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Toyota RAV4 (pre-2006): Problems & Solutions
This discussion is for learning how to solve issues with 2005 and earlier Toyota RAV4's.
Please see the 2006+ Problems discussion for the new generation RAV4.
Steve, Host
Please see the 2006+ Problems discussion for the new generation RAV4.
Steve, Host
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Where is the Rear Bumper?
Tom
1135 Air Fuel Sensor Heater Circuit Malfunction (Bank 1, Sensor 1)
markbc
thank dave
If true, why would you do that?
After 6 yrs and 81,000 easily-driven miles with me as the only driver, dealer services, and no towing, I had auto trans troubles in my 2001 AWD RAV4 (purchased new).
Dealer said a trans replacement was necessary,
and put in a re-manufactured unit.
Out of standard warranty (5yrs/60k miles),
I am now out of pocket US$3,660 plus state tax.
Obviously I'm not happy about it.
I now have a different view of Toyota reliability and durability.
Thanks to any one who can help shed light on this mystery.
One possibilty of why the engine blew is that it could have become oil starved going up the incline. The incline could have tilted the engine enough so that the oil pick up started sucking air.
If you are going to do that kind of stuff, you might look into some specialized stuff, like a deeper high capacity oil pan with a deeper oil pickup tube.
Good Luck,
E.D. ISF
My car is alive!
I can't find any info in the manual; is there a fuse to check, or a wiring diagram to see if there's a short? Surely it can't be the battery in the remote. It does the same thing with both remotes.
Any suggestions? :confuse:
I took it to my local mechanic who I think does good work and is trustworthy. After looking at it they said there was a leak in the seal and this caused the transmission to slip and would cost $3000 to repair (I may not be stating the problem correctly - my mind was blown away by the cost). After making that repair, they encountered a problem with the computer (powertrain command module?) that prevented the transmission from working properly. So they had to replace that for another $1200! They think the computer problem caused the original transmission problem, and they said this has been a not-uncommon problem with RAV4s.
So, I don't know if I got screwed by the mechanic, because maybe if they had just replaced the computer up front, the original transmission may have gone back to working fine. Or, if this is a computer problem Toyota is aware of and should be issuing a recall for. Either way, I'm out almost $5K. If I had known that going in I probably wouldn't have had the repairs done.
I have read, on a RAV-specific site, that the Transmission Control Module is one cause of RAV tranny problems. Some people say they have had the TCM replaced (~$1,200, I think, same as yours), and their problems ended.
If I understood correctly, the TCM is part of the Engine Contol Module, located on the firewall behind the glovebox.
In my case, the invoice for the re-man tranny work did not reference the TCM, so I suppose they did not replace it. And a year later, no return of the problems.
Fingers crossed, since the re-man warranty was for just one year.
-ss4
Anyway, I discover (after problems with NEW tires) that rear alignment must be completely redone. (needs rear lower control arm and support arm, bushings, bolts and adjuster plates, PLUS new tires must be replaced). Toyota serviceman believes it came from the factory this way, but dealership who has serviced it over the years says it has never had an alignment done. I've done TWO front alignments in two weeks. I see in these posts that this is a problem Matrix owners are dealing with...anyone see this on their RAV4? I do not have $2000 to do these repairs and am pretty p.o'd. Friend says he's never heard of this problem.
If we don;t repair then we will be buying new tires at least once a year.
Never had any uneven tire wear, either.
Hope this helps.
-ss4
I was abroad (with my RAV4) I did not have much time to work on the problem with the local mechanics. I did ask the local (overseas) Toyota dealer to see if they noticed hesitation, but they did not. My 2004 RAV4 was a new model there, although starting in 2007 the RAV4 has become popular there.
My solution was simply to continue to drive it and factored in the hesitation. Only once in a while was the hesitation pronounced enough to bother me much: usually on those occassions when I needed fast acceleration for traffic purposes (avoiding cars, people animals etc...), or on those occassions when when I switched to another car (including my office Toy Landcruiser) and did not see the same lag (press gas pedal count to one, two sometime up to three before feeling the car respond by accelerating). The effect was less frequent when the car engine was warm/normal operating temperature, but it also occurred when warm.
My milage was low --driving only about 2,800 miles per year in (mostly) medium to heavy city driving.
