[teon]

Update Time!

I took my 2020 RAV4 hybrid cross country this weekend from California to New York. As some of you may recall I had the fix applied last Monday with all three parts replaced. I can confirm the fix is working as intended after 8 fill ups.

• First two stops did not align with the low fuel light for completely accurate measurements but could instantly see the difference. At 1/4 tank the car was taking 9 gallons (previous maximum fill at low fuel light) and read well past full.
• Third stop aligned well, the low fuel light came on at 28 miles DTE (same as before the fix for me), was able to stop at a gas station at 26 miles DTE. Car took 11.5 gallons first click, did not bother to top off, from experience I'm sure I could've squeezed that extra in to make it 12.3 (14.5 total) but no need to mess with a good thing. Tank read well past full.
• Fourth and fifth similar to first and second stop a little over 9 gallons around 1/4 tank mark. Tank read well past full.
• 6th stop - 12 gallons about 20 miles past the fuel light. Tank read well past full.
• 7th and 8th around 1/4 tank 9 and 9.5 gallons, to be honest I stopped caring at this point because you could just tell it was working. Like every other car I've owned before this a quick glance at the gas gauge and a quick glance at the pump is all you need and you can tell its filling just about right. No need to micro manage the numbers when they line up so close without trying. If I start to notice any drift I'll update but it looks like Toyota finally nailed this one.

As for the drive the car performed fantastic. The majority of the speed limits in the middle of the country are rather high so the bulk of the trip was done on cruise control at 83mph, the average MPG ended up being 36.0 which I'm happy with at those speeds going through the mountains etc. No lack of power on the hills no other major issues.

Good luck out there fighting Toyota to fix their defective product but if you can get them to do it you be happy!

What was your average DTE for the last 8 fill ups?
My first DTE was 414 miles after my dealer changed the 3 parts and they filled it up; my total average MPG is around 37-38.
I will wait and see what is my 2nd fill up looks like.
Thanks!

 

[hkurtz78]

Just talked with my dealership. She said that my VIN (J) is not included in the “Fuel pump recall” (her words, not mine). I told her my last fill up I was missing 3 gallons of gas (9.18 gallons after first click) and had my lowest DTE to date at 409. She said there is a warranty for the “refueling performance issue” that meets with the warranty enhancement criteria. I bring it in for inspection on Thursday. Was told to have full tank of gas.

 

[RAVDoug]

Just talked with my dealership. She said that my VIN (J) is not included in the “Fuel pump recall” (her words, not mine). I told her my last fill up I was missing 3 gallons of gas (9.18 gallons after first click) and had my lowest DTE to date at 409. She said there is a warranty for the “refueling performance issue” that meets with the warranty enhancement criteria. I bring it in for inspection on Thursday. Was told to have full tank of gas.

There could be a miscommunication here. There's a completely different issue that's a problem with the fuel pumps (meaning, the pump that gets gas from your tank to the engine) on a bunch of Toyota vehicles. This recall doesn't include the RAV4 Hybrid (at least, not enough to create a safety concern ... last I heard there was some speculation that the fuel pump could still fail, but the hybrid system prevents it from being a safety problem?).

I would explicitly mention the TSB number (TSB-0109-20) to avoid communication problems. However, it does sound like your dealership knows what's going on.

 

[thebigchalupa]

There could be a miscommunication here. There's a completely different issue that's a problem with the fuel pumps (meaning, the pump that gets gas from your tank to the engine) on a bunch of Toyota vehicles. This recall doesn't include the RAV4 Hybrid (at least, not enough to create a safety concern ... last I heard there was some speculation that the fuel pump could still fail, but the hybrid system prevents it from being a safety problem?).

I would explicitly mention the TSB number (TSB-0109-20) to avoid communication problems. However, it does sound like your dealership knows what's going on.

Yes, this is specifically listed under a customer service campaign in their computer, not a recall. Make sure they do not look under the recall section.

 

[hkurtz78]

There could be a miscommunication here. There's a completely different issue that's a problem with the fuel pumps (meaning, the pump that gets gas from your tank to the engine) on a bunch of Toyota vehicles. This recall doesn't include the RAV4 Hybrid (at least, not enough to create a safety concern ... last I heard there was some speculation that the fuel pump could still fail, but the hybrid system prevents it from being a safety problem?).

I would explicitly mention the TSB number (TSB-0109-20) to avoid communication problems. However, it does sound like your dealership knows what's going on.

Yes, sounded like miscommunication to me too. I will mention the TSB number at drop-off.

 

[RAVDoug]

Update Time!

