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2019 Toyota RAV4 Engine Problems: Everything You Need to Know

Introduction to the Toyota RAV4’s Journey

Some of the top reported 2019 Toyota RAV4 engine problems were related to loud engine noises when accelerating, excessive oil consumption, and, and in at least one case, strong plastic burning smell.

Customers were extremely excited about the complete redesign of the Toyota RAV4 in the 2019 model year. They got to put their hands on one of the most powerful engines ever, providing them with the most power to drive in any rough terrain.

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Despite the great news about this vehicle, customers immediately discovered several problems associated with the engine, which poked a hole in their excitement and caused many to question keeping the vehicle.

This article provides you with a detailed summary of the most reported complaint so far about the 2019 Toyota RAV4 engine problems. Keep in mind that the vehicle hasn’t been on the road for many years; however, we do have enough data to draw initial conclusions and bring your attention to things to consider when shopping for a used 2019 Toyota RAV4. 

2019 Toyota RAV4 Overview

Toyota, the Japanese automobile manufacturer, has been producing the Toyota RAV4 since 1994 in Europe and since 1995 in North America.


After these decades of production, one might argue that there’s nothing left for Toyota to steal the show in their 2019 RAV4 model release. However, that wasn’t the case, and the automaker announced a completely redesigned RAV4 with plenty of new features, including:

  • A 2.5 L 4-cylinder engine allowing the vehicle to achieve up to 27 of horsepower
  • Better fuel economy with additional mpg
  • Additional features like the Apple CarPlay, the drossiness monitoring, the traffic sign recognition, the Wi-fi hot spot.

Outside of the fact that it provided them with an opportunity to get their hands on a completely redesigned RAV4, several features from the previous model year remained unchanged in 2019, including the seating of up to five passengers and the drivetrain options of either a four-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive. 

Despite the long list of attractive features, many customers argued that there were plenty of problems that spoiled the party of the 2019 Toyota RAV4, which needs to be on your radar, especially if you’re planning to purchase a used Toyota RAV4.

2019 Toyota RAV4 Engine

With the long list of incredible features in the 2019 Toyota RAV4, you can make the argument that the new engine upgrade stole the show!

When Toyota announced the new 2019 RAV4 would feature a 2.5 L 4-cylinder engine, it provided you with a vehicle to take your ride to the top level, especially with the strong engine power and the great smooth performance. 

In addition to the powerful 2.5 L-4cylinder engine in the base model, customers can also select either a hybrid or gasoline powertrain as options. The 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine that comes with the Toyota Hybrid System comes with a continuously variable transmission or what’s known as the ECVT providing the best fuel efficiency.

The other engine option you can choose is the gasoline engine. Customers mentioned that the gasoline engine provides you with enough power to encounter any terrain as it comes with a Dynamic Force 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine along with a unique 8-speed automatic direct-shift transmission.

Despite the incredible features associated with the 2019 Toyota RAV4 engine, some problems were reported indicating potential ruining to the whole party. Thus, if you’re planning to purchase a used 2019 Honda RAV4, you need to be prepared to hear some news about the engine that might spoil your surprise!

2019 Toyota RAV4 Engine Problems

Since the 2019 Toyota RAV4 hasn’t been on the road for a long time, one might argue that it might be too early to see any major problem related to the engine. However, and unfortunately, this wasn’t the case, with many customers rushing to report major complaints about the 2019 Toyota RAV4 engine problems. 

Our team conducted an in-depth review of the top reported complaints about this vehicle’s engine to larger forums like repairpal.com, carcomplaints.com, NHTSA.gov, Edmunds.com, and others. 

Let’s take a closer look at some of our most important findings:

  • Loud acceleration

One of the first obvious problems that popped out immediately after the release of the 2019 Toyota RAV4 had to do with some loud acceleration noise with at least six reported complaints to carcomplaints.com so far. The complaints were mostly coming from relatively newer vehicles with no more than 1,000 miles. 

Since this problem didn’t cause any risks to the drivers or the passengers, Toyota did not release any recall to address the problem. Customers decided to move on and keep their vehicle even with the annoying loud noise when accelerating. 

