10,000 Mile Update... Things I Don't Like

I love my Rav4 XSE and have put 10,000 miles on it. Even though it’s a great car, I wanted to share some things that bother me:

  • The feature where you wave your foot under the car to open the trunk doesn’t work well for me. I often end up looking silly and just juggle my groceries to press the button.

  • Locking the car by touching the door handle doesn’t always work smoothly. Unlocking works fine, but locking can be annoying.

  • The rearview mirror is so stiff that it’s hard to adjust. I have to fix it every time after my wife drives.

  • The memory seat function doesn’t work at all. I followed the instructions and watched a YouTube video, but it seems broken.

  • My phone rarely auto-connects. I have a Google Pixel, and my wife has an iPhone. I even bought a new phone, but it didn’t help.

The issues with the phone not connecting to Bluetooth and the door not locking by touch are the most frustrating for me.

To fix the seat, turn on the car and move the seat in all directions until it reaches the limits. Then you should be able to set it while the car is in park.

For the liftgate, it works best if you do a quick kick inward right at the center.

@Ronald
Great, I’ll try that out and update my post. Thanks!

Dane said:
@Ronald
Great, I’ll try that out and update my post. Thanks!

If you can’t save any seat positions, it might be because your dealership didn’t set up that feature. They might have skipped other steps during the Pre-Delivery Inspection. Here are some things often missed during the PDI:

  • Do you have dynamic yellow lines that show up when you turn the steering wheel while reversing? (You can activate this yourself too)
  • Do you have black caps or frame plugs in the glovebox?
  • Were your tires set at the correct pressure? (Tires are overinflated during shipment from the factory. You have 10k miles now, so any issues were probably fixed, but mentioning for others.)

@Cole
How do you activate the dynamic reverse lines yourself?

Roux said:
@Cole
How do you activate the dynamic reverse lines yourself?

These instructions worked for me when we got our 2022 RAV4 after the dealership forgot to activate it: https://youtu.be/wWULYYVftqY

@Ronald
Going to try that myself. I have a 2024 Limited, and it just won’t save the memory setting.

About the hatch kick sensor, here’s why it might not work as expected:

  1. There’s about a 1.5-second delay before it opens or closes. This is for safety, to give you time to move out of the way.
  2. It’s a ‘kick’ motion, not a ‘wave’. This helps prevent accidental activation.
  3. Don’t keep your foot under the car; do a quick in-and-out kick, then wait for it to respond.
  4. Do a single kick. Multiple kicks might confuse the system, and it won’t do anything.

@Vinnie
Learning that it’s a kick and not a wave made all the difference for me.

@Vinnie
I’m looking to buy a Rav4 XLE Premium, and this is really helpful. Does anyone know if the XLE Premium has the kick feature for the rear door?

How does the lock not work well? Are you just tapping it quickly? I lay my whole finger across the lines and hold it for a moment, and it works.

Arlo said:
How does the lock not work well? Are you just tapping it quickly? I lay my whole finger across the lines and hold it for a moment, and it works.

I didn’t realize this was a feature! I’ve only had my RAV for three weeks.

@Flynn
I’ve had mine for two weeks and was just thinking the same thing. Haha.

Raleigh said:
@Flynn
I’ve had mine for two weeks and was just thinking the same thing. Haha.

I’ve had mine for a year and just found out!

Axel said:

Raleigh said:
@Flynn
I’ve had mine for two weeks and was just thinking the same thing. Haha.

I’ve had mine for a year and just found out!

:joy::joy::joy:

@Flynn
I’ve had mine since June '23 and just learned about it this weekend while washing the car with the fob in my pocket :joy:

Arlo said:
How does the lock not work well? Are you just tapping it quickly? I lay my whole finger across the lines and hold it for a moment, and it works.

I found out today that you’re supposed to hold the handle for one or two seconds to lock. Not just tap and run.

Arlo said:
How does the lock not work well? Are you just tapping it quickly? I lay my whole finger across the lines and hold it for a moment, and it works.

Are you supposed to hold your hand there? I thought it was basically tap and walk away.

@Ophelia
Same here. I just tap it and it locks.

@Ophelia
I just tap. There’s a one or two-second delay.