2006 Toyota RAV4

yustas

"We like that the Highlander is a little bigger (will have to fit two car seats this summer"
On paper, RAV4 has more leg room, front and rear, then Highlander. More head room, even in the third row (especially in the third row, if you need it).

prash1

Test drove a Base RAV4 today. It has 3 rd row seats. I could not take it to highway.
One thing I noticed is the 4 cylinder engine is not very quiet. But it is powerful.
I could hear the engine all the time and climbing hill it was noticable.

If I compare this with Honda CR-V I would say both engines produce same amount of noise.
There is practically no road noise unlike CR-V. This results in quiter ride compared to CRV.
I would guess long trips on highways would be quiet.

This engine has more than enough power. I just wonder what V6 will be like. Since I can't wait for V6, I will probably buy V4.

I have to decide if I need 3rd row seats. Does anyone know if it is possible to fit a baby car seat in 3rd row. I think third row seats reduces the cargo capacity and
drag on mileage(you carry extra weight all the time)if you do not need it.

rsaltus1

Many thanks for that; I have the same Delphi unit and will try to follow your example. Questions: where did the antenna wire enter the car - rear hatch or rear window; did you remove seals and door pillar covers, or run the wire alongside them, and did you physically attach them in some way? I also don't see how to remove the rear cover of the storage bin - do you take out those two screws in the bottom? And are you saying you mounted the unit on that flat area in the lower dash just forward of the cupholders and to the left of the cigaret lighter receptacle? It fits perfectly there but I haven't mounted it yet. Also, I assume you got a fairly long lead with miniplugs on each end to go from the storage box "aux" input to the unit?
Thanks for you help - it will help others, too.
rs in boston

petl

Some 6's have already been received at US ports and are in the process of being prepared for delivery. Not sure how many. It appears, unless there are unforseen problems, they should be showing up at dealers shortly.

flyingn

Ok people.. Installation was very easy... I work on my own cars so it was truly a breeze. All you have to do on the front is to pop in a plastic screw grommit (supplied) in an existing hole and screw on the flap with the supplied screws. The 2 fronts took all of 10 minutes.
The two rears are a tine bit harder but in reality once you digest the instructions (which makes it *seem* harder then it actually is..) its a 20 minute job. You remove 4 existing screws and pull out the rear bumper cover which snaps off easy enough with a little finese.. This is done to give you room to use a drill to dril 2 small holes that already have dimples there (thanks Toyota!) Or you could remove the wheels to gain clerance. The you put on 2 spring clips over the 2 holes on the lip of the bumper cover you just drilled. Then snap the cover back into place and put on one screw to make it tight. The install the flap with the other 3 screws. Easy and they really fit well. Im VERY happy with them.. Here are the pics.. The black flaps realy look nice due to the fact that they match the black trim all over the truck..

">

jimd4

The base comes without those seats also. And they fold into the floor so you loose very little space. But you do carry around extra weight at the rear.

jimd4

Also, do not know where you are located but www.fitzmall.com has lots of base models at good prices. They are in MD.

jimd4

Well the Fizamall site had two V6 coming in and someone here had posted he bought one. My dealer says he will have on in mid feb. But the percent of v6 production is low.
See below from an ealier post I made:

Ok so I drove the 4wd, I4 sport version for the third time. Since the dealer just let me go off with it, I had a chance to "exercise" it a little. Very nice. Handling very nice, tight and quick steering. Steering is light and not a lot of road feel. Felt solid and stable with quick lane changes at 70. Handling very good for what some people call a truck! Not rough or generaly noisy. Some noise from what seems the rear cabin area but pretty good at cruise RPM in 4th at 70. RPMs are high at around 2700 at 70, very similar rpm to my A6 V6 2.7T. I4 has good power but roars some when at full throttle accel but not unexpected. From what I see of the gear ratios, the V6 will turn much slower (1900 or so) at 70 which will help MPG. Gauges and lights are good. Had 2nd level radio option with cd changer. Radio and or speakers not anything to brag about. Brakes seem ok, a little noisy from chassis or something with pedal mashed and ABS on but car tracked straight on dry road. Don't know much about the Yokohama Geolander 235/55/18" tires but they seemed ok and did not squeal.

