2020 Toyota RAV4 Problems

Coolant bypass valve leak. An known issue however dealership will not pay for repairs due to vehicle having 106000 mile. 6000 over what the bulletin 24TE04 states it will cover.

Toyota made a defective coolant valve in their 2019-2021 cars that leaked spontaneously in these vehicles. Over 950,000 cars have been affected to date, including my 2020 Rav4. They are aware of the issue and made a customer support program for this issue which led to engines overheating/electrical code problems, which can cause a severe safety issue if left unrepaired. The program however has a limitation until November 2025 or 100,000 miles whichever comes first. When I was alerted of this, I brought my car to the dealer for service, but they wouldn't replace the part because it wasn't leaking too much at the time to need repair. However, just 4 months after the primary coverage expired, my engine code went off and when I brought my car, the coolant valve turned out to be defective and leaked into the electrical wire harness which then also had to be replaced in addition to the coolant valve. The repair cost was $1200 and both were required to keep the car driving safely and reliably on the road. Because my car had 120,000 miles and the known issue presented after Nov2025, Toyota refuses to cover the service, although it is a known manufacturing defect. Toyota is committing fraud to avoid covering this safety issue. The repair is expensive and if left unrepaired, the cars can spontaneously catch on fire on highways and in parks leading to wild fires and endanger others on the road. The toyota technician specifically informed me the issue was similar to other cars and known and the defect led to the destruction of the wire harness. To avoid a safety recall, Toyota reached a private settlement against class action lawsuit and created a limited CSP to avoid covering the defect in cars like mine to maintain their reliability status in consumer reports so cars like mine with little higher mileage won't be reported. It is fraud. I believe they are skipping on consumer repair bills that consumers on entitled to for their manufacturing defect.

If I don't drive the car for 1 to 2 weeks, the car's 12v is completely drained of power and the care needs to be jumped, otherwise, it will not start. This is consistent. I've taken this to several Toyota dealerships and they all have reported my 12v battery is healthy. However, Toyota is aware and is charging for the fix, labelled as T-SB-0089-21. The known issue is a piece of electronics in the car that continually drains power because it does not properly shut off. This should not be a paid fix. This should be a recall. When the car is jumped and the car finally starts, it reports a message saying something about some safety features not available. The car needs to be moved every 2 weeks due to mandatory city street cleaning so at least once every month the car needs to be jumped if not used the week prior.

Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2020 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that it was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. The vehicle was a dealer sale. At the time of purchase, the vehicle mileage was 59,475. The contact stated that while his father was driving the vehicle, the vehicle stalled several times. The contact's father was a mechanic and was able to repair the vehicle. It was later discovered that Carfax reported the vehicle mileage as 176,009.

Coolant bypass failed at 55,000 miles. This car has barely been used. This car is almost in mint condition and the coolant bypass has failed resulting the car not being able to be driven at all until fixed. The dealer is charging over $600 to repair. This is an ongoing issue with hundreds of Toyota RAV4 owners.

1. I had to have Injector Fuel Service due to my vehicle having a sluggish feeling while driving from Stop to Start. The vehicle also had a throttling motion while driving. 2. A message appeared on dashboard after a recent visit to the dealership after normal maintenance service, “Engine Maintenance Required” “Reach out to Dealer.” This message specifically shows while I start up my vehicle and will not disappear if cancelled. “This is a warning for a coolant bypass valve failure”

The contact owns a 2020 Toyota RAV4. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact noticed that there was an unusual sound coming from the rear of the vehicle. The contact parked and inspected the vehicle. The contact stated that upon opening the rear passenger's side door, the contact noticed water leaking from the bottom of the door panel onto the ground. The contact stated about a gallon of water leaked from the rear passenger's side door panel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the contact was informed that the repair was not covered under a recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact referenced an unknown recall; however, the VIN was not associated with the recall. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and a case was filed. The contact was advised to take the vehicle to the dealer for inspection. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.

The contact owns a 2020 Toyota RAV4. The contact stated that while driving, the contact observed a swishing noise coming from the rear passenger door. Upon inspecting the vehicle, the contact noticed the swishing noise when moving the door. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where it was diagnosed that water had collected in the rear passenger door and all door seals needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 87,000.

The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the message "Air Bag Fault" was displayed. An independent mechanic was contacted. The vehicle was taken to the independent mechanic to be diagnosed, and it was determined that the air bag needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and filed a case. The approximate failure mileage was 110,000.