How to fix this 2019 Toyota RAV4 engine problem?

None of the reported complaints indicated any potential repair options to take care of the loud acceleration noise. As we discussed earlier, the problem isn’t associated with risks to the driver and the passengers. Thus, it wasn’t attracting any researchers or specialists to address resolving it.

Customer complaints #1

Since new, my wife's 2019 Toyota Rav-4 XLE is very noisy on acceleration and the engine itself is very loud overall. Other than that, we love the SUV, however, this is annoying enough that we would not buy/lease another one. Very surprising given that it has the exact same engine as the Camry, and it is virtually silent. I have not contacted Toyota about this yet, but plan to this week. My wife previously had a 2017 RAV, and it was very quite. Other than that, the 2019 is a home run.”

  • Excessive oil consumption

Another issue with the 2019 Toyota RAV4 has to do with excessive oil consumption as customers needed to top off their vehicle’s oil more often than usual.

Since it’s crucial to keep your vehicle at optimum oil level to prevent engine overheating, customers reported their concern about the potential consequences of leaving such a problem unchecked without realizing that the vehicle consumes more oil than normal.

How to fix this 2019 Toyota RAV4 engine problem?

To resolve the 2019 Toyota RAV4 engine problem associated with excessive oil consumption, customers indicated that the dealership technicians changed the oil to 4. Quarts and the problem no longer exist. 

Customer complaints #1

Bought car late March 2019 (new). Noticed oil was above the line on the dipstick about a month after purchase. The oil continued to creep up the stick in the following weeks. Set appointment with dealer for 7/5/19; they did a complete oil change and set the oil to the mark on the dipstick (2748 miles). Two weeks later oil is again creeping up the dipstick. I will continue to monitor the problem and go back to dealer when the oil rises 1/2 inch above are mark. Dealership is excellent and I do not foresee problems to resolve this issue. However, this type of problem can lead to damage if left unchecked. If it is a problem that is just beginning to show up it should be mentioned now so people are aware and watchful.”

  • The strong burning plastic smell

Strong plastic burning smell was reported by at least one owner of a RAV4 LE with only 30 miles. While the customer was fully aware that newer vehicles might smell like burning oil or a hot engine, he didn’t expect to deal with a plastic burning smell.

Since only one reported complaint about this model year, we can’t draw conclusions and say that plastic burning smell is a “common” problem with the 2019 Toyota RAV4 engine; however, this might change as we receive more data.

How to fix this 2019 Toyota RAV4 engine problem?

With only one reported complaint about this burning smell, no information was available to address it, which indicates that the problem might be just a one case issue related to something unique about this vehicle only.

Customer complaints #1

On the drive home from the dealership, I noticed a nasty unpleasant smell in the cabin in addition to the normal new engine “burn off” odors. New engines will typically smell “hot” or like hot or burning oil for the first 50 miles or so until oil films, etc. burn off. This vehicle also had a burning plastic smell that intruded into the passenger compartment and was really strong and noxious upon opening the hood when I arrived at home. The smell seemed to be coming from the front driver's side of the engine compartment. It subsided on subsequent trips but reappeared fairly strong half a dozen or so times in the first 200 or so miles of driving it. The dealer could not find anything wrong. I think it has pretty much gone away, although it seems to appear faintly at times, noticeable if opening the hood right after shutting the vehicle off.”

Other 2019 Toyota RAV4 Problems

After taking a closer look at the reported 2019 Toyota RAV4 engine problems, one might think that these are the only issues when driving this vehicle; however, it is not the case.

Several other complaints were reported indicating additional problems with this car, including:

  • Transmission problems

Transmission problems were the most reported, so far, about this vehicle, and they even overweigh the reported engine problems, unfortunately.

Some of the top issues were hesitation and lunching issues at lower speeds, shifting rough, and slipping. Most of these problems occurred at relatively newer vehicles with less than 2,700 miles only, which raises concerns about what is expected to happen when reaching the 100,000?!