I took my 2020 RAV4 hybrid cross country this weekend from California to New York. As some of you may recall I had the fix applied last Monday with all three parts replaced. I can confirm the fix is working as intended after 8 fill ups.

• First two stops did not align with the low fuel light for completely accurate measurements but could instantly see the difference. At 1/4 tank the car was taking 9 gallons (previous maximum fill at low fuel light) and read well past full.
• Third stop aligned well, the low fuel light came on at 28 miles DTE (same as before the fix for me), was able to stop at a gas station at 26 miles DTE. Car took 11.5 gallons first click, did not bother to top off, from experience I'm sure I could've squeezed that extra in to make it 12.3 (14.5 total) but no need to mess with a good thing. Tank read well past full.
• Fourth and fifth similar to first and second stop a little over 9 gallons around 1/4 tank mark. Tank read well past full.
• 6th stop - 12 gallons about 20 miles past the fuel light. Tank read well past full.
• 7th and 8th around 1/4 tank 9 and 9.5 gallons, to be honest I stopped caring at this point because you could just tell it was working. Like every other car I've owned before this a quick glance at the gas gauge and a quick glance at the pump is all you need and you can tell its filling just about right. No need to micro manage the numbers when they line up so close without trying. If I start to notice any drift I'll update but it looks like Toyota finally nailed this one.

As for the drive the car performed fantastic. The majority of the speed limits in the middle of the country are rather high so the bulk of the trip was done on cruise control at 83mph, the average MPG ended up being 36.0 which I'm happy with at those speeds going through the mountains etc. No lack of power on the hills no other major issues.

Good luck out there fighting Toyota to fix their defective product but if you can get them to do it you be happy!

This is the news I was hoping for. Everything you described is exactly how I think the fuel tank system is supposed to work on this vehicle.

And yes, that includes the extra 0.8 gal you were short on when filling. For whatever unknown reason, the RAV4 Hybrid's fuel tank stops short of full when filling at full speed by something like 0.5 to 1.0 gallons. It seems to be allowed by all the relevant regulations and standards, and Toyota seemed to acknowledge it in the first letter they sent out. I don't like that behavior, but it's a minimal quirk that's easy to work around if you care.

My one worry here is there are some dealerships that are refusing to do the fix because the diagnostic steps say the vehicle is working fine. Except it's clearly not, given what you're describing. (Dealerships are saying to come with a full tank of gas ... I'm wondering if people should be purposefully overfilling or underfilling for this visit to make it more likely to fail the diagnostics?)

 

[thebigchalupa]

What was your average DTE for the last 8 fill ups?
My first DTE was 414 miles after my dealer changed the 3 parts and they filled it up; my total average MPG is around 37-38.
I will wait and see what is my 2nd fill up looks like.
Thanks!

The trip was 36MPG (average over the 8 fills), better than expected at those speeds and inclines for sure. Prior to that I fluctuated between 38 and 40 depending on how much of a hurry I was in that week, or if the wife drove it.... MPG tanks when she gets a hold of it. Preliminary results were close to that in the 3 days before I left on the trip.

 

[teon]

The trip was 36MPG (average over the 8 fills), better than expected at those speeds and inclines for sure. Prior to that I fluctuated between 38 and 40 depending on how much of a hurry I was in that week, or if the wife drove it.... MPG tanks when she gets a hold of it. Preliminary results were close to that in the 3 days before I left on the trip.

I meant the DTE number you got right after you fill up your tank.

 

[thebigchalupa]

Ah, got it, sorry read that too fast. DTE was 460-480 after each fill

 

[RussC]

Ah, got it, sorry read that too fast. DTE was 460-480 after each fill

The Big

Assuming you are averaging 36 miles per gallon x 14.5 DTE should be about 520

My new tank jumped from 510 to 559 instantly and I anticipate when I refill it will jump again to about 570

 

[RAVDoug]

The Big

Assuming you are averaging 36 miles per gallon x 14.5 DTE should be about 520

My new tank jumped from 510 to 559 instantly and I anticipate when I refill it will jump again to about 570

But not all of the 14.5 is included in the DTE calculation. Before the fix (we should reevaluate this now), from what we could tell the "E" means there's about 1.5 gal left in the tank as a reserve. Also, I'm somewhat confident that the tank won't fill up all the way to 14.5 gal at the first click, maybe by about 0.8 gal. 14.5 - 1.5 - 0.8 = 12.2. 36 * 12.2 = 439.2 miles DTE.

So it seems the DTE is optimistic, but only by about 20 or 30 miles. That's not too bad, all things considered.

