2020 Toyota RAV4

In preparing for a trip, the automatic tailgate went out of alignment and would not close. A local body shop diagnosed the issue as a bent hinge. There was no incident that caused this - the hinge appears to be insufficiently sturdy for a heavy tailgate. The body shop temporarily hammered the hinge back into place, but the seal of the tailgate is imperfect, allowing exhaust fumes to enter the cabin when driving at low speeds. This may also have been true before the gate failed to close, but was not noticed. This is beginning to show up on other RAV4s. The local Toyota dealer would not accept a warranty claim for the issue. A permanent repair is scheduled, but will require several weeks due to scheduling.

Due to recent rains in CA I noticed the headliner near the upper a-frame pillar was damp on both the drivers and passenger side. With a quick search online it is a common problem among 2019-present Toyota Rav4 owners. As of this writing I do not know of a public Toyota approve fix. https://www.rav4world.com/threads/potential-safety-issue-for-rav4-adventure-owners.304363/#post-2770286 https://www.rav4world.com/threads/2019-roof-rack-leak.305629/ I took the car in for service with a Toyota dealer to have the leak addressed within a couple days of noticing the damp headliner. They performed a repair and said all was good. Less than a week later, the same issue occurred. Again, I brought the car back as soon I as I noticed the leak and they did a more thorough repair, replacing more roof rail components. A little over 3 weeks later I noticed the same issue with condensation build up in the car and after looking behind the a-frame covering there were puddles of water in the plastic covering. Again the dealer notified me the repair was done and everything was good, when I picked up the car the head liner was still wet, and I left the car with them. Currently the vehicle is still is possession of the dealer pending next steps. In total the dealer has had the vehicle for 15+ days as of this writing. I am concerned with what other damage is occurring to the airbags, airbag systems, electronic components, electrical connections, and Toyota Safety Sense systems due to prolonged water exposure that could prevent safety systems from operating as and when intended. I am also concerned about mold growth due to the prolonged water exposure and the effect it may have on myself and my passengers. Other than visual indicators of seeing water dripping and damp headliner, there was no indication that the roof was leaking.

The roof rack side rails that come standard on the vehicle are only secured by glue on the front with minimal weather proofing rubber. When driving, the front of the rails lift up and water and dirt can get into the front supports of the car in the left and right of the windshield. This is extremely dangerous and others have reported similar issues. The front of the roof rack side rails needs to be secured with a physical bolt and not just glue.

During a road trip with my wife I discovered that the headliner started leaking down the A-frame and into the curtain airbags on the A-pillar on the driver and passenger side of the vehicle. Within 2 minutes of googling the issue I found out that 2019-2020 RAV4s with the factory installed roof rails experience a leak caused by a faulty gasket. This information was confirmed by my service advisor at Toyota of El Cajon after he stated "Yeah you've got the RAV4 leak, I'm finishing up a warranty claim on one right now". I expressed concerns over electrical damage, damage to the air bags, and possible mold growth in the vehicle and was told that Toyota doesn't consider water leaking into an airbag/control panel to be an issue. I would really like NHTSA to inform Toyota that water leaking into safety equipment through the roof of a new $50,000 car is indeed a safety issue and just awful quality assurance.

The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that the mirror housings of the vehicle were melting. The dealer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that they could not assist as the failure was a manufacturer defect. The dealer referred the contact to the manufacturer. The manufacturer was notified of the failure advised the contact that they would follow up with the dealer. A case was opened. The contact stated the dealer took photographs of the failure. The contact stated the manufacturer contacted her and informed her that their field experts determined that the failure was not a manufacturer defect but an environmental issue called solar conversion. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 10,000

I bumped the car in front of me when starting from a red light at an intersection. Impact speed was less than 3 MPH. The damage from this impact resulted in repair cost of almost $4,200. This is outrageous and an example of poor design on the part of Toyota. It is my understanding that the standards require vehicles to absorb up to 5 MPH frontal impact with no damage. Had I known this vehicle was so poorly protected I would have chosen to purchase something else.