2019 Toyota RAV4

MULTIPLE FUEL SPILLS HAPPENED WHILE THE 2019 RAV4 HYBRID WAS STATIONARY, BEING REFUELED. THE MANUAL PROVIDED STATES THAT THE LOW FUEL LIGHT ILLUMINATES WHEN THERE IS 2.2 GALLONS OR LESS FUEL IN THE TANK, AND IT STATES THE FUEL CAPACITY IS 14.5 GALLONS. WHEN FUELING AFTER THE LOW FUEL LIGHT ILLUMINATES, AND THE FUEL GAUGE INDICATES "E"; THE TANK OVERFILLS WITH APPROXIMATELY 9.3 GALLONS, OR 3 GALLONS SHORT OF WHAT WAS EXPECTED. THIS RESULTS IN HAZARDOUS FUEL SPILLS WHEN THE ATTENDANT ATTEMPTS TO FILL THE TANK. ALSO, THE VEHICLES RANGE IS LESS THAN EXPECTED WHICH CAN RESULT IN DIVERSIONS AND/OR A STRANDED DRIVER.

TOYOTA'S 2019 RAV4 LIMITED HYBRID BOASTS OF HAVING A 14.5 GALLON FUEL CAPACITY. WHEN I FILL MY TANK, I CAN FILL IT TO 10 GALLONS MAXIMUM. THE SERVICE ADVISOR, AARON ENGLAND, INSISTS THAT THIS IS NORMAL. HE STATED THAT NO CARS CAN BE FILLED TO CAPACITY. I AM NOT WANTING TO FILL TO CAPACITY. TOYOTA IS NOT ACKNOWLEDGING THIS IS INACCURATE AND SAYS MY CAR EITHER HAS 3-4 GALLONS, BUT THE SENSOR CAN NOT DETECT IT OR I HAVE A TANK SMALLER THAN CLAIMED. THEY WILL NOT INVESTIGATE. WHEN FUELING MY VEHICLE, IT STOPS FUELING WHEN A LITTLE MORE THAN AN 1/8 OF A TANK SHOWS REMAINS UNTIL FULL. ONLINE, THERE IS MUCH EVIDENCE FROM OTHER OWNERS THAT THIS IS AN ISSUE AND TOYOTA IS REFUSING TO OFFER HELP.

LESS THAN ONE MONTH AGO, I PURCHASED A NEW 2019 TOYOTA RAV4 HYBRID LIMITED THAT WAS BUILT IN JAPAN AND HAD ONLY 7 MILES ON THE ODOMETER. THE CAR WAS ADVERTISED TO GIVE COMBINED 40 MPG AND HAVE A 14.5 GALLON FUEL TANK. I NOW HAVE APPROXIMATELY 2 THOUSAND MILES ON THE CAR AND I HAVE EXPERIENCED THE SAME ISSUE EVERY TIME THAT I GET GAS IN MULTIPLE STATES AND GAS STATIONS. THE TANK WILL NOT FILL UP AND THE GAS PUMP SHUTS OFF BEFORE THE TANK IS FILLED. EVERY TIME THAT I FILL UP, THE FUEL GAUGE ALWAYS STAYS ABOUT 2-3 LINES BELOW THE FULL MARK. TWO DAYS AGO I DROVE THE CAR UNTIL IT STOPPED DISPLAYING A MILES-TO-EMPTY READING AND SIMPLY READ, 'FUEL NEEDED.' MINUTES BEFORE GIVING THIS READING, IT SAID THAT I HAD APPROXIMATELY 31 MILES LEFT. I CHECKED THE TOYOTA REMOTE CONNECT APP ON MY PHONE THE NEXT MORNING AND IT READ THAT I HAD 24 MILES UNTIL EMPTY. I DROVE TO THE GAS STATION AND WAS ONLY ABLE TO PUT IN 8.9 GALLONS OF GAS BEFORE THE FUEL PUMP SHUT OFF. I ATTEMPTED TO CONTINUE FUELING TWO MORE TIMES BUT EACH TIME I TRIED TO TOP OFF, I ONLY GOT A LITTLE MORE GAS BEFORE IT KEPT SHUTTING OFF. AFTER TOPPING OFF TWICE, I ACHIEVE A GRAND TOTAL OF 9.4 GALLONS OF GAS PURCHASED. IF THE TANK IS SUPPOSED TO HOLD 14.5 GALLONS AND I WAS ONLY ABLE TO ADD 9 TO A CAR THAT WAS SUPPOSEDLY ON EMPTY, THAT IS 5 GALLONS OF GAS THAT IS MISSING. I'M AWARE THAT MANY TOYOTA HAVE APPROXIMATELY 2 GALLONS LEFT IN RESERVE WHEN THE GAS LIGHT GOES ON, HOWEVER, 9+2=12 AND STILL LEAVES THE CAR SHORT OF ABOUT 2 GALLONS OF GAS. THIS IS DANGEROUS AND IS A SAFETY HAZARD AS IT WILL RESULT IN MANY PEOPLE TRYING TO TOP OFF THEIR GAS BY FORCING FUEL INTO THE TANKS AND BEING UNABLE TO DETERMINE WHEN THE STOP. THIS CAN CAUSE GAS LEAKS AND AN INCREASE IN EMISSIONS OR RISK OF FIRE. IT APPEARS THAT MANY OF THE 2019 TOYOTA HYBRIDS THAT WERE BUILT IN JAPAN ARE EXPERIENCING THIS ISSUE.

