2019 RAV4 hesitation and lurching: is the 2019 a bad year, and did Toyota fix it?

Quick picks

When exactly the 2019 RAV4 lurch happens

So here's what owners describe. You slow down for a stop sign, a turn or a car ahead, but you don't come all the way to a stop. Then you press the gas lightly to go again.

And nothing happens for a moment. Then the RAV4 jumps forward. One owner compared the jump to "popping the clutch" on a stick shift. Basically, that's when you let the clutch out too fast and the car jerks forward.

Now Toyota describes the exact same situation in a dealer bulletin called T-SB-0107-19. Basically, a dealer bulletin, or TSB (technical service bulletin), is Toyota's instructions to its dealers for fixing a known problem. Toyota's bulletin says the hesitation happens when all three of these happen together:

• You're going 6 mph or slower. So it's a slow roll, not a full stop.
• The transmission has just shifted down from 3rd gear to 1st gear. That downshift happens on its own as you slow down.
• You press the gas less than 40% of the way. So it's a gentle press, the kind you'd use to pull out of a rolling stop.

Some 2019 owners also describe a hard shift into 1st gear right as the RAV4 comes to a full stop. And owners said the lurch was worse in Normal drive mode than in Eco mode, and worse going uphill or over speed bumps. Basically, Normal and Eco are two of the RAV4's drive modes.

Something to note is that dealers often couldn't make the lurch happen on a short test drive. One owner said the dealer "drove it 4 miles and the service bulletin does not apply." So if your gas 2019 RAV4 lurches like this, tell the dealer exactly when the lurch happens. Toyota's three conditions above are the best way to describe the lurch.

Which RAV4s have the 2019 hesitation

So Toyota's bulletin only covers the 2019 gas RAV4. The bulletin's parts list names the gas LE, XLE, Limited and Adventure trims, with front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. There are no Hybrid trims on that list and no RAV4 Prime.

Basically, an eCVT (electronically controlled continuously variable transmission) is the hybrid's transmission. The eCVT doesn't shift between fixed gears like the gas RAV4's 8-speed, so the 3rd to 1st downshift in Toyota's bulletin never happens on a hybrid. I explain the RAV4 Hybrid and RAV4 Prime in more detail in the hybrid section further down.

Is the 2019 RAV4 a bad year?

So the 2019 is the year with by far the most hesitation complaints. The table below counts complaints to the NHTSA, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which is the U.S. government's car safety agency. The right-hand column only includes complaints that describe a hesitation, lurch or jerk at low speed, like at a rolling stop.

Keep in mind that the NHTSA files gas RAV4s and RAV4 Hybrids together under "RAV4," and my count is a keyword search. So treat these numbers as rough. And the complaint site CarComplaints still lists "Hesitates And Lurches At Slower Speeds" as the number one 2019 RAV4 problem.

Now is the hesitation a real defect, or just how the 8-speed shifts? Basically, the answer is a bit of both. The 2019 slow-roll lurch is one narrow situation that Toyota recognized in its bulletin and fixed with a software update.

But the 8-speed in every 2019 to 2025 gas RAV4 also shifts a bit oddly in general. Ahmed, a Toyota-trained mechanic who runs The Car Care Nut channel on YouTube, says the 8-speed "shifts horrible" by design but has very few real failures on the RAV4. Ahmed calls that busy shifting "normal and annoying," not a problem.

And in their 2022 RAV4 review, Ahmed called the 2019 "the worst one to buy because they have all the common problems." The lurch is only one of those problems. My RAV4 years to avoid guide covers the other 2019 problems.

So ultimately, a gas 2019 RAV4 with the software update done is a different story from a gas 2019 RAV4 without the update. And the rest of this page covers Toyota's fix and how to check a used 2019 for the update.

Toyota's fix for the 2019 RAV4 hesitation, and how long it's free

So Toyota's fix is a software update for the engine computer, which Toyota calls the ECM (engine control module). Toyota says the engine computer's logic was "modified to reduce the potential for hesitation." Basically, the dealer reloads the engine computer's software, which is called a reflash. Toyota's bulletin says the engine computer itself should not be replaced.

And after the reflash, the bulletin has the technician drive the RAV4 in a set pattern. The pattern is 15 quick stops from about 20 mph, then 15 slow stops from about 20 mph. Then the technician should tell you that the shifting "should adapt to the customer's driving habits as the vehicle is driven."

