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Comments
Average MPG is 22 best was 25 worst 19.
Lots of power.
It could use a little more legroom & the cupholders are awful, no problems so far (3200 mi).
Overall it just makes me smile.
And the wife just loves it .
I also made the 5 hour trip to Fitzmal in Pa.
When you think about it we all have to add $2000 to the RAV4 purchase price to make it "ready". Ready is:Homelink/dimming/compass mirror,bug shield,3M plastic shields, top coat, Scangauge/trip computer,tow hitch harness,rear bumper shield,mud flaps, more.
I have never seen this on any of my cars and no one I know seems to have had this problem.
2001 Nissan Maxima
2002 Nissan Maxima
2003 Nissan Murano
2005 Nissan Pathfinder
2006 Nissan Murano
2006 Rav-4 Sport
All of them had the same problem, chipped paint on the hood in less that 1000 miles of driving on secondary roads. :sick:
My last two cars over 8 years have not a chip or a windshild crack! And I am not carefull about following trucks etc. I have had some really loud stones bounce off the windshield.
But be forewarned - I got sucked in for 30 minutes yesterday reading about painting cars there and then yakked with a Subaru friend on the Crew Chat last night about the 3 muscle cars he's painted. The fumes must have got to me. :shades:
No, you shouldn't have. It is just a rip off. An extra way for the dealer to make a few bucks. It has nothing to do with the paint process or the manufacturer. Just wax it a couple times a year.
The only real change I see is bluetooth with JBL is available and side curtain bags seem to be standard on everything. And mentions SAT radio avialable late fall 2006.
I don't see any real change in price for me since the side curtain bags are now in the price. Also do not see Flint Mica as a color in some regions...strange. Actually I have never seen a Flint Mica Sport listed at Fizmall now that I think about it. Crazy.
But Toyota makes it hard still as it says JBL not available in my zip code....... May have to go to Fitzmall afterall.
It is interesting that two months ago my dealer and Toyota home said 2007 info late August, cars on lot in Oct. I guess this is late August!
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Jimmy Drew
Lets see 23 - 28 mpg in Rav4. 12-16 in Expedition. A little better in Explorer. And lets not forget quality. Hmm, tough decision.
I have the 5 seat, and I'm a little disapointed with the load rating. 200 pounds of gear doesn't leave much room for five adult males.
Barring unusual circumstances Toyota usually designs for 10 year cycles per platform. It's the platform that determines the general body size. This is the first year of this platform.
You want medium? Highlander.
You want large? Sequoia.
RAV4 is supposed to be small. You might even argue it's too big to fill that role any more.
-juice
People report that the acceleration mechanism in (both the 4cyl and v6 versions of) the RAV4 fails. The described problems are in both directions: (1) failure to accelerate (more than the mere “normal” “hesitation”), and (2) rapid, uncontrolled acceleration with no, or light, pedal depression.
Descriptions of the problem(s) can be found by searching the "complaints" section of the NHTSA's website for the 2006 RAV4. As you'll see, the bouncing baby remodel already has 22 safety complaints. The acceleration issues are sprinkled among them. (http://www-
odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/complain/complaintsearch.cfm).
Also see multiple internet forums, including this one on Edmunds.com:
http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.f0d2e96/47.
Make sure to see the posts before and after it (in the thread) on Edmunds and see also other forums on Edmunds.com, Rav4world.com, etc., for other people’s descriptions and comments.
Also, as a kicker, there was an 8/5/06 Wall Street Journal article discussing Toyota's impressive 39% profit increase on a 13% revenue increase, and observing that it is due in significant part to cost-cutting measures that have been accompanied by quality control problems (that have in the immediate past included, according to the article, negligent safety oversight by Toyota executives).
We bought a 2006 Honda CRV. We'll get a RAV4 if and when Toyota pulls itself together.
I bet they iron these issues out soon enough. The 07 Camry Problems board is very busy, though. Again, it may be because so many are sold, so more complaints will exist, but with the same % of reliable cars as before.
-juice
But safety problems are frequently qualitatively distinct from reliability issues. If your car won't start, that's very, very annoying. But if your rolling into oncoming traffic when - surprise - the car will not accelerate for a few extra seconds, that's different. That's a head-on, or T-bone, collision.
Almost certainly the Toyota problems are being caused by increased production. But that's no answer. First, you're still just as likely to get a problem car, statistically speaking (and maybe even more so, if the failing mechanisms are also increasing in RELATIVE frequency b/c overall oversight is being spread between fewer cars). Second, I believe that car makers (and all manufacturers, actually) have an obligation to produce only that number of cars that they can put out without literally fatal flaws.
Of course, there is another option - the one seeming exercised by Toyota. A manufacturer can continue putting out as many vehicles as people will buy and worry about the ramifications later. In terms of dollars and sense, it's almost certainly in Toyota's financial interest to take this latter approach.
And obviously people are free to take whatever risks they like in terms of pros and cons of purchasing cars. I don't even own a RAV4 with a problem, so it doesn't really matter to me personally one way or the other. I only posted the information because the thing that caused me not to buy the car was imagining rolling into traffic (or unsuccessfully merging onto a highway) with my 2 yo strapped in the back seat. So I thought other people (with or without kids) should have the opportunity to make an informed choice.
I would think the choice could be made if you test drive the car you are going buy. I know some people with Highlanders had this problem. My V6 never had a hesitation. They either have it or they don't. It doesn't happen later in ownership.
