- A 2019 Toyota RAV4 blew its engine while on the road.
- Dealership says it found over a gallon of water inside.
- The insurer disputes that water caused the failure.
The Toyota RAV4 is by far the best-selling non-pickup vehicle in the United States, with nearly 480,000 finding homes last year. Much of that success rests on its reputation for reliability. For one Arizona owner, though, that reputation has not quite matched reality.
Jake Weir, an Arizona local, owns a 2019 RAV4 he bought as a certified pre-owned vehicle from Toyota. It had 60,000 miles on it and came with a warranty, which should have meant dependable, low-drama daily transport. Instead, late last year, the engine suffered a catastrophic failure, and Toyota has refused to cover the damage under that same warranty.
Read: RAV4 Owner Stung By $6,600 Repair For What Dealers Call An Airbox
“I accelerated a little bit. I heard a loud boom. Looked in my rearview mirror. Smoke everywhere,” Weir told AZ Family.
He brought the RAV4 to a local Toyota dealership, which charged more than $1,000 to remove and strip down the engine. According to the dealer, they found more than a gallon of water inside. Their conclusion was hydrolock, followed by total engine failure, and on that basis, they denied his warranty claim.
“I would have had to have taken on water almost immediately for that to happen,” Weir said. “The day that I left, it was 100 degrees outside, middle of September, not a cloud in the sky. They’re claiming to me that they found over a gallon of water in the car, which I don’t know how that’s possible.”
Insurer Sees It Differently
As if things couldn’t get worse, Weir’s insurance company reached a different conclusion. After inspecting the RAV4, the insurer reported no evidence of water and described the incident as an “actual engine failure.” In its view, this should be covered under Toyota’s warranty, so it declined the claim as well.
“The cost really adds up,” Weir added. “I definitely just want some sort of a solution. Give me what I am owed and what the warranty was supposed to cover.”
A Toyota spokesperson told On Your Side that the company had previously been in touch with Weir and had no further comment regarding the report.
With neither the dealership nor the insurer willing to pay, Weir says his next move will be filing a lawsuit and submitting a consumer complaint to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.