Toyota RAV4 Forums banner
Cancel
Create thread New Garage Forums

Fuel Sensor Re-calibration-2020 RAV4 Hybrid XLE??????

Tags
fuel sensor fuel sensor recalibration
Jump to Latest
1 - 16 of 16 Posts
D

drldmm

· Registered
Joined
·
4 Posts
Discussion starter · #1 ·
This is my first post--just joined.

My RAV4 Hybrid came with a warning about the fuel tank fill problem. It said Toyota would resolve by Fall.

Has anyone had this experience:

The day before yesterday the low fuel warning panel came on with the old tradition yellow gas pump light. I started the car yesterday and the low fuel came up, the yellow icon came up, the projected miles to empty was 21, and the gas gauge read almost empty----looked normal.

Note I have never gotten more than 11 gallons in the 14.5 gallon tank when it was "empty".

So I started to drive to the studio---about 2 miles down the road-boom the gas gauge goes to 1/4 full, the yellow icon disappeared, and the miles to empty goes to 80 miles. At my current mileage around town of 41 mpg that means that somehow I got about 1.5 gallon of gas. MAGIC? Now my projected trip miles to empty are almost 500 miles, usually 420 miles. I went to the dealer and asked about it and I was essentially blown off. I think that they thought I was crazy. I am going to go the projected empty distance before I refill the gas. If I run out of gas with say 15 miles to empty, I will be pissed that they blew me off.

I have come up with one other possibility. I got a communication from Toyota that there was a potential problem in the fuel tank of the hybrid models. Some seem to have a bubble in the top and can't be filled and others have a sensor that leaves fuel in the bottom of the tank. My experience with not being able to put more than 10-11 gallons the fuel sensor may be the problem in mine. OK, they said they would resolve this by the fall.

I am wondering whether they discovered that the computer was miss reading the fuel sensor and the through WiFi Toyota Connect they reprogrammed the system while sitting in the garage over night. I don't know if they can do this, but I am guessing. It may have taken a couple of miles to have the computer adjust all the components to the new program. Then boom, I got what looks like more gas, but really the empty point has been re-calibrated. OK, if this guess is correct then when I get to the 500+ miles to empty tank symbol and I fill then I might be able to get say 12.5 gallons in the tank. If I can only put in the standard 11 +/- gallons, then that would mean that I will be getting ~46 mpg---unbelievable.

Anybody have this same experience or a clue as to what is going on?

Thanks for listening.
 
#2 ·
All the 2019's and 2020 have this problem it is the most discussed issue on this forum
www.rav4world.com

Have you had trouble filling your hybrid gas tank?

Hopefully anyone with this well-known problem has called Toyota Corporate at 800-331-4331 and their dealer service department to report and describe their problem. Please report any solutions or proposed solutions to this thread. As for me, I’m still waiting for some significant movement from...
www.rav4world.com www.rav4world.com
They are sure dragging there feet on the problem and it may not even be fixed on the 2021's
The best rumour as to the cause is the gas tank distorts and the fill sensor becomes misaligned.
The more times you fill the tank the worse it gets up to a point.
A simple search would have found this but maybe you are distressed .
This is not a calibration problem it's a physical design problem.
When I see a Rav4 hybrid owner and talk to them about it they all say they have the issue.
 
Discussion starter · #3 ·
Yes I knew of the potential tank problems, but I have never seen someone claiming that the gas tank reading have changed on them for the better. I knew of the short fill, but I asked if anyone had gotten the semi-correction.

Sorry I was not clear. I thought I said that I was notified of the problem, but I was wondering if this might be a Toyota attempt to correct.
 
#4 ·
Ctuna said:
All the 2019's and 2020 have this problem it is the most discussed issue on this forum
www.rav4world.com

Have you had trouble filling your hybrid gas tank?

Hopefully anyone with this well-known problem has called Toyota Corporate at 800-331-4331 and their dealer service department to report and describe their problem. Please report any solutions or proposed solutions to this thread. As for me, I’m still waiting for some significant movement from...
www.rav4world.com www.rav4world.com
They are sure dragging there feet on the problem and it may not even be fixed on the 2021's
The best rumour as to the cause is the gas tank distorts and the fill sensor becomes misaligned.
The more times you fill the tank the worse it gets up to a point.
A simple search would have found this but maybe you are distressed .
This is not a calibration problem it's a physical design problem.
When I see a Rav4 hybrid owner and talk to them about it they all say they have the issue.
Click to expand...
No, not all 2019 and 2020 RAV4 hybrids have the problem. I have a 2020 Limited Hybrid built in March 2020 and I have never experienced the fuel gauge or tank issue. It is your type of blanket comment that creates unnecessary angst and hysteria over a real issue that is being experienced by several owners - but certainly not “all” owners of every hybrid RAV4 produced in the last two production years.
 