Mark
I got Rav 4 2.0 GX Wideboy/MAX (1995) engine 1,998 cc, petrol automat
The problem is i can't get it running. Battery has gone dead and it seems to have messed up the imobiliser and it wont start. I have had the jump leads on it but it wont start it turns over ok but thats it. A friend of mine said that the imobiliser might have affected the ecu...
What do you think? Can you help me? Really like this car...
Thanks,
Iva
It cost me US$3,600 plus tax to have the dealer put in a remanufactured unit, but my RAV tranny made the vehicle undriveable. Major slippage and seriously rough shifting.
Good luck with your second opinion.
-ss4
I would really appreciate some help if someone could lend it. I own a 2001 RAV4 with 91,000 miles on it. Recently it started making a noise that three mechanics cannot seem to agree on. Here is the description:
The Noise:
The car is making a relatively loud high-pitched hissing noise that sounds like it could be either (a) air sucked through a system incorrectly or (b) a piece of metal lightly scraping against another piece of metal.
The Conditions:
The car makes the sound only when it is (a) idling (AC on or off) and (b) when the gas pedal is being pushed after it has been not touched (i.e., when accelerating) or when it is coming back to that position (e.g., when I let it go because I am going downhill). In other words, the noise is not there - and definitely not simply overpowered by engine noise - when the gas pedal is pushed down (except for the first few millimeters).
The Analyses (so far):
One mechanic thought it was the tensioner or associated belt but replacing both the tensioner pulley and the belt did not fix it. Then he did not know. Another mechanic thought it might be the injection system but was not sure either and suggested living with it for now. One Toyota mechanic thought it was the tensioner at first but then thought it might be air. He later concluded that it was the throttle body that needed to be replaced for 1500 dollars.
However, the second mechanic could not believe that they could be sure about this - he thinks it might simply be their best guess and merely a "broad attack fix" so to speak. All mechanics seemed to agree, though, that there is nothing dangerous happening and that the car would not be damaged if I ignored the noise. As a scientist, it drives me nuts not to know what it is, though, and of course I am afraid that I will have to spend 1500 dollars one day as we simply cannot afford that with our young son right now.
I am not sure whether this makes sense but if anyone could help I would appreciate it!
Thank you very much!
60 miles ago we had the ligth come on and the Toyota service replaced the EGR valve. The light re appeared driving out of the Toyota dealer's shop and they brought it back in for some connection to the tail pipe. The car gets less than 30 miles a month on it.
Can anyone tell me what I can expect at the dealer's service tomorrow?
Thanks
As for the recent recalls, I personally believe Toyota is taking responsibility and putting things right. They will hopefully learn their lesson of never sacrificing the details to advance business expansion. The media has simply got a bone they can't let go of.
Have you looked at what KIA and Hyundai have to offer? Their new car deals are pretty amazing and far less pricey than Toyota and Honda. We recently bought two new KIA (sedans) in our family and the info on KIA's quality/service is very good (they are owned by Hyundai). Just a thought.
Hope this helps!
The gas mileage is not so good (20 city, 22 highway). The maintenance has been ok, no major problems --but I do have two complaints.
#1. Almost since puchasing it new in 2004 there has been a lag in acceleration. press the gas count one-two and THEN the car accelerates Dealers claim there is nothing wrong with that, but it is not even consistant. Sometimes --usually when the engine is warm and running for a while- there is no lag and other times I have a noticable pause between press and response. This is a problem if you drive in crowded city traffic and conditions changes in seconds. I have seen no clear good fix for this -others have mentioned it, and there is one part that I could pay to replace (a computer module whose name escapes me at the moment) for ~$1,800 or $2,300 but I am not going to try that -non guaranteed action.
#2. Quality is not so hot. Once in a rain storm and driving in about 18 inches of water my right front tire went into a pothole of about 10-12 inches. This bent the rim of the tire (no other damage) and since I was driving less than 10 mph (really!) I was disappointed that an all-wheel drive small suv can be so easily damaged.
finally, it is a bit noisy when you drive over 60. Not that I do that much, but when on the highway I notice the wind noise is quite a bit louder than other cars I have owned or dirven.
I won't buy another RAV4 and am not so hot on Toyota's "nope...there's no problem with it." approach to individuals like me who are not perfectionists, but do think there are sometimes problems even with new cars ;-(
When I have driven this 10 or 12 years (I am sure it will last that long --it does have that much quality), I will buy a different brand -maybe Hyundai or even Honda (but Honda's are quite pricey for what the provide ).
Good luck! &
hope this helps!