I bought a 2014 Rav 4 in July of 2019 with just over 100k on it. I had zero issues with it. In June of 2020 I took it in for an inspection, tire rotation, alignment and I had a hinge on the back lift gate that was bent. I had put roughly 12000 miles on it since purchase. Had to have hinges replaced on lift gate so I made an appointment and the parts were ordered. Dropped it off and had hinges replaced 400+ dollars. A couple days later I'm unloading and notice the hinges look different. Sure enough only one hinge had been changed and the paint color was different. Long story short it took almost a month to talk to a manager as I continued to get the run around from the service advisors. So manager says he'll fix the problem, order new hinges, send them to be primed and painted properly and have them installed.
I get a call 2 weeks later that hinges are in and set up an appointment to install them. While on the phone I tell them I had noticed it started shake when I was driving at certain speeds. I like to be informed so I researched the issue when I noticed it. I told them I thought there may be an issue with the torque converter. They tell me they can diagnosis it when I drop it off. Again to make a long story short (I'm still dealing with and am not having a great experience with the dealership) My Rav has torque converter shudder and is covered they will order the parts. Repair is done and after many months I finally have my vehicle back.
2 days later I notice fluid on the ground. Call and bring it back, they replaced 2 seals on the water pump. I get it back and the next day it's leaking even more. Bring it back and they check it again. Water pump is shot. Have that replaced. Less then 3 months later I notice it leaking again, this time it's transmission fluid. I climb under to get a better look, there is a puddle in the plastic cover and the bell housing is covered in fluid. I had put less than 3000 miles on since the repair. I have to play tag for quite some while before it's looked at. Of course I didn't drive it in the mean time. Drop it off for diagnosis. Get a call $1600 to replace torque converter seal. I'm like woah what? Well the seal isn't covered by the warranty is what I'm told. I stop in to pick up my Rav and am given the RO. I'm reading the diagnosis and it talks about a possible worn pump throwing the converter of center and possibly needing an entire trans assembly due to metal chunks in the transmission from old torque converter. The mechanic is gone and nobody can tell me what this is supposed to mean.
More tag played till I could talk to the service manager. He pulls up record and I tell him how unhappy I am. My service records are inaccurate mileage is not recorded correctly, why do I need to pay $1600 for a seal? I get it may not have been covered by warranty, but the mechanic is still supposed to inspect the components and I should have been given the option to have it replaced during the repair for cost of the part and the extra labor to do it. Not to mention any competent mechanic knows that this seal can easily be damaged when removing or installing the torque converter. He agrees with me, but says that Toyota should be covering the cost due to the metal from the bad converter ruining the transmission. He opens a case with Toyota. And here I sit almost 3 months later with no information, no communication from the dealership, and no vehicle.
It has been almost a year since I first brought it in for hinges and it has spent the better part of the last year at the dealership. Only 6000 miles put on it in a year.
