U.S. public vehicle records

2019 Toyota RAV4 problems and owner complaints

Explore the records behind recurring owner reports.

Key facts

875 owner complaints analyzed

7 distinct recall campaigns

3,000 mi median reported failure mileage

Scope: 2019 model year. Data snapshot: 2026-09-12 (September 12, 2026). 309 complaints include usable failure mileage.

Owner-reported patterns

Most common problems

Fuel/Propulsion System is the most frequently named component, appearing in 255 of 875 complaints (29.1%). A complaint can name multiple components.

Recurring terms in complaint narratives
Topic	Matching reports	Share of complaints
Fuel system concerns	168	19.2%
Braking behavior	72	8.2%
Electrical and battery issues	71	8.1%
Transmission and shifting	49	5.6%
Engine operation	48	5.5%
Steering behavior	42	4.8%

Topic matches use published keyword rules. They describe mentions, including negations or comparisons, and do not confirm a diagnosis. Read the matching rules.

Component breakdown

Number of unique complaints naming each component. Top eight shown.

Fuel/Propulsion System

255

Engine

203

Unknown Or Other

169

Electrical System

100

Power Train

Structure:Body

Air Bags

Service Brakes

Fuel/Propulsion System: 255; Engine: 203; Unknown Or Other: 169; Electrical System: 100; Power Train: 79; Structure:Body: 70; Air Bags: 45; Service Brakes: 35

Reported problems by failure mileage

Complaint counts in mileage bands. These are not failure rates per vehicle or mile.

Under 25,000

257

25,000 to 49,999

50,000 to 74,999

75,000 to 99,999

100,000 to 149,999

150,000 and above

Under 25,000: 257; 25,000 to 49,999: 25; 50,000 to 74,999: 15; 75,000 to 99,999: 5; 100,000 to 149,999: 7; 150,000 and above: 0

Under 25,000 miles has the most reports with usable mileage (257). 566 complaints have missing, zero or invalid mileage.

Complaints over time

Year the complaint was filed, not the vehicle model year or incident year. The snapshot year is partial.

2019

139

2020

193

2021

2022

2023

114

2024

136

2025

2026

2019: 139; 2020: 193; 2021: 89; 2022: 71; 2023: 114; 2024: 136; 2025: 92; 2026: 41

Pattern summary

Fuel/Propulsion System leads the component reports. Fuel system concerns appears in 168 complaint narratives. Braking behavior appears in 72 complaint narratives. Electrical and battery issues appears in 71 complaint narratives. Use these patterns to inspect individual reports and prepare questions for a mechanic.

Calculated from recorded counts. An AI narrative has not been published for this selection.

Complaint evidence

Examples provide context, not a representative sample or a verified diagnosis.

Owner report 11240389 · 2019-07-29 (July 29, 2019)

MY 2019 TOYOTA RAV4 HYBRID HAS A 14.5 GALLON FUEL TANK. I BOUGHT IT NEW TWO MONTHS AGO AND HAVE ALMOST 5,000 MILES ON IT. IN THE TWO MONTHS SINCE I'VE OWNED IT, THE FUEL TANK HAS NEVER ALLOWED ME TO FILL IT MORE THAN 11 GALLONS. IF I TRY TO TOP IT OFF, IT WILL JUST CONTINUALLY CLICK OFF EVERY COUPLE CENTS. THIS IS AN ONGOING PROBLEM, NOT A ONE TIME EVENT.

Owner-reported narrative. 200 miles reported. Look up ODI 11240389 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 11240415 · 2019-07-29 (July 29, 2019)

I PURCHASED A 2019 RAV4 HYBRID IN APRIL OF 2019. ONE ISSUE WITH THE CAR THAT I HAVE NOT GOTTEN A RESOLUTION FOR IS THAT THE FUEL GAUGE IS INACCURATE. ON FILLING THE TANK, IT ONLY SHOWS ABOUT 7/8 FULL. THE ONLY WAY TO GET IT TOTALLY FULL IS TO 'TOP IT OFF' WHICH IS ILLEGAL IN OREGON WHERE I LIVE. THE FUEL TANK HOLDS 14.5 GALLONS. ON THE WAY BACK FROM A RECENT TRIP, I LET THE FUEL GAUGE GO DOWN UNTIL THE DASH BOARD SCREEN SAID I HAD 13 MILES LEFT UNTIL I WAS GOING TO BE OUT OF FUEL. I TOLD THE GAS STATION ATTENDANT HELP ME THIS ONE TIME BY 'TOPPI…

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 11240415 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 11186970 · 2019-03-15 (March 15, 2019)

I EXPERIENCED SEVERAL NEAR MISSES RELATED TO TWO ADAS FEATURES AS I RENTED THIS NEW RAV4 IN ATLANTA. FIRSTLY, THE LANE-CENTERING FEATURE ACTIVELY TRIED TO GUIDE MY VEHICLE OUT OF ITS LANE WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY. THIS TYPICALLY OCCURRED WHEN DRIVING ACROSS OVERPASSES WHERE THE PAVEMENT TYPE TRANSITIONED. THE LEFT AND RIGHT LANE MARKINGS WERE PRESENT ON THE PAVEMENT THROUGHOUT THESE EVENTS. THE STEERING WHEEL MOVED WITH FORCE AND SPEED--HAD MY REACTION TIME BEEN HALF A SECOND LONGER, I WOULD HAVE STRUCK VEHICLES NEXT TO ME. SECONDLY, THE VE…

Owner-reported narrative. 4,257 miles reported. Look up ODI 11186970 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 11218654 · 2019-06-08 (June 8, 2019)

