general problems of the 2020 Toyota RAV4 - part 1

Engine maintenance light came on. Many others are reporting the same problem. Coolant bypass hose or valve.

I am submitting this complaint regarding a structural failure of the rear liftgate hinges on my 2020 Toyota Rav4 xle. The liftgate began opening and closing crooked, and I noticed the door was no longer aligned evenly. After inspection by Toyota dealership, I was informed that the metal hinges attached to the liftgate and body are cracked and must be replaced. This failure is not the result of an accident, misuse, or impact. I have never been in a collision involving the rear of the vehicle. I was told this damage is considered “wear and tear,” so my insurance company declined coverage. The Toyota dealership also declined to cover the repair, stating it is not covered under warranty so I will have to pay out of pocket. However, after researching this issue, I found that many other Toyota Rav4 owners have reported the same hinge cracking and liftgate misalignment problem. This appears to be a widespread manufacturing or design defect rather than normal wear. This is a serious safety concern. If the hinges continue to crack, the liftgate could fail completely and fall, potentially causing injury. The misalignment also prevents the liftgate from opening and closing properly, which affects vehicle safety and usability. I am requesting that NHTSA investigate this issue and consider whether a safety recall or technical service bulletin is necessary to protect drivers and passengers. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Rear hatch were repaired new actuators but still malfunctioning now hinges are defective dealer won't honor extended warranty suggest take to body shop have defective hinges replaced at my cost.

We bought a 2020 Toyota Rav4 limited with sunroof. When we were driving in freeway, we noticed that a glass shattered somewhere in my car. We realized that the sunroof was completely shattered. There was no accident, just a heavy rain. We didn't know what to do, we didn't know if we have to call police in a matter as it was a potential safety hazard. We have seen a lot of complaint about this and there is no option to completely sealed it off or get rid of sunroof. We are now scared of driving this car in long distance, we will be trading this vehicle soon because of the incident.

The paint on my 2020 Toyota Rav4 (blueprint color) is peeling and deteriorating prematurely, on the hood. The vehicle has been properly maintained and has not been in any accidents. The paint started peeling without any external cause. I’ve noticed similar complaints from other 2020 Toyota Rav4 owners, especially those with the blueprint color, reporting the same issue. This suggests a widespread paint or clear coat defect from the manufacturer. The peeling paint not only affects appearance but also exposes the metal body to rust and corrosion, which could eventually compromise the vehicle’s safety and structure. Toyota has not issued a recall or offered repairs for this known problem, and many owners are being asked to pay out of pocket for costly repainting. I am requesting that NHTSA investigate this issue as a potential manufacturing defect and urge Toyota to take corrective action through a recall or warranty extension for affected vehicles.

Water by-pass hose failure.

When attempting to open the rear lift gate wither from the dash or from the key fob rear lift gate partial opens followed by multiple beeps rear lift gift then has to be manually opened or closed.

My vehicle Toyota Rav4 hybrid 2020 began lost power and jerk on highway driving and then following messages appeared: hybrid system malfunction, a malfunction in electronic control of engine, throttle or automatic transmission has been detected and check engine light. This happened in September 2024. Toyota dealership replaced the low fuel pressure sensor a after my complaint and vehicle diagnostic, but it did not help. I recently had the same problem while driving on the highway for a long distance.

The coolant valve is malfunctioning and causing an engine safety light to be on constantly.

"engine maintenance required. Visit your dealer" prompt after turning on air conditioning. Message of engine coolant bypass valve circuit short to battery or open upon diagnostic test.

At only 55k miles my 2020 Toyota Rav4 has shown an “engine maintenance required” sign. Not to be mistaken with general maintenance. Apparently this is a widely common issue where brand new Toyotas are having cooling bypass valve issue. However concerningly so, because there are no recalls for this problem yet seemingly every Rav4 has this problem? how is there no recall, everyone is paying out of pocket for essentially poor manufacturing, its outrageous, also considering the part itself is under $100 but some dealers are charging anywhere to $600-$1300. It’s predatory and outright wrong.

