Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
"Applicable to 2001 through current RAV4 models, except 'L' package vehicles."
They didn't say it wouldn't fit. I think they meant that these covers are for non-L RAV4s (in an aesthetic kind of way), but they just phrased it in an ambiguous way.
Any recommendations on what we should demand (OK, beg, plead) from the dealer? We really want the car the way we ordered it and don't want to settle for what the dealer can find in the network - especially if it has a sunroof. She really likes the matching colors on the L package and we need to have the ABS and AWD here in the Inland Northwest. Dealer said a re-order would take until late September at the earliest. Her 15 year old Civic has been a gem, but she really deserves that new car!
Thanks in advance for any advice!
jpgiegel...
That's awful!! And utterly inexcusable. It that'd happened to me I would expect a decent discount - for re-ordering the custom order or getting a different vehicle from the dealer network. If not, I take my money elsewhere. In any case, I would definately register a complaint with corporate.
Toyota does not see the RAV4 and the CR-V as head-to-head competitors, in my opinion. To compete directly, they'd have to upsize the RAV, and they decided not to when they designed the second generation, which stayed smaller than the first gen CR-V.
I think one important purpose in offering the RAV is to hook enty-level SUV buyers in order to make a Toyota customer-for-life. If shoppers want more interior room, Toyota offers the Highlander. And if they want a lot more room, and have a lot more to spend later on, there is the Sequoia. It is long-term thinking, something Toyota is good at.
Joe, don't beg or plead with the dealer. In fact you should contact Toyota directly and demand your order to be fulfilled right away as you may have overlooked much better deals waiting and counting on your dealer to deliver. If there is /was a problem between dealer and regional distributor, that remains to be internal Toyota issue. You, as an outsider should not be penalized in fact the dealer should be held responsible. It was an agreement between your party and the dealer to deliver. They have failed !
I would demand for Toyota Inc. to deliver the vehicle I want to my door at the price that was originally agreed upon with the dealer. In case you get no satisfaction do tell them there is plenty of non-Toyota choices you may turn to and make your problems with Toyota known over the internet.
Toyota contacts:
Phone:
800-331-4331
800-443-4999 for TDD
6:00 AM - 6:00 PM Pacific Time, Monday - Friday
Address:
19001 S. Western Ave.
Dept. H200
Torrance, CA 90509-2991
Email:
http://toyota.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/toyota.cfg/php/enduser/ask.php?
In a case like this, my guess is that Toyota corporate would probably say something like: the agreement was between the shopper and the dealership, which is not owned by Toyota. We are very sorry.
You have the ultimate leverage. You can choose not to make the purchase.
tidester
Host
SUVs; Aftermarket & Accessories
But I do wish they would do a mid-model upgrade and put the new Camry engine in it - a slight power boost would be most welcome. And think of the benefits to them! No separate 4-cylinder to build only for the RAV! Streamlined savings.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
My AWD, auto trans '01 RAV is rated 23-27. I've lately gotten over 27 consistently on a long trip, and my daily driving (non-city) averages over 25 (except on winter gas).
Aerodynamics have to hurt the RAV v. the slicker Solara. AWD detracts, too.
Corporate has no desire to jump thru hoops to make one additional sale.
In that situation, I would write them and copy the dealership with my complaint, though. It would make me feel a little better, maybe go on record against that sales rep, and possibly Corporate would do something to ease my pain. But I wouldn't hold my breath.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
I don't know how much a .4L engine size increase would add.
Also, does the car have enough power with 4 passengers and luggage (maybe 300lbs) on mountain roads? Thanks for your help!
I want to start by saying that I love my 2002 RAV in many ways, but I’m so disappointed right now I’m not sure what to do.
I have had a few problems with my RAV since I bought it new this past April, first was the windshield rattle and then a leaking moonroof. I’ve taken it back to the dealer I bought it from a total of 6 times since I purchased it. It took them 3 tries to “fix” the windshield rattle by performing the TSB which I printed out from this website. I preface this with the concern that the windshield rattle is not totally fixed because I can still hear it when the weather cold or cool.
My second and biggest problem has been a leaking moonroof. After reading a message someone posted here about their moonroof leaking, I decided to check mine while driving home from work in a downpour. Unfortunately my moonroof had water droplets hanging from the back edge. The first time I took my RAV into the dealer with this problem they said they found a screw that had been stripped and that meant that the roof wasn’t staying up as it should. They “fixed” the screw and and adjusted the height. Well needless to say the next time it rained I still had the same amount of water coming in. What I’ve been doing since first noticing this problem is to tuck a few paper towels up along the back edge whenever the weather forecast is calling for rain (I do this mostly because I don’t want water leaking onto the headliner or even down into the vehicle.).
I took my vehicle into the dealer the second time and explained what happened. They said “it’s not unusual to have water coming in, that’s why there are drain holes in the front of the opening in the roof.” Well I certainly never heard that this a usual occurrence. In fact I’ve had two previous vehicles that had a sunroof or moonroof and I never noticed water leaking in those.
