Rav4.2 Notchy Gearbox

[gsb104]

hi

sorry if this has been covered before

i have a rav4.2 2.0L with a manual gearbox with 98000 miles

all gears work fine but i have noticed it seems to be very notchy between 1st and 2nd gear and also when shifting down from 3rd to 2nd which can be felt through the gearstick,just wondering if this is normal

also i wonder if anyone could tell me how i could check if it has had all work it may have needed through recalls,i have not had car that long and would just like peace of mind

thanks in advance

[Catweazle]

My 4.2 with only 33,000 miles on the clock is the same and is the only thing I really don't like about the car. I have asked numerous people who have all told me that it's down to the cable gear change on the RAV and is totally normal. However, after 6 weeks of owning the RAV, I still feel like a learner as the high clutch biting point and notchy gear change is taking one hell of a time to get used to.

I took the car to an independant Toyota mechanic last weekend and he gave it the once over and said that the clutch and transmission were normal so it's something that us RAVers must get used to.

[Lordy1]

Hi,

Totally agree with everyting said, my 4.3 I suppose then, must have the same box.

It is the one thing that I don't like about the car as well. I feel it spoils the driving experience for me and sometimes I find it a bit dangerous as it won't allow a quick change in the lower gears. I do agree that it does take some getting used to.

Regards

hi

sorry if this has been covered before

i have a rav4.2 2.0L with a manual gearbox with 98000 miles

all gears work fine but i have noticed it seems to be very notchy between 1st and 2nd gear and also when shifting down from 3rd to 2nd which can be felt through the gearstick,just wondering if this is normal

also i wonder if anyone could tell me how i could check if it has had all work it may have needed through recalls,i have not had car that long and would just like peace of mind

thanks in advance

[anchorman]

Hi,

Totally agree with everyting said, my 4.3 I suppose then, must have the same box.

It is the one thing that I don't like about the car as well. I feel it spoils the driving experience for me and sometimes I find it a bit dangerous as it won't allow a quick change in the lower gears. I do agree that it does take some getting used to.

Regards

hi

sorry if this has been covered before

i have a rav4.2 2.0L with a manual gearbox with 98000 miles

all gears work fine but i have noticed it seems to be very notchy between 1st and 2nd gear and also when shifting down from 3rd to 2nd which can be felt through the gearstick,just wondering if this is normal

also i wonder if anyone could tell me how i could check if it has had all work it may have needed through recalls,i have not had car that long and would just like peace of mind

thanks in advance

Yours is a bit different Chris.

The 4.2s have noisy gear change cables which feel a bit clunky but it is mainly down to the detent springs at the bottom of the lever. It can be eased slightly by removing the gaiter (just pulls off) and oiling the selectors.

The 4.3 problem is inside the box with the synchros. It isn't so easy to address.

[kieran rav4.3]

Hello

Ive just purchased my second RAV4. Its a 2007 XTR and the gear change from 1st to 2nd is terrible. It just doesn't sound healthy! Am I doing any damage to the box with this dodgy gear change? Also is there a fix out there and what does it involve?

Thanks.

Hi,

Totally agree with everyting said, my 4.3 I suppose then, must have the same box.

It is the one thing that I don't like about the car as well. I feel it spoils the driving experience for me and sometimes I find it a bit dangerous as it won't allow a quick change in the lower gears. I do agree that it does take some getting used to.

Regards

hi

sorry if this has been covered before

i have a rav4.2 2.0L with a manual gearbox with 98000 miles

all gears work fine but i have noticed it seems to be very notchy between 1st and 2nd gear and also when shifting down from 3rd to 2nd which can be felt through the gearstick,just wondering if this is normal

also i wonder if anyone could tell me how i could check if it has had all work it may have needed through recalls,i have not had car that long and would just like peace of mind

thanks in advance

[anchorman]

Hi Kieran - welcome to the club.

Not much you can doo really they are all similar although some are slightly better than others. Its down to the design of the twin coutershaft gearbox. The really new (post 2009) models have a new cable mounting design and make it slightly better but they are still not quite perfect from 1st to 2nd.