Dealer says he sees V6 units on the build schedule in January now but no allocations to him yet. He predicts he will get his first V6 in late Feb. The bad news is if your are in the NE region, only 7% of the build will be model 4443 which is Sport V6 4WD and none will come with Side curtain air bag option as far as he can tell. He sais the NE region will get about 1700 RAV4s each month near term ant that is about 12 RAVs per dealer..not much. About 68% will be base. Since he was telling me what I did not want to hear, I assume he had no reason to fib. He says story in NY is still...pay MSRP. I do know that you can see Sport with side bags on the Fritzmall site.

So I am waiting to drive the V6.

jimd4

You bought thes directly from your dealer or?

jimd4

In thinking about buying the RAV4 I have thought that a rear park warning system would be good, especaialy with the tire back there. Toyota does not seem to have it. But you can buy various versions on EBay for $25-$50 and install looks pretty easy.

jadenison

The 6's are out in some of the regions in the US. I was at another discussion group, and they had a link to a dealer in Alabama, who had one in stock. I had the dealer I was working with do a check for the 6's and none around here, or expected in the near future (covering Eastern NY, CT, maybe Northern NJ). I ended up ordering a 4 cylinder sport because I can't wait (old car on it's way out, and may not pass the next inspection).

flyingn

got em from a Toyota dealer selling em on Ebay. $55 + shipping for four

jimd4

Your RAV4 looks great. Every time a I see a picture of red it seems a different color it seems. I drove one but it was almost dark so I have to find one in red to see in the daytime.

wizzobutter

Hi, the Flint Mica color apparently is only availlable on the RAV4 Sport model. I saw one yesterday at a Toyota dealer. It's a very nice color, a little lighter than I thought it was.

wizzobutter

Please note that if you think there is a good chance you will buy the car for the "residual" amount at lease-end, you will probably have to pay sales tax AGAIN on the residual amount. I did this with my 1999 Camry, paying the full sales tax at lease inception and sales tax on the residual amount also. I know this applies to illinois and Texas. It might not apply in other states. It seems like a scam to me, since you basically finance only part of the value of the car, yet pay full sales tax at purchase and if you purchase the car at lease end.

agnosto

If you liked the Flint Mica, wait until you see the Shadow Mica (dark grey where it shows some green tint when exposed in the sun) already available, but on a 4Runner... ohhh, what a beautiful color...

ateixeira

Nice pics.

We can see you in the shadows, that's a nice, small camera you got there.

The XL7 in the background looks to be about the same length, but I bet it's a lot more narrow. The cabin on those was claustrophobic in terms of width, the RAV4 is a lot better.

-juice

coffeejolt

i've been quoted 25,376 (excluding tax and tags) for:
'06
sport
4 cyl
4wd
moonroof
tonneau cover
curtain/side airbags
JBL stereo
##

can i find a better deal?

rik5

I have test driven the Limited 4-cyl and was impressed. I would be in the market for a 6-cyl Limited with the third row option. At that price range can anyone make a case for not purchasing a PILOT EX cloth interior? I have owned Toyotas for years but the PILOT seems to offer more vehicle for about the same price. Any thoughts?

ravgirl

I've got my order in for a V6 Limited in light green. Can't wait!

ateixeira

What size do you want? Pilot drives and feels big. That can be a good thing, or bad. I prefer small vehicles so I'd opt for the RAV4, but that's me.

-juice

coffeejolt

agree. rav4 is my choice. i even found a better bargain and i'm going for it.

hit_the_road

See what I mean?

jimd4

So what did they tell you about when you will get your V6 RAV4?

jimd4

I drove the Pilot and it is very roomy and looks well made. Also it is heavy and drives more "truck like" to me.
Gas milage has to be lower pulling that extra weight and drag. But it depends on what you need and want to do. Ford Freestyle also has lots of room but not too nimble.

