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Comments
Experience and impressions as follows:
1. Average gas mileage (surburban driving) 23 +, worst gas milage (lot of city A/C running) 22 +. Best hwy milage (interstate ideal conditions) 31 +. Am a conservative driver.
2. Quality good, no problems.
3. Oil filter interesting, easy to change. I could only buy filter from Toyota.
4. Very fast, no noticeable torque steer (surprised me). Wonder if Toyota has programmed electric power steering with compensation voltage? I was skeptical of electric power steering, but works very well.
5. Handling is good, lot better than my old 93 4Runner.
6. Could stand improvement in automatic tranny shift points. Needs a 6 speed.
7. I do not like the styling, bought strictly on performance numbers for a work car and has performed as advertised. Can carry a surprising amount in it, even 2 x 4 x 8s (three or four) by laying between seats. Really wanted a new 4Runner, but gas prices/mileage scared me away.
8. Toyota obviously has given a lot of attention to reducing drag. Windshield slope, front end treatment, small flaps in front of wheels to deflect windstream from tires, etc. The 4 WD is unique in that one can only manually engage it below 25 mph and normal driving is in FWD mode with slip sensors to sense when to engage 4WD. Slick approach to the full time 4WD vehicles which lose gas milage due to full time 4WD systems normally used. Approach is logical.
Summary: Would be hard to find a better light duty SUV.
ODO reading ~2K.
They are now flopping around causing smearing on my windshield.
This is not normal wear and tear.
I bought it in April - there has been no snow or ice here yet.
Just another nuisance to deal with, and a blemish on Toyota quality (even though I understand that they do not make the wipers themselves)!
You are letting the wipers run too much on a dry, or near dry windshield; resistance between the rubber and the glass on a near dry windshield is very high, more at the outer edges because they cover more area. The result is what you now have. There is nothing wrong with the wipers. Replace them, use them just as you always have, and the condition will reoccur. Your situation is one of the reasons some more upscale cars have rain sensing wipers.
1. Suggestion: -don't idle your engine too long, it will warm up during slow driving; -apply gradual acceleration; -avoid hard breaking; -don't use cruise control in hilly terrain.
2. Question: -could somebody tell me if pulling the CPU (computer) from the board for 5 seconds would eliminate the lag of acceleration? Thanks for your time and cooperation!
-juice
I've never had this lag issue, but felt the throttle response could be improved. A bit jumpy on initial tip-in, then lazy. Seemed like a large bias towards economy in the throttle and transmission made me have to dig deeper than I wanted to access the V6 power.
After pulling and reinserting the fuse: big improvement. The throttle became more linear and responsive, even sporty. I zoomed around everywhere, hoping the computer would learn. Unfortunately, the effect lasted about a day and a half, or 5-6 cold starts. After that it went back to the way it had been before.
I appreciate the reply.
However, I have been driving now for 22+ years.
I'm fairly confident that owning this new Toyota Rav4 has not changed the way I have used my wipers in the last 22+ years.
I have driven 4 different vehicles in this time span (3 different manufacturers - one of them a Toyota Celica).
and have never had a single windshield wiper problem.
I don't discount the reason why this occurred and your explanation, however, there must be a brand of wipers that handles this better, since again, I have never had this problem before.
Formally trained certified tech and Toyota service manager more than 20 years, and wife Toyota CR manager more than 20 years...qualified to make this statement; just trying to help, but you can believe whatever you want.
That said, my delivery may have been a bit curt - sorry.
This is the time of year when I start getting these complaints: "My vehicle has a short...it's shocking me every time I touch the door to get in". When I remind them of dry air and static electricity, I sometimes get accused of refusing to help, and that they'll call Toyota! Sigh...
I'm sorry for wasting your valuable time trying to show a pattern here of Toyota's inferior quality OEM partners.
Since, you feel we should all focus only on your topic, and instead of an open discussion board, turn this into a one topic board - then go right ahead and beat your dead horse some more.
I recommend scrolling past any messages you do not wish to read. The topic is the 2006 RAV4 which covers quite a bit of ground and people will decide for themselves what is important or relevant.
tidester, host
And the ECU tuning did not take any of the fun out of my V6 so far. Too new to run any numbers yet but I think it will give my Audi 2.7T a good run for the money! With much better MPG so far.
Lots of talk on this topic but not much facts.
I find it interesting that you state your Toyota tech qualifications, along with your comments, yet Toyota claims not to have a solution for the hestitation, nor acknowledge that it even exists. Either you're fluent in Japanese, or there's an obvious disconnect here.
No, I did not have RainX or anything else on the windshield and I am using them exactly the same as I have in the last 22+ years without incident.
My contention, right or wrong, is that Toyota's windshield wiper OEM is a low cost, low quality manufacturer.
I need to buy new wiper blades.
So my question is, does anyone know of any brand of wiper blades that are the most durable for people like me (that is, people who may use them too much on near dry surfaces)?
Thanks.
P.S. After 5 months, wipers are fine ;-)
I just truncated the numbers to two digits. 40 MPH is where it gets into 5th when warmed up it seems.
40MPG=32 MPG
50MPH=31 MPG
55=30
60=28
65=27
70=25
75=24
125=....not going there!
Trucklet has about 650 miles on it. I cannot vouch for the Scangauge accuracy in the RAV4 until I get a few more tanks recorded but have found it very accurate in another car.
RAV4 speedo versus scangauge and GPS is very close, reads about 1-2 MPH high at about 65. Actualy I cannot read the needle to 1 MPH!
The MPG at 55 is pretty close to EPA numbers it seems.