I received recall notice December 2023 for defect in front passenger seat airbag that could cause the airbag to fail to deploy in the event of a crash. I have contacted the dealer several times and have been told each time that there is no remedy (yet). It has been two years and the risk to passengers in my vehicle has not been remedied. Fortunately, I have not had any collisions but the danger and safety concerns remain, and there has been NO ACTION BY TOYOTA ON THIS SERIOUS RECALL NOTICE The Recall Notice stills says “no remedy” and it has not been updated in the past year. This is a serious, potentially dangerous and life-threatening defect, a recall has been issued, and yet NOTHING has been done to remedy the defect FOR TWO YEARS. What remedies are available to me as a customer? Will action be taken on this complaint? Please let me know when I can expect a response.

The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Rav4. The vehicle was previously taken to a dealer for maintenance, and it was discovered that there was an oil leak underneath the vehicle. The contact stated that the transmission was shifting roughly while driving. The vehicle was driven to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed with transmission failure. There were metal fragments found in the transmission fluid. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 133,000.

When trying to start my vehicle this morning, the car was having a noticeable issue the minute I turned on the vehicle. It was making some weird noises under the hood, and it was starting to lose power. Then the engine would cut out and a warning would appear on my dash that read, "Engine Stopped, Steering Power Low" Thank God this happened while I was at home. What if this had happened while I was driving down the road, at a red light. I would have been a sitting duck in the middle of the road and would not want to put my kids or I in jeopardy of being hit.

The contact owned a 2020 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while pulling into a vertical spot and making a right turn, the vehicle suddenly accelerated, jumped the curb, the sidewalk, and continued driving down the sidewalk and crashed into a building. The brake pedal was depressed but was stuck. The vehicle failed to turn off, and the parking brake failed to engage. There were no warning lights illuminated. The air bags deployed as needed. A Police report was filed. The EMS workers were unable to depress the brake pedal. The undercarriage of the dashboard ripped the skin off both shins. The contact was transported to the trauma hospital, where medical attention was provided for four weeks to close the wounds. A skin graft was performed on both legs. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was deemed a total loss by the insurance company. The black box data was retrieved, which showed the acceleration, but no information if the brake pedal was depressed. The approximate failure mileage was 25,000.

i cant use my cruise control its not going straight and everytime im turning i can hear a grinding noise its coming from power steering

The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while driving 20 MPH and making a turn, the vehicle felt like it was going to flip over. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the dealer was made aware of the failure, but the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact stated that the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V373000 (Steering). The contact associated the failure with the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 74,000.

The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel failed to turn in the intended direction. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with an electronic power steering module failure. The contact was advised to take the vehicle to the dealer. The contact was informed of an unknown recall; however, the VIN was not associated with the recall. The vehicle was not inspected. The contact was provided a diagnostic test fee, and the contact declined. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and a case was filed. The contact was informed that the repair was not covered under the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 133,255.

The contact owned a 2020 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while pulling into a vertical spot and making a right turn, the vehicle suddenly accelerated, jumped the curb, the sidewalk, and continued driving down the sidewalk and crashed into a building. The brake pedal was depressed but was stuck. The vehicle failed to turn off, and the parking brake failed to engage. There were no warning lights illuminated. The air bags deployed as needed. A Police report was filed. The EMS workers were unable to depress the brake pedal. The undercarriage of the dashboard ripped the skin off both shins. The contact was transported to the trauma hospital, where medical attention was provided for four weeks to close the wounds. A skin graft was performed on both legs. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was deemed a total loss by the insurance company. The black box data was retrieved, which showed the acceleration, but no information if the brake pedal was depressed. The approximate failure mileage was 25,000.

The front brakes wear out too quickly. In the past 3 years, the front brakes and rotors have had to be replaced 5 times while the rear brakes only once. this is not normal. i have complained to the dealership but they have no answers.

The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while driving or while the vehicle was parked, there was water leaking from the sunroof. While driving at an undisclosed speed, there was a loud clunking sound coming from the front of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that front alignment was needed, and that the roof rails needed to be repaired or replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 149,782.

Driving at highway speeds with no other vehicles around, sunroof closed but shade open, sunroof exploded. Edges of sunroof that didn't fall in were pushed up as if an over pressure condition had occurred. There was no evidence of anything striking the glass found upon inspection. Quick internet search confirms others with this same make/model have experienced the same issue.

Front driver side door is not locking remotely or with manual door lock button. Door lock is open when driving. And need to be locked with finger.

In March 2025 the driver door lock stopped working electronically and would only work manually. In August 2025 the passenger door lock stopped working noisy of the time. In Dec 2025 the rear passenger side does lock stopped working most of the time.

The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while driving or while the vehicle was parked, there was water leaking from the sunroof. While driving at an undisclosed speed, there was a loud clunking sound coming from the front of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that front alignment was needed, and that the roof rails needed to be repaired or replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 149,782.