For me the space of the RAV4 seemed good enough and I liked the more nimble feel of the RAV4.
So now if I could ever get to drive a V6 version. My guess is that V6 Rav will be at least $2 to $3k cheaper than Pilot ES.

flyingn

lol thanks. Its a Pentax Optima S4. its small enough to fit in an Altoids case:)
Yes about the suzuki too. Its mine (The Rav is my Wifes) and the Rav is MUCH wider.. But the Zook has a 3rd row of seats too.

Frank

jaxs1

Aren't these of really limited value? Consumers are "demanding" them regardless of vehicle size, but they don't seem to be of much use.
If you really need a third row, why not get a vehicle large enough to have a useful third row seat?
Must be the paranoia of being seen in a minivan.
In a larger SUV or else a minivan, you don't need to do back flips to access the third row seat where your legs barely fit and have the rear glass inches behind your head.

snagiel

I was looking forward to seeing whether the new RAV4 would unseat the Forrester in Car & Driver's annual 5-Best Trucks list (in the 'small SUV' category), but, alas, it looks like Toyota couldn't cough up a demo for the evaluation. So, the Subie held on to its crown.

flyingn

They do that article months ago,. Toyota came out with the Rav in sept to the magazine journalists. Next year it will definetly unseat the Sube.. No question

ravgirl

I've got a deposit down on my new RAV4 V6 Limited - it's definately happening. I'm expecting it to arrive the end of February, early March at the latest. Can't wait!

thecat

Since you've put a deposit down I assume you have negotiated a price. Would you please pass that information along.
Thanks

edgor

The Pilot is really nice inside, I love the seat and just the interior in general. However, as others have noted, it rides like a truck imo and the mpg is worse than the Rav. Also, around here Honda doesn't discount much from retail, whereas Toyota does. The Pilot has more storage, the Rav is more nimble.

absolutboy20

I'm still waiting on the dealerships to get the v6's. Hopefully the shipments will come in early as they did for 4 banger in CA.

The question I had for people who have their Rav's is whether the rear window has a washer fluid nozzle along with the rear wiper. I never looked that meticulously at the Rav's in the dealer but it didn't state whether this was the case in the brochure.

lys078

I posted a few days ago about the Sport in Flint Mica. I ended up purchasing one over the weekend, but have to wait another week for it to come in. The dealer would not budge from MSRP and claimed that other dealerships in the area (South Carolina) have been adding on to MSRP. When I realized that he was really going to let me leave without discounting, I asked what Base models were available, because I didn't want to pay for the Sport. No Base models were coming in a decent color, so I ended up springing for the Sport in Flint Mica, which of course was the exact one I wanted. I'm not happy about paying MSRP, but if I didn't get it now, I would have to wait at least until the end of April because of my husband's (military) work schedule. I have twin toddlers and we have more than outgrown my Nissan Sentra. I'm glad I at least didn't compromise on the model that I wanted. I would have really been disappointed if I had to pay MSRP and didn't even get the one I wanted. I'm excited though and I know it's going to be a long week of waiting.

jimd4

Hey, don't fret over the price. Your kids will be safer, you will have fun with your new car and spring is just around the corner. And think of all that stuff you can load in the RAV and bring home from Home Depot while hubby is busy.

Life is short...enjoy it!

henryd1

We have been quoted a RAV4 2006 Limited AWD with 195 miles on its odometer. The milage seems to be rather high for a brand new car. Should this be a concern to us?

jimd4

I would not think so unless you see something wrong with the car. There are very few RAVs around so dealers have to let potential buyers test drive something. 195 miles is nothing. If the price is good, buy it. If you don't someone else will quickly. You have a 60 mo, 50,000 mi powertrain warranty I think.

mark19

Personally I wouldn't buy anything with that many miles, to me that's a used car. Others will disagree with me, but that's my feeling. If you don't need the car immediately, why not wait for their next shipment, or try another dealer? All you have to do is tell the dealer you don't want something with that many miles on it, you're the customer.. Why let them tell you what to buy? If you don't feel comfortable, don't buy it..

