Body Problems of Toyota RAV4 - part 2

Brand new vehicle recently purchased 9/28/2024 at the dealership, Toyota of aa, michigan. While driving at highway speeds greater than 70 mph, the flimsy hood balloons/bubbles up and starts flexing visibly and violently with almost 2 inch amplitude waves and looks like it wants to become unlatched and slam into the windshield. Pretty scary! this is definitely a safety risk that raises the fear in me of a potential serious crash. Vehicle dropped back at the dealership 10/7/2024 for inspection.

See all problems of the 2024 Toyota RAV4 🔎.

The hood of the vehicle vibrates excessively, especially at high speeds. I have reported this issue since the day of purchase and have taken the vehicle to the dealership four times without a resolution. This situation poses a significant safety risk to me and my family, as I believe the hood could open and cause a serious accident. I request an official inspection and resolution regarding this matter. Please advise on how to proceed with a possible warranty claim or further investigation.

Rear passenger door keeps flooding after rain. Bottom door seal needs to be physically lifted to the side for water to drain out of the door.

See all problems of the 2019 Toyota RAV4 🔎.

Toyota Rav4 5th gen power lift gate hinge issues unpredictable failure: if the lift gate or its components fail unexpectedly, it could cause injury to someone loading or unloading items, especially if they are unable to react in time. Obstructed visibility: if the lift gate detaches while in motion, it could obstruct the driver’s rear visibility, increasing the risk of an accident. Risk to other road users: a detached lift gate or related debris could pose significant danger to pedestrians, cyclists, or other vehicles on the road. Vehicle stability and control: a sudden failure or detachment of the lift gate components could destabilize the vehicle, especially at high speeds. Damage to emergency equipment: if the lift gate collapses or detaches, it could damage essential safety or emergency equipment stored in the trunk, leaving occupants unprepared in an actual emergency. Child and pet safety concerns: families frequently use Rav4s as family vehicles. A collapsing or failing lift gate could pose a serious risk to children or pets while loading or unloading. Potential for escalating damage: the failure of hinges or struts could result in cascading damage to other parts of the vehicle, such as electrical systems or the rear windshield, creating additional safety hazards. Delayed emergency response: if the lift gate malfunctions or becomes stuck in a partially open or closed position, it could impede access to the cargo area in emergencies, such as retrieving a first aid kit.

The paint of the exterior body is peeling off after becoming bubble on the surface. It appears all over the body including hood, roof, doors, etc. For reference, please see attached photos. This can eventually start rusting. This has come to know only after using a car for a year and four months, which proves this needs to be addressed because it may be going to start rusting other parts of the body or structural components. Car is available for inspection, on request.

See all problems of the 2023 Toyota RAV4 🔎.

Rear passenger door does not drain and holds water. This is a potential mold issue which is a health problem. This will also cause the doors to rust.

See all problems of the 2022 Toyota RAV4 🔎.

The rear power liftgate metal hinges are peeling away from the body of the vehicle. My liftgate doesn't close properly and is out of alignment to stay safely latched closed and has become 100% unusable. There is a 1. 5 inch gap (you can see light and water can enter) on rear pass. Side and the door is tightly jammed closed on the rear driver side. After speaking with a Toyota service manager, he casually let me know he sees this frequently. I have learned this is a very known issue yet Toyota will do nothing to prevent these defective hinges from being installed or cover repairs. The service manager told to take it to the collision center to get quoted on a repair. I did and my out of pocket cost (because Toyota won't take responsibility for this defect) is between $700 and $2700, depending how much damage occurred to other components caused by the defective hinges (the collision company has also stated they've done many of these repairs). My vehicle showed no visible sign of failure prior to breaking. It would occasionally fail to close, as if an object was in the way, but upon re-trying to power liftgate button, it would close. Sometimes it would take 3 to 4 times to be successful. But, it never appeared as if it was out of alignment or damaged until last weekend when I tried to close it and it forced closed itself very incorrectly. Considering my vehicle was purchased less than 5 years ago, brand new, this shouldn't be happening. It definitely shouldn't be showing this kind of wear on a vehicle I haven't even had to change brakes, tires or a simple headlight on the entire ownership of the vehicle. When I use those items every single day. My liftgate is used 1 time or less a week. The cost of this repair is half what I still owe on it and I didn't even do anything to cause it, it happened due to faulty hinges that are not safe. How do I know my hatch won't open while driving? or that it won't break opposite and my liftgate becomes unsecured from my SUV altogeth.

The contact owns a 2022 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while driving and coming to a stop, there was a sound of moving water coming from the rear driver's side and passenger's side doors. The contact stated that upon opening the doors, she was able to partially drain the water; however, water was still leaking inside the rear driver's side and passenger's side doors during rainy weather. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 42,000.

