RAV4 Hybrid Fuel Tank Issue Fixed By Toyota Program - UPDATE! Class Action Settlement

I have a 2021 RAV4 Prime XSE that I purchased in January. I have had to refill it with gas 4 times when going on longer trips, and I believed that I only had a 10 gallon tank, because even when the mechanical gage was showing completely empty, and the digital gauge was showing only 3 miles left, it would only take 10.5 gallons. Last week I read an article that said the RAV4 Prime has a 600 mile range, which is impossible with a 10 gallon tank, and a 40 mpg rating, so I opened my owners manual to find I actually have a 14.5 gallon tank. I immediately notified my dealer, tried to drive it beyond the 0 miles left, but after a few miles it switched to EV mode and would not engage the engine. This time, it took 11 gallons, and I videotaped it for dealer. After having the car for 2 days, my dealer called me back to say Toyota would do nothing for me because it was not covered by Customer Support Program, and that it was functioning as designed. I called Toyota corporate and I am waiting to hear back from a case manager.

Toyota did NOT fully fix the fuel tank issue. I had the fuel tank replaced on my 2019 RAV4 Hybrid. Now I can fill 10-11gal, instead of the 8.5gal I could fill before. I had to visit my Toyota dealer 4 times to get it fixed. They measured it several times and claimed, they could fill 9.8gal and that I did not qualify for the repair. I had several pictures from the gas station as proof and eventually they just did it. The reserve in those tanks is about 4-5gal, which is half the size of a small-cars fuel tank!! Before i got my tank fixed, I drove 160miles on an empty tank, until it finally went out of gas. After it went out of gas, I got 14.5gal in my tank and it read a range of 520miles. The next fill up I got about 12gal of gas in the tank, and over time it went down to its normal 8-9gal capacity. TOYOTA: I understand that the fuel pump needs some gas for cooling, but then don't advertise the gas tank capacity with 14.5gal and a range of +550miles. The range was one of the reasons why i bought it. I still love my RAV4 and am overall impressed with the car, however the fuel tank issue bothers me as I drive 80miles/day.

Looks like 2021 Rav4 Hybrids are also having issues with the fuel tank.

I have a RAV Prime (2021) with the same issue. It won't take more than 9 gallons when it's showing empty. My dealer's service manager said that Toyota put smaller tanks in the Primes because they got such good mileage they didn't need a 14.5 gallon tank.

I have a 2019 Rav4 XSE Hybrid. I had mine fixed about 3 weeks ago. Prior to, I could get 10gal in the tank if I manually filled it and my miles to empty would read, at most, 509mi. If I let the tank fill on its own it would stop between 7-9gal. Now, it'll fill to 9.5-11gal, or 12.5gal at most if I do it manually. My miles to empty won't read over 499mi. I usually fill just below below quarter tank line with my miles to empty reading anywhere from 40-80mi. I'm happier minus the tank reading. When I get my next oil change I'm bringing it up.

I have a 2019 Rav4n Hybrid. This issue has been ongoing since about the second or third time we filled it up. Off of the lot the miles to empty was well over 500 miles and the gauge clearly read full. The miles to empty got progressively lower with each fill up, as did the fuel gauge. Finally by March 2020 when the miles to empty was well below 450 miles and the gauge would only go up to 3/4 after filling Toyota agreed to replace the tank. By this time they had acknowledged the problem, but had yet to resolve it with an upgraded tank. They replaced the tank with a new one (same tank), while stating that some customers expressed this process had solved the issue. It did resolve ours, for a while. Out of the shop it was back to 550 miles to empty and we were happy. However, after a handful of fill ups the problem was worse than ever. We weren't even able to get 400 miles on a tank. We notified Toyota and had to open a new case. They told us that we would be put on the list for the actual repair, when they figured it out. In December 2020 we were notified that Toyota had resolved the problem and we could schedule the repair with the dealership. We had the tank replaced immediately. Again, we were up to 550 miles and happy. Due to COVID, my wife was not driving much in the early part of this year so I didn't get any negative feedback on the fuel tank. She actually loves this Rav4, other than this issue of course. Well she took a trip out of town last month and guess what..... SAME ISSUE! I called the dealership and took it in last Friday. They kept it over the weekend and called me on Monday to come pick it up. To my surprise, they told me there was nothing wrong with the vehicle. They actually had a technician come out to explain what the Service Advisor apparently could not. He proceeded to tell me that there was a 5 GALLON, YES 5 GALLON reserve on this car and that it's Toyotas way of looking our for there customers safety. When I questioned him and the advisor, actually in truth I told them that makes zero sense that over one third of the tank would be reserve he laughed at me and got very disrespectful. Eventually told me that he had spent enough of his time trying to explain this to me. Now it was a longer conversation than that I can't fully articulate here, but I haven't been that upset in many years. I've since filed yet another complaint with Toyota. After talking to me on Tuesday, the case manager seamed to agree, that yes there is a problem and she would get to the bottom of it. She called me back yesterday to inform me that she had spoken to her "region" and they agree there is not a problem with this car. I'm now waiting on a callback from the Case Manager's supervisor and the Service Manager of the dealership to plead my case further. After having a 2006 Highlander Hybrid, and 2017 Highlander Limited with very little problems over many years I'm sad to say that whether fixed or not, this will be my last Toyota due to this experience.

