2020 Toyota RAV4

2020 RAV4 HYBRID VEHICLE IS RATED FOR AND ADVERTISED AS HAVING AN APPROXIMATELY 580 MILE FUEL RANGE. PURCHASED NEW, AND DROVE OFF THE LOT WITH A FULL TANK AND 7 MILES ON THE ODOMETER, THE EMPTY FUEL TANK LIGHT CAME ON AT JUST LESS THAN 370 MILES OF NORMAL HIGHWAY AND CITY DRIVING. WENT TO "FILL UP" THE VEHICLE AND IT TOPPED OFF AT ONLY 11 GALLONS. THE TANK CAPACITY IS ADVERTISED AS 14.5 GALLONS. MY ASSUMPTION IS THAT EITHER THE FUEL GAUGE IS DEFECTIVE, OR THE FUEL TANK IS SMALLER THAN ADVERTISED. EITHER WAY, THIS MAKES THE ACTUAL FUEL RANGE OVER 200 MILES LESS THAN ADVERTISED. I WAS TOLD AT THE DEALERSHIP THAT THE "RESERVE FUEL" AMOUNT IS 3.5 GALLONS, HOWEVER, TOYOTA USA HAS TOLD ME THE RESERVE AMOUNT IS 2.2 GALLONS. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE - IIN ORDER TO GET THE FUEL RANGE I NEED, I HAVE TO DRIVE IT NEARLY 200 MILES PAST THE LOW-FUEL INDICATOR, WHICH PUTS ME AT INCREASED RISK OF RUNNING OUT OF FUEL ON THE INTERSTATE. ADDITIONALLY IT'S NOT CLEAR WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF/WHEN THE FUEL TANK IS DEPLETED. TOYOTA HAS CHOSEN NOT TO INFORM BUYERS OF THIS FUEL GAUGE DEFECT PRIOR TO PURCHASE, AND INSTEAD ACTIVELY ADVERTISES THE LONG FUEL RANGE - THIS FITS THE DEFINITION OF FRAUD, AND IS COMPLETELY UNVERIFIABLE UNTIL YOU PURCHASE AND DRIVE THE VEHICLE HUNDREDS OF MILES. HAD I KNOWN, I PROBABLY WOULD NOT HAVE PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE, BECAUSE OF THIS FUEL RANGE SAFETY ISSUE, AND NOT KNOWING HOW MUCH FUEL IS LEFT IN THE VEHICLE.

I BOUGHT A 2020 TOYOTA RAV4 HYBRID FOR FUEL EFFICIENCY. I'VE HAD IT NEARLY 6 MONTHS AND HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO REALIZE ANY FUEL EFFICIENCY DUE TO A FAULTY FUEL TANK. MY GAS GAUGE WAS AT 1/4 TANK AND I REFUELED. THE PUMP STOPPED AFTER REACHING 'FULL'. WHEN I RESTARTED THE VEHICLE AFTER 'FILLING UP', THE GAUGE WENT TO 3/4 TANK INSTEAD OF FULL. AT ANY GIVEN TIME, I DO NOT KNOW HOW MUCH FUEL IS IN THE TANK, THEREFORE, I CANNOT TELL IF THE VEHICLE IS EVEN FUEL EFFICIENT. MY PREVIOUS CAR WAS A 2003 TOYOTA RAV4 NON-HYBRID AND I'D REFUEL EVERY 2 WEEKS AND IT HAS THE SAME SIZE FUEL TANK THAT THE 2020 TOYOTA RAV4 HYBRID SUPPOSEDLY HAS (14.5 GALLONS). IT FEELS LIKE THE FUEL TANK IS HALF THAT SIZE. I'M HAVING TO REFUEL MY 2020 TOYOTA RAV4 HYBRID WEEKLY TO KEEP FROM LEAVING ME STRANDED BECAUSE THE GAS GAUGE IS READING INCORRECTLY. TOYOTA NEEDS TO CORRECT THIS ISSUE ASAP.

VEHICLE HAS A 14.5 USG GAS TANK AND GETS APPROXIMATELY 40MPG AS PER THE VEHICLE COMPUTER. THE VEHICLE SHOULD HAVE A RANGE OF APPROXIMATELY 560 MILES. AT 390 MILES, THE DISTANCE TO EMPTY DISPLAY WAS 44 MILES AND THE GAS GAUGE NEEDLE WAS JUST ABOVE E. AT THE FILL UP THE PUMP KICKED OFF AT 9.6 GALLONS. WHEN TRYING TO ADD MORE GAS, THE PUNP KICKED OFF AGAIN AT 10.1 GALLONS. THE GAS GAUGE READS FULL AND THE DISTANCE TO EMPTY READS 470 MILES. I AM EITHER 4 GALLONS SHORT OF A FULL TANK OR THE GAUGE READS EMPTY WHEN THERE IS 4 GALLONS REMAINING. I HAVE OWNED THIS CAR FOR 4 WEEKS. A SERVICE WRITER AT THE DEALERSHIP DENIES ANY KNOWLEDGE OF THE PROBLEM AS THERE IS NO ACTUAL RECALL NOTICE. TOYOTA IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM AND HAS NO REMEDY. DEALERSHIPS HAVE BEEN MADE AWARE THROUGH INTERNAL MEMOS WHICH ARE AVAILABLE ONLINE. THE RESPONSE FROM THE DEALERSHIP IS TO LEAVE IT FOR A DAY TO BE LOOKED AT. I REALIZE THERE IS NO CURRENT FIX, BUT DEALERSHIPS SHOULD BE DOCUMENTING COMPLAINTS.