In reference to Toyota motor north America - customer support program zkg. My Toyota vehicle has experienced paint peeling on the exterior metal body panels. I have applied to receive coverage from Toyota for the paint peeling as part of the zkg program. Toyota has denied my request for coverage and did not provide me with notice of the zkg program. The paint color of my vehicle is the original factory applied blizzard pearl (070) paint color. The vehicle experienced noticeable paint peeling around 9. 5-10 years past the date of first use of the vehicle. I reported the paint peeling to my local Toyota dealer service center around two (2) weeks after the car was ten (10) years past the date of first use. Because the zkg program coverage had expired by the time I had reported the paint peeling, the Toyota dealer service center referred me to the Toyota brand engagement center. The Toyota brand engagement center denied my request for coverage because the vehicle was reported shortly after the duration of coverage. I did not receive notice of the customer support program zkg from Toyota. I became the owner of this vehicle in the same year that the program notification was sent out. The paint peeling did not start until very close to time of coverage expiration for my vehicle. I was unaware that I would be required to report the paint peeling issue to Toyota by a certain date as I was never made aware of the customer support program zkg from Toyota.

See all problems of the 2014 Toyota RAV4 🔎.

For a long time, lift gate was not functioning correctly, when trying to close the liftgate does not close. In peak winters it was a lot of frustration to close the lift gate. Showed it dealership many times, later that issue worsened to hinge tear. Now it shows like falling apart. Requested to Toyota to repairs, repair is not done yet. Assistance in this regards would be highly appreciated.

I was pulling into a parking spot in a parking garage. My foot was off the accretor ready to brake and then the car self accelerated and hit the cement wall. The red brake light came on and I slammed on the brake but the damage was done. The front bumper was cracked on the left side and dented on the right side. There whole front end was scraped and scratched. The collision sensor is damaged.

Over a period of tme water has been collecting in the right rear door. Upon doing some research I found out that this is a problem with the Rav4 of this particle year. During my search I found out that there are drain holes at bottom of the door under a rubber gasket. I lifted the gasket up and there was a large amount of water that came out. After a couple more rains the exact same thing happened again. I took the car to the Toyota dealership where it was purchased from and told them the problem and they stated that the gasket on the bottom of the door needed to be replaced , but not only the right rear door but all three of the other doors as well, but could not explain to me how the water was getting in the doors. I had to pay over $500 in order to get this repair which I feel the cost should be absorbed by Toyota because a design flaw. Any help would be appreciated.

See all problems of the 2020 Toyota RAV4 🔎.

Paint on the top my car is peeling.

See all problems of the 2015 Toyota RAV4 🔎.

The brakes failed, without warning, while parking; causing me to hit a pole/wall in my employer’s parking garage on April 12, 2024. I was injured, and obtained care from uchicago medical center. Toyota assigned an independent investigator to assess my vehicle; which was completed on April 29, 2024. Per Toyota, no brake issues were noted. My vehicle remained at oak lawn Toyota from April 12, 2024- may 31, 2024.

This vehicle is equipped with a power back door (pbd) that has begun to malfunction. March 29, 2024 was the first occurrence of the pbd malfunction when the opened back door would not fully close after clicking the appropriate button on the electronic key switch. There were no warnings that preceded the malfunction. The pbd would only close the back door a few inches before stopping. Additional clicks only closed it a few more inches and manual closing (requiring significant pressure) was required to fully close the door. Additional random occurrences of this pbd malfunction have happened over the past six months and have now become so frequent that on September 30, 2024 I turned off (via the multi-information display) the pbd function and must now resort to fully manual opening and closing of the back door. Based on multiple other complaints filed with NHTSA for this particular vehicle (2020 Toyota Rav4; NHTSA id numbers 11572353, 11572802, 11573768, 11579590, 11585733), I inspected the edges of the back door, the body's back door cavity, and the two back door spindles for damage, foreign objects, dirt, etc. That might impede pdb operation and found none. I also inspected the two back door hinges and saw no damage, no warping, no corrosion, and no movement of the hinges from their original installation locations. This pbd malfunction affects safety as the force required to manually open and close the back door is significant and operation of the back door might be impossible for people not physically able to effect the force needed. The vehicle is available for inspection and has not yet been inspected by the Toyota dealer where I purchased the vehicle in August 2020 or by others.

At less than 8000 miles on this brand new vehicle, the paint started chipping away all the way down to the metal under the paint on the front of the car… the dealership that I ordered from the manufacturer through stated it will probably start to rust and that I need to have someone repaint it… they tried to refer me to someone that they use for paintwork… and stated it will be at my expense; although I was forced to purchase toyoguard platinum and the clear paint cover protection packages/warranties. I have owned multiple of this make and model vehicle in the past and have never had an issue with the paint peeling off and chipping as it is on this brand new vehicle.