WHILE DRIVING MY 2019 RAV4 ADVENTURE IN SLOW SPEEDS, SPECIALLY WHEN ACCELERATING AND BRAKING, I HEAR A NOISE COMING FROM THE TRANSMISIN. IT HAS AN 8 SPEED AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION AND WHEN SHIFTING IN THE LOWER GEARS IT MAKES A SOUND NOT USUAL IN ANY VEHICLE I HAVE PREVIOUSLY DRIVEN. ONLY HAD IT FOR THREE MONTHS AND TOOK IT TO SERVICE TO BE NOTIFIED IT IS A CHARACTERISTIC OF THE ENGINE/TRANSMISSION. FIRST TIME I GET THAT AN UNUSUAL SOUND, A SOUND I CAN FEEL IN MY FEET WHILE DRIVING, IS A CHARACTERISTIC OF THE CAR. IT WASN'T MENTIONED IN THE FEATU…

Owner-reported narrative. 2,500 miles reported. Look up ODI 11218654 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 11231792 · 2019-07-14 (July 14, 2019)

WHILE DRIVING DOWN I-25 SOUTH OF DENVER, CO IN HEAVY TRAFFIC AT 75 MPH, THE ENGINE ABRUPTLY SHUT OFF. I SUDDENLY HAD NO ENGINE POWER, POWER BRAKES OR POWER STEERING. LUCKILY I WAS ABLE TO COAST TO THE SHOULDER, BUT CAME CLOSE TO HITTING OR BEING HIT BY SEVERAL VEHICLES. WHEN WE MADE IT TO THE SHOULDER ALL THE WARNING LIGHTS AND MESSAGES WERE APPEARING ON THE DASH. AFTER LETTING THE CAR SIT A FEW MINUTES I RESTARTED IT, AND IT DID RUN, THOUGH ALL THE WARNING LIGHTS WERE STILL ON. THERE WAS A DEALERSHIP 9 MILES FROM MY LOCATION, SO I SLOWLY …

Owner-reported narrative. 4,580 miles reported. Look up ODI 11231792 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 11267558 · 2019-10-09 (October 9, 2019)

DRIVING AT A SPEED OF 60MPH I HEARD A STRANGE NOISE ARISE FROM THE REAR PASSENGER SIDE OF THE VEHICLE AND SMELLED A BURNING (ELECTRICAL) SMELL. I CUT OFF THE HEATER AND SEAT WARMERS AS A PRECAUTION, SLOWING THE CAR TO A SPEED OF 30-40MPH. APPROX. 2 MINUTES LATER, MY DASHBOARD LIT UP WITH ABOUT 4 CONSECUTIVE WARNINGS 1. ANTILOCK BRAKE SYSTEM HAS MALFUNCTIONED. 2. LANE TRACING ASSIST HAS MALFUNCTIONED. 3. REAR CAMERAS HAVE MALFUNCTIONED. 4. PARKING ASSIST WITH AUTOMATED BRAKING (PA W/AB) HAS MALFUNCTIONED. BRAKES CONTINUED TO ENGAGE, BUT FELT ST…

Owner-reported narrative. 5,300 miles reported. Look up ODI 11267558 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 11204698 · 2019-04-30 (April 30, 2019)

TL* THE CONTACT RENTED A 2019 TOYOTA RAV4. WHEN THE CONTACT ATTEMPTED TO SHIFT THE VEHICLE IN REVERSE, THE GEAR SHIFTER CAME OUT OF THE TRANSMISSION BOX. THE CONTACT QUICKLY PLACED THE GEAR SHIFTER BACK IN THE TRANSMISSION BOX AND NOTIFIED THE RENTAL FACILITY. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE HOME. THE CONTACT WAS STILL WAITING TO SWITCH OUT THE VEHICLE WITH THE RENTAL COMPANY. THE CONTACT WAS UNSURE IF THE RENTAL COMPANY NOTIFIED THE DEALER AND MANUFACTURER. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 5,218. THE VIN WAS UNKNOWN.

Owner-reported narrative. 5,218 miles reported. Look up ODI 11204698 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 11245080 · 2019-08-19 (August 19, 2019)

AT THIS TIME THERE AT LEAST 24 COMPLAINT ABOUT A "LURCHING" PROBLEM AT LOW SPEED AND RE ACCELERATION. A VERY SIGNIFICANT "LURCHING" ALMOST"STALLING" IS VERY APPARENT AS THE COMPLAINTS INDICATE. IN ADDITION, THE TRANSMISSION STARTS IN 4TH GEAR...NOT 1ST GEAR FROM A DEAD STOP. I WOULD CONSIDER THIS A SAFETY ISSUE. HAS BEEN AN ISSUE FROM DAY 1 OF CAR PURCHASE. VEHICLE NOW HAS 5600 MILES ON IT.

Owner-reported narrative. 10 miles reported. Look up ODI 11245080 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 11282328 · 2019-11-25 (November 25, 2019)

A VERY SIGNIFICANT "LURCHING" ALMOST"STALLING" IS VERY APPARENT AS THE COMPLAINTS INDICATE. IN ADDITION, THE TRANSMISSION STARTS IN 4TH GEAR...NOT 1ST GEAR FROM A DEAD STOP. I WOULD CONSIDER THIS A SAFETY ISSUE. HAS BEEN AN ISSUE FROM DAY 1 OF CAR PURCHASE. VEHICLE NOW HAS 22,000 MILES ON IT

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 11282328 at NHTSA ↗