2020 Toyota RAV4: battery drain or dead battery

Filed Mar 4, 2025 · Body · MD

Power lift gate not opening and shutting then noted that the mount on the passenger side is partially sheared off the car bracket and starting to separate on the drivers side. Was unable to close the hitch all the way, and beeping continuously while driving so brought to a toyota dealer service who ordered replacement pistons, in the mean time battery died due to being unable to close back. Once piston parts were obtained by toyota service center, had to have the car towed due to battery not able to be charged, then they noticed the bolts starting to shear off. Stated they have never seen anything like this but when looked online, found this has been a common problem and a class action suit has been filed for this exact reason

Filed Jul 18, 2024 · Electrical · NC

PARASITIC BATTERY DRAIN DEFECT complaint: prior to 07/16/2024, I received a "low voltage" error on my Toyota RAV4 screen a few times. On 07/16/2024, I took it to the dealership. My battery tested "good" and the Toyota dealership charged me 39.95 to tell me that everything was working well on my vehicle. The very next day (24 hours later), 07/17/2024, my vehicle would not start and had to be towed to the dealership. The tow truck driver told me the battery was "dead" (based on his measurement) and leaking acid (based on a smell). Toyota charged me 272.52 to replace the battery on 07/18, that was supposedly "good" two days prior. This is a known issue to Toyota, part of a class action lawsuit referred to as "Parasitic Battery Drain Defect." This is dangerous since I was stranded with a car that would not start in a summer day of high heat, but could have been much worse in other circumstances. The tow truck driver told me that the battery acid could be dangerous. Toyota should be providing a fix and a recall, but they had no solution for me other than a new battery which is a "quick fix" (but not a real solution) as described in the Class Action lawsuit documents.

Filed Apr 15, 2024 · Brakes · CO

The ABS and brake booster systems failed, and my traction control was not working as intended. Every light related to the braking system came on all at once and the ability to break became slowed, could not stop if needed to at anything other than a slow decline in speed (wouldn’t be able to go to a full stop without ample planning or control - being cut off, too close to a red light or car needing to turn, or on the highway would’ve ended in an accident). Thankfully was on surface streets both times. Problem was recurrent. Toyota dealership confirmed issue and noted loss of braking power but noted the code was intermittent and failure not definitive, hard to reproduce. Attempted to repair issue, which temporarily worked but re-occurred 1 month later. End result - needed to replace battery, stroke position sensor, brake booster with master cylinder/ABS actuator, which was almost $4,000 in repairs, with no promise it would fix the issue. No warning lamps, signs, or notable symptoms before braking failure. Battery died twice before brakes situation, but attributed to a faulty update system sending data continuously.

Filed Jan 10, 2023 · Electrical · VA

The original battery completely drains when the car is off and no electrical equipment is kept on. This has happened on at least four occasions and car is unable to be turned on or even jumped with another car. The dealer (Toyota Umansky - Charlottesville, VA) has been unable to fix the problem and it it reoccurs. Based on my reading of this issue in similar models of the 2020 Rav 4 Hybrid, the "parasitic battery" can cause other electric malfunctions that would affect safety. Also, the description of this defect is substantially similar to the problems I face with my vehicle. I would like to add my model/ vin to the known batch of defective models with this problem.

Filed Sep 30, 2022 · Electrical · NY

On September 16, 2022, I discovered the vehicle battery died. I charged the battery through a jump start. The car worked normally, except the radio and infotainment system failed to work, constantly rebooting in an endless cycle while the car was powered on. On September 29, 2022, I brought the car for service at Star Toyota of Bayside, New York, to diagnose the issue. On September 30, 2022, the service advisor told me that the entire infotainment system had to be replaced at a cost of about $1,400.00. The car is out of warranty apparently due to its mileage even though it is from 2020. The fact that a simple, common issue such as a dead batter caused this catastrophic damage to the infotainment system is totally, absolutely unacceptable. I now question the electrical integrity of these cars and I hope that the federal safety agency will undertake an investigation. I also seek full reimbursement from Toyota for all costs associated with this repair. I have video of the system rebooting. The file is too large to upload to this website with its 10MB file size limit. I'd be happy to provide it by other means. Thank you for your consideration.

