2019 Toyota RAV4 Complaints

STEERING — Filed 06/23/2026

While driving the 2019 Toyota RAV4, I found that the steering wheel was getting hard to turn and the car kept making grinding sound when turning. Due to I was short on time, I asked an old mechanic friend to check the RAV4 out before my road trip. He was unable to get the vehicle back; therefore, I used my other vehicle. While I was out of town the Mechanic contacted me, and ask if the car had been in water and I replied no. He suggested that I might want to see if there’s a recall. I googled recall for RAV4 vehicles and found that a recall had been issued for certain groups of power, steering boxes. This may allow water to enter the box that could corrode and cause loss of power steering that could cause an accidents. I’ve reached out to several Toyota representatives with this issue, but have been unsuccessful and getting them to see that this car may have been overlooked.

STEERING — Filed 06/17/2026

The contact owns a 2019 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, an orange steering symbol appeared on the instrument panel accompanied by the message: "Power Steering Malfunction, Steering Power Low, Visit Your Dealer." An initial inspection by an independent mechanic indicated that the electrical power steering and the rack and pinion assembly needed to be replaced. Subsequently, the vehicle was taken to a dealer, where diagnostic testing confirmed a defective power steering system. Following a software update performed by the dealer, the warning symbol transitioned to red, accompanied by an audible alarm and a significant increase in the physical force required to steer the vehicle. Restarting the vehicle temporarily reverted the warning light to orange and restored steering functionality. Upon investigation, the contact discovered NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V373000 (Steering); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 105,857.

BACK OVER PREVENTION,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE — Filed 07/09/2026

Rav4 2019 - We lost engine power while driving on the highway at 75 mph. We were in the #2 lane and were fortunate to be able to coast to the side of the road. Quite scary as there were semi trucks behind us.We had been driving for approximately 3.5 hours on the highway at 70-75 MPH. The outside temperature registering on our vehicle began at 110 and continued to increase on up to 118 degrees at the time of the incident. When we lost engine power, the following errors began flashing on the dashboard: PKSB Malfunction, Pre Collision System Malfunction, Secondary Collision Brake System Malfunction. We cleaned the sensors, turned the car off for 5 minutes and then turned it back on. Same warnings appeared. Got towed to the Toyota dealership. Next day all malfunction warnings gone. Car was behaving normally. Toyota service team was unable to reproduce the problem. They inspected the electrical, battery, sensors, etc. but could not find anything. Ultimately the service lead stated that the intense heat could have caused sensor malfunction. Scary!! We fortunate!

POWER TRAIN — Filed 11/29/2025

transmission went out at 109,217 k miles had to pay for it out of pocket Toyota doesn't recommend transmission fluid replacement until 120k miles

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM — Filed 06/06/2026

Door locks failed to lock or unlock via the key fob, intermittent problem

UNKNOWN OR OTHER — Filed 06/11/2025

I am having issues with my 2019 RAV 4 rear hatch. The struts/hinges issue is not allowing my rear hatch to open. I feel like one issue caused the other, but warranty will only cover the struts. There is a potential class action lawsuit right now over this issue. Toyota will not do anything about it.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER — Filed 05/29/2026

The infotainment system of my 2019 RAV4 hybrid will randomly turn off while driving. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,SERVICE BRAKES — Filed 05/05/2026

Was in a front driver side T-bone @ 35 miles and hour accident and no Airbags deployed

ENGINE — Filed 05/09/2026

The Coolant Bypass Valve on my vehicle failed, leading to a risk of sudden engine overheating and potential coolant leaks into the electrical harness. This is a documented defect (CSP 23TE03) that Toyota has failed to address for vehicles over 100,000 miles, creating a safety hazard for high-mileage owners. This is a major concern on a known issue and those that don't have funds to pay for this known failure. They need to do a recall for ALL!

POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE — Filed 05/16/2026

The 8-speed automatic on my 2019 RAV4 (2.5L 4 Cyl) has been shifting super rough at lower speeds, to the point to where downshifts can send the revs into redline territory, but the car really doesn't move. No warning lights, passed state inspection, recently serviced. purchaced this car in Janurary with 50k miles on it and noticed it within a few weeks of driving. I am now at 57k and the issue is signifigantly worse than it was before. Will be taking it to Toyota soon. The safety issues arise when I do not know how the car is going to accelerate or respond to throttle input in traffic. I don't trust the car to handle any fast throttle input if I need to move out of the way quickly.