20/21 RAV4 Excel Hybrid tailgate?

[Houndcatcher]

Small issue I appear to have with the above car! Tailgate button on the remote refuses to open the tailgate. All I get is a quiet double beep but no response from the tailgate. Opens and closes fine on the buttons on the car but totally ignores the remote. I've had a look with my OBD scanner and all seems to be setup correctly for it to work but for the life of me I can't work out why it won't? Any ideas?

[philip42h]

The tailgate open button will only open the tailgate when the car is not locked. You do need to press and hold - a quick press doesn't do anything. And you do need to be within range ...

Well, they're ideas ... 😉

[Houndcatcher]

Tried everything just get 2 beeps!!

[Peterd23]

Hmm, 2 beeps sounds like it senses but doesn't want to obey. Just had a quick look at the owners manual online copy for mine and under customization features there is an item - Power back door operations. The default is on but it can be set to off using the multi-information display.

Might be worth checking there in case it has been set to off

Please let us know if this is the fix, might help someone else in the future !

[satts67]

https://www.toyotanation.com/threads/what-does-power-lift-button-in-glove-box-do.1491018/

Dont know if its your issue but maybe worth a try?

[KnightOwl67]

When parked, and the car is locked - press the unlock button and double tap the tailgate button on the remote.

This is what mine does, worth a shot.

[philip42h]

14 hours ago, Houndcatcher said:

Tried everything just get 2 beeps!!

I rather doubt that it helps, but mine gives two beeps if I press and hold the remote open button when the car is locked. My guess is that the "two beeps" are an acknowledgement that the car has received to 'open' signal and a denial of the command (because the car is locked).

Quite why yours is behaving this way when the car is unlocked is a rather different question ...

[Yugguy1970]

Doesnt it have to be enabled in the vehicle settings somewhere?  I feel like I have read that somewhere.

[philip42h]

Hmmm ... this doesn't seem to make sense but my owners manual states:

So it would appear that the rear door open function of the remote is switched 'off' by default - the OPs apparent behaviour. Mine is set to "Press and hold", but other posters seem to have the "Push twice" setting. Either way, it's a dealer customisable setting so I suggest that you take it back to the dealer for them to sort ...

[PeteB]

Mine (a 2019 model) was delivered to work with one long press on the fob.

Harder to fathom (IMHO) is why on earth the ability to open or close all windows with a long press of the unlock/lock button is disabled by default, and why on earth only the dealer (or someone with an OBD scanner) can change that setting (I got my dealer to enable it before delivery).  Useful on a hot day to let heat out of the car while walking towards it).

[Houndcatcher]

7 hours ago, KnightOwl67 said:

When parked, and the car is locked - press the unlock button and double tap the tailgate button on the remote.

This is what mine does, worth a shot.

I've just tried this and it works but I have to press and hold the tailgate button on the remote. Thanks for commenting!

[Peterd23]

6 hours ago, Houndcatcher said:

I've just tried this and it works but I have to press and hold the tailgate button on the remote. Thanks for commenting!

And that is exactly what the owners manual states !

[Houndcatcher]

2 hours ago, Peterd23 said:

And that is exactly what the owners manual states !

Yes but if the car is unlocked long pressing just gets a double beep! I have to press the unlock swiftly followed by a long press on the tailgate button to get it to open which seems a bit stupid? If the car is unlocked a simple long press or double press should be enough surely? After all it's the tailgate open button!!

[philip42h]

7 hours ago, Houndcatcher said:

Yes but if the car is unlocked long pressing just gets a double beep! I have to press the unlock swiftly followed by a long press on the tailgate button to get it to open which seems a bit stupid? If the car is unlocked a simple long press or double press should be enough surely? After all it's the tailgate open button!!

So it 'feels' like it's 'forgetting' that it's unlocked ... ? Either way, back to the dealer for them to resolve ... 😉

Edit: I assume that you realise that the car will lock itself again shortly after being unlocked if no door is opened and it is not this that is happening?