Anyhow, they checked it out and said that they made a slight adjustment and they had their water nozzles running on it for 3 hours and it did not leak. The next time it rained...here I go again...water was leaking in just as it had the very first time. The paper towels I had tucked along the back edge were wet enough that I could ring them out. I high tailed it directly to the dealer from work the moment I knew that my problem was continuing. I had one of the service people at the front desk come right out to my vehicle to see what I was seeing. He still tried to convince me that it was not unusual to have this happen. At his suggestion he checked to see if they had any new RAVs on the lot with a moonroof and he would check it to see if it was leaking since it had been through the same rainstorm that mine had. We BOTH went to check the new RAV on the lot and it was bone dry! He said he would talk to their Toyota service representative to see what he suggested they do. After a few days I called to see what he had found out...he said that the rep didn’t think it was unusual either and that they didn’t have any record of this being a problem with other RAVs. He suggested that they replace the seal or gasket around the edge of the roof...my dealer ordered the part.
I took my RAV in a couple of days ago to have the new seal installed and found out that they were actually going to be replacing the entire panel. The seal apparently isn’t something that can be ordered separately. I thought this was a better approach any how. I washed my vehicle the next day and guess what...it is STILL leaking!
I just don’t know where I should go next, that’s why I decided to put my story here and ask for your help. If you have a moonroof, the next time you wash your RAV or it rains could you check your moonroof to see if it has ANY water whatsoever coming in around the back edge and corners. I need to determine if this just a trait of this vehicle or if I should pursue my state’s Lemon Law or what. I haven’t contacted the dealer again about this yet...I need to think about my next move and would really appreciate your help. You can post your thoughts here or send them directly to my email address.
Thank you for taking the time to read my story (sorry it was so long).
I don't know if they've improved the fix since then.
RAV on.
Your V6 gets the same mileage as the 4 cyl RAV4 because the Solara is more stremaline and has a lower drag coeffiicent.
Aerodynamics is one of the most important factors for mileage. Stick your hand out of the car window at 60 mph and you will see what I mean.
Our major sticking point was that there was a $500 rebate on at the time we should have taken delivery. We fought to get that but got nowhere, all the way up to the owner of the dealership. Personally, I think they would have preferred that we walk away from the deal. The market in Spokane is less competitive than other larger cities. If my wife didn't want this car so bad...
I really can't imagine Toyota being so callous and unprofessional about such a situation. $300 is a slap in the face for what you had to endure.
The rav has good pickup for daily driving (my wife has an auto), but I think mountain driving taxes the rav's engine quite a bit. We drove around the Canadian Rockies last summer with 2ppl and a lot of luggage - forget about passing anyone going uphill!
Enjoy.
Yeah, I was curious about acceleration (or even maintaining speed) on serious inclines.
I guess the Canadian Rockies qualify as serious inclines, no?
The mountain driving (I also drove around the Cascades in western Washington) is the only times I really wished the Rav had more power. Here in the relatively flat east coast, the Rav provided smooth quiet rides.
kangssta - no probs here - we have a 2001 with over 28K miles, and I have to say the engine is flawless - gets smoother as you pile on the miles.
And since you're familiar with them all, I'd be curious to hear more details on the difference in power with the CR-V, both first and second generations, v. the RAV.
Good luck with your new ride.
Oh yeah, it also has an "S" ("RAV4 S") badge to differentiate the model from the base RAV4 and RAV4 L.
I do have a question for the RAV4 owner's. I have noticed that when I brake, there is a strange sound, like a whirring noise that fades as the car comes to a stop. I saw on another discussion board that perhaps there was a brake sound issue that could easily be fixed. Can anyone help me on this?
They are offering a new Sport model with an S badge, like the L package.
Sport Package -- includes unique sport seat fabric, sport grille, hood scoop, tubular-style roof rack with polished stainless steel finish, gray painted fender flares, aerodynamic multi-reflector halogen headlamps with blackout trim, RAV4 S badging, defroster-linked CFC-free air conditioning, cruise control, power windows and door locks, color-keyed door handles and power heated outside mirrors, carpeted floor and cargo mats, and Deluxe 3-in-1 AM/FM ETR/Cassette/CD with 6 speakers.
I did the build your own feature with a Southern California zip code and found that with an '03 4x4 model, the L package is not offered, only a couple Quick Order combos and the Sport Package. They gave a choice of popular combination offerings. They made it sound like to me they are not offering the L pkg on the 4x4 to the So Cal market. In my opinion, their optioning and combo offerings are going too far and getting too specific.
What are your thoughts?
As I'm sure you noticed, there isn't a heck of a lot of difference between the L package and the Sport package other than the "sportier" cosmetics. (Oddly enough, fog lights and privacy glass do nt appear in the Sport package.) I guess Toyota is offering the L package with the 2wd and Sport package with the 4wd to further distinguish these products. Another item of note for SoCal: If you want a manual trans, you've got to order the 2wd model; the 4wd comes only with auto.
It seems to me, after reading the RAV4 e-brochure, that there is absolutely no difference between the 02 and 03 RAV4s (except for the availability of the Sprot package). Did I miss something?
As far as I can tell, there is nothing new for the '03s other than the Sport Package which basically is just some visual differentiations. I am glad I went ahead and bought an '02 as I wanted 4wd with the L pkg. As we have both noticed, for SoCal, that is not available together and I am not interested in the Sport's hood scoop and side tubes, etc.
I do love my new RAV4, even with the limited power (42hp less than my previous car), discussed infinitely before. I guess I technically don't need more power, but it would be nice of course, especially living in a big mountainous region as I do. Turning of the overdrive does come in handy though.
Any other thoughts/questions/concerns? Anyone?
Could it be a model available only in Japan or Asia?
tidester
Host
SUVs; Aftermarket & Accessories
Steve
Host
SUVs, Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards
Thanks.