2019 Toyota RAV4

Car stalled. Towed to dealer. Dealer diagnosed failed electric water pump. Refused to repair under powertrain warranty. I took car to local mechanic for replacement. Upon investigation the rotor in the water pump swelled up causing it to seize, upon reading blogs it appears to be a common problem caused by the antifreeze and material they use to manufacture the rotor in the water pump. I did submit formal complaint to Toyoya Corp and was reimbursed because they agreed it was a powertrain issue. However, I think it possibly should be a recall.

I was pulling into a parking space and when I applied the brake to stop, the vehicle did not slow down and hit a building. The driver side airbags deployed (steering wheel and knee airbags). The was no one else in the vehicle. The vehicle was declared a total loss by the insurance company. I have reported the issue to Toyota and signed an authorization for them to obtain the vehicles electronic data. The consumer has yet to receive a response from Toyota.

All four doors retain water from an issue with wax/debris/substance that blocks the door drain holes and restricts water from draining properly. There is a TSB on this but it is not a recall level. I am told that standing water in a vehicle is not an issue, however I fail to understand how standing water would not rot away the doors as well as breed mold/bacteria. When calling the national hotline they are aware of the issue but since it is not a recall they would not honor covering the cost because it falls outside the standard warranty. For vehicles it affected (2019) the time the TSB was updated would fall outside the warranty time frame therefore making it that they would not need to cover the cost. There is nothing that could be done to prevent this since it is a defect with manufacturing and thus no warnings except when the car retains too much water it starts to pour out of the doors.

Engine maintenance required light came on. Vehicle was diagnosed with needing a new coolant bypass valve. Researching online and in Toyota groups, this is a widespread issue. Even the dealer said they have had many of these repairs yet Toyota has not issued a recall. This is a repair with a cost of $500-$1000 and a safety concern but Toyota has not addressed it.

Vehicle is switching to mud and sand mode on its own, which according to a quick google search is a common electrical problem. Possible cause listed by other drivers is a roof rail leak. Upon inspection I see water stains on the inside of my headliner where the roof rails sit. So confirmed roof rail leak. I have not yet had this looked at to learn the full extent of the damage.

Driver was in the process of parking. While driver had foot on brake and about to put vehicle in park, vehicle suddenly lurched forward uncontrollably, jumped the curb, ran over thick bushes, and ran into the front window of a store. as soon as vehicle stopped, driver placed the vehicle in park. None of the safety features prevented this.

The rear passenger side hinge of my lift gate is cracked on both sides. As a result, the lift gate does not open, close, or seal properly. The cracks were noticed a few weeks ago after multiple issues with the rear lift gate freezing as opening or closing. It has never been in an accident, nor has it ever been hit. The car has exclusively only been serviced at the Toyota dealership where it was bought. The rear liftgate issues have been brought up multiple times with no resolution. I’ve contacted the dealership about the hinges and they’ve told me that I need to take it to a private body shop to have repaired. Having the hinge of the liftgate cracked on both sides impacts the integrity of the rear of the car in a collision and the safety of the user one opening and closing lift gate should break entirely. I’m doing research on this issue online. It seems to be some thing. Other people have experience with the rear liftgate hinge. There’s even a complaint about it on consumer affairs.

On May 13, 2023, ‘Engine Maintenance Required-Visit Your Dealer’ warning appeared on my console. I immediately brought the vehicle to the Toyota dealer. I was told the Coolant Bypass Valve went bad. This was at roughly 45,000 miles. I had previously purchased a ‘No deductible extended warranty’ from this same Toyota dealer. Now they tell me this ‘Valve’ is not covered under warranty. I was charged $887.99 for repair of this ‘Valve’. As this could cause the engine to overheat, causing additional damage, it most certainly is a safety issue.