Since I've owned the vehicle it has made loud squeaking, scraping, popping, and clicking noises in the suspension and steering. When I first turn the vehicle on and use the brakes they are very loud as if they are worn. I've had the brakes checked and the dealer said the brakes are fine. When I turn the steering wheel it makes a loud crunching rubbing noise that I can feel in the floor board. My vehicle is less than 5 years old and less than 60,000 miles. I've never had a vehicle made so many noises and it's terrifying to wonder if something is just going to break off or stop working.

Rear middle seatbelt sensor keeps going off when driving.

Rear seat seat belt warning and chimes comes up even when no one sitting in the back and no stuff is put on the back seat. It start chiming randomly and even when all 3 seat belts are buckled the chime comes up. It is security risk as the sudden sound of warnings can distract drive when driving and can cause accident. This model of Rav 4 does not have option to disable this feature, and cause lot of annoyance when random warning chimes start blaring through the vehicle without any reason and resolution. Toyota is refusing to do anything about it in spite of multiple forums reported this issue with various Toyota models. NHTSA need to take action on Toyota for this safety issue.

The shell latching mechanism is no longer latching and or latching to the base.

TPS monitoring systems were reading or installed on the wrong tires. Asked if possibly the sensors need to be recalibrated after rotations, dealership said no the vehicle is suppose to relearn the new location. One morning my front tire said it was low, added air and rechecked it with a handheld PSI reader. Also visually checked it for nails or defects. Tire appeared fine so I got in to drive home. It was the rear tire that blew on the interstate driving home not the front left which was the one that was telling me was low. I did look at the rear while getting in the vehicle. It didn’t appear low visually but it was dark at the time and was reading just fine through the Toyota’s PSI monitoring system. Also didn’t drive any different. Typically you can tell if your tire is low or flat by how it drives. You usually can hear a thumping too. Thought maybe the cold weather was just telling me it’s low, cold weather causes tire air to contract dropping PSI but it will stabilize later. Thought maybe it was that or possibly the sensor was bad in it. All I knew was I checked it and made sure the PSI was at the factories recommended amount. Turns out all 4 tires were reading on the wrong location. Which I didn’t know at the time. Caused my vehicle to hit the side of the bridge from fish tailing. Which resulted in damage to the rear arm that needed to be replaced and significant suspension damage. Totaling 3K+ in repairs. Toyota opened an investigation but has been dragging their feet on the issue. And don’t want to take responsibility nor tell me why my tires are reading in the wrong locations. They stated that I should have checked all the tires PSI by hand because back in the day they didn’t have monitoring systems that told you the exact tire that was low. But if you are going to integrate a monitoring system, it should work properly. If it doesn’t then it shouldn’t be used with the public at all. How is the customer suppose to know that your system is unreliable.

Vehicle was taken in for a oil change. At check-in I was told that I would be given a rental vehicle due to the overhead rails recall, leaking inside the vehicles at that time I advised of a gas smell which I have been smelling for several years and it was getting stronger. I was told that there was something wrong with the fuel pump and it would need to be replaced and they would also be replacing rails from the top of my vehicle because there was water leaks inside my car, I advised that water has been leaking in my car for several years and clips were already placedbout two years ago. Several days later I received a phone call that my vehicle was ready to pick up when I got there i was informed that the fuel pump assembly was replaced and intake. Manifest gasket , throttle gasket , fuel pump gasket replaced EGR valve replaced EGR inlet gasket replaced EGR valve. ad gasket replaced EGR cooler gasket replaced. I was also told that my air filters would need to be changed and I did consent to my air filters, the air element and a brake system flush as recommended after picking up my vehicle which had 34033 miles on it on 1/24/24. On 2/10 I was driving and a warning flashed on my car and spoke to me it said that there was a malfunction detected in the engine, transmission or throttle of the vehicle and I need to contact Toyota. I was two miles away and drove directly to them. They took the vehicle for several hours. I was told it was the alternator because my lights have been going dim and very bright. I advised that I have issues with the windows closing since the most recent repair as well and the vehicle is losing power. After almost 4 hours I was informed it a thermostat. Everyone had gone home and they could not give me a give me a rental so I had to drive this vehicle until Monday afternoon. The thermostat and gasket were replaced and I was charged because they used insurance without telling me. I believe this is a malfunction in their system related to origina

BATTERY ISN'T HOLDING A CHARGE. TEMPS OUTSIDE ARE GETTING COLDER BUT NOT THAT COLD. DON'T DRIVE IT ON SUNDAYS, BATTERY IS DEAD DEAD ON MONDAY MORNINGS. DRIVE AN AVERAGE OF 30 MILES PER DAY. BATTERY WAS REPLACED BY DEALERSHIP AND STILL SLOW TO START IN THE MORNINGS. NOW RUN IT IDLING FOR 20 MINUTES SUNDAY EVENING TO ENSURE IT STARTS MONDAY MORNING