• When Toyota released the fix: Toyota released the update on August 15, 2019. Toyota revised the bulletin on December 17, 2019, but the revision only updated the parts list and the dealer software version.
• How long the dealer work takes: Toyota allows 1.4 hours of labor, under the code EG1910, "Engine ECU Reprogramming."
• Who pays: Toyota covers the update under the federal emissions warranty. Basically, that's a warranty required by federal law, and Toyota's bulletin puts the T-SB-0107-19 update under the emissions warranty. The emissions warranty runs 8 years or 80,000 miles from the day the RAV4 was first sold, whichever comes first.
• The catch: Toyota's bulletin says the emissions warranty only covers the update when the RAV4 actually has the hesitation. So the dealer has to confirm the lurch happens before doing the update for free.

And it's worth noting that Toyota never made the 2019 hesitation update a recall. A recall shows up when you look up the car's VIN, which is the vehicle identification number. But T-SB-0107-19 is a bulletin, so the update is only free while the emissions warranty lasts. And the update won't show up on a recall lookup.

Now Toyota's bulletins are public. You can open T-SB-0107-19 on the NHTSA's website, print it and bring it to the dealer. That way the service advisor knows exactly which fix you're asking for.

And if a gas 2019 RAV4 still lurches after the update, The Car Care Nut says a Toyota dealer can reset the transmission's learned shifting with a scan tool. They say unplugging the battery doesn't reset the transmission's learned shifting. So I'd ask the dealer to check the engine computer's software number and reset the transmission's learned shifting. Then give the RAV4 a week or two of normal driving to relearn.

Did Toyota's update fix the lurch? What owners say

So on the RAV4World forum, nine gas 2019 RAV4 owners posted how the update went.

And 2 more owners said their dealer wouldn't do the update at all. One dealer said the bulletin didn't apply to that owner's VIN. Another dealer said the RAV4 already had the latest software, and Toyota's customer care backed the dealer. Other owners were told to make a separate appointment, or that they'd pay for diagnosis if the RAV4 didn't act up. So that's why it helps to bring the printed bulletin and describe Toyota's three conditions to the service advisor.

Now for the 2020 gas RAV4, about 10 owners on the same forum said they never felt the lurch. About 4 owners said they felt something like the 2019 lurch. And no Toyota bulletin covers a lurch on the 2020 gas RAV4.

Something to note is that some 2020 to 2023 gas RAV4 owners describe a different feeling. Four owners on the forum described a short pulsing or bucking at about 15 to 25 mph on a very light press of the gas. The pulsing smooths out with a little more gas. One owner who had the 2019 lurch said the 2019 lurch and the low-speed pulsing "are two different issues." And a 2024 NHTSA complaint describes the same pulsing on 2023 and 2024 gas RAV4s. Toyota has no bulletin for the pulsing.

So ultimately, most owners who got the update said the lurch went away, and none of the nine said the lurch got worse. But a few said the shifting still felt a little different afterward. Basically, Toyota's update isn't perfect, but the update is still worth getting on a gas 2019 that lurches.

How to check a used 2019 RAV4 has the update

So this is the part that matters most if you're shopping for a used gas 2019 RAV4. A listing that says "all maintenance done" can't tell you whether the update was done. These are the checks I'd go through, in order.

1. Ask for the paperwork. Look for a Toyota repair order, which is the receipt a dealer's service department prints after each visit. The repair order should name T-SB-0107-19, "Engine ECU Reprogramming" or the code EG1910. If the seller doesn't have the repair order, ask which Toyota dealer serviced the RAV4. A Toyota dealer can look up a car's Toyota service history by its VIN.
2. Look under the hood for Toyota's label. Lift the hood and check the underside of the hood. Toyota's bulletin tells the dealer to stick a white label there that says "Authorized Modifications," with T-SB-0107-19 written on it. One owner says the label goes near the driver-side hood hinge. If the label is there, the update was done. But if the label is missing, the update may still have been done, because several owners say their dealer skipped the label.
3. Have a Toyota dealer read the software number. Basically, the calibration ID is the version number of the engine computer's software. A Toyota dealer can read the calibration ID in a few minutes with Toyota's scan tool, Techstream. Then the dealer compares the calibration ID to the new numbers in the table below this list.
4. Check the build date. The build month is on the sticker in the driver's door opening. Owners say RAV4s built from about August or September 2019 on already came with the new software. But Toyota never published a date, so treat the August or September 2019 cutoff as owner reports, not a fact from Toyota.
5. Run the VIN for recalls. Put the VIN into the NHTSA recall lookup and Toyota's recall lookup. Two recalls on 2019 and 2020 RAV4s can feel like hesitation, and both are free. I go through how the lookup works in my RAV4 owner resources guide.