I had my 2020 rav 4 hybrid fuel tank fixed. It now fills to about 11.5 and the line says it’s passed full. I can drive over 100-150 miles without the gauge moving. Then at some point it drops to 3/4 abruptly.

I have a 2020 RAV4 hybrid. The supposed fuel tank problem fix was performed by my dealer in January 2021, and it seemed to work for a while. Since July 2021 or so, the fuel flow cuts off prematurely again; the gas gauge has become wildly inaccurate (eg., it reads 3/4s full when there are only about 4 gallons left in the tank); and the MPG and miles to empty indicators on the dash have gone haywire (the former consistently says I'm getting around 45 mpg, and the latter calibrates itself to the mpg figure, which means the mpg figure is increasingly overstated the longer I drive. I'd be happy to join a class action suit, too.

My RAV4 Prime does have the gas tank issue that this article reports. When it was new, the hybrid mileage was 560 mikes. Therefore plus the ev range, the total was 600 miles total.

I had been using ev only for 8 months till July this year that I needed to take a long trip to San Francisco. After I used up my first tank of gas, I can no longer reach more than 450 miles from the screen. I tried this many times during the road trip and the same situation remains now.

From almost empty, I can pump about 10.8-11.5 gallons (*38 mpg is roughly 450 miles with remainder of the gas). When I forced to keep pumping after 5 times after automatic stop pumping at gas station, I can add enough gallon (no overflow at all) and get about 480 miles. I didn’t try to “fill” it, Sind I don’t want to overflow gas tank and cause danger.

I have the same problem. Initially, I could not get more than 10 gallons in my 2019 Rav 4. In January, 2021 I took it in to Toyoya for repair. After the repair I was able to get 12-13 gallons (thought this was ok considering reserve?). After a few months, it reverted back to only taking 10 gallons again. I took it back to my Toyota service dealer - TWICE! They say it's fixed and there's nothing else they can do. Really frustrated!!

I have a 21 RAV4 prime and I can only get 10.5 gal in at empty. At least the vehicle will allow you to drive 120 mi past empty but it's annoying to see the low fuel notifications... I would like to join the lawsuit.

I just came across this site researching the 2020 Toyota RAV 4 Hybrid XSE fuel issue. I had the fuel pump and fuel sender replaced in Dec. 2020 and the problem seemed to be corrected. I started going 425-450 total miles on a full tank. Recently the fuel economy has dropped and I'm only getting 350-375. The car was in for regular service last week and when I mentioned this, the service department insisted that the problem has been corrected. When I asked to report this problem to a customer service queue, they told me there's no such place to document known issues. I'm hoping someone can share a phone number or email to share Toyota service concerns. Please advise, and thanks for posting regular updates.

RAV4 Prime owner with similar issue/disappointment with the fuel tank size. Won’t fill beyond 10-11 gals. Fuel tank and fuel EV charge with maximum 440 miles DTE. This is unacceptable. Went to dealership and dissatisfied with their inaction. Will gladly join the class action suit.

We own a 2020 Rav4 Hybrid XLE. Our vehicle was determined by Toyota to have the gas tank issue. On March 8, 2021 we brought our vehicle to the Toyota dealership in Coon Rapids, MN for replacement of the gas tan and sending unit. Ten months later, I am still dealing with essentially the same issues.

