68 complaints reported

2020 Toyota RAV4 UNKNOWN OR OTHER

Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.

Reports
68
Crashes
0
Fires
1
Injuries
0

Complaint Timeline

Chronological view of owner reports

Nov 2023

A known issue that has been occurring to many people with the coolant bypass valve system going out very soon after purchasing. I bought a 2020 Toyota rav4 and my bypass coolant valve has malfunctioned and needs replaced and of course is outside of the warranty. Per many google searches this is a common issue and should be addressed.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 TOYOTA RAV4, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: Nov 2023
Oct 2023

2020 Toyota Rav4 - Cooling valve failure reported and is not covered under warranty or recalled. Car only has 35k miles. This is apparently a common issue as the dealer knew the problem before even doing any diagnosis. Once I told them the "Engine Maintenance Required" message was on, they said "Oh, thats usually the coolant bypass valve". If it is that common an issue it should be recalled. Toyota should take ownership of this issue and fix / reimburse people for the problem. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 TOYOTA RAV4, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: Oct 2023
Oct 2023

I have a 2020 Toyota RAV4, two weeks ago the following display appear "Engine Maintenance Require, Visit Your Dealer". I attempted to clear it but it cannot be done. I check online for similar issues. I found that the 2019 Toyota RAV4, Camry, Avalon, and Lexus ES300H vehicles have similar issue with the 'coolant bypass valve'. Mine is also a 2.5L 4-Cylinder Engine. I purchase my Rav4 on Feb 24, 2020. My car only has 15,429 miles and a possible fire issue makes me nervous. I also notice than some preselected 2020 RAV4 were added to the recall, but not my RAV. Should I wait till my engine cracks or the cooling system fail?

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 TOYOTA RAV4, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: Feb 2023
Oct 2023

Coolant bypass valve required replacement due to faulty equipment, causing sensor to read “engine maintenance required”. Costs $650 to replace and dealership will not cover in warranty or admit fault. Many other Rav 4 owners are having same issue. This should not be on the customer, but rather Toyota for having faulty equipment in vehicle. Also “engine maintenance required” sensor will not go away. Since this is not an engine issue, this is unsafe, false alarming.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 TOYOTA RAV4, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: Oct 2023
Sep 2023

Not

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 TOYOTA RAV4, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: Sep 2023
Aug 2023

My Engine Maintenance Required light had appeared on dashboard and found out that is my coolant bypass valve that needed to be replaced. had on online, to find that this is a issue with Toyota, that people had to have this replaced. I had purchased my vehicle back in 2021, and just had this issue 2023. I took to the dealership and was told that it was that part. they are replacing the part going through the extended warranty insurance, but this is concerning, that if this OE part has a defect, that once my warranty expires that I will have this problem again and have no way on coverage.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 TOYOTA RAV4, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: Aug 2023
Aug 2023

The engine maintenance light came on to visit the dealer. It's because of the Coolant Bypass Valve.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 TOYOTA RAV4, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: Oct 2023
Jun 2023

Per my research and talking with dealerships, the coolant bypass valve on this generation of RAV4’s is a known issue at 45,000 miles. Many users online and the dealership report seen many cars experiencing the same issue but it’s not currently under recall and would be a $1300 fix right now to drive my car safely without blowing up the engine.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 TOYOTA RAV4, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: Jun 2023
May 2023

Our RAV4 was parked in an open lot (not under any trees or overhangs) and was no inclement weather. The glass sunroof spontaneously shattered— we were lucky the cover was closed (we have heard of many such instances with Toyota from other people and have kept the cover closed when not in use), no one was injured, thankfully.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 TOYOTA RAV4, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: May 2023
Apr 2023

My Toyota Rav4 2020 had engane maintenance issue drive to dealer alert. I diagnosed the problem an it is the coolant bypass valve that is not working. As I researched, I came to find out that this is a common problem for 2018- 2023 Rav4, Camry, and Corolla. This should be recalled having so many malfunctions on the vehicle.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 TOYOTA RAV4, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: Sep 2023
Apr 2023