While many 2019 Toyota RAV4 transmission problems were resolved by performing some software updates, dealerships indicated that other problems were just normal with the 2019 RAV4 transmission.

  • Exterior and accessories problems

Although exterior problems are not expected to cause complicated safety issues, one should keep them on his radar to prevent complications. 

For example, some customers indicated that the 2019 Toyota RAV4 mirror is distorted, affecting the driver’s visibility and probably increasing the chances of crashes or hitting other people or objects nearby.

Distortion wasn’t the only problem associated with this vehicle; some customers indicated dealing with some vibration or rattling from the side mirrors, especially when driving at higher speeds. 

  • Interior and accessories problems

exterior problems were not the only problem associated with the Toyota RAV4 accessories; there were some additional issues with the interior accessories. Customers complained about problems with the multi-information display not working properly. Others had to deal with dash trim resulting in some glare when driving, affecting the driver's overall visibility.

Other reported complaints, at least by one customer, indicated that there might be some noise coming from this sun visor, causing the overall driving experience to be very annoying.

Lastly, at least one additional customer indicated that the speedometer does not display the right information, which can be very misleading and result in awkward situations if ignored. 

Are There Any Recalls on the 2019 Toyota RAV4?

Despite the number of reported complaints about the 2019 Toyota RAV4, it seems like their problems weren’t warranted any engine-related recall.

However, at least seven recalls are addressing other issues in the 2019 Toyota RAV4, which might directly impact the overall engine performance, including:

  • 2019 Toyota RAV4 steering recall

On June 24th, 2020, Toyota decided to recall several vehicles due to a problem with the steering system. The automaker indicated that Hybrid RAV4s might experience some loss of steering power due to water leaving inside the gearbox. As a result, affected vehicles might be at a much higher risk of crashes than others; therefore, all affected vehicles required replacing the power steering gearbox free of charge.

  • 2019 Toyota RAV4 fuel pump recall

On November 4th, 2020, Toyota also recalled several vehicles from the 2019 RAV4 and other lines and years regarding an issue with the fuel pump. The automaker indicated that these vehicles might experience low-pressure fuel pump failure. 

Interestingly, this failed fuel pump tends to be one of the main reasons for the 2019 Toyota RAV4 engine stalling while driving, increasing the risks of crashes. Thus, Toyota advised all affected vehicles to visit the nearest Toyota dealership to get the fuel pump assembly replaced, free of charge.

  • 2019 Toyota RAV4 suspension recalls

The last recall we would like to focus on here has to do with the suspension system and was issued on May 20th, 2020. 

Toyota mentioned that some vehicles might experience issues with the front lower arm due to some cracks, leading to separation between the front wheel assembly and the suspension arm itself. 

Affected vehicles needed to visit the nearest Toyota dealership to get the broken or cracked suspension arms replaced, free of charge. 

In addition to the mentioned significant recalls associated with major components, there were other recalls related to the labels and then back over prevention sensing camera. 

Should You Repair 2019 Toyota RAV4 Engine Problems?

When investing in a modern vehicle like the 2019 Toyota RAV4, you don’t need to have some engine problems ruining your excitement about this vehicle. It provides you with an amazing experience the first day you drive it.

However, if you felt that engine problems are piling up and you cant keep up with repairs and repair shop visits, you might need to evaluate your situation and determine whether it’s the right time now to sell your vehicle to Cash Cars Buyer.

Our company’s focus is on purchasing vehicles with major issues despite their type or condition. You will always find someone to assist you and walk you through our process without wasting any time or effort.

One of the best features about Cash Cars Buyer is that we are willing to remove your 2019 Toyota RAV4 within one to three days only! We also have a same-day pickup option! We can provide you with one of the fastest, easiest, and simplest car removal service in the nation.

Cash Cars Buyer has the best reputation and the greatest customer service to help you during the entire process. You don't have to go through the process immediately, and you can always reach out to our customer service to gain more information and ask as many questions as you need before making a final decision.  

To learn more about our process and our team, you can reach out to us by giving us a call at 866-924-4608 or visit our home page click on the free instant online offer

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