2020 Toyota RAV4

I PURCHASED A 2020 TOYOTA RAV4 HYBRID LIMITED ADDITION FROM TOYOTA OF ESCONDIDO AND TOOK DELIVERY IN DECEMBER OF 2019. UPON DELIVERY, I NOTICED THE INSTRUMENTATION SAID THIS VEHICLE HAD 575 MILES TO EMPTY. WE WENT ON OUR ANNUAL CHRISTMAS TRIP TO N. CALIFORNIA. I NOTICED THAT OUR FIRST REFUELING I COULD NOT FILL THE TANK MORE THAN 9.5 TO 10 GALS OF FUEL WHEN SYSTEM SAYS LOW FUEL. THIS HAPPENS CONSISTENTLY SINCE THE FIRST FILL UP IN DEC 2019 TO NOW MAY 2020. THE BEST MILEAGE TO EMPTY HAS BEEN CONSISTENTLY 415 - 430 MILES TO EMPTY. WHERE DOES THIS EXPLAIN THE 14.5 GALLON FUEL TANK. SECONDLY WITH VERY CAREFUL AND TEDIOUS DRIVING IN TOWN OR HIGHWAY CANNOT ATTAIN ANYWHERE NEAR THE VEHICLE STICKER OF 41/38 MPG. THE BEST I CAN OBTAIN IN TOWN IS 31.5 MPG. I TOOK THE VEHICLE IN SEVERAL TIMES TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE AND WAS TOLD THERE WAS NO FIX IN PLACE FOR THE FUEL ISSUE, BUT THEY ARE AWARE OF THIS ISSUE AND HAVE KNOWN OF THIS ISSUE SINCE 2019 MODELS. THEY HAD THE VEHICLE FOR THE DAY AND RETURNED IT TO ME WITH A FUEL ECONOMY READING OF 61 MPG. I WAS ASTONISHED AND ASKED HOW DID THEY DO THIS. THERE WAS NOT REPLY. JUST DRIVING THE VEHICLE HOME FROM THE DEALER THE FUEL ECONOMY STARTED TO FALL DRASTICALLY AND WITHIN 2 DAYS THE ECONOMY WAS BACK TO 31.5 MPG. *TR

TOYOTA ADVERTISES THE 2020 RAV4 HYBRIDS ARE EQUIPPED WITH 14.5 GALLON FUEL TANKS, THE HYBRID ALLEGEDLY SHOULD GET 41 MILES PER GALLON FOR CITY DRIVING, 38 MPG FOR HIGHWAY DRIVING AND A COMBINED 40 MPG. THIS SHOULD APPROXIMATELY PROVIDE A RANGE OF 580 MILES ON A TANK OF GAS. HOWEVER, MY RAV4 HYBRID CANNOT REACH THAT RANGE BECAUSE WHEN REFUELING, THE GAS PUMP NOZZLE AUTOMATICALLY SHUTS OFF BEFORE THE TANK IS CLOSE TO BEING FULL. ADDING 8 GALLONS OF GAS WHEN THE LOW FUEL LIGHT IS ILLUMINATED CAUSES THE FUEL NOZZLE TO SHUT OFF. TRYING TO ADD MORE FUEL ALLEGEDLY CAUSES AN OVERFLOW EVEN THOUGH THE TANK SHOULD HOLD 14.5 GALLONS TOTAL. WHEN I CHECKED WITH THE DEALER ABOUT THE ISSUE THEY DO NOT HAVE ANY FIX FOR THIS ISSUE AND THEY HAVE SAID TOYOTA ALREADY KNOWS ABOUT THE ISSUE. I GOT PISSED OFF BECAUSE BOTH THE DEALER AND TOYOTA KNOWS ABOUT THE ISSUE, BUT THEY HIDE THIS INFORMATION FROM ME WHILE SELLING THIS CAR. I GUESS THEY CANNOT ADVERTISE FUEL TANK CAPACITY AS 14.5 GAL, WHAT THEY ARE DOING IS UNETHICAL. I WISH I GET AN OPTION TO RETURN MY CAR AND GET MY MONEY BACK.

FUEL GAUGE DOES NOT REFLECT THE TRUE AMOUNT OF FUEL IN THE FUEL TANK. IT SEEMS TO BE SHOWING LESS FUEL FOR EXAMPLE THE RAV4 HYBRID HAS A CAPACITY OF 14.7 GALS OF FUEL. FILLING UP WHEN THE INDICATOR SHOWING ABOUT 18 MILES AND ABOUT 1/4 TANK. RE-FUELING ONLY 9.8 GALLONS WAS PUT INTO THE TANK. THE 2020 RAV4 HYBRID WILL ACHIEVE GOOD GAS MILEAGE AND AT 1/4 TANK SHOULD BE ABOUT 3.7 GAL. IN THIS CASE IT SHOULD HAVE 4.5 GALLONS. I WOULD ASSUME THAT A RESERVE WOULD BE 2 GALLONS WHICH WOULD GIVE ME 60+ MILES UNTIL COMPLETELY EMPTY. NOW IT IS BETTER TO HAVE MORE FUEL INSTEAD OF THE OPPOSITE OF LESS FUEL. BUT DEFINITELY THE 2020 RAV4 HYBRID HAS A FUEL INDICATOR ISSUE. WHICH FROM MY RESEARCH HAS THE SAME ISSUE STARTING FROM THE REDESIGNED 2019 RAV4. IT WOULD ALSO SEEM THAT TOYOTA HAS NOT BEEN INCLINED TO PROVIDE A FIX FOR THE ISSUE, SINCE THIS IS OCCURRING IN TWO MODEL YEARS. TOYOTA NEEDS TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE IN A TIMELY MANNER AND IN MY OPINION IT HAS NOT DONE FOR ITS CUSTOMERS. I ASK THE NHTSA TO INVESTIGATE THIS ISSUE TO PROVIDE REDRESS TO THE OWNERS OF THE RAV4 STARTING WITH THE REDESIGN 2019 MODEL YEAR. YOUTUBE HAS NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS FOR THIS ISSUE. I HAVE CONTACTED TOYOTA SUPPORT BY PHONE AND THEY SAY ARE AWARE OF THE ISSUE I REPORTED BUT HAVE NO TRUE FIX OR WHY IT IS OCCURRING. I PREVIOUSLY OWNED A 2017 RAV4 HYBRID AND THIS ISSUE WAS NOT REFLECTED IN THIS MODEL YEAR. WHEN FILLING AT ABOUT 1/4 TANK I WOULD BE PUMPING ABOUT 12-12.5 GALLONS. THANK YOU [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

I CANNOT FILL THE TANK FULL. I HAVE TRIED SEVERAL GAS STATION PUMPS AND FILLING SLOWLY AFTER THE PUMP CLICKS OFF. WITH TIME AND EFFORT, I CAN GET ANOTHER 2 GALLONS IN, BUT THE RANGE IS LESS THAN ADVERTISED. THIS HAS OCCURRED WITH EVERY FILL SINCE I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE. I INVESTIGATED ON-LINE AND WITH MY SERVICE DEPT AND SAW OTHERS ARE HAVING THE SAME ISSUE. I ALSO SAW A CLASS ACTION SUIT. I FILED A COMPLAINT WITH TOYOTA AS WELL.