2019 Toyota RAV4 driver assist problems

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL

While driving in the mountains on a hot day, the car suddenly reported numerous faults, including check engine, parking brake malfunction, pre-collision system malfunction, AWD system malfunction, and secondary collision brake system malfunction. The car lost power and forced us to pull over on the side of a dangerous mountain highway. We powered-off the car for a few minutes and started it again and were able to proceed to our nearby remote mountain destination without another loss of power, but the faults remained. The next day we were able to get the car to a nearby NAPA store to read the check engine codes, which there were only 2 of the "P0087" code. I had them clear the fault codes in order to be able to safely drive the car (~120 miles) back home. Some quick research shows a known issue and TSB for that in our exact high-altitude and high-temperature situation - Toyota T-SB-0058-22, related to a known design flaw with the ECM and fuel suction tube. Luckily, it did not throw the errors again during our drive home. I made an appointment at our local AutoNation Toyota Arapahoe for the following week. I detailed the issue and provided pictures of the errors - including the code reader display. The dealer claimed to not find any issues and refused to address/execute the TSB, stating that the code must be active and present in order for them to fix it and that my pictures were not sufficient proof. I explained that it was an unacceptable safety risk to have left the car in that state and that the issue is known to only occur in certain conditions (e.g. high-altitude, high-temperature mountain driving). Issue remains un-addressed, which is highly unacceptable and poses a serious on-going safety risk.

NHTSA complaint #11758893 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS

While driving in the mountains on a hot day, the car suddenly reported numerous faults, including check engine, parking brake malfunction, pre-collision system malfunction, AWD system malfunction, and secondary collision brake system malfunction. The car lost power and forced us to pull over on the side of a dangerous mountain highway. We powered-off the car for a few minutes and started it again and were able to proceed to our nearby remote mountain destination without another loss of power, but the faults remained. The next day we were able to get the car to a nearby NAPA store to read the check engine codes, which there were only 2 of the "P0087" code. I had them clear the fault codes in order to be able to safely drive the car (~120 miles) back home. Some quick research shows a known issue and TSB for that in our exact high-altitude and high-temperature situation - Toyota T-SB-0058-22, related to a known design flaw with the ECM and fuel suction tube. Luckily, it did not throw the errors again during our drive home. I made an appointment at our local AutoNation Toyota Arapahoe for the following week. I detailed the issue and provided pictures of the errors - including the code reader display. The dealer claimed to not find any issues and refused to address/execute the TSB, stating that the code must be active and present in order for them to fix it and that my pictures were not sufficient proof. I explained that it was an unacceptable safety risk to have left the car in that state and that the issue is known to only occur in certain conditions (e.g. high-altitude, high-temperature mountain driving). Issue remains un-addressed, which is highly unacceptable and poses a serious on-going safety risk.

NHTSA complaint #11758893 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

BACK OVER PREVENTION: WARNINGS

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!

NHTSA complaint #11749733 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING

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!

NHTSA complaint #11749733 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS

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!

NHTSA complaint #11749733 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA

Infotainment Center turns on and off, and will not work. Because the screen turns on and off, the camera for back up intermittently works. May 2025 i took it to Karl Malone Toyota in Sandy Utah. They said to buy a 3rd party, after investigation I confirmed that no display has the options to reset maintenance, change clock on the dashboard, and communicate with the car. Yes radio, navigation, carplay, etc work with a 3rd party system, but the functions that talk with the car do not work on any 3rd party system.

NHTSA complaint #11714421 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING

My check engine light is on due to O2 sensor being dirty. While this light is on some features in the car are disabled like cruise control. It might also be that the ABS braking system is turned off! I am not sure but once when the car in front of me abruptly stopped I was surprised my emergency braking did not kick in.

NHTSA complaint #11692489 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS

My check engine light is on due to O2 sensor being dirty. While this light is on some features in the car are disabled like cruise control. It might also be that the ABS braking system is turned off! I am not sure but once when the car in front of me abruptly stopped I was surprised my emergency braking did not kick in.

NHTSA complaint #11692489 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

LANE DEPARTURE

The contact owns a 2019 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, the vehicle started swaying in and out the lane. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact linked the failure to the lane keep assist feature. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The contact continued to drive the vehicle and the vehicle violently jerked, forcing the contact to pull over. In addition, the contact stated that the vehicle was accelerating unintendedly upon releasing the accelerator pedal. The contact immediately pulled over and turned off the vehicle. The contact turned off the lane assist feature and proceeded to drive the vehicle at a slow speed. The contact stated that while accelerating above 35 MPH, the abnormal jerking returned. The vehicle was not repaired. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 62,000.