Engine maintnance light came on dashboard. Was not aware of this issue until doing research. Parts that needs replace - cooling bypass valve.

I am told my dcm is not functioning properly. I learned this when my remote start function was no longer working. The dealership ran a diagnostics then wanted me to pay almost another $200 to restart the dcm with no guarantee that would work. If that didn’t work then I would have to pay another $300 for them to do a more involved process. I declined because I feel this should not be a problem that I have to pay to fix. They indicated that my key fobs could eventually stop working at which point I decided to submit this complaint. The dcm seems like a pretty core function that should not have problems at this point (5 year old car) and if it does, it seems like something the manufacturer should be responsible for repairing.

Power rear hatch does not always open all the way, sometimes stops after 1" of rise. I must then manually close the rear hatch and try again and again.

I was making a turn into a turnaround on the turnpike and ended up sliding into a guardrail. I believe the brake assistance failed because although I slowed down and braked going into the turned, the vehicle felt like it had lost control and continued towards the guardrail rather than into the pathway I was turning into. My safety was at risk from going into the guardrail when my car didn't slow down as much as I would have expected. As of now, a braking problem with 2020 Rav4's has not been confirmed by Toyota but they are set to inspect the facility within the next couple weeks to collect information from the event data recorder. It's currently at a state farm holding facility. There were no messages or symptoms of this issue prior to the incident.

My Toyota 2020 Rav4 has a dangerous design flaw. It rolls when turned off and in drive mode. For example, my driveway is on an incline, and a couple times I have pulled into my driveway, gotten distracted, and I forgot to put the car in park. When I hit the on/off button, the car rolls backwards, accelerating due to gravity. If you're not quick, you can end up rolling out into traffic, or running someone over that is behind your car. All the other cars I've ever owned didn't roll when the car was turned off unless you were in neutral. I believe this is a design flaw because I've spoken to a few other Rav4 owners that have experienced the same thing, and on one occasion, I tested it on another Rav4 and it was the same. I can see this being very dangerous. If you are standing outside of the car and hit the on/off button while it's in drive, you would get knocked down by the door, and your car would be rolling without you in the car.

The flow shut off valve coolant it was recall from Toyota.

My mechanic could not clear the "engine maintenance required. Visit the dealer. " message after a routine oil change on my 2020 Rav4. It turns out that the coolant bypass valve is defective. I am now aware of the many, many issues other Rav4 owners are having with this same part and that a class action suit has been filed.

Air coolant bypass valve malfunction. Engine maintenance error message pops up, does not cool properly. Leaking ac fluid. Confirmed by dealership. Costs around 800 to 900 dollars to repair. Parts must be ordered ahead of time. No warning, just message showed up and will not go away. Doesn't let me see the speed I am going on the display since error message keeps popping up every minute.

I have had a service engine message on my dash that would return within seconds of my hitting the button to signal I received the message. When I took the vehicle to the dealership I was told it was a leaking coolant bypass valve and would need to be replaced. I was told the cost would be $215 plus three hours of labor. The final cost was $240 for the parts and $709 for the labor. The vehicle only has 31,209 miles on it. As I have researched the part, I have found numerous people have had the same issue within a similar range of mileage.

I bought the 2020 Rav4 xle back in 2019 and had driven for four and half years now. I went to the dealership to get my routine oil change just this Monday July 29th 2024. As usual, the dealership did multi-inspection on my Rav4 and didn't find any problem that requires immediate attention. Two days later, a warning message popped up on the mid screen right after I started the car and read "engine maintenance required". After searching online, calling both local mechanic and Toyota dealership, it happens to be a well-known issue for many 2019-2023 Toyota models including Rav4, camry, corolla that the faulty coolant bypass valve has to be replaced. I'm not a car person and I don't know much about cars but I have had the radiator broken while I was driving on my old car due to coolant related issue and almost got me into an accident so I know I shouldn't overlook any issues related to coolant. That being said, Toyota dealership knew about the issue, my local mechanic heard about the issue, an overwhelming number of users had reported the issue on online forums, and with no surprise, a class action lawsuit was filed regarding this issue on June 2024. For a solid car brand that advertises reliability and accountability for its vehicles, not informing or recalling for affected customers is extremely disappointing and unacceptable. After all, I had to pay $785 out of pocket for a repair that should never be done in less 5 years/45000 miles.