These are the two recalls to look for on a 2019 or 2020 RAV4:

• The fuel pump recall (NHTSA 20V-682, Toyota 20TA02) covers 2019 and 2020 gas RAV4s. The fuel pump can fail, and the recall notice says "the engine can stall while driving."
• The engine block recall (NHTSA 20V-064, Toyota 20TA04) covers certain 2019 and 2020 RAV4 and RAV4 Hybrid engines. Coolant can leak inside the engine, and on gas RAV4s the engine can overheat and stall.

Now here are the new calibration IDs from Toyota's revised bulletin. If the dealer reads a matching number, the 2019 RAV4 has the update.

And if you'd rather try reading the calibration ID yourself, the OBD Fusion app says the app shows "vehicle information such as the VIN and calibration IDs." OBD Fusion works with a plug-in adapter like the OBDLink MX+ ($139.95, checked October 15, 2026). Basically, the adapter plugs into the OBD port, which is the diagnostic plug under the dashboard. OBD Fusion's price is listed in the App Store and Google Play. But keep in mind that it isn't confirmed the app shows Toyota's number in the same format as the bulletin. So a Toyota dealer is the sure way to check.

So ultimately, if a seller has no paperwork, there's no hood label and you can't get the calibration ID read, it's fine to walk away. And a later gas RAV4 or a RAV4 Hybrid avoids the 2019 update question completely.

Test-drive checklist for the 2019 hesitation

So the checklist is different for a gas RAV4 and a hybrid, because they use different transmissions.

Gas RAV4 test drive (2019 to 2025, 8-speed automatic)

1. Warm the RAV4 up and turn the radio off. Drive for at least 20 minutes, and use Normal drive mode, not Eco. Owners say Eco mode can hide the lurch.
2. Do the 2019 slow-roll test. From about 20 mph, brake gently down to a crawl under 6 mph, but don't stop. Then press the gas lightly. Do the slow-roll test 5 to 10 times, including once going uphill. A pause and then a jump forward is the hesitation from Toyota's bulletin.
3. Do the full-stop test. Come to a complete stop, then pull away. A firm shift into 1st gear right as you stop was the other 2019 complaint. After the update, owners say it's normal for the RAV4 to pull away in 2nd gear if you didn't fully stop.
4. Do the light-gas test. Speed up very gently from 15 to 25 mph. A short pulsing that goes away with a little more gas is what some 2020 to 2023 owners describe. The pulsing is annoying, but it isn't a known failure.
5. Listen for a whine, which is the most important test. The Car Care Nut says to listen for a whine that rises as you speed up and stops as soon as you lift off the gas. They say to walk away from an 8-speed that whines.
6. Check the paperwork and the hood. Look for the Authorized Modifications label under the hood, ask for the repair order and run the VIN for recalls, as in the steps above.
7. If you're not sure the update was done, pay a Toyota dealer to read the calibration ID before you buy the RAV4.

RAV4 Hybrid test drive (2019 to 2025, eCVT)

1. Skip the 2019 slow-roll test. The gas 2019 hesitation doesn't apply to the RAV4 Hybrid. But still drive the hybrid in stop-and-go traffic and note anything that feels like a lurch.
2. Look for a check engine light on the dashboard. And ask whether two Toyota bulletins were done. T-SB-0047-22 covers 2019 to 2021 RAV4 Hybrids. T-SB-0092-23 covers a throttle problem in freezing weather on 2019 to 2022 RAV4 Hybrids. I explain both hybrid bulletins in the hybrid section.
3. On an all-wheel-drive hybrid, ask whether Toyota's rear motor cable program, 22TE09, was done. And on a 2019 or 2020 hybrid, ask about the complaint that the fuel tank won't fill all the way. My RAV4 years to avoid guide covers the rear motor cable program and the fuel tank complaint.

RAV4 Hybrid and RAV4 Prime: a different transmission

So every RAV4 Hybrid from 2019 to 2026 uses the eCVT, not the 8-speed. And so does every RAV4 Prime and the 2026 RAV4 Plug-in Hybrid, which is what Toyota calls the Prime starting in 2026. Now the 2026 RAV4 is hybrid only, so no 2026 RAV4 has the 8-speed at all.

