2019 Toyota RAV4
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Fuel/propulsion system is the leading concern among 879 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 2nd highest complaint count among 26 RAV4 model years with reports.
Of the 2019 reports, 25 involved a crash and 2 involved a fire. 21 people were injured.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Fuel system, gasoline, delivery, fuel pumpNov 4, 2020
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2018-2019 4Runner, 2019-2020 Avalon, 2019 Corolla Hatchback, 2017-2019 Highlander, 2018-2020 Camry, 2020 Corolla, 2018-2019 Land Cruiser, 2017-2020 Tacoma, 2019-2020 RAV4, 2019-2020 Sequoia, 2017-2020 Sienna, 2019-2020 Tundra, 2018-2020 Lexus ES350, 2017 Lexus GS200t, 2017-2019 Lexus GS350, 2019 Lexus GS300, 2018-2020 Lexus LC500h, 2019-2020 Lexus LS500, 2018-2019 Lexus GX460, 2017 Lexus IS200t, 2019 Lexus IS300, 2019 Lexus IS350, 2018-2020 Lexus LC500, 2018 Lexus LS500, 2019 Lexus LS500h, 2018-2019 Lexus LX570, 2017 Lexus RC200t, 2019 Lexus RC300, RC350, 2017 and 2019-2020 Lexus RX350, 2018-2020 RX350L, 2019 Lexus UX200, 2018-2019 Lexus NX300 vehicles. The low-pressure fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.
If the fuel pump fails, the engine can stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.
Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel pump assembly with an improved one, free of charge. Owners of specific models were notified that remedy parts were available starting January 21, 2021. Owners of other models will be notified as remedy parts become available. Remedy parts should be available for all affected vehicles by late March 2021. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371 or Lexus customer service at 1-800-255-3987. Note: This recall is an expansion of recall 20V-012. Toyota's number for this recall is 20TA02. Lexus' number for this recall is 20LA01.
Campaign 20V682000 on NHTSA.gov
Steering, electric power assist systemJun 24, 2020
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2019-2020 RAV4 and 2020 RAV4 Hybrid vehicles equipped with electric power steering (EPS). Water may enter through the steering gear box cover and cause a loss of electric power steering assist.
A loss of power steering assist could increase steering effort at low vehicle speeds, increasing the risk of a crash.
Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the power steering gear box, free of charge. The recall began August 17, 2020. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. Toyota's number for this recall is 20TB11 / 20TA11.
Campaign 20V373000 on NHTSA.gov
Suspension, front, control arm, lower armMay 20, 2020
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2019-2020 RAV4 and RAV4 Hybrid vehicles. The front lower suspension arms may have cracks, which may result in the suspension arm separating from the front wheel assembly.
If a suspension control arm breaks, it can result in a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.
Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace both front lower suspension arms, free of charge. This recall began August 10, 2020. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. Toyota's interim numbers for this recall are 20TB08 / 20TA08.
Campaign 20V286000 on NHTSA.gov
Engine and engine coolingFeb 6, 2020
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2020 Toyota Avalon Hybrid, Camry, Camry Hybrid and Lexus ES300h and 2019-2020 RAV4 and RAV4 Hybrid vehicles equipped with 2.5L 4-Cylinder engines. Porosity in the engine castings may result in cracks than can allow coolant to leak internally and/or externally.
A coolant leak can cause the engine to overheat and cause a vehicle stall in conventional gasoline vehicles, increasing the risk of a crash. Additionally, for all involved vehicles, the engine may get damaged mechanically, possibly resulting in an engine oil leak, increasing the risk of a fire.
Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the engine including the engine block, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began April 3, 2020. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371 or Lexus at 1-800-255-3987. Toyota's number for this recall is 20TA04. Lexus' number for this recall is 20LA02.
Campaign 20V064000 on NHTSA.gov
Back over prevention, sensing system, cameraAug 6, 2019
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2019 RAV4 and RAV4 Hybrid vehicles. Due to a damaged electrical connector, the back-up camera may not activate when the vehicle is in reverse. As such, these vehicles fail to comply to Federal Motor Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 111, "Rearview Mirrors."
If the backup camera system does not activate and the driver does not check his/her surroundings while reversing, there is an increased risk of a crash.
Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the back-up camera system and replace the audio display unit, if necessary, free of charge. The recall began September 27, 2019. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. Toyota's number for this recall is K0N.
Campaign 19V576000 on NHTSA.gov
Equipment, other, labelsJun 28, 2019
Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Toyota Camry, Corolla, Rav4, Sienna, and Yaris iA vehicles equipped with factory-installed floor mats. The load carrying capacity modification label may be incorrect. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims."