"A manufacturer can continue putting out as many vehicles as people will buy and worry about the ramifications later."
Tell me about it! I bought a '05 VW GTI. They apparently had been having bad coils for two years!!! They knew the '03s and '04s had bad coils and had not fixed the problem when I bought my '05. Just kept selling them. I of course knew nothing of this at the time until I heard of the massive recall which included my car. This cured me of ever buying another VW/Audi product. And I grew up with the OLD VW bug.
I have looked at e-brochures for several regions so I think it is all there.
I think it was late last Friday I could do a build and buy and get 2007 but since then it again shows 2006.
The changes for 2007 are very small. Side curtain bags are standard on all models, JBL with bluetooth/Satellite radio is availalbe (but JBLit seems only on some models in some areas etc.) Also I see body side modlings as and accessory now.
Prices are really not changed much if you count the side bags in the basic price now. And JBL cost is up some due to bluetooth I guess.
If you go to www.fitzmall.com you will see they are showing some 2007 RAV4s as "coming in". My guess is in a month they will be in everywhere.
Good luck!
The test drive point is an interesting one. I hope you're right (and also that people do test drive the actual car they're buying, and not, for example, the first one in the storage line bc it's the same configuration, but different color).
But I think it's possible for the test drive not to tell the whole story, and here's my theory as to why: The Rav4 has a (public, undisputed) mechanism built into it to save gas. It apparently does this by "evening out" accelerator depression and this is almost certainly why, under the most charitable interpretation re: Toyota's honesty, people are continually told that some hesitation is normal.
But what if the (no-acceleration) failure requires a certain combination of speed and rpm (and also perhaps, engine temperature or some other variable ingredient)? I test drove three RAV4s and each of them had hesitation issues, but not failures, at different speeds and under different circumstances.
The V6 never hesitated off the line (to the contrary, it was trigger-happy) but noticeably hesitated at least once before kicking in power at speed. It was noticeable enough for the dealer to offer an unsolicitated explanation as to "normalcy."
The 4 cyls had their own hesitation circumstances. I didn't know of the failure issue until after testing so I wasn't noting the hesitation issue circumstances when I drove. All I noted at the time was some "unresponsiveness" and "choppiness" (we were going to buy the V6 for this reason). But I want to say that their issues were at speeds below 30 mph and included inconsistent acceleration from "rolling" stops.
My concern with test-driving solace is that it may be possible to drive a "failure" car for a good while before causing a failure. Particularly if the failure occurs when rapid acceleration is suddenly called for, such as can occur (here in New York, anyway) making lefts across traffic, merging onto highways, etc. How often do those scenario come up in a "normal" test drive? (I intentionally created a highway-merge-or-pass situation in the v6 and again I didn't do it to test for failure, I did it to see what the v6 could do.)
So, I assume you're right that hesitation issues don't sprout from the driveway months into owning a RAV4, in the sense that they would suddenly appear where they didn't before.
And I hope what you implied is also right, that issues will be present and obvious from the getgo, rather than failure issues sprouting up out of hesitation issues at the unlucky moment of the perfect speed and rpm (and whatever other ingredient(s) may play a role in the mechanism(s)). And of course, again, that people actually drive the car they buy (which, as you may have picked up, I tend to doubt, at least around here in NY where dealers inventory seemed to be stored in lots on, seemingly, Neptune).
And by the way, I can already hear the answer to part of what I've said being, "People who don't test drive the exact car that they're buying get what they deserve." But I can't agree. Someone who drives the exact car they're going to buy, but in a different color, has the right, in my view, to receive a car that is mechanically identical to the one they drove. Or, at a minimum, for any dissimilarities to not fall into the category of "catastrophically distinct." Of course, that's just my view. But I'd hope it's shared by others, including, in particular, people at Toyota.
How capable is the 4WD system? Anything good/bad about it? We were told (by a Subaru dealer) that the 4WD system on the RAV4 only works under 25mph. Is that true.
Thank you in advance.
'06 Rav4 4WD System
Having said that, in deep snow a bigger issue will be ground clearance. Foresters have a bit more and that might actually be a more important advantage in those situations.
-juice
It ISN'T.......!!
In my region of the country if you want to go snow skiing you often must use tire chains in order to get past those folks with the funny brimmed hats.
But almost all, if not all, Toyota and Lexus front wheel drive based AWD systems can only have tire chains installed on the front.
A patently unsafe, even hazardous, situation, extremely high traction on the front versus the rear, as stated in every Toyota/Lexus owners manual.
And for those of you STUCK with one of these Toyota/Lexus NIGHTMARES, disconnecting the MAF/IAT sensor while the engine is running, plugging it back in after the engine dies, will disable the VSC/Trac system for the next few drive cycles.
That will allow you to use wheelspin to get UNSTUCK, at least from the low traction condition.
Highway driving alone I'm getting 28. Which is great and as stated on the sticker.
But 15 city??? This is horrible and far from the 21 MPG stated by Toyota. My Ford Explorer V6 gets 15 mpg city.
Is this an abberation or are others with the V6 getting very bad city mileage?
Help please!!!
If you're not one of them then I suggest simply scrolling past those messages that are of no interest to you rather than trying to limit the scope of what others talk about.
tidester, host
Keep us posted and hopefully something will change or an idea wil pop up.