[Peterd23]

This double beep does seem strange - never heard that when opening the tailgate with the remote in 4 years of RAV4 ownership  (4.4 for 3 years before 4.5). In my experience trying to open the tailgate while locked just ignores the request in silence. Also never had to press the tailgate button immediately after unlocking, always had a bit of time before it locks again as philip42h says.

[philip42h]

20 minutes ago, Peterd23 said:

This double beep does seem strange - never heard that when opening the tailgate with the remote in 4 years of RAV4 ownership  (4.4 for 3 years before 4.5). In my experience trying to open the tailgate while locked just ignores the request in silence. Also never had to press the tailgate button immediately after unlocking, always had a bit of time before it locks again as philip42h says.

It's 30 seconds on the 4.5:

Quote

■Security feature
If a door is not opened within approximately 30 seconds after the vehicle is unlocked using the entry function (if equipped) or wireless remote control, the security feature automatically locks the vehicle again.

- which is not a lot of time when one is scratching one's head in puzzlement. 😉

It felt longer on my 4.4 ... 

[Avalon]

You should be able to change this via Techstream (or Carista).

[Houndcatcher]

6 hours ago, Avalon said:

You should be able to change this via Techstream (or Carista).

I've gone in and looked with Carista and all seems to be setup to work correctly unless I'm just missing something!

[Houndcatcher]

11 hours ago, philip42h said:

So it 'feels' like it's 'forgetting' that it's unlocked ... ? Either way, back to the dealer for them to resolve ... 😉

Edit: I assume that you realise that the car will lock itself again shortly after being unlocked if no door is opened and it is not this that is happening?

I will mention it when it goes in for it's service and see what they say! No the car is definitely still unlocked as it's well before it would relock

[Coach D]

On 7/12/2021 at 2:35 AM, PeteB said:

Mine (a 2019 model) was delivered to work with one long press on the fob.

Harder to fathom (IMHO) is why on earth the ability to open or close all windows with a long press of the unlock/lock button is disabled by default, and why on earth only the dealer (or someone with an OBD scanner) can change that setting (I got my dealer to enable it before delivery).  Useful on a hot day to let heat out of the car while walking towards it).

The press and hold opening may happen unintentionally. After being in my friend's home for several hours, my 2019 Toyota RAV4 XSE gave me a warning that the car was unlocked and the moon roof was open. I had my key fob in my front pocket. The buttons were unintentionally pushed. The car was parked in front of the house. When I went outside, all 4 windows were open, the power back door was open and the moon roof was open. These buttons were pushed with the fob in my pocket.  

[PeteB]

That happened to me a couple of months ago when I had a haircut.  Being well padded I was a snug fit in the barber's chair and must have had the key wedged against the chair in my pocket.

When I came out to the car all the windows were open.  The car had sent a message to my phone telling me the windows were open, and it would have also appeared on my watch, but with the sheet over me I didn't see it.

In any other circumstance I'd have seen the message and pressed the lock button to close them again.  Something to watch out for in future.

Luckily, a light drizzle had barely dampened the edges of the seats and inside of the doors - there were downpours before and after my visit to the barbars and that would have been bad news.

Getting back to the tailgate issue, if the car is set up so the first press of unlock only unlocks the driver's door (as mine is), and a second press is needed to unlock the rest of the car, the both presses are needed before the tailgate will open from a long press of its button.

[Nick72]

On 7/13/2021 at 5:48 PM, Houndcatcher said:

I will mention it when it goes in for it's service and see what they say! No the car is definitely still unlocked as it's well before it would relock

Did you ever sort this?

I note on the new updated RAV you can disable the powered rear door using the vehicle settings options in the driver's display. So the only way to open it after it is disabled is via the switch in the cabin. 

If this feature was present 3 years ago (I never noticed it) then it sounds like it could be that.