Filed Nov 16, 2021 · Electrical · CA

This is regard to 2020 RAV4 XLE with 7,000 mileage battery dead issues twice due to software issue based on Toyota dealership reports. I do drive my car daily and car not sat in garage more than 2 days! On evening of July 24th I wan’t able to turn on the vehicle. It was totally dead. Had to request road assistance for jump then took the car to Toyota Sunnyvale for check. They mentioned the issue was the battery and then having hard time with them to replace it with a new one. They Assured and Confirmed with me couple of times on the phone and at the Service Center this issue will never ever happen again. I was told it was a software issue that was consuming the battery and company fixed the software and they updated on my car and it won’t happen again for sure. Morning of November 16th while was heading to work same story repeated again. Faced with a totally dead vehicle, called again for road assistance for a jump and car is now sitting at Toyota Sunnyvale Service Center for analysis. I cannot trust to Toyota Service Centers any more and now I cannot relay on my vehicle. I look forward for a reasonable response from Toyota Motor Corporation. Why customer has to face with dead battery, ask roadside assistance and visit the dealership to identify the problem? What if I was out of town or in situations that cannot get roadside assistance? Why if this software issue it was not software recall and customers was not informed? Why this issue happened twice? What guarantees this will never happen again?

Filed Jul 29, 2021 · Electrical · OR

Car sat for 4 days while we here hiking. Battery went dead. We were 15 miles up a gravel road and thankfully someone came by who had jumper cables. Reported issue to Toyota today and will take to dealer. Apparently, Toyota has no current fix for the battery drain when vehicle is off. Searched online and found 100s of reports of this same issue from 2019, 2020 rav4 owners, both hybrid and non-hybrid.

Filed May 20, 2021 · WI

I purchased this vehicle in 2020 and from then this has happened twice and no information was provided when I serviced my vehicle or when the vehicle was repaired last time. The battery died earlier with a warning but this time, the battery died again without a warning. The battery was changed in August within 7 months of purchasing the vehicle and after that in the next 8-9 months, the battery died. I am scared to use this vehicle anymore because you never know when the battery will die and the service center people have no information about why the battery got drained out. I saw few more similar complaints online. The vehicle was idle or not used only for 3 days.

Filed Apr 5, 2021 · Electrical · 10,009 miles · TX

Got in the car and it wouldn't crank. Seemed like a dead battery although nothing was left on. Put jumper cables on it and it would not even jump off. It would act like it was going to turn over then would make a clicking noise. Car is not even a year old with 10,000 miles.

Filed Mar 5, 2021 · Electrical · 1,481 miles · OR

2020 rav4 hybrid: battery keeps dying. Purchased 6/22/20, battery died multiple times 3 weeks later, battery replaced 7/16/20. Battery dying again 2/19/21 and again 3/5/21. Ongoing issue. Also head unit w/USB port had to be replaced 12/8/20 after found inoperable multiple times, the final being 11/9/20. Both stopped working after sitting 1-3 days. Main. Records not uploaded since file may be public domain, sensitive information on records. Toyota may contact me directly for records however, as I have kept all of them.

Filed Jan 24, 2021 · Steering · 10,000 miles · GA

1.occasionally steering issues, car wanting to veer left or right while driving mainly notice on highway. 2. Second incident where battery dead after not driving car for three days.

Filed Dec 26, 2020 · Electrical, Engine · 9,172 miles · WV

Car battery completely drained after not being driven for 24 hours leaving me stranded. Car would not start and had to be jump started. There is an electrical issue causing quick and significant battery drain. Car was purchased in september 2020 and has less than 10,000 miles.