Toyota engine coolant bypass trouble code. Seems to be wide spread reports amongst customers with newer generation 5 Toyota vehicles. Dealer quotes the 20 minute repair will cost $700-900 USD & the part itself is on back order due to the increasing failure rate of the part. The faulty part seems to affect the cooling system of the car but due to the increasing amount of reports & failures of the same part, the dealer should be recalling & replacing the part for free rather than billing customers $700+ dollars. For reference, my vehicle is a model year 2020 & has 19,000 miles & the part has already failed.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 TOYOTA RAV4, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: Jan 2023
Apr 2023

There is a class action lawsuit against toyota for known issues with leaks happening because of plastic being used in the roof racks of 2019-2020 Rav4 models https://www.motorbiscuit.com/lawsuit-alert-toyota-rav4-roof-leak-causes-water-damage-electronics-airbags/

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 TOYOTA RAV4, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: Jan 2023
Mar 2023 Fire

After 20 minutes of driving, the vehicle caught fire under the hood and was completely destroyed. When I first started driving the car that morning, I noticed an odd smell coming from the heater. It didn't smell like smoke or burning; I best equate it to the smell of a hair dryer. This is the first time I'd ever smelled that odor in this car. At this point there were no warning messages or alerts on the dashboard that would indicate an issue. After driving for around 20 minutes, I noticed smoke coming from under the hood. There were still no warning lights on the dashboard. I immediately pulled over into an open parallel parking spot on the side of the road (busy city street) and shut the car off. While I was assisting the other 2 passengers out of the car, flames became visible coming from under the hood. The source of the flames appeared to be the top driver's side under the hood (in front of steering wheel). We called 911 and stepped back to a safe distance. The fire was extremely aggressive and the entire vehicle was engulfed in flames in just a couple minutes. The fire was so intense that it caught the car parked in front on fire (which also became completely destroyed). The fire department responded after roughly 5 minutes and put out the fire. Fortunately, no injuries resulted from this incident. There was so much damage to the vehicle that the fire investigator was not able to offer a definitive opinion as to which specific engine/battery component likely started the fire. The remains of the car are currently in possession of GEICO. I was the original owner of the vehicle, which had no history of accidents, repairs, or modifications. It had been regularly serviced for routine maintenance at the local Toyota service department, most recently in early December 2022 (approximately 3 weeks prior to the fire).

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 TOYOTA RAV4, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: Dec 2022
Feb 2023

Na

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 TOYOTA RAV4, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: Feb 2023
Feb 2023

Coolant bypass valve just gave out on car was informed by dealership that this is an ongoing problem with my make of car.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 TOYOTA RAV4, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: Feb 2023
Dec 2022

-Windshield cowl not properly screened from manufacturer in order to protect from rodents entering . Mouse/rodent infestation found in various compartments, including nests, droppings, and "other material" that made its way into the engine and HVAC, and even a dead mouse in the main cabin- all resulting from entering through windshield Cowl. Service report available if needed -Breathing in mice droppings, urine, and decomposing animals is a major health risk that can cause severe illness. -Service department performed removal, cleaning, disinfecting, and replacements of components. Service Department stated this has been happening much more frequently with the newer Toyota's as the wires used attract these rodents. This one service department in particular has even created a "Rodent Pro Service" for rodent infestation which includes cleaning and disinfecting of affected areas, and also installing a steel mesh screen to avoid future entrance from windshield cowl -Only warning was a dead mouse found inside main cabin

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 TOYOTA RAV4, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: Dec 2022
Nov 2022

I was driving at about 65mph with a few windows down and the sun roof closed. The temperature was around 80degrees, when all of the sudden there was a huge POP sound. I opened the sun roof cover and saw that it was the sun roof that shattered. All the glass was broken.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 TOYOTA RAV4, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: Aug 2022
Sep 2022

I was driving down the highway and without warning, my sunroof completely shattered. I did not go over any bumps, there were no trucks around me, and I did not hear anything hit my window. I just heard a very loud pop and all of a sudden there was glass everywhere inside the vehicle. Luckily I did not get into an accident but this was completely startling and I could have easily gotten into an accident or had glass injure myself or passengers (luckily no one else was in the car). I brought the car into a local Toyota dealership in Colorado and they mentioned that someone who had about the same mileage on their car (17,000-18,000) miles came into that same dealership a few weeks ago with the exact same issue. They told me that Toyota would not consider this a defect or under warranty if it happened after 1,000 miles. I also sent a follow-up email to a service manager at the same dealership and he said that they have seen this before and a field technical specialist has looked into it and determined that it could not be a defect if it happened after 1,000 miles. This does not seem like a freak accident if there have been multiple incidents. This is a serious safety concern.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 TOYOTA RAV4, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: Mar 2022
Aug 2022