#6 ·
You're not crazy. I've had the same experience as you on two occasions. In both cases, went to bed with approximately 20-25 DTE showing on the car and when I got in the car the following afternoon, fuel gauge showed about 79 DTE. I thought it might have had something to do with the weather being much hotter on the second day in both instances. I also have the fuel tank issue. Yesterday, with 24 DTE, I was only able to put in 8.7 gallons.
 
#8 · (Edited)
5 I didn't harass them I asked them how they liked the car they said except for that it wasn't a problem .
And most said they were still happy with it .
An it was only in my town so maybe it only happens in California.
Probably are a lot of people that have the problem but don't care or don't even
recognize as not normal. Do you think they are sending out that letter to a select group
that only have certain rev's or part no's in there car .
Why wouldn't they say that like they did with the Engine Recall.
Why would people be returning them and there be a 5000 plus post blog about this
if it wasn't and issue.
 
Discussion starter · #9 ·
abelacres1 said:
You're not crazy. I've had the same experience as you on two occasions. In both cases, went to bed with approximately 20-25 DTE showing on the car and when I got in the car the following afternoon, fuel gauge showed about 79 DTE. I thought it might have had something to do with the weather being much hotter on the second day in both instances. I also have the fuel tank issue. Yesterday, with 24 DTE, I was only able to put in 8.7 gallons.
Click to expand...
Thank you! Your's is the first confirmation that others have had the same DTE change for the better. Could this means that the fuel sensor is loose?

The short gas tank fill is a nuisance, but this is action leaves one to worry about electrical or mechanical gas sensor problems where the short gas fill is probably a design problem.
 
#10 ·
In the big thread they said it was fixed after a certain build date this year . But if they are issuing the letter with new sales
how could that be true. Seems like they would tell people or make some kind of announcement if that were true.
 
#11 ·
Lets stop this thread, there are enough threads and posting on the fuel-fill and DTE issues already. Read those threads and post there.

I have posted there a scan of the letter Toyota sent the US dealers. It refers to both issues and implies that the replacement parts aren't available in quantity yet. It says Mid-April as an end date for the issues the letter refers to but that doesn't mean that all after that were built with the updated parts, only that, at least up to that date, all were going to need to be examined and potentially parts replaced. And it says that date may be adjusted in the future. In addition, many of us have received a letter from Toyota USA saying essentially the same thing.

So we all sit and wait until parts are available. After all, there are other things happening in the world affecting supply chains.
 
#13 ·
On my first highway trip, it showed something like 138 miles to empty. It was about a 64 mile round trip. I was about 1/2 way point coming back and my gas light came on. So apparently it was showing high. When I got to the gas station i was only able to get just under 12 gallons in (first time filling) so it must have been correct. It showed about 10 miles to empty at the gas station.
 
Save
Reply Quote Like Like
#14 ·
drldmm said:
This is my first post--just joined.

My RAV4 Hybrid came with a warning about the fuel tank fill problem. It said Toyota would resolve by Fall.

Has anyone had this experience:

The day before yesterday the low fuel warning panel came on with the old tradition yellow gas pump light. I started the car yesterday and the low fuel came up, the yellow icon came up, the projected miles to empty was 21, and the gas gauge read almost empty----looked normal.

Note I have never gotten more than 11 gallons in the 14.5 gallon tank when it was "empty".

So I started to drive to the studio---about 2 miles down the road-boom the gas gauge goes to 1/4 full, the yellow icon disappeared, and the miles to empty goes to 80 miles. At my current mileage around town of 41 mpg that means that somehow I got about 1.5 gallon of gas. MAGIC? Now my projected trip miles to empty are almost 500 miles, usually 420 miles. I went to the dealer and asked about it and I was essentially blown off. I think that they thought I was crazy. I am going to go the projected empty distance before I refill the gas. If I run out of gas with say 15 miles to empty, I will be pissed that they blew me off.

I have come up with one other possibility. I got a communication from Toyota that there was a potential problem in the fuel tank of the hybrid models. Some seem to have a bubble in the top and can't be filled and others have a sensor that leaves fuel in the bottom of the tank. My experience with not being able to put more than 10-11 gallons the fuel sensor may be the problem in mine. OK, they said they would resolve this by the fall.