Hood shakes in the middle presenting the appearance that the hood will open on its own, side mirrors shake causing distorted view.

My wife and I were traveling down sr74 mp 12 and rear ended a cow at 68 miles per hour. The airbags did not deploy from impact and yet the car is totaled the hood started through the safety glass of the windshield.

While driving down the highway at the speed limit in our town on a clear evening with no weather, the sunroof of our 2023 Toyota rav 4 exploded. There was a loud bang and it shattered as if the glass had been under significant stress or pressure. The glass bowed up in the middle and a section the size of a small saucer dropped out. There was a rigged break along the front edge of the sun roof. There were no bumps or holes in the road - it was smooth. There were no other vehicles nearby - no one threw a rock at our car. The noise was so loud that it was disruptive and shocking and thankfully I was not in heavy traffic or an accident might have occurred. I researched the web and found numerous instances of this sunroof explosion occurring. Please get Toyota to fix this before someone is serious injured.

- hinges could tear off and cause door to collapse on someone standing underneath - hinges could tear off while vehicle is in motion and into traffic - hinges could tear off while vehicle is motion and objects in the rear could go into traffic - the struts/actuators could fail while the gate is up and it could collapse on someone standing underneath.

See all problems of the 2021 Toyota RAV4 🔎.

In reference to Toyota motor north America - customer support program zkg. My Toyota vehicle has experienced paint peeling on the exterior metal body panels. I have applied to receive coverage from Toyota for the paint peeling as part of the zkg program. Toyota has denied my request for coverage and did not provide me with notice of the zkg program. The paint color of my vehicle is the original factory applied blizzard pearl (070) paint color. The vehicle experienced noticeable paint peeling around 9. 5-10 years from the date of first use of the vehicle. I reported the paint peeling to my local Toyota dealer service center around 5 months after the car was ten years past the date of first use. Because the zkg program coverage had expired by the time I had reported the paint peeling, the Toyota dealer service center referred me to the Toyota brand engagement center. The Toyota brand engagement center denied my request for coverage because the vehicle was reported shortly after the duration of coverage. I did not receive notice of the customer support program zkg from Toyota. I became the owner of this vehicle three years before that the program notification was sent out, but the Toyota brand engagement center representative and a resolution specialist both indicated that notices were sent to the previous owner. I purchased the vehicle directly from a Toyota dealership using Toyota financing. The paint peeling did not start until very close to time of coverage expiration for my vehicle. I was unaware that I would be required to report the paint peeling issue to Toyota by a certain date as I was never made aware of the customer support program zkg from Toyota.

The hinges on the rear power lift gate are tearing off of the vehicle. This is the second time they have failed. The first time I was told it was due to a manufacturing defect in the hinges, but now they (the Toyota dealership) are saying it is because the gate struts are not strong enough to support the door. Toyota is refusing to fix the issue calling it "wear and tear". The issue began when my car had around 45,000 miles. It now has 100,000 miles, but I started noticing the symptoms of the issue at 85,000 (the dealership "couldn't reproduce" at that time). The initial symptoms were the door giving a loud, long beep and refusing to open more than 3 inches or to close. Then, it started to thump as it closed. Sometimes it simply wouldn't open or close. Now, the door sits askew, with a large gap on one side as there is a significant tear in one hinge with a smaller tear on the other. . This is a safety issue because the hinges could break, causing the door to collapse on a person or fall off the car while in motion, with items in the rear of the vehicle also potentially flying out. The weak struts could also fail and collapse the door, causing injury. There are hundreds of similar complaints on reddit and in Rav4 forums.

Headlights are cloudy to the point of dimming the visibility of the light. When I asked the dealer, they could not clean headlight apparatus. I also cannot clean the buildup as it is on the inside of the headlight cover. I feel that this is a defective part that could potentially be the cause of an accident.

See all problems of the 2016 Toyota RAV4 🔎.

Tailgate hinge assembly failed/failing. It is available for inspection upon request. Failed hinge has placed the tailgate out of alignment. This prevents the tailgate to close properly, allowing for weather penetration, as well as preventing full closure of tailgate. This safety concern can potentially allow the tailgate to fall off the vehicle during travel, placing myself and others at risk of severe injury. The problem has not been confirmed/reproduced by a dealer or independent service center. The vehicle/component has not been inspected by any other representatives. There were no warning lamps, or any other symptoms prior to failure. This problem first occurred at 0625am, feb09_2024. Tailgate opened with no issues. Tailgate failed to close on its own, due to misalignment.

My 2020 Rav4 back trunk hinge is coming loose, there for the truck won't close evenly. I took it to dealership to get it fixed, but instead they blamed me but its clearly a manufacturing problem they don't want to take responsibility for it.