NHTSA complaint #11661798 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS

While driving or stopped at a light, car will switch drivings modes to “mud and sand” turning off the vehicle stability control and pre-collision system warning light will illuminate. After pressing desired mode, car will switch back to “mud and sand” at varying intervals resulting in me pressing the desired mode constantly while driving.

NHTSA complaint #11657593 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS

A Hybrid System Malfunction warning appeared about 1 week ago. The car was taken to the Toyota dealer who said that the car was safe to drive and that they would need to order a part and it will probably be weeks before they get it because so many other cars have the same problem. Three days later the car will not start with several errors including Brake Power low, PKSB Malfunction, and Precolllision System Malfunction. Toyota is not providing any coverage for any of our repair, car rental or now the need to tow the car.

NHTSA complaint #11656662 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS

My 2019 TOYOTA RAV4 ADVENTURE is groaning, especially when accelerating or decelerating, particularly with the AWD system engaged. Plus, there no or slow forward collision warning. Toyota seems to ignore these issues related to the Adventure RAv4 of 2019 and 2020. Thanks

NHTSA complaint #11648906 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS

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.

NHTSA complaint #11624987 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL

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.

NHTSA complaint #11620817 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

LANE DEPARTURE: ASSIST

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.

NHTSA complaint #11620817 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL

In line at a restaurant drive through around 2pm, raining, wipers on. engine cut off and power steering low message displayed. Car would not restart for several (30 minutes) Cause unknown. All battery, starter, alternator test came back fine.

NHTSA complaint #11556855 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

LANE DEPARTURE: BLIND SPOT DETECTION

Received multiple malfunction alerts. BSM & RCTW. Other safety features also inop. Dealership told me it was due to non-factory installed Cross Bars, faulty gasket allowed water into vehicle and flowed down onto the Engine Control Module. There was no way the amount of water said to have been in vehicle could have come from that 1 gasket, over 1" above roof. After $825+ and removal of cross bars water still leaking into car. Concerned issue will re-occur making safety features worthless, as well as damage side air-bags. These issues would all need to be corrected via out-of-pocket expense. Believe the issue is design flaw from Toyota.

NHTSA complaint #11520843 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

BACK OVER PREVENTION: REARVIEW SYSTEM BRAKING

Received multiple malfunction alerts. BSM & RCTW. Other safety features also inop. Dealership told me it was due to non-factory installed Cross Bars, faulty gasket allowed water into vehicle and flowed down onto the Engine Control Module. There was no way the amount of water said to have been in vehicle could have come from that 1 gasket, over 1" above roof. After $825+ and removal of cross bars water still leaking into car. Concerned issue will re-occur making safety features worthless, as well as damage side air-bags. These issues would all need to be corrected via out-of-pocket expense. Believe the issue is design flaw from Toyota.

NHTSA complaint #11520843 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS

A couple of months ago, I noticed water had somehow entered the inside of my car, collecting along the interior roof panel and inside the C-pillar close to the top of the driver door. I did a little research to see if I could figure out what the cause of it was. I found that many other owners of 2019 and 2020 Rav4's had similar problems. Their findings indicated that Toyota had equipped poor quality gaskets, along the the area in which the roof rail trim were fastened to the roof of the car. I also read that this problem could be fixed by the owner, but was unaware that the water leakage would come in contact with electrical components. Yesterday, I experienced first hand the result of this situation. When starting my car, the display board was indicating a multitude of warnings for system malfunctions. These included power steering malfunction, brake system malfunction, pre-collision warning malfunction, lane-monitoring, and on top of this the RPM gauge and engine temperature gauge were both malfunctioning. These warning/indicators persistently flashed and caused a loud beeping sound to go off. The warnings also informed me to not drive the car and see a dealer immediately. After taking it to the dealer, the technicians were able to confirm that water has leaked through the roof rail panels from the area I previously specified. They found water on fuse box/junction connectors. They also found corrosion on pins on driver front door connector, under dash harness connector and body harness connector. While the water damage did not lead to a car accident, it did cause serious concern for the potential risk of car malfunctions. This information will be soon be reviewed by my insurance provider.