raybear

Dealers trade cars all the time, it's not uncommon for a new car to have several hundred miles, just make sure the purchase order shows the actual mileage when you take delivery.

agnosto

I would not worry at all as long as the vehicle is free of defects... consider this, I just bought a new 2006 Toyota Sienna Limited FWD fully loaded MSRP $42,000.00 and it already had 364 miles and I do not regret it a bit, since the vehicle has no defects so far.

abbiem

Hi, just checked, my '06 LTD has rear wiper fluid.

flyingn

It may have been delivered from another Toyota dealer. Dealers do this all the time. Mine came from another Toyota dealer and had 20 miles on it when we picked it up. The 20 miles was the distance from the other dealer..

Frank

absolutboy20

Great! Thanks abbiem

jimd4

Well, 197/60000 miles = .3%. That is hardly used. When I leased my present Audi I wanted the sport seats and they was hard to come by. The dealer got it from upstate NY and it came with 287 odd miles on it. Perfect car since.

More important than these few miles are:
Is it the car I want and will be happy with?
Is the price reasonable?
Is the dealer someone I can depend on?

thecat

Has anyone either purchased or seen a silver Limited. I just noticed in the RAV4 literature I got at the dealer that there are footnotes to most of the colors. Classic Silver has notes 23 & 24
23 - Not available on limited
24 - Not available on base

Note 23 is also shown for Super White, which is my 2nd choice.

Something has got to be wrong because on the cover of the pamphlet is a silver limited. What gives?

bobw3

I'm all for the 3rd row option. True that if you're needing the 3rd row on a regular basis for adults, then it's better to get something larger. But if you want to carry a couple of extra kids on a fishing or camping trip, it's sure nice to have the option instead of bringing two cars.

jimd4

Yes, I saw a silver Limited loaded about two weeks ago at my local dealer in NY. It was sold in a few days. I really don't think the Toyota site is kept up to date. The price for the V6 versions is not listed even though people are ordering them here. Dealers have told me they sometimes get cars delivered before they know the real detail or prices. The www.fitzmall.com site shows a silver Limited coming in:
Body: 4WD 5DR SUV LTD
Color: Classic Silver
Order#: 65012408*O
Model#: 4452
VIN#:
Delivered Internet Price: [call]

Delivered Value Price: [call]

Factory Invoice: [call]

MSRP: [call]

Freight, PA. Inspection Included.
Tax, Tags, Title, Documentary Fee $55 Excluded

Features
- C4
FACTORY INSTALLED OPTIONS
C4 - FLOOR MATS
DK - PREFERRED OWNERS PORTFOLIO
EJ - JBL STEREO W/ 6 DISC CHANGER
FE - 50 STATES EMISSIONS
GY - CURTAIN AIRBAGS
RL - DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHTS
SR - SUNROOF

coffeejolt

I'm picking up my Sport in Flint Mica on FRIDAY!
I was able to get below MSRP with all the options I wanted.
I hope you like yours! I can't wait for mine. :-)

abbiem

I just got a silver Limited last week from my local dealer in NY - maybe it is the same one that jimd4 saw. It is loaded with everything but leather and the jbl stereo. I absolutely love driving it! My last two cars were 4Runners, and the second one (a 2004) just felt too big. In the past I thought the Rav4 was too small, but this one is just right. Just call me Goldilocks...
I sort of lucked into this car - I didn't even know Toyota had come out with a new model of the Rav4. I wasn't in the market for a new car until the big tree fell and crushed my 4Runner. I wish I could figure out how to insert a picture so I could show you all what it looked like!

flyingn

I told yas:) Jan sales went up over 120% of jan 05 sales.. This rav is the BEST rav out there and the people are proving it!!!! YEAAAAA

This is to all the neysayers who said it would never sell like the old rav!!

nah nah!!:)

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060201/law097.html?.v=36