it may affect more 2019 RAV4s than just mine.

I am reporting a serious concern and safety issue regarding the SlimFit3 LX car seat. We purchased it for a [XXX] old [XXX] male. After adjusting the head rest to the proper height so that the harness straps were slightly below his shoulder, we placed him in the seat and his head was unnaturally pushed forward and down so that his chin was pushed into his chest. This was caused by the headrest sitting too far forward of the back padding so there was no way for him to keep his head in natural alignment with his back. The contributing factor is the minimal back padding and its inset into the car seat. There should be more padding to move the back forward or the headrest should be retracted into the seat more. We immediately returned the two car seats we purchased because of this and went with a different manufacturer. Not only is this an ergonomic/comfort issue, but it could introduce airway obstructing breathing issues if the child fell asleep. It is an extremely unnatural position. Also, I would be concerned about long term damage to a child's posture after repeated use. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Was putting the cover back on after washing, putting the lower sitting piece on and the foam headrest just came right off

The contact owns a 2019 Toyota RAV4. The contact stated that the headlights failed to produce adequate lighting at night. While driving at 30 MPH in the dark with the headlights on, making a turn into her subdivision, she crashed into the stop sign, pedestrian crossing sign, and a street sign. There were no reported injuries, fire, or airbag deployment. A police report was filed. The local dealer was contacted, who informed her that the headlights were working as designed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was approximately 15,000. The VIN was not available.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2019 TOYOTA RAV4. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT NIGHT, THE FRONT HEAD LIGHTS FAILED TO ADEQUATELY ILLUMINATE THE ROADWAY WHICH CAUSED A VISIBILITY HAZARD TO THE DRIVER. THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE WAS NOT DETERMINED. THE LOCAL DEALER RICK MCGILL'S TOYOTA (3145 AIRPORT HWY, ALCOA TN) AND THE MANUFACTURER WERE NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE HEADLAMPS OPERATED AS DESIGNED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 100.*DT*JB

The contact owns a 2019 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while picking up her husband, upon sitting on the front passenger’s seat, he noticed that the seat was extremely hot. The contact stated that the heated seat feature was in the off position. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer and the vehicle was being diagnosed while filing the complaint. The vehicle was not yet diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 39,000.

2019 TOYOTA RAV4. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO NOISE COMING FROM VEHICLE WHILE IN REVERSE. THE CONSUMER STATED THE SOUND WAS AN ALERT THAT THE VEHICLE WAS IN REVERSE. THE CONSUMER INQUIRED WHY THE SOUND WAS COMING FROM THE FRONT OF THE VEHICLE INSTEAD OF THE BACK.