UNABLE TO FILL TANK TO CAPACITY. TANK HOLDS 14.5 GALLONS BUT I CAN ONLY GET AT MOST 10 GALLONS IN WHEN RANGE OF LESS THAN 40 MILES AND GAUGE READS LESS THAN A QUARTER OF A TANK. AT 40 MILES TO THE GALLON, THERE SHOULD BE ROOM FOR 13.5 GALLONS. RANGE ONLY INCREASES TO NOT MORE THAN 475 MILES WHEN "FULL" WHEN I SHOULD GET 550 AS ADVERTISED. I BOUGHT THE CAR IN AUGUST AND HAVE HAD THE SAME EXPERIENCE AT THE GAS STATION WITH 4 FILL UPS. LOOKS LIKE MANY 2019 HYBRID RAV4 OWNERS ARE HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM. I COMPLAINED TO THE DEALER WHO CLAIMED TO NEVER HAVE HEARD OF THIS.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2019 TOYOTA RAV4. WHEN THE FUEL TANK WAS FILLED UP, IT REGISTERED 3/4 FULL INSTEAD OF COMPLETELY FULL. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO BIG TWO TOYOTA OF CHANDLER (480-302-4651, LOCATED AT 1250 S GILBERT RD, CHANDLER, AZ 85286), BUT THE FAILURE COULD NOT BE DUPLICATED. THE TECHNICIAN STATED THAT IT COULD BE A DESIGN FLAW WITH THE FUEL TANK. THE FAILURE WAS NOT REMEDIED. THE MANUFACTURER STATED THAT THE FAILURE WAS A KNOWN ISSUE AND A CLAIM MANAGER WOULD CALL THE CONTACT. THE CONTACT WAS NOT CALLED BACK. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 200.

WHEN ATTEMPTS ARE MADE TO PUT FUEL IN THE VEHICLE THE PUMP STOPS AT 3/4 FILL. THIS DOES NOT MEAN THERE IS 3/4 THE QUANTITY THE GAS TANK HOLDS. IT IS EASY TO RUN OUT OF FUEL SINCE THE GAS GAUGE READING IS INACCURATE. IT TAKES MULTIPLE STARTING THE PUMP TO PUT MORE GAS IN BUT IT IS UNCLEAR HOW MUCH IT REALLY TAKES TO BE FULL. THIS IS DANGEROUS SINCE RUNNING OUT OF FUEL WHILE DRIVING CAN LEAD TO AN ACCIDENT. THIS HAPPENS WHEN THE CAR IS STATIONARY IN FRONT OF THE GAS PUMP.

MY 2019 TOYOTA RAV4 HYBRID LIMITED BUILT IN JAPAN HAS A FUEL FILL UP ISSUE THAT PEVENTS THE CAR FROM BEING FULLY FUELED UNDER NORMAL CIRCUMSTANCES. THE GAS PUMP WILL SHUT OFF 1-2 GALLONS BEFORE THE TANK IS ACTUALLY FULL, MEANING THAT IN ORDER TO GET A FULL TANK, THE USER HAS TO FORCE FUEL INTO THE TANK. THIS PRESENTS TWO PROBLEMS: 1) THIS IS A CONCERN BECAUSE THERE IS SOME SORT OF PRESSURE ISSUE INSIDE THE GAS TANK THAT'S PREVENING PROPER FILLING WHICH COULD RESULT IN GAS SPEWING OUT OF THE FILLER HOLE AND PRESENTING AN ENVIRONMENTAL/SAFETY/FIRE HAZZARD. 2) WITH A GAS TANK THAT'S LISTED AT 14.5 GALLONS THAT ADVERTISES A RANGE OF 600+ MILES ON A TANK OF GAS, YOU EFFECTIVELY HAVE A USEABLE FUEL QUANTITY AND RANGE WELL BELOW WHAT TOYOTA ADVERTISES MEANING THEY ARE ENGAGING IN FALSE ADVERTISING. MY DEALER IS AWARE OF THIS ISSUE SINCE OTHER OWNERS ARE EXPERIENCING THE SAME OR SIMILAR ISSUES, BUT SO FAR, TOYOTA IS UNABLE TO ADDRESS THIS FUEL FILLING ISSUE.