2019 Toyota RAV4 FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

FUEL SPILLS WHEN FILLING GAS. FUEL TANK DOES NOT FILL TO CAPACITY AT FIRST CLICK SO WHEN I ADD ADDITIONAL FUEL IN AN ATTEMPT TO COMPLETELY FILL TANK, FUEL SOMETIMES SPILLS OUT.

WHEN FILLING MY TANK, AUTO-SHUTOFF HAPPENS WHEN THE TANK IS AT LEAST 2 GALLONS SHY OF BEING FULL. I KNOW THIS BECAUSE MY GAS GAUGE DOES NOT INDICATE FULL AND I AM ABLE TO ADD AN ADDITIONAL 2-2.5 GALLONS TO MY TANK, THOUGH IT TAKES A WHILE BECAUSE I HAVE TO PUSH THROUGH ALL THE AUTO SHUTOFFS. IT HAPPENS EVERY TIME I FILL UP REGARDLESS OS THE STATION I'M FUELING AT.

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.

MY 2019 RAV4 XSE HYBRID MODEL WAS RECENTLY PURCHASED AND I BEGAN TO NOTICE SOME DISCREPANCIES IN WHAT THE VEHICLE HAD ADVERTISED FOR DTE VERSUS SIZE OF THE TANK. THE VEHICLE'S MANUAL SAYS THIS CAR HAS A 14.5 GALLON TANK, BUT THE LAST 3 TIMES I HAD GONE TO REFILL, THE PUMP USUALLY SHUTS OFF AROUND 9-11 GALLONS AND THE METER JUMPS BACK TO THE FULL MARK. THE MANUAL ALSO SAYS THERE'S A 2.2 GALLON RESERVE FOR SAFETY, BUT THAT MATH DOES NOT ADD UP TO HOW MUCH I FILL UP WHEN THE GAS LIGHT TURNS ON. 30MI LEFT ON DTE, I USUALLY RUN IT UNTIL I HAVE ABOUT 10MI LEFT AND EVEN THEN UPON REFUEL I BARELY BREAK THE 10 GALLON MARK, SO WHERE'S THE OTHER 2.3 GALLONS (MINUS THE 2.2 RESERVE)? I CURRENTLY GET ON TOTAL AVERAGE 38.8 MPG. AFTER A FULL REFILL, THE NEEDLE IS AT THE FULL MARK, MY DTE AT THE TIME USUALLY REPORTS 475 MPG, BUT EACH TIME MY REFILL LIGHT COMES ON, MY ODO METER (I RESET EACH TIME AT REFUEL) ONLY HAS ME AT ABOUT 380-400 MILES DRIVEN. NOW, I GET THAT DTE DYNAMICALLY CHANGES, BUT WITH OVER 100 ESTIMATE MILES DIFFERENCE? THAT'S COMPLETELY INSANE AND FALSE ADVERTISING. I'VE ALSO NOTICED THAT EVERYTIME I RESTART MY CAR, THE DTE ALWAYS SOMEHOW LOSES A FEW MILES FROM THE LAST REPORTED NUMBER. SO SAY I HAVE 400 MILES AND DROVE 20 IN TRIP A (DTE ~380MI), I WOULD TURN OFF THE CAR, TURN IT BACK ON, AND THE DTE WOULD REPORT 373 OR SOMETHING IN THAT BALLPARK. EACH AND EVERY TIME THE DTE ALWAYS SEEMS TO REDUCE UPON ENGINE START, WHICH GETS ME CLOSER TO MY TOTAL MILEAGE BY REFUEL AROUND 380...A FAR CRY FROM THE INITIAL ~475MI. THERE'S BEEN NUMEROUS REPORTS FROM OTHERS REGARDING THE SAME ISSUE AND IT'S COMPLETELY DISHEARTENING TO HAVE SPENT SO MUCH MONEY ON A HYBRID VEHICLE NO LESS THAT I CAN HARDLY GET 400 MILES ON A FULL TANK WITH A CONSTANTLY FLUCTUATING DTE MEASUREMENT.

FUEL PUMP AUTOMATICALLY SHUTS OFF BUT THE FUEL INDICATOR SHOWS 1 -2 BAR LESS THAN FULL . MAXIMUM POSSIBLE FUEL THAT I WAS ABLE TO FILL WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS NEAR EMPTY IS 10.2 GALLONS (ITS STILL 1 - 2 BARS BELOW FULL)

THE FUEL TANK WILL NOT FILL UP COMPLETELY. WHEN THE FUEL GAUGE IS READING EMPTY THE FUEL TANK WILL ONLY ACCEPT 8-9 GALLONS OF FUEL. THE FUEL TANK IS 14.5 GALLONS. TO TRY AND FILL THE TANK I HAVE TO REPEATEDLY TRY TO TOP IT OFF. THIS HAPPENS EVERY TIME I TRY TO REFUEL.

THE FUEL LEVEL SENSOR IS LIKELY MALFUNCTIONING. IF IT IS NOT THE SENSOR, THE FACTORY INSTALLED A SMALLER THAN ADVERTISED FUEL TANK. THIS VEHICLE IS SUPPOSED TO HAVE A 14.5 GALLON (US) FUEL TANK. UNFORTUNATELY, THE FUEL GAUGE WILL READ EMPTY AFTER 9.5-10.5 GALLONS OF FUEL IS CONSUMED. THEREBY, LEAVING 4-5 GALLONS OF FUEL UNACCOUNTED FOR AND REDUCING THE SAFE DRIVE-ABLE RANGE BY 150 - 200 MILES. MOREOVER, WHEN TOPPED UP THE FUEL GAUGE WILL SOMETIMES READ SLIGHTLY LESS THAN FULL OR THE FIRST HALF OF THE FUEL GAUGE WILL BE DEPLETED MORE QUICKLY THAN THE LATTER HALF. THIS LEADS ME TO BELIEVE THAT THE ISSUE LIES WITH THE FUEL LEVEL SENSOR ITSELF.

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 FILLING UP THE GAS TANK, IT MAXES OUT AT 9-10GAL WHEN THE TANK IS SUPPOSEDLY A 14+ GALLON TANK. I WILL WAIT UNTIL 20 MILES TO EMPTY AND THEN FILL UP AND IT STILL ONLY FILLS UP PARTIALLY.

I CAN NEVER GET A FULL TANK OF GAS. THE MOST I'VE EVER BEEN ABLE TO PUT IN STILL LEAVES ME SEVERAL NOTCHES BELOW FULL. I GET ABOUT 400 MILES PER TANK WHEREAS IT WAS AT LEAST 430 AFTER THE DEALER FILLED IT.