I had a message on my dash for "engine maintenance required" but my check engine light was not on. Coolant bypass valve failed, it is definitely a known issue and the dealership knew the likely issue before the car was seen by any technician.

Bypass coolant valve needed to be replaced after engine maintenance required warning came on.

My 2020 Rav4 (48,000 miles), when I start the engine and turn on the a/c, the warning light comes on:engine maintenance required.

Engine maintenance required message. Need to replace coolang bypass valve known to be common issue with Rav4 2019 up models.

Coolant bypass valve replacement has been happening to many new Toyotas and needs to be recalled.

We replaced the original battery on may 27, 2024. A few weeks later, on June 15, 2024, an "engine maintenance required" message appeared on the display screen. A local mechanic diagnosed the code and stated that the oil level was low so we added one quarter of motor oil. We also called the dealership, which stated that this code generally indicates a coolant bypass valve malfunction. We topped off the coolant fluid but the "engine maintenance required" message still appeared (we were not able to clear it). A few days later, we took the vehicle to another mechanic, who informed us that the coolant bypass valve was broken and needed to be replaced. Given the 95-degree temperatures, we felt that we had no choice but to replace the broken valve because we did not want the engine to overheat. So we paid $570. 28 for the mechanic to replace the coolant bypass hose and valve. The mechanic stated that this issue should not occur in any vehicle with only 38,000 miles, which means the valve was likely defective to begin with. It is suspicious that this issue occurred about two weeks after we replaced the battery and about 2,000 miles after we surpassed the factory warranty. Please investigate!.

Coolant bypass hose had to be replaced on a vehicle that only had 80,000 miles and only 4 years old. “engine maintenance required” displayed. Took to dealer and code popped up with an issue with the coolant bypass hose. Nothing occurred to trigger replacement…it was a faulty part to begin with.

My 2020 Rav4 limited awd alerted me that the engine needed maintenance, and, so I parted it until Tuesday, after talking to the service professional at passport Toyota, they told me about everything else but did not see that the light was on. They did my regular 55,000 miles maintenance on my car. So before driving away, I noticed that the alert was still blinking on my car. Their findings is that the coolant bypass valve/hose etc. , has gone bad and is remaining in the open position. Apparently, this part isn't covered by warranty. After reading, there are a lot of years such as 2019, 2018 to name a few having had the same problem. And to fix the problem it is $857. 22. Since this problem is occurring in a lot of Rav4's, and I noticed camry's as well, should they look into why this is happening in a lot of models of their cars, SUV's etc.

Engine maintenaince required, visit dealer message came on, googled problem and coolant bypass valve keeps popping up.

Toyota rav 4 vehicles prior to their 2023 versions are subject to can bus injection attacks resulting in the theft of the vehicle. I demand that Toyota provide the encryption fix to all previous years of vehicles and/or provide a physical method for protecting vulnerable spots where can bus attacks can occur. Methods like air gapping connections to devices accessible to the outside of the vehicle as well as better encryption for their keys.

Coolant bypass valve.

My 2020 Toyota rav4 was just diagnosed with an engine coolant bypass valve failure. The leak from this valve could cause engine overheating. This seems to be a well known defective engine component that Toyota appears unwilling to address.   .

Engine maintenance required, visit your dealer. There are a lot of Toyota owners with this issue and they said it is the coolant bypass valve. Toyota needs to fix/recall this issue. They want to charge us 700 dlls but it should be free.

I have 48,000 miles on my 2020 Toyota Rav4 xle premium, received an engine warning system light on vehicle, I took the vehicle to my local Toyota dealer in gastonia, nc, to be told it was a faulty coolant bypass valve. I have noticed online that this has been a reoccurring problem with 2019-2020 Rav4. They quoted me a price of $619. 00 to fix. With my car being newer and only having 48,000 miles, I feel this is a fault of Toyota, not mine. Faulty equipment failure on their part.