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Do Primes Have Leaking Roofs?

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Discussion starter · #21 ·
Watch that video and you'll see what a poor design this is...Toyota included many unnecessary holes in the roof and used laughably small and delicate seals

Why put those holes at all? Its a horizontal surface that is constantly exposed to water, over and over again

Of course it was going to leak and fail...those seals were never going to be sufficient
 
#22 ·
My Fiancée has a 2019 Rav4 Limited she bought brand new just over a year ago, not roof leaks on hers at all.

It has been a great car and is the reason I am considering the Prime at all. Before my experience with hers I was only looking to GM and Dodge PHEVs.
 
Discussion starter · #24 ·
there is an excellent video at post 288 of the leaking roof thread.

Some guy figured it out. It is a horrible design defect. Its only a matter of time before your roof will leak. Toyota put multiple unnecessary holds with gaskets that are literally paper thin. All it will take is a tiny piece of dirt, debris etc to get in there and you're done....your A or C pillar will flood, ruining the headliner and your airbags.

If you don't believe how fragile and flimsy the design is, watch the video. This design is doomed to fail. You'll laugh (and cry) and how bad, cheap and thin the gaskets are...OMFG.

 
#26 ·
tagheuer said:
there is an excellent video at post 288 of the leaking roof thread.

Some guy figured it out. It is a horrible design defect. Its only a matter of time before your roof will leak. Toyota put multiple unnecessary holds with gaskets that are literally paper thin. All it will take is a tiny piece of dirt, debris etc to get in there and you're done....your A or C pillar will flood, ruining the headliner and your airbags.

If you don't believe how fragile and flimsy the design is, watch the video. This design is doomed to fail. You'll laugh (and cry) and how bad, cheap and thin the gaskets are...OMFG.

Click to expand...
Nice find. Those two gaskets near the A and C pillars look like paper wafers. Yikes!

I assume the roof leak applies to only the newest Rav4 gen, MY 2019+? Do the 2013-2018 Rav4s suffer roof leaks?

Does anyone know if the MY 2020+ Highlanders have roof leaks (which I'm assuming is due to the new Toyota TNGA platform) and that the 2014-2019 Highlanders do not?
 
#27 ·
jupiterking said:
GM and Dodge PHEV? What were you looking at? Now that the Volt is canceled, I can’t think of any.
Click to expand...
Exactly the Volt all be it 2019 would be as new as possible. I had been holding out hope they would launch another.

The Chrysler Pacifica was where I had been leaning but Jeep was now on the table also. (I guess Saying the Dodge part of Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep was a poor choice sorry)

I had not experience with Toyota previously but loved my Envoy and my ex's Terrain. Having driven my Fiancée's Rav4 I decided I needed to increase my options and the Rav4P is now the top of my list.
 
Discussion starter · #28 ·
Remember some owners were saying dealers won't give you a hard time about this as a warranty issue?

They just told this owner it's no problem since it didn't leak in their car wash

Oh boy.

he literally had water pouring down his A pillar and has video of it

if you guys watch the video it's pretty clear this design is awful

www.rav4world.com

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 www.rav4world.com
 
#29 ·
Haven't noticed it on my 2020 Highlander after 12k miles and it's been through lots of rain.
docboy said:
Does anyone know if the MY 2020+ Highlanders have roof leaks (which I'm assuming is due to the new Toyota TNGA platform) and that the 2014-2019 Highlanders do not?
Click to expand...
 
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#30 ·
toyodaornot said:
Haven't noticed it on my 2020 Highlander after 12k miles and it's been through lots of rain.
Click to expand...
What's your opinion on the build quality of the Rav4 vs the Highlander? I'm getting the feeling that the new Rav4 is starting to show some design flaws (i.e. fuel tank, 12V battery, and now leaking roofs). Not sure how the Rav4 Prime differs in build compared to its hybrid counterpart.
 
#31 ·
The problem with forums is that everyone who has a problem posts about it (which is good in and of itself), but those who do not have the problem do not routinely post such things as, “I have no problem with my fuel system, none with my electronics, none with my X, Y or Z, etc.” Hence forums greatly exaggerate the perception as to how bad a vehicle’s specific problem is.

Let’s talk about a hypothetical brake system problem with a brand X, model Y. Let say that three (3) people post they have that problem. Newbies to that vehicle get worried. Yet the thousands of other members who are on that forum who do not have that issue and never did, except for threads like this when asked “do you have this problem,” ignore the issue. So a newbie considering buying brand X, model Y, gets worried that this is an endemic problem and shys away from a great vehicle which might have only have 2% of owners having this problem (and perhaps all or almost all of the limited number who had this problem had it fixed on warranty).

I am not saying there is not an issue with leaky roofs on 2019 RAV4’s, just that reading a few people post that they had that issue, then one posting a video that is focus and convincing does not statistically make that a major issue effecting more than a very limited number of vehicles.
 
