2013 Toyota Rav4 Body & Structure Problems

Large pieces of paint peeled off your hood while driving and hit your windshield, blocking your visibility. This happened at 120,000 miles, and Toyota didn't offer any assistance when you reported it. The hood paint may need to be stripped and repainted, or the hood itself may need replacement if the damage is severe.

Your car's roof paint is peeling and flaking off in multiple areas, with chunks of paint falling onto the road while driving—creating a safety hazard. The bare metal underneath is beginning to rust and damage the roof's structural integrity. You've contacted Toyota twice about this issue, but they've told you to handle repairs yourself at a dealer, even though Toyota had previously addressed a known paint defect on this model in pearl white and offered a limited repair program that has now expired.

Your car's paint and clear coat are peeling and flaking off on multiple body panels without any impact or weather-related cause. The problem has gotten worse over time and is exposing bare metal underneath, which can lead to rust and corrosion. Toyota has acknowledged this is a known manufacturing defect affecting certain vehicles and offers a Customer Support Program to address it. Fixing this typically involves sanding, priming, and repainting the affected panels.

Your 2013 RAV4's paint is peeling off in large sections on the hood, roof, and doors, exposing bare metal underneath. This creates several concerns: sun glare on the hood can obstruct your view of the road, exposed metal will rust over time and could weaken structural components, paint flakes are flying off at highway speeds and could hit other vehicles, and the uneven surface makes your car harder for other drivers to see, especially at night. Addressing this will likely require a professional repaint of the affected areas after treating any rust that has formed.

Water leaks inside from the sunroof and out of corner of sun visor

Paint peeling on car. Paint could come off hood while driving and obstruct vision while driving.

PAINT PEELING OFF MY CAR. TOYOTA STATED OVER A YEAR AGO THAT THEY WOULD REPAI NT THE AFFECTED AREA BUT HAVE NOT DONE SO YET.

TOYOTA RAV4 WITH THE BLIZZARD WHITE PAINT HAVE A PAINT PEELING PROBLEM WHICH CAN QUICKLY BECOME A SAFETY ISSUE WHEN IT PEELS OFF THE ENGINE HOOD AND FLIES UP ON THE WINDSHIELD BLOCKING YOUR FIELD OF VISION ON I-84 AT 90FT/SEC.TOYOTA WILL ONLY PAINT PARTS OF THE CAR AS THEY PEEL FROM THE PRIMER BUT THEY SHOULD PAINT THE ENTIRE CAR SINCE THE PAINT AND PRIMER ARE THE SAME ON THE ENTIRE CAR.THEY DID SOME BOGUS TESTS AND TOLD ME THE REST OF CAR WAS OKAY.I PICKED THE CAR UP ON FEBRUARY 6 AND ONE WEEK LATER THE PASSENGER CAR DOOR STARTED TO PEEL.I HAVE ANOTHER APPOINTMENT ON MARCH 9 TO PAINT THE PASSENGER SIDE DOOR.THE WORK IS BEING DONE AT GREENTREE TOYOTA IN DANBURY,CT.TOYOTA IS PROCRASTINATING HOPING THESE PROBLEMS WILL DISAPPEAR.

ROOF PAINT PEELING OFF

THE PAINT ON THE HOOD IS BUBBLING AND PEELING OFF.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 TOYOTA RAV4. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FRONT PASSENGER DOOR COULD NOT BE UNLOCKED AND OPENED. THE OWNER WAS ONLY ABLE TO UNLOCK THE DOOR FROM THE FRONT DRIVER'S SIDE MASTER LOCK. THE CONTACT STATED THAT ALL THE DOORS HAD PREVIOUSLY EXPERIENCED THE FAILURE AND THE DOOR ACTUATORS WERE REPLACED. ANDREW TOYOTA (1620 W. SILVER SPRING DR., MILWAUKEE, WI) AND THE MANUFACTURER WERE NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE AND VIN WERE UNKNOWN.

CAR PAINTING IS DETACHING. A SMALL HOLE IS FORMED AND THEN BECOME BIGGER EVERY DAY.

