18K miles and already having these annoying problems. I'd say 25% of the time I open the hatch, what will happen is I press the button on the hatch, it starts moving, opens about 2 inches, then stops and makes two or three beeps. I press it again, moves another 2 inches, stops and beeps. Press it a third time and it finally opens. I've made sure there is nothing stuck anywhere that could interfere with it.

And this could just be my imagination but it seems like even when it does open normally, it's opening more slowly than usual.

Any ideas on what might be going on?

Maybe ask the dealer?

 

To say I have zero confidence in dealerships is an overstatement. I have less than zero confidence in them. I've been down this road too many times with way too many cars and way too many dealers. I already know how this will go -- "We opened and closed the hatch two or three times and couldn't replicate the issue...as far as we're concerned nothing's wrong with it..."

I'll mention it to them next time I go in for scheduled maintenance but I'm hoping to get some insight from other Toyota owners that a dealership won't be able to provide.

 

Check the hinges up to to make sure they are not bent. There have been reports of bending and breaking of those hinges. Many of the reports say Toyota does not cover them under warranty. I would make sure that the hinges are also lubricated every few months.

 

I had something similar happen with my R4H Limited, but it definitely was not hinges. I mentioned it to the dealership because it would happen once in a while. Sometimes it would not even open 2 inches, like there was something interfering with the door wanting to open, but then when doing it manually, it seems to be no problem.

I would definitely take it to the dealership to have them look at it, although you have to be able to recreate the issue, which sometimes that won't happen easily.

 

Just joined Rav4World and ironically so relieved to read that I am not alone in having problems opening the powered rear tailgate on my 23MY Rav4 which I bought new in November 2024. Very soon after collection I encountered the occasional but very annoying problem when opening the tailgate. When it did occur the tailgate would open a few inches, beep a few times and stop. After pressing the button again it would either fully open or move another few inches, beep and stop again. I have mentioned this to my dealership on every visit but other than one occasion, I could not replicate the problem in their presence. I am sure I am not alone in having this problem and believe either my dealership, Toyota or both don't want to take any action due to the possible warranty cost involved. Any suggestions on how to proceed would be most appreciated. My Rav4 cost me £43k and is my first Toyota but unless this problem can be resolved, it will be my last.

 

18K miles and already having these annoying problems. I'd say 25% of the time I open the hatch, what will happen is I press the button on the hatch, it starts moving, opens about 2 inches, then stops and makes two or three beeps. I press it again, moves another 2 inches, stops and beeps. Press it a third time and it finally opens. I've made sure there is nothing stuck anywhere that could interfere with it.

And this could just be my imagination but it seems like even when it does open normally, it's opening more slowly than usual.

Any ideas on what might be going on?

Check the hinges, it is an often reported issue on the 5th Gen of them being bent or broken, yours would be the first 2023 I've heard about this happening on though.

The door stopping followed by beeps usually means the jam/pinch protection is kicking in, so it could also be the "sensor strips" that run down each side of the interior door. Check those for damage/debris.

 

it could also be the "sensor strips" that run down each side of the interior door. Check those for damage/debris.

The check for excessive force needed to open the hatch is purely done by the mechanism -- more power needed than usual. There are no sensor strips on the RAV4. You can prove me wrong by posting a picture of these sensor strips and how you check them for damage and debris (cleaning).

 

Maybe read the owners manual before being so quick to call someone incorrect.

This is page 132 of my 2023 owners manual.

 

Maybe read the owners manual before being so quick to call someone incorrect.

I stand corrected -- sort of.

1. As WSCAN says, they only function when closing and something is pinched between the body and the hatch. The OP's problem is opening, not closing. There are sensors that detect an overload when opening; that is the OPs problem, not the pinch sensors.

2. As reported in this thread (https://www.rav4world.com/threads/2020-liftgate-hinges-and-toyotas-responses.327021/#replies), when the old bend hinges were removed, they were extremely stiff to operate. Thus one must lubricate the hinges from time to time. I speculate that moisture is getting inside the hinges and they are rusting.

 

Yes, those things on each side that look like rubber weather strips have a sensor inside them. Try closing the hatch and put your finger on one of them when it just starts closing. The hatch will stop very quickly. (Don't stick your finger on the strip when the hatch is almost closed. It might hurt a little.)

 

On just one occasion I have been able to replicate the problem in the presence of the Service Manager of my Toyota dealership. He immediately advised a Service Technician that they needed to order new powered struts for my Rav4. That was in mid November and I am still waiting to hear when/if they are available. I have also previously shown them videos of the problem but their response was that they could do nothing unless they could physically see it occur.

 

On just one occasion I have been able to replicate the problem in the presence of the Service Manager of my Toyota dealership. He immediately advised a Service Technician that they needed to order new powered struts for my Rav4. That was in mid November and I am still waiting to hear when/if they are available. I have also previously shown them videos of the problem but their response was that they could do nothing unless they could physically see it occur.

Yep, same here with the videos. I wasted a lot of time several mornings taking videos of the hatch failing to open, only to have them tell me it didn't matter and they couldn't care less about the videos. I really despise dealers more than I can put into words. I've said it before and I'll say it again, to me, going to a car dealership for pretty much anything at all, even regular scheduled service like oil changes, is as unpleasant as going for a root canal, crown, tooth extraction, you name it.

 

When this happened, it was with my 2020 R4H. I am now in a 2024 R4P XSE, so I am not seeing the problem at the moment.

With the 2020 R4H, the only thing I can think of is possibly that the weather seals may be 'sticking' and causing the liftgate sensor to think it is 'blocked' or stuck, that is one guess, as I noticed at times, I did get a sense it was stuck for some reason.