Request for resolution -peeling paint on 2025 Toyota rav 4 I am writing to formally file a complaint regarding a paint peeling issue with my 2025 Toyota rav 4 and Toyota's refusal to address the defect, despite timely reporting and documentation. The paint on my vehicle began peeling around February 2024 and significantly worsened by January 2025. I promptly filed two complaints with Toyota, and case numbers were opened. Per Toyota's request, I obtained a repair estimate from Toyota of katy (attached) and submitted it through their system. However, Toyota has since closed both cases without resolving the issue, stating that the paint repair program expired in November 2024. This is particularly troubling because the issue was reported while the paint damage was progressing, I believe this reflects a serious quality defect that affects the appearance, durability, and resale value of the vehicle, and Toyota is failing to take appropriate responsibility. I respectfully request that NHTSA investigate this matter and consider whether similar complaints exist from other Toyota owners experiencing premature paint peeling. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Driving home at 3:30 on 2/5/2024 from winters CA to davis CA with a temperature of 55 degrees f and some rain in the area. The sunroof exploded. A large bang happened. Pulled over nothing hit the sunroof, and the glass was protruding outward (not inward which would have happened if the glass was hit from an object from above). The sunroof was part of the new car when we purchased it.

The back hatch was misaligned and over time became unusable. Upon inspection from the body shop the hinge the keeps the hatch attached to the vehicle at the top had pulled lose- the power hatch had essentially pulled away from the frame causing the misalignment. The manager at the body shop did some investigation and found that this was an issue that resulted in a recall for the same rav 4 for the 2013-2017 models but had yet to be applied to our model year. After contacting the Toyota dealership it was confirmed that this has been an issue that they are seeing- in fact, after paying for the repairs (since Toyota refused to do so)- the body shop manager said she has had another customer with the same problem in the last 48 hours. This is absolutely not related to any accident of any kind- there wasn't one- this is clearly a manufacturer's problem.

When driving down the road at a relatively high speed, the sunroof unexpectedly shattered, which could have led to an accident.

Moon roof spontaneously shattered while driving. No impact from any object caused this, no other vehicles around and vehicle was only at 5 mph at time of shattering. It’s as if the glass just shattered outwards from inside the cabin of the vehicle. Showered driver with glass and could have caused injury especially if glass fell into eyes.

The rear hatch liftgate hinges are not adequately structured to withhold pressure under normal use. Over varied short durations of time from the vehicle being new, the rear liftgate hinge's structure fails. The hinges split and crack. This damage occurs despite factory liftgate struts being in plate to assist in the opening of the liftgate. In my case this issue first appeared during and after a snowstorm. A multitude of similar complaints on forums. This has caused my liftgate to misalign and not close. I have had to turn off the auto liftgate and slowly close it despite it is now rubbing the right rear fender/quarter area. As of now I have to repair the issue with new hinges that have not been redesigned, that will again likely prematurely fail. You can view the complaints within Toyota forums, all see February 2024 class action lawsuit, hughes vs Toyota attached with the below photos.

Trunk lift gate unable to close or open properly due to faulty lift gate shock and strut supports as diagnosed by dealership in January 2024. As of then there is was no eta on parts to complete repair and was blamed on Toyota not supplying enough parts beyond new vehicles and warranties vehicles. Only resolution was to not use the trunk, or as little as possible and told that I was added to a 700+ person waiting list.

When it rains, I have a puddle of water in the footboard of my backseats in the car.

None of the doors has puddle/ courtesy lights which can cause hazard situation when doors need to open in dark environment. Those lights when available alerts oncoming vehicles pedestrians or cyclists. Oncoming vehicles cyclists at danger of poor visibility if the doors open. There use to be lights on all 4 doors few years ago on any motor vehicle. Then certain manufacturers made them available only on front doors. Now they are all gone from all doors at least in the car I have. In my opinion this should be a safety requirement. Kindly evaluate and see if what I mention make sense. It was a simple technology which may have prevent certain hazardous situation.

Have had issues with the power gate to the hatchback since the first year of ownership. Dealer could not replicate after numerous complaints. On Jan 1, 2024 the hatch would only ho partially up or down and would not close. Upon looking, the hinges holding the hatch were pulling away from the vehicle. No accident, no abuse, nothing done other than using the electronic open/shut. Googled for info and found many similar/same complaints. Body shop estimate to replace hinges around $700 plus more for a rental. Toyota says it's not warranteed but I intend this is a definite structural problem with the vehicle. In the meantime the issue of the problems with electronic hatch lift cant be addressed due to hinge issue. Im concerned driving car --will hatch fall off in traffic??recall should be issued imo.