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'22 Rav4 w/ leaky main seal on front transaxle

3808 Views 31 Replies 13 Participants Last post by  Big Daddy
Hello all. Been lurking for a number of months and finally decided to join - mostly prompted by my experience with my 5 month old XLE.

At 8500 km I found a leak beneath the car, that has subsequently been diagnosed by the dealer as a main seal leak of the front transaxle (output side).

Most frustrating is that 72 hrs before I found the leak, the Rav4 was in for Service 1, and was given an 'all good' by the dealer. A few days later, like many new owners of these modern Toyota engines, I did my first oil change. The moment I got under the car I noticed streaks of fluid on the underside of the oil filter/drain plug panel. After a quick inspection I determined that neither the drain plug nor the filter were the source of the leak.

As frustrating as it is to have a new Toyota with this sort of problem, more frustrating is the fact that having paid for Toyota's ESP, the technician/s who had the car on the hoist three days earlier did not have the presence of mind to raise a red flag when streaks of fluid were clearly present (on a new car). Imagine the mess and mechanical problems that could have been present if I did not change my oil when I did, and had waited another 8 thousand km to go in for Service 2 (which as you already know is the first oil change). Needless to say, the service work to repair the leak is being done by another dealer.

Curious, has anyone else experienced this sort of issue on a new Toyota?
What about dealing with incompetence at some dealer service centres?

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Update: 10/18/22
Went to pick up the RAV4 yesterday as it was finished. Asked them to bring the vehicle in so I could do a walk-around.
Vehicle was not cleaned, had dirt and what looks like oil streaks on the front passenger fender. Needs a good cleaning. Found 2 scratches through the paint. 1) on the front grill surround as it rolls up toward the hood. 2) under the hood just right of center, scratches down to bare metal. Also found broken glass in the rear driver side floor. Luckily the all-weather mat was installed and caught most of it. I can see where something hit the doorsill and splashed to the inside, landing in the mat.
Needless to say the RAV4 is still at the dealership as I did not accept it.
Is it a Japan, Canada or Kentucky RAV?
Well this is a timing thread. My 2020 Rav4 is due for an oil change and I am debating to do it myself or take to the dealer.
My 3 year warranty is up as well. After reading this thread, I am inclined to do myself.

Sorry to folks that are having this issue. I hope mine is ok and thanks for posting so I know to look for it.
Definitley do it yourself, in states like California dealerships are not allowed to fire lazy employees easily so instead they'll stick them in the lube pit. These are the ones who will use impact wrench to tighten your oil filter, if they even change it at all and strip the drain plug threads, and not change the crush washer.
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