Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives RAV4 experience?

Any one use or have used a Toyota Rav4? Would be a daily driver/commuter. Current Corolla is nearing 300,000, would like to replace it with a Tacoma but the gas mileage kills it for commuting. RAV 4 splits the difference on mileage and would give a bit of room in the back.

My wife has one, terrific vehicle. Certainly about the "best in class." Her's is an 09' and we'll get her another this summer.

Thanks for the feedback.

You mentioned getting another this summer. When I started researching them I saw that Toyota currently has 0% for 72 months and $1000 bonus cash on remaining 17 models through 1/2/2018.

I bought a (I think) 98 Rav4 about 7-8 years ago for my sons 1st car. It had about 200K when I bought it and I wasn't expecting it to last long. The boy can tear up a steel ball. Being a first car it got put through things that shouldn't happen to any vehicle. After 3 years of abuse it looked like a prune but still ran strong so I let my 16 yr old girl take her turn at flogging it. She wasn't any nicer to it than the boy and hated it because her big brother tore it up before she got a chance to. After 2 more years of abuse from her we upgraded her to a 2010 Yaris and the little Rav4 took a much needed break beside the house. One day this guy knocks on the door. He owns a small package delivery service and wants to buy the car. He offers a better than fair price for it so I let him have it. After he had the title in hand he said he buys every Rav4 he can get his hands on. He said his employees are as rough on vehicles as my kids and the Rav4 seems to last better than any other car he's tried so far. He said he has one with over 450K on it. I still see that ugly little car around town from time to time. IMO, great cars.

Good to hear. At some point whatever I get might end up as my oldest kid's car. I was thinking I'd do that with the Corolla until I did a little math and realized it would likely be over 400,000 by that time...

Which engine for the Rav 4

I think they only come with a 2.5-liter four-cylinder. Not sure about previous models.

My son had an older one that was great. He put nearly 300k on it without any major problems.
Then last year, he and his wife borrowed her mother's new one for a winter trip across WA. He said the only problem was that you can put it in 4x4 but at 25mph, the 4x4 automatically disengages. It doesn't have real 4x4 like the older ones. It has some kind of AWD that senses slipping and engages on the fly.

The front wheel drive only model should be fine for my use. I haven't considered the AWD model.

we have had two a 1999 and a 2017 great rigs.

Ed

Great post... “the boy can tear up a steel ball” gave me a serious chuckle.

I forgot to add my daughter has a 2000 rav 4, and she too could tear up a steel ball. The vehicle is going strong.

[align:left][/align]I have a 2001 that I have had 3 years. It has the transmission control module problem of that year unfortunately and is past the warranty at 195k. Sadly it does not make sense to pay a grand or possibly 4 if the tranny needs replaced as well. Really love that car but it's time is up with me. Would buy another Ina heart beat and maybe will in the spring.

I read this aloud to my wife. She laughed so hard she farted. Twice.

lol.... Sounds like the RAV4 is a good machine though emission controls may be lacking....

That was funny, just not as funny. You only got a single small fart.

I got up underneath one back east that Family Friends had... women...

it got loaned to their brother in law, the methhead for 90 days...

it was an 07 with the V6 in it...

he destroyed it in that 90 days...

messed up the engine...ran it 25,000 miles in 90 days... and never left Massachusetts or New Hampshire
as they live on the state line..don't know where he went with it... but never changed the oil or anything..

the Trans fluid and differential fluids, which are ATF, were burnt...

brakes and pads were down to bare metal...

timing chain needed replaced...

not counting the extensive body work it needed...

it got loaned to him, because his wife was whining to mom, he needed a car to get to work...

the truck he had, was given to him, by 'someone who owed him money'....

turned out he ran it until the plates expired, because not only would it not pass state inspection
turned out that it couldn't be registered, because the vehicle was stolen also...

just an average metro Boston 40 yr old methhead...

We bought our daughter a 2013 and then traded it in for a 2017, so she, and we, have been happy with it. My parents have a 2015 and are happy with it. Only complaint is the cheap feel of the interior and the stupid cup holder that's mostly unusable. Great car for it's intended market. The 2017 Honda CRV is nicer though.

I picked up a 1999 a few years ago as a college commute car for our oldest boy, had ~215k on the odo. Ran a little rough and burns oil. Put in a new set of spark plugs which smoothed it out and ran some seam foam through it. Still burns oil. All three of our kids learned how to shift on it. The clutch was near death when I got it, and needless to say didn't survive the learning curve. I tried to change it out myself, warning to others, save yourself four days of work and just take it to a shop. It's a major expense to factor that in when if buying a manual.

Asside from that, the little thing just runs and runs. Even when the kids are out of the house I'll likely keep it as a spare car as long as it's driveable. Mileage isn't the best, but the awd handles winter conditions on our mountain road just fine.

My wife has '12 Rav4.......bought it in '13. It's been a good vehicle although it burns about a qt of oil every 1000 miles. We have 4 Toyota vehicles in the driveway; 11 Tacoma, 10 Corolla. '98 Avalon and the Rav4.

Oh yea, my FIL is retired from GM and we could get his employee discount but choose Toyota instead.

We're 'yota heavy here. Tundra, Sienna, Corolla. Everyone we've owned has been great so it's the first maker I look at.

I appreciate all the feedback on the RAV4.