WHILE OPENING THE TRUNK, WHICH IS ELECTRIC, THE RIGHT LIFT GATE PISTON BLEW AND SEPARATED FROM THE BALL MOUNT. AT THAT POINT THE TRUNK/HATCH WOULD NOT WORK ELECTRICALLY OR BY HAND. IN FACT THE MALFUNCTION OF THE PISTON WAS SO INTENSE IT CAUSED SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO THE BODY OF MY CAR, BUCKLING THE BACK ROOF, SHIFTING THE DOOR AND BUCKLING THE HINGES. THE GRAND TOTAL OF DAMAGE IS WELL OVER $5000. TOYOTA WAS WELL AWARE OF THIS DEFECT. IN FACT I HAVE THEIR TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN FROM TOYOTA THAT DISCUSSES THE PROBLEM IN DETAIL (T-SB-0168-13 FOR WHICH I AM SENDING YOU A COPY). THE PISTON, KNOWN AS AN ACTUATOR HAS BEEN CHANGED AFTER A CERTAIN VIN # (SEE PAGE #2 OF ATTACHED BULLETIN). BECAUSE OF THE DEFECT I NOW HAVE TO REPLACE THE UNAFFECTED PISTON ALSO. EACH PISTON COSTS $686.16 FOR THE PART ALONE. IF THE CAR IS UNDER WARRANTY THEY COVER REPAIR, AS I HAVE OWNED MY CAR FOR ALMOST 4 YEARS, IT IS NOT COVERED. TOYOTA NOT ONLY KNEW ABOUT THE DEFECT, THEY CHOSE NOT TO NOTIFY THE CAR OWNERS'. IF THE PISTONS HAD BEEN REPLACED, ALL OF THE OTHER DAMAGE WOULD NOT HAVE OCCURRED. SEVERAL MECHANICS I SPOKE WITH COULD NOT BELIEVE THIS WAS NOT A RECALL. IF AN ANIMAL HAD BEEN IN THE BACK OR WORSE YET, IF IT OCCURRED AS IT WAS OPEN, IT COULD POTENTIALLY CAUSE SIGNIFICANT INJURY OR WORSE. APPARENTLY TOYOTA DOES NOT HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO REPAIR THIS AS IT IS NO LONGER UNDER WARRANTY. IF DEEMED A RECALL THEY WOULD NEED TO ADDRESS THIS AT NO COST TO THE CONSUMER. WE CONTACTED TOYOTA; THEY HAVE OFFERED US $2500 AS 'GOODWILL', WHICH IS LESS THAN 50%. AT THIS POINT I AM HAVING THEM DO THE ACTUAL MECHANICAL WORK, AND WILL ALSO HAVE TO PAY OVER $1100 OUT OF POCKET TO COVER THE FULL COST OF THE MECHANICAL REPAIR. THIS STILL WILL NOT ADDRESS THE BODY WORK. THEREFORE THIS WILL DEVALUE MY CAR, AND ALSO RUNS THE RISK OF RUSTING AS THE PAINT IS DAMAGED.

DOOR LOCK ACTUATORS FAILED IN EVERY DOOR. THE PASSENGER AND DRIVER ACTUATORS FAILED COMPLETELY AND THE TWO BACK DOORS WILL WORK SOMETIMES AND WON'T OTHERS.

2/20/2017 2013 TOYOTA RAV4 LIMITED PEAR WHITE. ONE WEEK AGE ON A SATURDAY I WAS WETTING MY SUV WITH A GARDEN HOSE WHILE IT WAS PARKED AND THE ENGINE OFF BEFORE WASHING AND WHEN I GOT TO THE PASSENGER DOOR ON DRIVERS SIDE PAINT STARTED FLAKING OFF. I STOPPED SPRAYING AT THAT TIME AND I WAS LEFT WITH A 3 INCH DIAMETER AREA THAT HAS NO PAINT LEFT, BUT A GRAY BASE. I DID REPORT THIS TO LAKE CHARLES TOYOTA IN LOUISIANA AND WAS TOLD SINCE THE FACTORY WARRANTY HAS ENDED AND I HAVE 60,000 MILES, THAT TOYOTA WOULD NOT COVER, TO HAVE IT REPAIRED. I QUESTIONED THEM ABOUT MY 'BUMPER TO BUMPER' EXTENDED WARRANTY AND IT WAS LEFT UP TO THE MANAGER OF THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT AND HE SAID THE EXTENDED WARRANTY WOULD NOT COVER IT. THIS IS THE WORST TREATMENT I HAVE EVER RECEIVED FROM THEM. THE SERVICE STARTING GOING DOWNHILL ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO AT LC TOYOTA. I HAVE REFERRED SEVERAL PEOPLE THERE FOR PURCHASE OF THEIR NEW VEHICLE. BUT WILL ONLY GIVE NEGATIVE REVIEWS ON THEM NOW. MELINDA D. IN LOUISIANA