 

[Automender]

Since it is free and it will probably help the cars resale value it's a good thing even though it may not add to much to the DTE

 

[ddox]

(Dealerships are saying to come with a full tank of gas ... I'm wondering if people should be purposefully overfilling or underfilling for this visit to make it more likely to fail the diagnostics?)

I was thinking the same thing. I don't want them cheating me out of the fix because I was slightly over some threshold. I KNOW I have this problem.

 

[MASTERNC]

Dealer replaced the fuel tank, refueled the vehicle and drove it around. I haven't had a chance to pick it up yet but will let you know what I find.

 

[northwoodshyun]

My 2020 XSE got the two out of three updates sans the gas tank. Drove about 185 miles and the tank took 4.5 gallons without a major fuss. Prior to the fix, at 185 miles, I could do 2.5 gallons without any issues but the last 2.0 was really painful and slow. I think the update fixed the issue. Hopefully it stays good.

 

[ToyRav4TX]

Weird, I was told the TSB only applied to J VIN vehicles and not mine which was built in Canada (2 VIN).

I moved my appointment to Thursday so we shall see what they say.

 

[Bumblebee1941]

Hello Everyone,

This forum is so helpful and is also how I learned that Toyota had a fix for this issue. I’m hoping to return the favor. I didn’t receive the second letter from Toyota, only the first. The service advisor told me that I received 3 new parts including a new fuel tank, gauge, and gasket. I’m not driving as much these days due to COVID restrictions but I hope that this helps someone.

I read l a post from someone who obtained a fix and immediately called my dealership to let them have it. They told me to bring my car in right away and they kept it for one week. I was able to take pictures of the TSB so I’ll try to attach the 9 pages to this post.

 

[harbin]

Hello Everyone,

This forum is so helpful and is also how I learned that Toyota had a fix for this issue. I’m hoping to return the favor. I didn’t receive the second letter from Toyota, only the first. The service advisor told me that I received 3 new parts including a new fuel tank, gauge, and gasket. I’m not driving as much these days due to COVID restrictions but I hope that this helps someone.
View attachment 159287 View attachment 159288 I read l a post from someone who obtained a fix and immediately called my dealership to let them have it. They told me to bring my car in right away and they kept it for one week. I was able to take pictures of the TSB so I’ll try to attach the 9 pages to this post. View attachment 159289 View attachment 159290 View attachment 159291 View attachment 159292 View attachment 159293 View attachment 159294 View attachment 159295

It looks the dealer might refuse to fix Canadian built RAV4H even if the car has the problem.

 

[Variman]

The way I am understanding the procedures, the only way a owner can not get the parts they really need is by over filling the tank prior to bringing it in for repair. According to step 4 of the procedure, the Tech takes the car to a gas station and fills the car on full trigger and if the tank has less than 12.6 gallons in step 5, all three parts are replaced.

Now if my car has false readings and my normal 9 gallon fill from empty is really 12, then, I am good. Its not like they are replacing the tank with a larger tank. Now if they mis-diagnose the car and my fill from empty (after the fill light is on) is under 12 gallons, I will be back to the dealer. In other words, I don't want a new tank if I don't need one. The less they touch the better, but at the end of the day, I want to be able to fill 12 + gallons after the empty light comes on, not 9.

I also will test my reserve after the repair within reasonable limits, meaning, I will drive about 50-70 miles after the fuel light comes on after the repair while carrying spare fuel.

This is the news I was hoping for. Everything you described is exactly how I think the fuel tank system is supposed to work on this vehicle.

And yes, that includes the extra 0.8 gal you were short on when filling. For whatever unknown reason, the RAV4 Hybrid's fuel tank stops short of full when filling at full speed by something like 0.5 to 1.0 gallons. It seems to be allowed by all the relevant regulations and standards, and Toyota seemed to acknowledge it in the first letter they sent out. I don't like that behavior, but it's a minimal quirk that's easy to work around if you care.

My one worry here is there are some dealerships that are refusing to do the fix because the diagnostic steps say the vehicle is working fine. Except it's clearly not, given what you're describing. (Dealerships are saying to come with a full tank of gas ... I'm wondering if people should be purposefully overfilling or underfilling for this visit to make it more likely to fail the diagnostics?)

 

[tg6392]

When I fill up I usually fill up very slowly with the nozzle almost all the way out. Then I top off until I can't any more. That usually gets me past "F". However for this service I filled it up on the way to the dealer - I put the nozzle all the way in, full speed, and didn't top off. It was only about 7/8 full, and the dealer was able to add another .59 gallons during their service. Here is their documentation, if helpful: