7.2
pretty bad- Crashes / Fires:
- 0 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 0 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 7,667 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
The rear liftgate began malfunctioning and would intermittently fail to open or close properly. The issue had previously been reported to a Toyota dealership, but the problem could not be reproduced at the time. I noticed recently that the liftgate was not fully closing on the passenger side. While inspecting the liftgate more closely, I discovered that the passenger side liftgate hinge is cracked and the metal at the hinge base is separating. The crack appears to run through the hinge bracket where it attaches to the body. The driver side hinge also shows signs of stress. Because the hinge is cracked and separating, there is concern that the liftgate could eventually detach or fall unexpectedly. The liftgate is heavy, and a hinge failure could allow it to drop suddenly, posing a risk of injury to someone standing near or underneath it. If both hinges fail at the same time, the liftgate could become detached from the vehicle while driving resulting in an accident and potential injury to myself, my family, and others that are hit by or hit the liftgate. The dealership suggested the damage may have occurred from forcing the liftgate closed when the liftgate struts failed to function. However, the cracking appears consistent with progressive metal fatigue rather than a single impact event. This appears to be a structural hinge failure that could affect the safe operation of the liftgate. The dealership has documented my concerns on numerous occasions and today they visually saw the hinges in their current shape.
- Summerville, SC, USA
The rear trunk door would occasionally fail to open or shut for the last several years. It was inconsistent with this behavior and I was never able to get it to fail when at the dealership servicing department. This weekend when at the store, it failed shutting and I had to force it to shut. While driving home it rattled itself open. I had to pull over to inspect it and could not get it to close. When I looked closer, the hinge of the door had been ripped from the body on the passenger side of the vehicle. I have never been in an accident nor have I ever had any impact on this door.
- Reno, NV, USA
I began experiencing intermittent rear liftgate sensor issues on my 2019 Toyota RAV4 in late 2020. The power hatch would stop halfway while opening. On 3/24/2021, while the vehicle was under factory warranty, I brought it to a Toyota dealer for inspection. The dealer stated the issue could not be replicated and advised me to manually push the hatch upward. No repair was made. Over time, the condition worsened. The liftgate began intermittently stopping halfway while closing, using both the key fob and the interior dash button. In 2022, a rattling noise developed in the rear of the vehicle, later determined to be associated with progressive liftgate structural failure. By 2024, the rear liftgate became unsafe and largely inoperable. The hatch shifted significantly to the left, leaving an abnormally large gap at the top and driver-??s side. I stopped using the liftgate due to concern it could fail unexpectedly or not close properly. I contacted Toyota Engagement Services multiple times, explaining that this issue is widely reported among 2019 RAV4 owners and presents a safety concern. On 11/18/2025, the vehicle was inspected at Crabtree Toyota. The inspection confirmed rear liftgate hinge failure. The dealer provided video documentation and a written repair estimate. The health inspection also noted a separated and broken passenger-side rear hatch pulse sensor requiring replacement. Toyota closed my case without repairing the defect. Toyota offered a -??good faith-?? credit of approximately 75% of the repair cost that cannot be applied to the liftgate structural or sensor repair and is only usable for unrelated future service. This appears to be a known, progressive defect involving rear liftgate hinges and related sensors on 2019 Toyota RAV4 vehicles. The condition presents a safety risk, as the liftgate may fail to stay open, close unexpectedly, or malfunction electronically. My VIN has been provided. Photos, video, and repair documentation are available upon requ
- Watertown , CT, USA
The contact owns a 2019 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that the rear hatch door failed to remain securely closed. The contact stated that the failure intermittently occurred and became more frequent over time. Additionally, the front driver-??s side seat belt buckle and rear passenger-??s side seat belt buckle failed to buckle and lock securely. They also stated that the front driver's side electronic reclining seat made grinding sounds while operating. The contact also stated that water was leaking into the vehicle from the rear passenger-??s side quarter panel. The cause of the failures was not yet determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failures, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 32,000.
- Tampa, FL, USA
Rear door liftgate hinges defective. They are too week combined with electric power struts. They are being pulled away from body of vehicle and become misshapen (bent, deformed, etc) and causes door/liftgate to be unbalanced and and stick out too far away from body. Now the door/liftgate can not close and be secured
- Valrico, FL, USA
Lift cylinders of power liftgate are operating at different times causing gate to twist. Liftgate fails to open and close automatically, causing prolonged beeping while liftgate is open. Hinges holding liftgate in place have started to bend and crack apart from the body of the car. An independent auto body shop inspected this issue and recreated the tailgate failure. Quote to repair included replacing hinges, lift cylinders and to recheck electronic connections.
- Dublin, OH, USA
1st: veh purchased Jan 2023 with new set of tires. Within 11k miles, about 9months: Rear tires unable to be aligned properly due to no camber adjustment. Rear tires have excessive inner rear (belts showing) with 11k miles on tires. Took veh to dealership and was told I just need a set of tires and an alignment. When the tech was questioned if it was an accurate alignment, we were told it would be off a couple degrees because the OE rear control arms did not have any adjustment. This was repaired by an independent shop using aftermarket set of rear control arms, a proper alignment and 2 new rear tires ($1200)--because Toyota dealer would not own any accountability of an error nor do the PROPER requested repair since proper repair did not involve OE Toyota parts. This was repaired, case closed and tires have 20k miles on them with beautiful, even wear. 2nd: Rear door hatch will not close electronically. 2 incidences of bent (left) hinge from forcing the tailgate closed and damaged rear taillamp from mis-alignment. Post hinges replaced: re-sets have been done, disabling door and re-enabling, and disconnected battery. Still will not close electronically. This had been occurring over a year and no one knows the fix. I will not be going back to my local stealership and the next one is 30 miles away.
- Dothan, AL, USA
The contact owns a 2019 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that the liftgate hinge had fractured into two pieces, causing the liftgate to fail to operate as designed. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the repair was not covered under recall or warranty. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.
- Owego, NY, USA
The rear hatch hinges cracked almost all the way through and had to be replaced. We were afraid to drive the vehicle because we didn-??t want the hatch back to fall off while driving and create an accident.
- Wichita, KS, USA
Have had issues with the power gate to the hatchback since the first year of ownership. Dealer could not replicate after numerous complaints. On Jan 1, 2024 the hatch would only ho partially up or down and would not close. Upon looking, the hinges holding the hatch were pulling away from the vehicle. No accident, no abuse, nothing done other than using the electronic open/shut. Googled for info and found MANY similar/same complaints. Body shop estimate to replace hinges around $700 plus more for a rental. Toyota says it's not warranteed but I intend this is a definite structural problem with the vehicle. In the meantime the issue of the problems with electronic hatch lift cant be addressed due to hinge issue. Im concerned driving car --will hatch fall off in traffic??Recall should be issued imo.
- Hampton, VA, USA
Hatch hinge cracking, bending, and breaking causing hatch door to pull to one side. Hatch door pulling to one side caused the door to rub on the tail light when opening and closing and door doesn-??t not seal when shut. This issue was not caused by any foreign objects or accidents. The issue is available for inspection. The issue has been seen by a dealership. The issue has not been inspected by any other entities. The first sign of the issue occurred in January 2023 with visible evidence the door was pulling to one side. The issue has continued to worsen.
- Maryland Heights , MO, USA

- Rock Hill, SC, USA