"BLIZZARD PEARL BISQUE" PAINT PEELING BETWEEN THE WINDSHIELD AND THE SUNROOF. PAINT IS COMING OFF IN LARGE PIECES THE SIZE OF SILVER DOLLARS. PAINT "BLISTERS" FIRST THEN JUST FALLS OFF THE ROOF OF THE CAR. THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN THERE FOR THE BETTER PART OF THE YEAR AND SEEMS TO HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE CAR BEING STATIONARY, IN MOTION - OR THE ENVIRONMENT. IT HAS BEEN PARKED IN THE SAME PLACES THAT MY PRIOR TOYOTAS HAVE BEEN PARKED, AND THIS PROBLEM HAS NEVER OCCURRED BEFORE. MY WIFE AND I HAVE SEEN THIS PROBLEM, WITH THIS COLOR PAINT ON OTHER RAV4S, PRIUS, AND LEXUS MODELS.

I PURCHASED THE 2013 RAV4 LIMITED WITH NAVIGATION AND A BLIND SPOT MONITOR, HOWEVER I DO NOT BELIEVE THE MONITOR WORKS CORRECTLY, IT DOES NOT GIVE ANY INDICATION THAT SOMETHING (ANOTHER VEHICLE) IS APPROACHING UNTIL THE VEHICLE IS AT THE SIDE DOOR OF MY VEHICLE, WAY TOO LATE TO MAKE AN ADJUSTMENT TO YOUR CHANGING LANES. I HAVE HAD IT BACK TO MY TOYOTA DEALERS TWO TIMES, ON THE FIRST VISIT THE CAR WAS IN FOR A 6 MONTH CHECK UP AND I SAID SOMETHING ABOUT IT AT THE TIME, BUT NOTHING SHOWS ON MY VISIT THAT IT WAS CHECKED SO I ASSUMED THAT IT WAS CORRECTED. AFTER THAT VISIT I REALIZED THAT THE BLIND SPOT MONITOR WAS STILL NOT WORKING, SO ON MY ONE YEAR INSPECTION AND CHECK UP I SPECIFICALLY ASKED FOR THE BLIND SPOT MONITOR TO BE CHECKED AGAIN. THIS TIME WHEN I GOT MY BILL FOR THE PENNSYLVANIA EMISSIONS TEST I NOTED THE BLIND SPORT MONITOR WAS NOT PART OF MY REPAIR BILL, SO I QUESTIONED THE SERVICE REP, WHO EXPLAINED THERE WAS NO ADJUSTMENT FOR THIS PART. I WENT TO THE SALES MANAGER ABOUT IT AND SHE SAID SHE WOULD HAVE TOYOTA CONTACT ME. WHEN I WAS NOT CONTACTED BY TOYOTA I SENT A EMAIL TO TOYOTA OWNERS WEB SITE AND MADE A COMPLIANT, THEY RESPONDED THAT I SHOULD TAKE IT BACK TO THE TOYOTA DEALER AND TELL THEM I NEED AN ADJUSTMENT ON THE BLIND SPOT MONITOR, WHICH I DID, WHEN I RETURNED TO PICK UP MY RAV4 I WAS TOLD THEY COULD NOT FIND ANY PROBLEM AND THERE WAS NOTHING COULD BE DONE. MY COMPLIANT IS IF IT IS NOT ADJUSTABLE THEN IT IS A SAFETY ISSUE THAT SHOULD BE LOOKED INTO. THANK YOU *TR

THE CENTER CONSOLE TOP ARM RESTING PAD BETWEEN THE DRIVER AND THE PASSENGER DOES NOT LOCKED IN POSITION SO IT MOVES BACK AND FORTH DEPENDING ON HOW YOU ARE LEANING ON IT, IF YOU HAVE YOUR ARM ON IT AND YOU MOVE YOUR BODY IT SLIDES BACK AND FORTH. IF YOU ONLY HAVE ONE HAND ON THE STEERING WHEEL WITH YOUR ARM ON THE CONSOLE PAD, IF THE TOP PAD MOVES BACK IT WILL MAKE YOU GO RIGHT INTO THE DITCH OR IF IT MOVES FORWARD YOU GO LEFT INTO ON COMING TRAFFIC. *TR

THERE IS HUGE SUN REFLECTION ON NAVIGATION SYSTEM & YOU HAVE VERY POOR VISION ON NAVIGATION. TIME TO TIME YOU HAVE TO CHANGE YOUR HEAD POSITION TO FIND RIGHT ANGLE TO READ NAVIGATION DISPLAY. THIS WILL DANGER THE LIFE OF DRIVER TREMENDOUSLY. *TR