An incorrect label may lead to unintentionally overloading the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
SET will notify owners and provide a corrected label for placement over the inaccurate label, free of charge. The recall began August 23, 2019. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. SET's number for this recall is SET19A.
Campaign 19V503000 on NHTSA.gov
Equipment, other, labelsMar 27, 2019
Gulf States Toyota (GST) is recalling certain 2019 C-HR, 4Runner, Avalon, Avalon Hybrid, Camry, Camry Hybrid, Highlander, Land Cruiser, Prius, RAV4, Sequoia, Tacoma, Sienna, Tundra and Yaris vehicles. The text on the load capacity label may become illegible. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims."
If the driver cannot read the label, they may unknowingly overload the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
GST will notify owners, and dealers will provide corrected load carrying capacity modification labels, free of charge. The recall began May 24, 2019. Owners may contact GST customer service at 1-800-444-1074. GST's number for this recall is 19R1.
Campaign 19V244000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints
879 reports, newest first.
Other or unspecified, Nov 21, 2024
Coolant leaked out of a vehicle’s closed-loop coolant system, harming its ability to properly regulate engine temperature. This can cause overheating, stalling, increased emissions, and total engine failure and also allows coolant to leak into and damage surrounding engine components, including a vehicle’s electrical system, the complaint relays. Coolant leak also corroded the sensor on the RAV4 coolant bypass valve, which can caused it to remain in the open or closed position and be unable to properly direct coolant throughout the engine.
Electrical system, Nov 15, 2024
I have been told by the Toyota Arapahoe dealer that the DCM in the car is bad. All the services the DCM supposedly provides have NEVER worked on the car, leading me to believe it has been faulty from day one. These include all safety assistance features.
Air bags, Other or unspecified, Nov 15, 2024
Water leaking under passenger side visor and near passenger side window near the passenger side airbags
Electrical system, Structure, Forward collision avoidance, Nov 13, 2024
Initially thought a seal on the windshield was faulty, so contacted the business who replaced the windshield. Business owner came to owner’s house Mon, Nov 4, 2024. He did a thorough inspection of all areas where water was identified by owner (dash, under the dash, on the driver side floor) and confirmed it was not the windshield. He then inspected the roof rack and determined the roof rack was defective and leaking water from the ceiling of the vehicle, down into the dash, and ultimately onto the floor. He recommended contacting Toyota because this was a known issue. By 12pm on Mon, Nov 4, 2024 owner contacted Toyota alerting them to the issue. An appointment was made to bring the vehicle in for inspection on Mon, Nov 11, 2024. Owners do not have a garage or carport, so a canopy was pitched over the car in an effort to prevent any further water damage and moisture absorbing canisters were placed in the car. The vehicle was not driven in the rain during the period after first noticing the leak and bringing it in to the dealership. Evidence of Electrical Damage: On Friday, November 1, 2024 the driver side seat became extremely hot, to the point of needing to pull over and turn the car off. The seat heater was not turned on at any point during this time. On Saturday, Nov 9, 2024 and Nov 11, 2024 while driving on the highway, the car (normally driven in Eco Mode) unexpectedly switched into Mud&Sand mode and all safety features switched off. Owner was unable to manually override this occurrence. The “Normal” button did not work. After a few minutes, the vehicle switched into the default setting and owner was able to put it back into Eco Mode. On Nov 11, 2024 owner brought vehicle into Toyota for diagnostics. Owner requested that the electrical components also be inspected and was told it was not covered under the Customer Support Program.
Engine, Oct 30, 2024
Engine maintenance required when AC is turned on. This is an issue with the coolant by pass valve, many rav4 owners have reported but a recall has not been established
Engine, Oct 24, 2024
My coolant bypass valve gave out and Toyota is insisting it’s not covered under warranty my 10 year warranty. Toyota knew there was a defect and didn’t tell consumers.
Electrical system, Oct 19, 2024
A distracting message “a connected device is not supported” flashes on my console screen every 10 seconds. This occurs when there are no device or cable connected. It blocks the clock and driving directions if I am projecting them through CarPlay. The SOS emergency system lights flash back and forth from red to green.
Engine, Forward collision avoidance, Lane departure, Oct 19, 2024
I was stopped at a red light. When the light turned green and I pressed the gas, the engine sputtered and almost shut off. Just before I came to a stop, the engine revved up and the vehicle accelerated. The uneven acceleration is concerning. I recently replaced the gas cap and serviced the fuel system, which leads me to believe there is a defect with the engine. Later in the day, the check engine light went on and AWD system, cruise control, and lane assist were disabled.
