Do Primes Have Leaking Roofs?

tagheuer · Dec 16, 2020

Are they assembled on the same line as other Rav4s?

Reports are quickly growing that the roof rail design is really weak and these vehicles leak water through the roof rails. Can leak slowly and basically ruin the vehicle, there are photos of corroded air bag connectors etc.

So far no word from Toyota on this but it doesn't not appear an updated part is being used for 2021.

I'd take a really hard look at this issue before purchasing.

Any reported leaks in Primes yet?

4.5 General

Discuss anything RAV4.5 related that doesn't fit in the categories below.

www.rav4world.com

jupiterking · Dec 16, 2020

Maybe too early to tell, and difficult since the headliner is black and a stain wouldn’t be as obvious. The RAV4 Prime is assembled in Japan, while I believe most North American RAV4s are assembled in Canada.

tagheuer · Dec 16, 2020

Interesting. Most of the leaks are being reported in Asia and are Japanese builds. I assume the Prime uses the same poor design for the roof rails.

jupiterking · Dec 16, 2020

tagheuer said:
Interesting. Most of the leaks are being reported in Asia and are Japanese builds. I assume the Prime uses the same poor design for the roof rails.

Oh, shoot.

Variman · Dec 16, 2020

jupiterking said:
Oh, shoot.

Not only that It looks like the new Highlander uses a similar low profile design. Not saying they leak, but the design looks similar, at least from pictures.

tagheuer · Dec 16, 2020

If I were buying now I would wait or make sure the unit i bought didn't leak

This is going to be a major problem

Variman · Dec 16, 2020

tagheuer said:
If I were buying now I would wait or make sure the unit i bought didn't leak

This is going to be a major problem

If I were buying now I would buy a 4Runner, now it has the safety suite. When I was looking it did not and that was a deal breaker for me. The 4Runner is the last true old school Toyota out there unless you want a pick up. Plus the 4Runner probably will run 400K miles if maintained. That's a lot of gas money when you are driving a free vehicle for a long time. Obviously not a vehicle for someone who has a long commute, a Corolla hybrid is.

tagheuer · Dec 16, 2020

Love the 4runner but its $15 to 20k more

Guess you get what you pay for

I paid $26k for my Rav and its junky

Variman · Dec 16, 2020

tagheuer said:
Love the 4runner but its $15 to 20k more

Guess you get what you pay for

I paid $26k for my Rav and its junky

I paid $35K for a loaded XSE so not to far from a 4Runner + I keep a vehicle for 15 years and drive it for at least 150K miles, hopefully more.

tagheuer · Dec 16, 2020

Yeah you should have definitely got a 4runner

The build quality is amazing and the rav4 feels like a tin can in comparison

Traveling · Dec 17, 2020

Ours does not leak (and we have had rain every day we have owned it except one). Generalities are usually not accurate.

tagheuer · Dec 17, 2020

Traveling said:
Ours does not leak (and we have had rain every day we have owned it except one). Generalities are usually not accurate.

So you're saying all of the reports here and on other forums, and the photos of damaged airbags, corroded connectors, and first hand accounts from Toyota employees and mechanics are "fake news"?

You are aware of Toyota employees acknowledging a crushed grommet installation problem on the line that is much more than a one off right?

Unless you've tested yours or taken your headliner off you don't know if yours is dripping

Primestraw · Dec 17, 2020

Traveling said:
Ours does not leak (and we have had rain every day we have owned it except one). Generalities are usually not accurate.

If we were a parade, Tag would be rain. 6 Sigma.

Redhawk2000 · Dec 17, 2020

If this does end up being an issue, what does that mean? Is this something that is presumably on Toyota to fix any and all issues and sequelae if it affects a vehicle? Or is it buyer beware, meaning better to find out and have it fixed now?

Variman · Dec 17, 2020

Redhawk2000 said:
If this does end up being an issue, what does that mean? Is this something that is presumably on Toyota to fix any and all issues and sequelae if it affects a vehicle? Or is it buyer beware, meaning better to find out and have it fixed now?

As with any water leak, its best to find it the sooner the better.

Traveling · Dec 18, 2020

tagheuer said:
So you're saying all of the reports here and on other forums, and the photos of damaged airbags, corroded connectors, and first hand accounts from Toyota employees and mechanics are "fake news"?

You are aware of Toyota employees acknowledging a crushed grommet installation problem on the line that is much more than a one off right?

Unless you've tested yours or taken your headliner off you don't know if yours is dripping

I am sure a lot of earlier news was accurate. However, the last batch of Prime’s that came into the U.S. three weeks ago were quality control held (QCH) up for many weeks (the one I was tracking arrived more than one month after its initial ETA). We know one QCH issue was the headlight aim but at a 30 minute fix, how come they were held up so long? Were there other reasons for the QCH. Were roof crushed washers being fixed one of those?

Variman · Dec 18, 2020

Traveling said:
I am sure a lot of earlier news was accurate. However, the last batch of Prime’s that came into the U.S. three weeks ago were quality control held (QCH) up for many weeks (the one I was tracking arrived more than one month after its initial ETA). We know one QCH issue was the headlight aim but at a 30 minute fix, how come they were held up so long? Were there other reasons for the QCH. Were roof crushed washers being fixed one of those?

Check you rails for excessive play. If they have play, I suggest water testing them. See the thread in the general section for further information if you want to proceed.

Traveling · Dec 18, 2020

That was a good suggestion. I just did that and my rails are solidly and firmly mounted. Even a little push or pull resulted in the whole vehicle moving (rolling); this was experienced on both rails, e.g., front, middle and rear sections.

tagheuer · Dec 20, 2020

Primestraw said:
If we were a parade, Tag would be rain. 6 Sigma.

Crazyhorse and others were saying this is no big deal.

Watch the video at post 210. So they intentionally designed those flush rails to snap in with tiny weak little plastic pins.

By designing the rails that way, they necessary had to create many unnecessary holes in the roof.

This is absolutely going to fail over time. Look at it compared to the old design with raised rails that were much stronger. This is completely embarrassing. Jesus.

2019 Roof Rack Leak

Before anyone’s warranty is up, if you have a 2019 RAV4 check your headliner for light bluish marks, if you have this, that means your roof racks aren’t properly sealed and water is leaking inside your car!!!! I just hade my passenger side rails resealed and headliner replaced❤️

www.rav4world.com

crazyhorse · Dec 21, 2020

tagheuer said:
Crazyhorse and others were saying this is no big deal.

Of course it is a "big deal" especially for those R4s that are currently leaking. But some here choose to overdramatize things. In my experience with owning Toyotas, Toyota will fix this voluntarily. If this problem impacts the airbags then Toyota would most likely be mandated to recall the vehicles. And if I thought otherwise about this I would dump the vehicle and move on to another brand.

Do Primes Have Leaking Roofs?

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4.5 General

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tagheuer

jupiterking

Variman

tagheuer

Variman

tagheuer

Variman

tagheuer

Traveling

tagheuer

Primestraw

Redhawk2000

Variman

Traveling

Variman

Traveling

tagheuer

2019 Roof Rack Leak

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