#32 ·
tagheuer said:
Yeah you should have definitely got a 4runner

The build quality is amazing and the rav4 feels like a tin can in comparison
Click to expand...
Wow! Sounds like you really aren't sold on the RAV4 Prime! It gets twice the mileage as the 4runner, is much faster, and I can't believe that Toyota wouldn't fix a design issue which resulted in leaking roofs. I want one, and I'm sure you don't!!
 
#33 ·
Traveling said:
I am not saying there is not an issue with leaky roofs on 2019 RAV4’s, just that reading a few people post that they had that issue, then one posting a video that is focus and convincing does not statistically make that a major issue effecting more than a very limited number of vehicles.
Click to expand...
If the leaks potentially damage the airbags then it matters a lot even if the number of effected vehicles is "very limited".
 
#34 ·
Traveling said:
The problem with forums is that everyone who has a problem posts about it (which is good in and of itself), but those who do not have the problem do not routinely post such things as, “I have no problem with my fuel system, none with my electronics, none with my X, Y or Z, etc.” Hence forums greatly exaggerate the perception as to how bad a vehicle’s specific problem is.

Let’s talk about a hypothetical brake system problem with a brand X, model Y. Let say that three (3) people post they have that problem. Newbies to that vehicle get worried. Yet the thousands of other members who are on that forum who do not have that issue and never did, except for threads like this when asked “do you have this problem,” ignore the issue. So a newbie considering buying brand X, model Y, gets worried that this is an endemic problem and shys away from a great vehicle which might have only have 2% of owners having this problem (and perhaps all or almost all of the limited number who had this problem had it fixed on warranty).

I am not saying there is not an issue with leaky roofs on 2019 RAV4’s, just that reading a few people post that they had that issue, then one posting a video that is focus and convincing does not statistically make that a major issue effecting more than a very limited number of vehicles.
Click to expand...
It affecting 2020s as well. Anyone who handles and/or views the clips and seals states similar things, "there is now way this is going to hold up" "This is a design flaw."
I believe the cars that are leaking at this point have clips that were broken when assembled. The question for the rest of the cars is how long will the paper thin seals hold up?
The good news is that it is a relatively easy fix for Toyota or the consumer.

Do the hose garden test with normal city water pressure and see if water comes inside your car in 5 seconds like it did in my $40K car.
 
#35 ·
Take an easy step to check yourself:

Pull out the plastic bar (in green circle) to check what clips and gaskets are used. If they are same as the 19/20 models, it will leak sooner or later.

The plastic bar is held by two clips and three strips of double side tape, very easy to pull out and reinstalled.

161243
 
#38 · (Edited)
Khach said:
Wonder if Toyota has fixed this issue in the 2021 Primes?
Click to expand...
Why would Toyota, who most certainly heard about this before anyone here did, just decided to continue the identical design going forward if they surmised it was a design flaw, despite the Standard and Platinum Extended Warranties essentially keeping them on the hook, especially when this information is spread far and wide on the internet? Kind of hard to fathom--they would have issued a TSB a long time ago I would think if the issue is built-in. My guess is they've analyzed it and decided it is a defect essentially caused by improper assembly and have emphasized this in their assembly procedures, versus being a inevitable failure from the design itself, or perhaps they have changed something in the basic design.

Addendum: read the entire linked thread and geez it's been an issue for several, but still not sure how widespread it is or will be. Seems they acknowledge some have the leak issue and offer a solution if your Rav4 has manifested the problem. Also, perhaps some evidence th problem was addressed in late 2020. Doesn't seem like rocket science to address. I wonder if you could seal it from the outside using clear silicone sealant from the main ports of entry? Might be easier and more effective to do than disassembly but then again I've not even looked at it yet to see if that's feasible. I did run it thru a touchless carwash and that is serious high pressure, but didn't know to look for leaks. The Platinum Extended Warranty is looking more attractive...
 
#39 · (Edited)
NoelinColorado said:
Why would Toyota, who most certainly heard about this before anyone here did, just decided to continue the identical design going forward if they surmised it was a design flaw, despite the Standard and Platinum Extended Warranties essentially keeping them on the hook, especially when this information is spread far and wide on the internet? Kind of hard to fathom--they would have issued a TSB a long time ago I would think if the issue is built-in. My guess is they've analyzed it and decided it is a defect essentially caused by improper assembly and have emphasized this in their assembly procedures, versus being a inevitable failure from the design itself, or perhaps they have changed something in the basic design.

Addendum: read the entire linked thread and geez it's been an issue for several, but still not sure how widespread it is or will be. Seems they acknowledge some have the leak issue and offer a solution if your Rav4 has manifested the problem. Also, perhaps some evidence th problem was addressed in late 2020. Doesn't seem like rocket science to address. I wonder if you could seal it from the outside using clear silicone sealant from the main ports of entry? Might be easier and more effective to do than disassembly but then again I've not even looked at it yet to see if that's feasible. I did run it thru a touchless carwash and that is serious high pressure, but didn't know to look for leaks. The Platinum Extended Warranty is looking more attractive...
Click to expand...
I would not necessarily assume that the leaks would be covered by the extended warranty.

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