Other or unspecified, Engine, Oct 16, 2024
A malfunction in the electronic control of the engine, throttle, or automatic transmission has been detected. The car then ran hot and started jerking. I took it to autozone for them to look and could not find anything, I had a mechanic come over to look at it, and he couldn't find anything either. I sent it to Toyota Wolfchase in Memphis TN. Who has stated it will be two or three days before they can even look at it. This seems to be a common problem with Toyota cars yet there's no recall I have seen numerous complaints on Google Reddit, TikTok, and more. I called corporate to make a complaint and they said they don't see any complaints which I know is not true
Engine and engine cooling, Oct 16, 2024
Toyota has a coolant control valve problem on the RAV4 that it has known is a problem but will not issue a technical service bulletin or recall. It is only covered by the extended warranty. Any other is 800 dollars out of pocket. The warning ️ on the dash blocks the speed indicator and cannot be cleared until the fix is made.
Engine, Oct 12, 2024
In July of 2023 at only 23K miles but out of warranty coverage, I received the Engine Maintenance Required warning for the failure of the Coolant Bypass Valve. I took it to the dealership (Alamo Toyota in San Antonio, TX) and they said it needed to be replaced and would not be covered under warranty. They quoted over $850 to do the replacement but the part was on national backorder. After returning home I started doing research and found that this is happening at a very high rate and thus there is obviously a defect to this part. Toyota should be treating this is a defect, fixing the issue and providing the fix as a recall fix. I should not have to pay near $1000 to replace a defective part with another defective part that will most likely fail again. Since I am a very low mileage driver, from July 2023 to now I have only driven 4K miles, I have not replaced the part but continually monitor the engine temperature and for any coolant leakage. I know there is now a class action lawsuit but shouldn't the NHTSA get involved due to the number of failures on RAV4s and Corollas and the lack of responsibility being taken by Toyota?
Other or unspecified, Engine, Oct 9, 2024
When I was driving the car to work the automatic system (malfunction ) failed to restart in red light, i have to stop to restart (Awd malfunction } says to take to the dealer, I was driving back tothe dealership , they are saying car had zero coolant in syystem, raditor was leaking engine overheat to blow head gasket, a week before i was taking car dealership to state inspection and found only one issue that was back brake to change, no leak nothing they found, now i spent $7679 dollars to fix it i had all the proof what the dealerships try to say from the begining even I fixed, i am trying get rid of the vehicle now , it isonly 47454 miles when the incident happend.
Other or unspecified, Service brakes, Sep 26, 2024, crash
[XXX] - Driving my 2019 Rav4 Hybrid Se nearing [XXX] [XXX] traveling 25-30mph suddenly felt like car was moving faster, stop sign came up fast, slammed on brakes with 0 effect! Yelled [XXX]? as I shot across the highway, down the shoulder, coming to rest against a couple small trees. No air bag deployed, wearing seat belts of course, still bumped head on ceiling causing small laceration, neck trauma, and Dr found I had also suffered a Vitreous Detachment (eye). Did not lose consciousness. Vehicle damage appeared to be front left corner but enough underneath to total vehicle. Very fortunate no other vehicles involved and that debris brought car to a stop instead of a big tree or wall. Two witnesses heard brakes... INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Engine, Sep 16, 2024
The coolant bypass valve has leaked. It is available for inspection upon request, however this seems to be a larger ongoing problem across the country with this make, model and year. The check engine light did go on.
Service brakes, Sep 16, 2024
The brake caliper remain stuck
Engine, Sep 9, 2024
The “Engine Maintenance Required” light came on, indicating issues with the coolant valve. This is become a common issue with the RAV4. If this is becoming a common issue for owners, it needs to be looked into!! I commute and my engine can overheat.
Service brakes, Engine, Sep 9, 2024
Engine: I got the 100k engine maintenance done. I replace my coolant and got an oil change. The engine maintenance required warning is still on my dashboard and will not go away because the diagnostic reader states I need a new coolant bypass valve. This is not apart of the factory maintenance, alot on rav4 owners are dealing with this, and it is very pricey. I think it is best for this type of situation to be recalled. Brakes: I got my front brakes replaced and I had issues with my front calipers. My mechanic said both calipers had holes in them and caused my brake fluid to leak which has affected my braking alot. It takes a long time to brake and I’ve experienced this even after I’ve paid alot of money to get my driver said caliper replaced, still need to get my passenger side replaced. My mechanic only uses toyota brand supplies so I’m not sure why there isn’t any longevity in the quality of supplies. I’ve only had the vehicle for 2 years.