I fueled up today and this is typical of my experiences since the replacement of the fuel tank. Prior to refueling, my gas gauge read almost empty and the vehicle calculated miles to empty (MTE) read 32 miles. The fuel dispensing pump shut off and i topped off about $1.00 more in gas into the tank and the fuel gauge was over the full mark. Total fuel dispensed into the tank was 10.581 gallons. I had driven a total of 309.7 miles which worked out to 29.26 miles per gallon. After refueling, the vehicle calculated I should get 460 miles on this tank of gas.

The vehicle's tank is supposed to hold 14.5 gallons. If, prior to refueling, I had 32 miles to empty that should equate to about 1 gallon of fuel remaining in the tank. I added 10.581 gallons bringing the total gas in the tank to 11.581 gallons roughly. If I get the same 29.26 mpg on this current tank of gas I will only get about 310-340 miles of driving; not the 460 indicated by the MTE reading.

I am going to return to the Toyota dealership with this information and try to get an explanation of what exactly is going on.

I've called the dealership and am in email communication with the Service Manager. I'm using email from now on so it's fully documented. I'm asking for a follow up service to correct the problem...I am a pest and they can't get keep ignoring this problem. I would encourage anyone in the same situation to communicate immediately with the dealership. If anyone has another authority that we should contact please share here.Thanks

I have the fuel tank not filling/guage issue on my 2021 Rav4 Prime. I reported this to Toyota but not fix yet. I brought it up to my Toyota dealership at 10K service and they just ignored it... Autonation Leesburg, VA. after fuel low warning and guage showing almost empty, will only take 9 gallons of gas.. tank is 14.5 gallons

Does anyone know if this fuel tank and sender problem has been corrected on the 2022 RAV4 prime model? I am considering purchasing one.

I have a Rav4 prime 2021. I can only pump 10 gallons of gas into the 14.5 gallon tank. I'm making little progress with the Toyota dealer on a fix. I told them I want a new tank and they referred me to Toyota. Toyota said I should talk to the dealer. How can I get this fixed?

Love my new '22 Rav4 Prime but it clearly has this problem. I'm supposed to get over 500 gas miles per tank, but instead I get 'low fuel' warnings before I ever see 350 highway miles. (65-75 mph with snow tires). 14.5 gal tank, but the most I got it to take, after 25 miles of 'low fuel' warnings is 10.6 gallon. I will bug my Dealer about it some day, but next time I'll just start the tripmeter and drive another 100 miles. I believe it will keep going when the gas runs out if I still have the battery charged?

Same issue with my 2021 Rav4 Prime SE - can only fill in less than 10 gallons when the refuel light comes on.

Do you know if the settlement covers Primes or is it only for Hybrids?

The Toyota RAV4 Hybrid tank problem has not been fixed as of 5/10/2022. I called again today and they said there is nothing they can do about it. They replaced a sensor last June and they said that’s the fix. I can only put a little over 10 gallons in the tank. No help from the dealership or the the corporate office. They act like it’s the first time they’ve heard of the problem. I’m very disappointed with Toyota.

R4P 2021, last fill up with display showing 1 mile of hybrid range remaining took 11.6 gallons so of the 14.5 gallons, 2.9 is lost to headspace and hidden reserve, effectively 100+ miles of range. I have considered trying to run it out with the battery kept fully charged to get a sense of how much of the inaccessible capacity is accessible vs airspace, but it is an additionally frustrating that the computer treats the 11 gallon full to empty tank as if it were 14 gallons worth of range and displays numbers that are wildly inaccurate but they could be made accurate by reprogramming it to acknowledge it only has 11.6 gallons from Full to empty.

I had the gas tank fix done on my 2020 Rav4 Hybrid in Jan and did notice an improvement. I went from getting 9-10 gallons in after getting the low fuel light to getting 12 gallons at a fill up. Unfortunately this did not last as I'm now back down to 10 gallons each fill up. On top of that issue the last two times I've filled the tank I've had gas overflows on normal pumping. The dealership told me nothing was wrong and that the overflows are "normal". Very frustrating as everything else about the car is nice except for these gas tank issues.

I have a 2021 Prime. I can only get 450 miles from gas engine and 42 to 46 on electric. This gives me a range of 490 miles well short of the 600 miles as advertised. Love the car but is disappointing on long road trips.