So Toyota's 2019 hesitation bulletin doesn't list any Hybrid trims. And there's no hesitation bulletin, recall or NHTSA investigation for any RAV4 Hybrid or RAV4 Prime. The Car Care Nut calls the hybrid's eCVT "bulletproof," and says in their 2022 review that the eCVT is simpler than a regular automatic.

Now there are two Toyota bulletins on the RAV4 Hybrid that can feel like a loss of power. Both of those hybrid problems come with a check engine light, so the hybrid problems are separate from the gas 2019 lurch.

• T-SB-0047-22 covers 2019 to 2021 RAV4 Hybrids with a check engine light and a fuel pressure sensor trouble code. Basically, a trouble code is the error number the car's computer stores when the check engine light comes on. The fix is an engine computer update.
• T-SB-0092-23 covers 2019 to 2022 RAV4 Hybrids and 2021 to 2022 RAV4 Primes. Toyota says these RAV4 Hybrids and RAV4 Primes can show "reduced engine power and/or a MIL ON" in freezing weather. MIL stands for malfunction indicator lamp, which is Toyota's name for the check engine light.

Something to note is that one 2025 RAV4 Hybrid owner told the NHTSA the RAV4 Hybrid "jerked abnormally" at slow speeds when the owner let off the gas. That's one complaint, not a pattern.

And you may also read NHTSA complaints where a RAV4 "took off" while the driver was braking into a parking space. The parking-space complaints show up on gas RAV4s, RAV4 Hybrids and RAV4 Primes. And the parking-space complaints are a separate kind of complaint from the 2019 slow-roll lurch, and the NHTSA hasn't opened an investigation into them.

So if the 2019 lurch has you worried about the 8-speed, a RAV4 Hybrid avoids the 8-speed completely. My RAV4 Hybrid vs gas guide and my Hybrid vs Prime vs electric guide can help you decide. And if you're weighing a used RAV4 against a new one, my 2026 vs 2025 RAV4 guide covers the new hybrid-only 2026.

Other problems that can feel like hesitation on a gas RAV4

So a gas RAV4 can also hesitate for reasons that have nothing to do with the 2019 bulletin. The three Toyota bulletins below all come with a check engine light. So I'd have a mechanic scan for trouble codes on any used RAV4 you're looking at. Basically, a code reader plugs into the OBD port under the dashboard and shows the codes the engine computer has stored.

• T-SB-0005-24 covers 2019 to 2022 gas RAV4s that show reduced engine power and a check engine light in freezing weather. Toyota changed the engine computer's logic and the fuel pump.
• T-SB-0058-22 covers 2019 to 2022 gas RAV4s with low fuel pressure codes at high altitude, above 3,300 feet and above 85°F. Toyota improved the engine computer and a fuel tube.
• T-SB-0010-24 covers 2019 to 2024 gas RAV4s with misfire codes on a cold start between 14°F and 41°F. One 2022 RAV4 owner tied those misfires to "vehicle hesitation on acceleration."

And if a check engine light comes on with a hesitation, my RAV4 warning lights guide explains what each light means and what to do.

The lawsuits against Toyota over the 8-speed automatic

So in late 2025, owners filed several proposed class action lawsuits over Toyota's 8-speed automatic. Basically, a class action is one lawsuit filed on behalf of a whole group of owners. Two of the lawsuits are LeBoutheller v. Toyota Motor Sales, in federal court in Texas, and Pallaya v. Toyota Motor Sales, in federal court in California. Both lawsuits list 2019 and later RAV4s.

The Pallaya lawsuit claims Toyota's 2019 hesitation bulletin and a 2020 Toyota tech tip show Toyota knew about "hesitation" and "harsh shift" problems. Basically, a tech tip is another kind of note Toyota sends its dealers. That tech tip, T-TT-0615-20, asked dealers to collect data on surging and hesitation. The tech tip covered 2018 to 2021 RAV4s plus other Toyota models like the Camry, Corolla and Highlander. But the tech tip wasn't a fix.

Keep in mind that these are allegations only. As of a July 2026 report, no court has agreed to treat the lawsuits as a class action. And there's no settlement, so there's nothing for owners to claim. So for now, the free update under the emissions warranty is the way to get the gas 2019 lurch fixed.

Videos worth watching on the RAV4's 8-speed