TELL ME WHO TO TALK TO ABOUT HOW YOU DECIDE SAFETY FEATURES FOR THE NEWLY IMPROVED ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS IN CARS. OR FORWARD THIS TO THEM. FIRST OF "OBJECTS IN MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR". HAVE YOU DRIVEN ON THE HIGHWAY LATELY? DID YOU NOT NOTICE HOW EACH AND EVERY CAR GETS IN FRONT OF A SEMI W ONLY 3' DISTANCE? THAT MIRROR THING NEEDS TO BE REVIEWED BECAUSE NO ONE IS PAYING ATTENTION. I DON'T SEE ANY CARS IN MY BLIND SPOT. THEN THERE IS THAT NEW THING ABOUT PUTTING THE DIALING PAD ON MY NEW PANEL? WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THAT AND MY DIALING ON MY PHONE. ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN. NOW, SOME CARS HAVE AUTO ANSWER WITH A BUTTON, OTHERS DON'T. MINE HAS THE ANSWER WHICH SHOULD BE PAINTED GREEN BUT IT'S NOT, BUT IT DOES NOT HAVE THE "CALL BUTTON" VOICE ACTIVATED. ONLY UPGRADED VEHICLES DO. SO, I'M ON THE HIGHWAY AND FORGET WHAT EXIT OR WHAT CITY I'M SUPPOSED TO GET OFF ON. IT'S RUSH HOUR AND THE TRAFFIC IS MOVING SLOWLY. I HAVE TO PULL OFF TO THE CURB AND CALL?. THEN I HAVE TO MERGE ONTO THAT CRAZY TRAFFIC. REALLY? WHO ACTUALLY DOES IT. AND YOU ASK WHY THERE ARE SO MANY ACCIDENTS? THIS SHOULD BE A MANDATORY FEATURE ON ALL CARS FROM NOW ON FOR AN ACTUAL HANDS OFF EXPERIENCE. BLUETOOTH IS THE BEST NEW INVENTION FOR DRIVING, BUT WE NEED TO UTILIZE IT TO IT'S BEST. NEXT: MY CAR HAS A METALLIC DECORATING RIM ON THE DASHBOARD. I WAS ALMOST BLINDED BY THE SUN THE OTHER DAY. I HAD THAT AND THE WINDOW OF THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME SHINING ON MY FACE. I COULD BARELY FIND A SAFE SPOT FOR ME TO SEE. PLEASE LOOK INTO THIS AND MAKE CERTAIN THINGS MANDATORY STANDARD FEATURES (NO METAL RIMS ON DASHBOARD.). YOU WANT SAFETY? LEND ME EACH NEW CAR AND I BET YOU I WILL FIND STUFF WRONG WITH IT WITHIN THE MONTH. THANKS FOR LETTING ME VENT. *TR

THE CENTER CONSOLE SLIDES BACK AND FORTH. WHILE DRIVING, IF YOU HAVE YOUR ARM ON IT, IT WILL SLIDE. THE LOCKING MECHANISM DOES NOT LOCK IN PLACE. I THINK THIS IS A SAFETY HAZARD AND SHOULD BE CORRECTED. IT IS VERY NOTICEABLE WHEN A PASSENGER IS USING THE CENTER CONSOLE AS AN ARM REST AS WELL, IF YOU ARE REVERSING, AND/OR YOU ARE ADJUSTING WHILE OPERATING THE VEHICLE IN ANY WAY WITH YOUR ARM ON THE CENTER CONSOLE. *TR

THE INSTALLED NAVIGATION SCREEN IS IMPOSSIBLE TO SEE IN THE DRIVER'S NORMAL DRIVING POSITION AND IN ALMOST ANY DAYTIME LIGHTING CONDITION. GLARE FROM THE SCREEN AND DASHBOARD BORDERS ON UNSAFE. THERE IS NO WAY TO SAFELY USE THAT ITEM AND THE 12 OR SO FUNCTIONS LOCATED THERE WITHOUT SIGNIFICANT DISTRACTION. BECAUSE OF THE POTENTIAL DISTRACTION THIS WILL CAUSE ACCIDENTS AND SOME WILL BE FATAL. *TR

THE CENTER CONSOLE SLIDES BACK AND FORTH. WHILE DRIVING, IF YOU HAVE YOUR ARM ON IT, IT WILL SLIDE. THE LOCKING MECHANISM DOES NOT LOCK IN PLACE. I THINK THIS IS A SAFETY HAZARD AND SHOULD BE CORRECTED. *TR