NHTSA complaint #11511682 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS

I have had my RAV 4 since it was brand new. Today while i was driving, the mud and sand screen popped up automatic with traction control light, later i was able to turn it to normal then the light would go off for a while and it comes back again. It all happened while i was driving in I 355 going down to Lemont, IL from Palatine IL. I had the same problem but not with the mud and sand but with snow back in 2019 when it was a brand new, took it to a dealership and they said they have never seen like this before and they just reset the computer and it went off. I am pretty sure when I first bought it, even i push each and every button of either snow, sports or mud, the traction light wouldn’t come off. While driving on i 355 today, my car slide for a while which was the most scary part, first I assume it was raining but after when the rain stopped too, it was skidding while applying the brake. I have the regular maintenance, just did the brakes with rotors, changed tires, oil change every 3-4k miles. I tried to talk to Toyota 800 number but wasn’t able to connect with them.

NHTSA complaint #11500042 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS

This vehicle has continued to have issues. The most recent and dangerous issue is the electrical problems due to water leakage. Water getting into the vehicle's interior can be hazardous with all the solenoids, modules, and wires. The roof rack leaking is a common issue for these vehicles. It does not become an issue until they have been exposed to rainy environments or washed. The water in our vehicle leaked down the driver-side A-pillar, behind the steering wheel, and into the floorboard. This caused a shortage in wiring for the mud/sand terrain modes and the safety systems for the vehicle. This would happen at random times, including down the freeway at 70mph. The adaptive cruise control would shut off and emergency braking would be defective if needed. The water does flow across the airbag in the A-pillar which could cause a more serious issue. Now, there is a possibility of the airbag not deploying in the case of a collision. The racks leaking is something Toyota should be recalling or publishing a TSB.

NHTSA complaint #11498501 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL

This vehicle has continued to have issues. The most recent and dangerous issue is the electrical problems due to water leakage. Water getting into the vehicle's interior can be hazardous with all the solenoids, modules, and wires. The roof rack leaking is a common issue for these vehicles. It does not become an issue until they have been exposed to rainy environments or washed. The water in our vehicle leaked down the driver-side A-pillar, behind the steering wheel, and into the floorboard. This caused a shortage in wiring for the mud/sand terrain modes and the safety systems for the vehicle. This would happen at random times, including down the freeway at 70mph. The adaptive cruise control would shut off and emergency braking would be defective if needed. The water does flow across the airbag in the A-pillar which could cause a more serious issue. Now, there is a possibility of the airbag not deploying in the case of a collision. The racks leaking is something Toyota should be recalling or publishing a TSB.

NHTSA complaint #11498501 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING

The vehicle enters mud/sand mode spontaneously, causing the ABS, traction control, and forward collision warning to turn off. I cannot enter mud/sand mode myself when pressing the button. Must turn on normal or eco mode to get out of mud/sand mode once it activates. It has happened over a dozen times in a week.

NHTSA complaint #11497817 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS

Car randomly switched the driving modes from normal to mud and sand while a driving on the highway about 55 miles per hour, also said precolision system disable, happened in last 3 days

NHTSA complaint #11488138 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

BACK OVER PREVENTION: WARNINGS

Driving on 35MPH limit road. Vehicle began to stutter. Vehicle began to communicate warning lights - "PKSB Malfunction" and "Hybrid System Malfunction" and "Check Engine" and alerted to visit dealer. After stopping at red-light, received warning to pull over and stop driving. Vehicle could not exceed ~10mph no matter how much accelerator was depressed and received warning that vehicle had ~2.5 miles until it would cease being able to be driven. For rest of trip to home (approximately 2 miles), vehicle would alternate between 10mph limited state and returning to full acceleration which led to very unsafe driving conditions and abrupt changes in speed. Reached home and parked in drive way. After a few hours, returned to vehicle to take to dealer for service. All 3 error messages remained but no further limitation to 10mph or abrupt speed changes. Dropped off for service at dealership. Dealer notes: "Hybrid system malfunction, check engine light - SCAN FOR CODES, FOUND U010087 LOSS OF COMMUNICATION BETWEEN PCW AND ECM / CLEAR CODES, UPDATE SYSTEM, OPERATING AS DESIGNED." Upon receipt from dealer, no further issues and drove home safely. Vehicle is a 2019 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid Limited, bought new in Jan. 2020. Approximately 23000 miles, no previous issues. Has been maintained regularly (oil changes, etc. via Toyota Care).

NHTSA complaint #11460592 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.