I am wondering whether they discovered that the computer was miss reading the fuel sensor and the through WiFi Toyota Connect they reprogrammed the system while sitting in the garage over night. I don't know if they can do this, but I am guessing. It may have taken a couple of miles to have the computer adjust all the components to the new program. Then boom, I got what looks like more gas, but really the empty point has been re-calibrated. OK, if this guess is correct then when I get to the 500+ miles to empty tank symbol and I fill then I might be able to get say 12.5 gallons in the tank. If I can only put in the standard 11 +/- gallons, then that would mean that I will be getting ~46 mpg---unbelievable.

Anybody have this same experience or a clue as to what is going on?

Thanks for listening.
Click to expand...
I called Toyota corporate and said I should contact my dealer. I just brought it in hoping that they were going to replace the gas tank or the mechanism that reads the amount of gas. They said they have recalibrated the fuel tank sensor. We will see.
 
#15 ·
drldmm said:
This is my first post--just joined.

My RAV4 Hybrid came with a warning about the fuel tank fill problem. It said Toyota would resolve by Fall.

Has anyone had this experience:

The day before yesterday the low fuel warning panel came on with the old tradition yellow gas pump light. I started the car yesterday and the low fuel came up, the yellow icon came up, the projected miles to empty was 21, and the gas gauge read almost empty----looked normal.

Note I have never gotten more than 11 gallons in the 14.5 gallon tank when it was "empty".

So I started to drive to the studio---about 2 miles down the road-boom the gas gauge goes to 1/4 full, the yellow icon disappeared, and the miles to empty goes to 80 miles. At my current mileage around town of 41 mpg that means that somehow I got about 1.5 gallon of gas. MAGIC? Now my projected trip miles to empty are almost 500 miles, usually 420 miles. I went to the dealer and asked about it and I was essentially blown off. I think that they thought I was crazy. I am going to go the projected empty distance before I refill the gas. If I run out of gas with say 15 miles to empty, I will be pissed that they blew me off.

I have come up with one other possibility. I got a communication from Toyota that there was a potential problem in the fuel tank of the hybrid models. Some seem to have a bubble in the top and can't be filled and others have a sensor that leaves fuel in the bottom of the tank. My experience with not being able to put more than 10-11 gallons the fuel sensor may be the problem in mine. OK, they said they would resolve this by the fall.

I am wondering whether they discovered that the computer was miss reading the fuel sensor and the through WiFi Toyota Connect they reprogrammed the system while sitting in the garage over night. I don't know if they can do this, but I am guessing. It may have taken a couple of miles to have the computer adjust all the components to the new program. Then boom, I got what looks like more gas, but really the empty point has been re-calibrated. OK, if this guess is correct then when I get to the 500+ miles to empty tank symbol and I fill then I might be able to get say 12.5 gallons in the tank. If I can only put in the standard 11 +/- gallons, then that would mean that I will be getting ~46 mpg---unbelievable.

Anybody have this same experience or a clue as to what is going on?

Thanks for listening.
Click to expand...
During the FIRST TWO fill-ups (so far) of my new 2021 RAV4 Prime SE, the fuel tank did not accept enough gasoline. First, while near Empty, it only allowed nine gallons (for a 14.5 gallon tank). At the second fill-up, it only allowed FOUR gallons, ejected the nozzle, and spilled gas on the ground. Second attempt allowed no more gas to be added. Took the car into a dealer and was told my VIN did not qualify to fix the known problem. I will register the problem on NHTSA and call Toyota.
 
#16 · (Edited)
Skribanr said:
During the FIRST TWO fill-ups (so far) of my new 2021 RAV4 Prime SE, the fuel tank did not accept enough gasoline. First, while near Empty, it only allowed nine gallons (for a 14.5 gallon tank). At the second fill-up, it only allowed FOUR gallons, ejected the nozzle, and spilled gas on the ground. Second attempt allowed no more gas to be added. Took the car into a dealer and was told my VIN did not qualify to fix the known problem. I will register the problem on NHTSA and call Toyota.
Click to expand...

Few here have the Prime and it may have a differently sized/shaped tank from the hybrid versions so your measurements may differ from those posted on this forum. But whatever Toyota told you was the size of the tank, they were protected by the standards agencies that allow the reserve below empty and the splash area above automatic shut off to be included in the advertised volume.

There is a Prime 4.5 forum here you may want to post in that may give you more help.
 
1 - 16 of 16 Posts
About this Discussion
15 Replies
10 Participants
Last post:
mikefocke
Toyota RAV4 Forums
posts
1.1M
members
174K
Since
2004
Rav 4 World is the internet's largest Toyota Rav4 SUV and EV online forum community. Discuss towing, modifications, and more.
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
4.3 General 4.3 Mechanical 4.5 RAV4 Hybrid (except Prime) 4.5 RAV4 Prime 4.3 Exterior