The windshield shattered without anything hitting it.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 TOYOTA RAV4, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: Aug 2022
Jul 2022

I want to file a complaint against Toyota for their design of air conditioner placement. My 2020 RAV4 just had to have repair including condenser replaced. Toyota's design allows rocks/foreign objects/debris to get behind the grill and damage the air conditioning system. There is no guard to stop these. This is on regular highway/rural road driving. I understand that the RAV4 is not the only Toyota car that has this design. My car is still under warranty, but this was not covered as it was deemed road hazard. I am unsure of the date this happened as I just started to notice it was not cooling efficiency and at first attributed it to Florida weather but as the days went on realized that there was something wrong. Estimate from Toyota Dealership was $1300.00

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 TOYOTA RAV4, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: Jan 2022
Jun 2022

Sunroof spontaneously shattered, with no vehicles close enough for a rock chip to be the probable cause. The only sound was a pop, of the window glass shattering - not of a rock or other object making contact. Upon examining the window, it had popped up, shattering first along the entire perimeter.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 TOYOTA RAV4, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: Jun 2022
Jun 2022

Vehicle has a automatic function that shuts off the engine when sitting in traffic, then restarts the engine when you press the accelerator. This function can be overridden by depressing a switch on the dashboard. It is easy to forget to push the switch and override this function. I believe this can present a safety issue. I was sitting in traffic waiting to make a left turn, this function I had forgotten to override. When an acceptable gap in traffic was recognized I pressed the accelerator, the vehicle took time to restart the engine and propel me into the path of oncoming traffic. At this time the gap in traffic had diminished to an unacceptable gap and I was almost struck by oncoming traffic. In the past we had asked our Toyota dealer to disable this function, they refused. I believe a more acceptable logic path would be for this function to be disabled when the vehicle is started and then the operator has the choice to engage this function if desired. I was told the purpose of this function is to save gasoline when sitting in traffic. There is also a second engine starter that completes this function. Having a second engine starter is one more item that could malfunction and need replacement.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 TOYOTA RAV4, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: Jun 2022
Mar 2022

The design of the Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) on this vehicle is dangerous and fundamentally flawed. When the system has a warning for the driver, it beeps and the driver must take his / her eyes off the road to look at the dashboard to understand the problem. For many years, voice response messaging has been available and should be implemented in addition to or instead of text messages to warn of serious, possible imminent problems.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 TOYOTA RAV4, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: Mar 2022
Jan 2022

Driving on the freeway and when randomly we hear a big bang, very loud and scary. Pulled the sunroof cover back to see that the sunroof had exploded/shattered into a million pieces. We were in alot of traffic heading to the mountains, my daughter was sitting in the back seat and this happened right above her head. Its been almost a month, sunroof on back order, didnt realize there was such a thing as exploding sunroofs until I searched the internet. My car is a lease and under warranty, but yet I am stuck with a $500 deductible to get this fixed. After reading all of these complaints how has this not been recalled? At the time of this happening, I had a few rocks also hit my windshield, for it to bounce off windshield and break a sunroof into a million pieces, this seems like a manufacture defect. We have turned this into our insurance company, but I feel like Toyota should cover this cost, as I had to come out of pocket for deductible and rental car

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 TOYOTA RAV4, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: Dec 2021
Jan 2022

The windshield on this vehicle is extremely fragile and cracks very easily. Many drivers of this vehicle have reported the same issue online with the windshield on the newest Toyota RAV4. Toyota simply refuses to do anything using the guise of "external influence" being the cause of a windshield crack - this same logic would apply to a small pebble or a tapping of a finger to cause a windshield crack.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 TOYOTA RAV4, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: Apr 2021

Trend Over Time

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Quick Summary

The 2020 Toyota RAV4 has 68 UNKNOWN OR OTHER complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.