Don't take these numbers too serious, just a rough idea.
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Now when you re-apply foot pressure to the accelerator pedal if the transaxle can remain in the upshifted gear without incurring engine knock then it will do so. Clearly then, a higher octance fuel will/can reduce the instances of delay/hesitation due to upshifting followed closely by downshifts.
A quick dual shift sequence, reapplication of accelerator pressure just as the upshift begins, for which there is not sufficient ATF pressure/fluid flow, especially with the engine at idle, throttle fully closed will almost always result in a downshift delay/hesitation.
So the DBW system maintains the the throttle at fully closed to protect the drive train by allowing the extra time needed for the "coming" downshift.
To those ends, we will be shutting down the general make/model discussions and work exclusively with specific issues. This requires us to populate the make/model subsections with relevant, interesting and timely topics. Rather than having the hosts simply create boilerplate topics for each make/model, we feel that you, the owner, the make/model enthusiast and the prospective buyer can best judge what those topics should be.
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Pretty huge difference between 55 and 75, it uses 25% more fuel!
-juice
Toyota RAV4
tidester, host
Plus:
The V6 is quick. That part is a bit fun. Steering is tight and the gas mileage is tracking at around 21mpg. I have never gotten better then 23mpg even with all highway driving and have gotten as low as 18mpg with the air running and mostly city driving.
Minus:
Had multiple trips back to the dealer on fit and finish issues, the sort of stuff you expect from Ford or GM but not Toyota so that was a bit of a disappointment. Examples: The plastic covering on the "A" pillar fell open while driving down the road. Why would a plastic cover just fall open? Leather seats lost sections of their stitching on three separate occasions. The display on the stereo would suddenly go blank. It would otherwise work but you had no idea what the buttons did because the display just showed a blank screen. It is an intermittent problem and will not reveal itself when I bring it in the dealer for repair. So I am stuck with this nuisance until I suppose it breaks for good. Like I said, this is all the type of stuff you expect from most American made brands.
When the key is inserted in the ignition, the key chain is close enough to my knee that I find it is constantly rubbing against my knee at the slightest movement. I have gotten into the habit of only using the driver’s key and keeping my other keys in a separate location...waiting to get lost.
The cup holders seem to be well intended in their location however I find I need to keep a hand on my coffee as the cup fits too loosely and tends to slosh around. Odd design.
Highway road noise is quite something. On a recent 3 hour drive I noticed after the trip my voice was horse as I had to talk so darn loud to overcome the noise in the car. No, the sterio was not on.Without a doubt this is the single biggest annoyance to me. Indeed I have probably steered at least three people away from this car because of the noise levels when driving at highway speeds. Too much!
Holding onto the steering wheel makes me feel like I should be driving the car at a Shiner’s parade. Not very manly holding onto a steering wheel that reminds one of driving a childhood go cart.
Conclusion:
Every car has problems. This one is no exception. I test drove the car and didn't initially pick up on the aforementioned things that bother me now. I intend to keep the car but soon see it finding its way to one of my children where they will be less inclined to notice the problems.
I will likely steer clear of Toyota on my next purchase. They make a fine car I am told, just not for me.
Note: I used the Rain-X blades for a long time on my old car and they didn't seem to last that long but they did work ok. Before that, Anco (which seemed to last even less time). The OEM ones have held up surprisingly well thus far but other threads here suggest they fail badly when they fail.
- Marty
But fit, finish, ride all great. I had a 2001 Mazda Tribute (sold to my son)car still runs great but noticed the other day how much noisier it is than this Rav4.
Also do agree cup holders (can i say suck?).
Oh yeah, forgot the 6 disc radio system had to be replaced but again, not alone on that. Replacement fine.
I have noticed a decline in gas mileage though. Attribute some of that to Ethanol in gas.
I'll try again: Toyota designed the software such that one can run 87 octane in these vehicles. THIS is what zaps the fun right out of driving an otherwise potent engine. Your vehicle "being designed to run on 87 octane" simpy means that it will run on 87 (certainly NOT optimized), and because it's the cheapest, it's what most people, especially frugal Toyota owners want. They should say, "It's designed to cope with 87 octane", because that's what it's doing, but the folks in marketing would rather put a positive twist on the statement.
Your 4 cylinder has 9.8 to 1 compression, and the v6 10.8 to 1. Such high compression means ECU detuning for 87 octane - lost power/efficiency. Run the 87 if you want, but put in higher octane, in a more capable engine like yours, and you WILL notice a difference - if you pull the ECU, or drive a couple hundred miles. ***This is why performance ECU chips/remapping are BIG business! They work, and it's Dynamometer proven.***
This will also reduce, but not remove the "lag", and Toyota doesn't yet have a fix because they consider it normal operation; the undesired characteristics of drive by wire are industry wide. I'm not saying you have to accept or like the "lag"; I'm trying to help those whom are willing to be receptive, to understand.
I have not been able to find the rain guards to fit the 2006 RAV4 limited, anybody have any suggestions??
Not quite, you worded it incorrectly.
You should have written "using higher octane than the manufacturer designed/optimized the engine for will not increase performance."
A 10.8:1 compression ratio is very high. Usually most engines above 10:1 will go ahead and just require premium fuel.
Toyota obviously programmed the ECU to retard the ignition to tolerate lower octane than what is ideal, but you absolutely will lose power, have no doubt about that. It may be only 5hp or so, and a lot of people won't feel the difference, but if you want speed, or haul heavy loads, or tow, you'd be better off using premium fuel in a high compression engine (10.8:1 is certainly high) like the 3.5l V6 in the RAV4.
-juice