Yes, the warming indicator light on the dashboard may drain a little bit of battery power if left open overnight, but not too much to impact on the car starting next day. I have 2020 RAV4 TRD and left the hatch door open a couple of times accidently (not fully closed) but totally ok next day. However, hybrid may be a different story. Make sure the cargo light and other interior lights are off.

 

Thank you. I'm not sure if the hybrid would be all that different but that's a good point. Can anyone else help?

 

Well the hybrid’s 12 V battery is smaller than the gas version, so it would drain faster. If the car is left “on” overnight, the giant hybrid battery would keep the 12 V battery charged and this would not be an issue. However, if the hybrid battery gets low enough, the engine will kick on to charge it back up, and in this case it would blow exhaust into or very near your tent.
I don’t think there’s any way to turn that indicator off, but I’ve found the vehicle is pretty good at preventing itself from draining dead... maybe that indicator goes off after 20 minutes? An hour?

 

Well the hybrid’s 12 V battery is smaller than the gas version, so it would drain faster. If the car is left “on” overnight, the giant hybrid battery would keep the 12 V battery charged and this would not be an issue. However, if the hybrid battery gets low enough, the engine will kick on to charge it back up, and in this case it would blow exhaust into or very near your tent.
I don’t think there’s any way to turn that indicator off, but I’ve found the vehicle is pretty good at preventing itself from draining dead... maybe that indicator goes off after 20 minutes? An hour?

That was quite helpful, especially since I didn't realize the engine would kick on to charge the battery. The only way I heard to turn the indicator off (so far) is to completely disconnect the battery but that adds some other issues.
I never thought that perhaps the indicator light would go off after a period of time.That is worth experimenting with! Thank you!

 

Is there an obvious switch in the rear like those for an open door? If so perhaps you could tape it closed or somehow disable it temporarily.

 

Well, there is a switch for the actual hatch lights but that doesn't change the fact that the indicator light stays on and drains the battery.

 

Easy test ====
Try it at home overnight and see what happens.
Have a jump starter just in case.

 

Thanks. I am already on the road and camping (minus hooking up to the vehicle) so I am not sure how much more adventurous I am feeling this week. Hey, I'll let you all know, tho!

 

Hi
If you switch off the interior lights above the mirror and the one in the trunk? the display will turn off after 20 mins

 

Hi If you switch off the interior lights above the mirror and the one in the trunk? the display will turn off after 20 mins

I did this, but unfortunately it still drained my battery.

 

You may be able to shut the dash light off by tripping the latch in the cargo door while it's open.

 

Unless things have changed or are different for the hybrid, the MID turns off after a short period of time if doors are left open. Source: Me when I tore apart the dash of my 2019 and left the doors opened overnight. Same for the domes.

 

Leaving the Liftgate open

Hey guys, I just got the 2020 RAV4 XSE and I was planning on taking it camping and possibly to a drive in movie. I looked everywhere and couldn’t get a straight answer. I was wondering if any of you guys have taken your hybrids to either place and left the liftgate open for long duration and...

www.rav4world.com

Sounds like the light will go off after 20 minutes and should not drain your battery.

 

Can also confirm the MID turns itself off after a set amount of time when the hood is left open.

 

I’m very interested in your experience because I am leaving in a week for car camping (2020 Rav 4 Hybrid)with the hatch tent (not full model) and need to leave the hatch open all night. I heard about putting a carambiner in the hatch mechanism to bypass the battery. Do you know if this works with the hybrids? Thanks for any information you can share about your trip...first timeme for us!

Hi, I have a 2019 Rav 4 Hybrid for which I bought a tent that is specifically for a Toyota SUV Amazon.com : Sportz SUV / Minivan Tent (For Toyota Models) : Highlander Tent : Sports & Outdoors. I bought it only to find out that if I leave the hatch open overnight (because you connect it to the vehicle through an open hatch giving you space options), that the hatch-open indicator light on the dashboard will drain the battery.
Is that truly the case? The Toyota service department said it is and a power electronics engineer I know said that could be the case but there should be a workaround.
Why would anyone sell a tent that connects through an open hatch when the battery would drain???
I feel like someone else must have had this issue but I can't find anything on the web.

 

I’ll be camping in a 2020 Rav 4 hybrid and am now worried about the Napier 16000 “liftgate covering” because I’ll need to leave the liftgate open all night. I saw a post about using a carambiner in the u-shaped lift hatch to bypass the battery being on all night. I’m leaving in about a week so am very interested in your experience. Thank you for sharing your tips on car camping in hybrid Rav 4!

 

In my 2019 XLE Premium I regularly leave my hatch open in my garage overnight (easily 100+ times now), and have never had a problem.

 

I have a 2021 Xle Hybrid and leave my back hatch open in the garage sometimes, like Lendenwood. The light goes off in 15-20 minutes. I've never had a problem with a low battery.

 

I have left the hatch and sometimes doors open 2 or 3 days straight, I do not manually turned off the map, overhead, or the cargo lights. With our 21 and 22, they all go off automatically in @ 20 minutes. Never a problem discharging the tiny Prime 12 v battery. Nothing else is left on or powered up. If you are camping with your wagon, you are more likely to have lights or radio powered up, using up the battery. Each time you open a door, the 20 minutes of lights restarts. A voltmeter and jump pack would be wise to carry.