Rav 4 - Any Achillies Heels?

[stu nesling]

running goodyear dueller 687's at the moment as thats what it came with, but changing

to geolander g012's before winter comes. they are an all surface a/t tyre without going

to the extremes of full nobbly tyres that make a lot of noise on road.

[HDAV]

M+S AT's that came on it, Goodyear? Loads of tread left and low mileage mean they probably won't get changed the previous mk1 we never bought a tyre for....

[figgy]

Only thing that's common to go is the rear diff mounting bushes wear causing a bang on releasing the clutch when changing gear and the filler pipe for the tank rusts but easy to replace.I've had mine a few years now and it's gone everywhere I've wanted it to and my wife drives it like she has stole it. Great little 4x4.

[caeser]

My missus works at Toyota. She also has a 2 litre petrol Rav4 but it is only 5 years old, so it's not the same engine. The worst thing about the early 2 litre petrol Rav4's is the fuel consumption. They are very very thirsty for a small 4x4. That was the biggest complaint they had about them from customers.

Depending on what mileage you intend to do, I would think about looking elsewhere. Or hold out for a D4D.

Later petrol versions were a lot better.

[HDAV]

Caeser when you say early how early? Mk1? Mid 90's cars? Or early mk2? 2000's vintage?

[figgy]

It's the 3sfe engined mk1 that's thirsty. The next models with a 1.8vvti engine were better fuel wise.

Mine does about 25mpg average off road low teens if going is rough.

 

Figgy

[4eyes]

I did not think the 1.8 was four wheel drive. My 2.0 vvti (petrol) Mk2, which is four wheel drive, is regularly doing 25mpg, but this drops to 20ish if just doing short journeys around town.

[Hamster]

I did not think the 1.8 was four wheel drive. My 2.0 vvti (petrol) Mk2, which is four wheel drive, is regularly doing 25mpg, but this drops to 20ish if just doing short journeys around town.

 

Correct, we had a 51 plate from new and it returned 35/37, would have it back as a runabout any day.

[figgy]

Yes the 1.8 is only 2wd the nrgy models and like. The 2.0 models are better with more power and better mpg.

 

Figgy

[diddy]

i believe there is problems with the D4D engines using vast amounts of oil in which toyota extended there warranty to 7 years if it had done under a certain milage and had fsh.

[stu nesling]

there sure is diddy, its on the 2AD 2.2 diesel..not penned by me,but taken from a toyota forum.

 

This guide is wriiten to hopefully answer most of the often asked questions about the 2AD 2.2 Diesel engine and its problems.

The Symptoms

Owners complain of the following;

Excessive oil consumption.
Coolant Water being blown out of the expansion tank and the colour sometimes turning darker in colour.
Excessive Fuel consumption.
Blocked or heavily sooted EGR valves
And of course cars going into limp mode or displaying fault codes relating to this engines issues.

Toyotas Answer.

Well Toyota really stepped up to the plate and offered an extended warranty which can be found in the following text taken from the TSB (Technical Service Bulletin)

"AD Engine Out of Warranty Guidelines (0730J)

We are pleased to advise that we have received more formalised guidelines from TME for the handling of AD engine problems on out of warranty vehicles. The coverage and processes are summarised below.

Conditions Covered

1) Oil consumption worse than 0.5 litre per 621 miles (1,000 km)
2) Overheating & Head Gasket failure due to carbon deposits on the pistons

For all other out of warranty conditions related to AD engine problems, where the customer complaint can be directly linked to a “carbon clogging” concern, i.e. EGR Valve, DPNR, 5th Injector, EGR Cooler, blocked manifold, etc., we would accept this as being linked to an oil consumption condition.

Vehicles Covered

Those vehicles fitted with AD diesel engines;

��Avensis with 1AD or 2AD (Prod. Date: Apr 2005 to Feb 2009)
��RAV4 with 2AD (Prod. Date: Jul 2005 to Dec 2008)
��Auris with 1AD or 2AD (Prod. Date: Sep 2006 to Sep 2009)
��Verso with 2AD (Prod. Date: Apr 2005 to Nov 2008)

Age / Mileage Covered

These guidelines cover vehicles up to 7 years old and 111,846 miles (180,000 km), whichever the sooner. This is conditional on there being a retail customer complaint and the vehicle having been reasonably maintained".

So what do I do if my car is displaying the above faults?

You should take Your car for inspection to your nearest Toyota Dealers. They will check your oil level and carry out all or any checks required by Toyota and read any stored fault codes. You will then be asked to take the car back to the dealer after approximately 1000 miles and the oil will be checked again to determine if its oil consumption is to great as in the TSB above.

So what happens next?

If it is deemed You engine is burning too much oil, is sooting the EGR valve or displaying any of the above related faults your engine will be replaced under the extended warranty.

What will be replaced?

The engine assembly in Toyota terms is a ¾ engine which is basically the whole engine from the sump up to the rocker cover. Up until mid 2011 engines were rebuilt by the Dealer but after this proved too time consuming and sometimes unsuccessful, engines were replaced as a ¾ assembly for economic reasons. Sometimes these replacement engines are reworked or remanufactured engines rebuilt in Japan. Sometimes the engines are brand new.

The following will or may be replaced during the procedure.

EGR valve.
Injectors including the 5th injector.
Catalytic convertor.
DFP filter (Diesel Particulate Filter).
The engine oil of course and the coolant .
Air conditioning will be re gassed.

The procedure for and during replacement

Well I will explain what my experience was......

Once the car was diagnosed and the engine replacement was approved I took the car into the Dealer who kindly supplied me with a free courtesy car. 2 days later I was called and informed my car was ready for collection. I was given a work sheet detailing what had been done and the new engine number. Note: It is the owners responsibility to inform the DVLA of the change.

The differences between old and new engine.

The new engine is much quieter. Fuel consumption is far better than before.

Consider also;

If You are having a new engine fitted under warranty, consider having a new clutch assembly fitted while the engine is out. There will normally be no labour charge for this as there is no increased labour as all these parts are stripped out during replacement. It would otherwise cost in the region of £1200 (should it become necessary) for a clutch replacement on a RAV4 but less on an Auris, Avensis or Verso.

Edited June 16, 2014 by stu nesling