Toyota bulletin 20TE03
What it saysDP: This Customer Support Program provides coverage for a condition involving the front transfer case electro-magnetic clutch in certain 2019 ? 2020 model year RAV4 Adventure and Limited grade AWD vehicles. NHTSA’s full summary ↓
Toyota filed this with NHTSA as a service bulletin dated Jul 13, 2023, received Dec 21, 2020, about the power train — 3 documents under this number: 20TE03-Dealer Pa and 2 more. It names 2 model years (2019–2020). A service bulletin is not a safety recall: it is the manufacturer telling its dealers how to diagnose or repair a condition, and whether the work is paid for depends on the warranty in force. Quoting the number at a service desk can save a diagnosis.
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What the bulletin says
Source: NHTSA's summary of the manufacturer's communicationDP: This Customer Support Program provides coverage for a condition involving the front transfer case electro-magnetic clutch in certain 2019 ? 2020 model year RAV4 Adventure and Limited grade AWD vehicles. An abnormal buzz or groan noise from that case can occur with Normal drive mode selected during disconnect/connect timing of the AWD system. This condition typically occurs between 20 and 30 mph when accelerating from a stop, and/or between 20 and 13 mph on deceleration after driving the vehicle for 15 minutes or longer. Although the front transfer case electro-magnetic clutch is covered by Toyota?s New Vehicle Limited Warranty for 5 years or 60,000 miles (whichever comes first), we at Toyota care about the customers? ownership experience. Toyota is providing coverage for repairs related to abnormal buzz/groan noise from the front transfer case. The following information is provided to inform you and your staff of the program notification schedule and your degree of involvement.3
Documents filed under this number
| Document | Kind | Dated | NHTSA id | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20TE03 | Service bulletin | Jul 13, 2023 | 10241399 | not found |
| 20TE03 | Service bulletin | Jun 22, 2023 | 10240068 | not found |
| 20TE03-Dealer Pa | Service bulletin | Nov 11, 2020 | 10184544 | not found |
The summary is NHTSA’s abstract of the document, as filed under 49 CFR 579.5. One communication is usually filed as several documents — the bulletin, a dealer notice, an owner letter — and the number on any of them finds this page. A PDF link is shown only once NHTSA’s own server has been seen to serve that document; the rest are checked over the following nights. Quote the number at a service desk; it is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.
Doing the repair yourself, or pricing it before the shop does? Search the part by fitment on eBay Motors — the listing and the price are the seller’s.
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Model years it names
Source: as the manufacturer filed themA vehicle page’s bulletin list shows the newest few communications filed against that model year; the count there is every one.
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What owners reported
Source: NHTSA complaint databaseOwners of the 2 model years this bulletin names have filed 1,559 complaints with NHTSA since 2015. 83 of them name Power Train — the same broad component group this bulletin is filed under. NHTSA groups complaints coarsely, so that means the same area of the vehicle, not necessarily the same fault.
On the 2019 Toyota RAV4, the 36 owners who gave an odometer reading for Power Train reported it at a median of 7,200 miles. That figure is one model year’s, not the whole range this bulletin covers — medians from different model years are not averaged.
Make intermittent soft grinding noise (think raspberry) when moving. Makes noise in eco and standard mode but not in sport mode. The dealership told me they could replace the whole drive train and it might make the noise
2019 Toyota RAV4 · Power Train · filed with NHTSA Aug 12, 2019 · ODI 11243201
In depth: 2019 Toyota RAV4 transmission and drivetrain problems →
A complaint is one owner’s account, not a defect finding, and a bulletin is not a recall. Nothing here says this bulletin was issued because of these complaints, or that the repair it describes fixed them. Complaint files on this site begin in 2015.
Quote the number at the service desk. It is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.
Every manufacturer communication NHTSA holds for Toyota, by the number printed on the letter.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA, 49 CFR 579.5Is Toyota 20TE03 a recall?
No. A service bulletin is a manufacturer communication filed with NHTSA under 49 CFR 579.5; a safety recall carries an NHTSA campaign number (two digits, a letter, six digits) and a federal duty to repair for free. Check the vehicle’s recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls, or on its page here.
Is the 20TE03 repair free?
Not automatically. A service bulletin describes how to diagnose or repair a condition; who pays depends on the warranty in force, any extension, and the dealer. Quoting the number can save a diagnosis either way. Every Toyota warranty extension on file lists the ones Toyota has filed.
Which vehicles does 20TE03 cover?
The manufacturer filed it against 2 model years: 2020 Toyota RAV4, 2019 Toyota RAV4. Whether one particular vehicle is affected is a matter of its VIN and its build, not its model year alone.