Electrical system, Engine, Sep 7, 2024
Defective coolant bypass valves on my 2019 Toyota RAV 4 have caused coolant to leak out of my vehicle’s closed-loop coolant system, harming its ability to properly regulate engine temperature. Eventually the message “Engine Maintenance Required Visit Your Dealer” appeared on my dashboard indicating an issue with the engine. An internet search of this error message on the 2019-2023 Toyota RAV4 and Corolla models shows this is a widespread defect, affecting hundreds of Toyota owners. A class action lawsuit has been filed against Toyota regarding defective coolant bypass valves in the 2019-2023 Toyota RAV4 and Corolla models [XXX] et al. v. Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc) but Toyota has still not addressed this defect with a recall. Attached is a copy of the mechanic invoice I just paid to replace the defective coolant bypass valves on my 2019 RAV4 as the engine was not maintaining temperatures appropriately and in risk of total engine failure. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Engine, Sep 3, 2024
My 2019 Toyota RAV4 had been making a loud noise at random intervals when driving at high speeds such as freeway speeds. The dealer said they could not reproduce the issue. A couple years later at around 65000 miles my engine maintenance required message came up and would not go away. I took my vehicle to get the code read and there were no codes. I kept smelling fuel or different unpleasant smells when driving the vehicle. The engine maintenance required notice would turn on every single Time I used the AC. I later went to the Toyota dealer and they said the coolant bypass valve had been leaking and causing the engine maintenance notice to come up. This is a new vehicle that has been maintained properly and rarely driven far. The part and labor was $824.
Engine, Sep 3, 2024
Coolant valve failed ($700)shortly after warranty ended; extended warranty did not cover repair. Coolant valve then caused harness to be unusable causing for a $4500 part replacement to be required. During the whole process the Toyota dealership maintenance told me that the engine repair required alert was for normal maintenance and directed me to continue driving with it until my scheduled service every time after speaking with three different people and a mechanic at the dealerships maintenance shop. I was then told after bringing in the car that I could leave although the alert was still present. Finally after the maintenance supervisor looked at my car I was told it was not safe to have been driving. Toyota made a faulty part that they expected to break and still put it in vehicles. They then are not even aware/ do not acknowledge this widespread issue in 2019 and 2020 rav-4s and Carrolas. This defective part can cause the engine to have catastrophic issues as I was later told by the maintenance manager at a Toyota dealership. However, Toyota is leaving car owners and leaders out of thousands of dollars in repairs and not acknowledging or warning customers of a dangerous issue.
Engine, Aug 30, 2024
I got an alert on my screen that would not go away. It said Engine Maintenance Required.” Went to auto one & there was 0 diagnostics associated with any codes. The guy said that it is the coolant bypass valve and that there is a class action in the works. He said most places charge $600 - $700 to replace and to hold on to my receipts.
Engine, Aug 28, 2024
Out of the sudden, the engine light started to display a message to check engine and overheating of this took place continuously. My Rav 4 only has 70k miles and I got it pre-certified from the dealer. This error is the Coolant Bypass Valve. This Valve is connected to a radiator hose.
Engine, Aug 24, 2024
A warning message appeared that stated: “Engine maintenance required - Visit your dealer”. At that time my vehicle had 38,796 miles on it. I contacted the Service Advisor at Toyota of Newnan who advised that it was likely the Coolant Bypass Valve on the engine and that they have had issues and repairs relating to that condition on their RAV4 and Corolla models. Their mechanics confirmed that this was the fault and that failing to have it repaired / replaced could result in engine overheating and engine seizing which could result in lose of vehicle control and endanger other vehicles on the road. Sensing the urgency, I had the repair / replacement completed at a cost of $846.68. Service advisor stated that many of the other vehicles with the same problem were still under warranty and repaired at no cost to the consumer. In my opinion this recurring defect among two Toyota model lines is occurring with enough regularity to warrant Toyota issuing at least a Service Bulletin and covering the cost of the repair and reimbursement to those that had to pay for the repair.
Engine, Aug 19, 2024
Check engine light came on. Ran codes in vehicle and showed code P2681-15 engine coolant bypass valve needs replaced.
Engine, Aug 17, 2024
2019 RAV4 with 50120 miles engine maintenance light. It is a very common problem with Rav4s. coolant bypass valve...... My brother has same model same problem. Spent $600 to replace it. Toyota is charging $600-$1000 to replace defective part.