The only fix is to gearbox noise and involves the fitting of a large amount of insulation under the carpets

tran-noise-CP-0030T-0808-EN_IR.pdf

[Chugger]

Agree with comments about the notchy gear change from 1st to 2nd on my 4.3

Mine first started doing this 12 days (29000 miles on the clock) after the warranty expired and Toyota customer services were useless insisting that a investigation report was needed from my local dealer costing £800 before they would ship the spares required, even though my dealers service dept had already diagnosed the fault.

Still driving the Rav with the fault as i was very unhappy with Toyota's response and have now ordered a new car to replace the Rav.

Needless to say my next car will NOT be a Toyota.

[gsb104]

Hi,

Totally agree with everyting said, my 4.3 I suppose then, must have the same box.

It is the one thing that I don't like about the car as well. I feel it spoils the driving experience for me and sometimes I find it a bit dangerous as it won't allow a quick change in the lower gears. I do agree that it does take some getting used to.

Regards

hi

sorry if this has been covered before

i have a rav4.2 2.0L with a manual gearbox with 98000 miles

all gears work fine but i have noticed it seems to be very notchy between 1st and 2nd gear and also when shifting down from 3rd to 2nd which can be felt through the gearstick,just wondering if this is normal

also i wonder if anyone could tell me how i could check if it has had all work it may have needed through recalls,i have not had car that long and would just like peace of mind

thanks in advance

Yours is a bit different Chris.

The 4.2s have noisy gear change cables which feel a bit clunky but it is mainly down to the detent springs at the bottom of the lever. It can be eased slightly by removing the gaiter (just pulls off) and oiling the selectors.

The 4.3 problem is inside the box with the synchros. It isn't so easy to address.

hi

just wondering what oil would i use to lubricate the springs on the gear lever on the 4.2 rav

[anchorman]

Whatever is in your oil can or WD40.

[Dutchrav]

Have had same problems..

There are a lot of TSB (Toyota Service Bulletins) about the gearbox.

Mine was revised under warranty when it had just 10K KM on it.

And after that, still...bit notchy feel from 1st to 2nd gear. Solution : Redline MT90 gearbox oil!

After change the oil to Redline it is only a bit notchy when gearbox is cold.

When all is warmed up it shifts great. Maybe this works for you also.

[bonjo]

although RAV 4 doesn't have a low ratio selector, the first gear is very low.

I guess this is what T thought would be a good compromise for a soft roader. I like it cause you can use it to crawl on difficulty terrain.

A side effect is that the change in ratio between 1st & second is larger that in normal cars. You can expect this difference to produce clunky gear change.

The best way out it to find & use the best engine revs which will give you the smoothest change (and it does exist). Sometimes giving the synchro a bit more time to work between gear changes also helps

[philp]

I collected my 2006 from a Toyota dealer today and instantly noticed the 2nd gear notchyness!, and as Kieran rav4.3 says you think your going to break something, I tried all sorts, the revs a little high than normal.

I m pleased its a normal thing.

[gjnorthall]

On the 4.3 it's essential to use 75W GL4 oil in the gearbox. It's not easily found and many owners have refilled with a multigrade gear oil. The end effect is a very baulky 1st to 2nd change. The oil doesn't need changing routinely so your car may well have the original correct oil. You might however see some benefit with an oil change.

[philp]

Having just purchased mine, the local Toyota garage say a service has been done , you`d believe that its just the oil filter and an alleged check.

I ve logged onto my Toyota, via Toyota web page. Will this tell me what has been done to it via a Toyota dealer, if not is there a way. I ve been told its 20 quid to have the gearbox oil changed by the dealer???.

[gjnorthall]

The service record won't give the detail - just that certain services have been carried out. If you've got a service history for the car then you might well have the service checklists. On this model - changing gearbox oil isn't part of the schedule so it's more than likely that your gearbox has the original oil. Unfortunately a gearbox oil change will be around treble what you've been quoted!

[philp]

I ve been offered a service plan and its an optional, 39.99 duuno where I got 20 quid from!

[cameron_5]

Mine does exactly the same thing.

1999 2000cc rav 4 gx. with 81000 miles

Had it serviced after I got it and they checked the clutch as it sticks between 1st and 2nd gear.

They advised its not an issue and no serious problems.

it is very annoying though.

[Mike169]

Hi gsb104

You asked about recalls and if your car is due any, look up

http://www.toyota.co.uk/owners-info/recall-checker

and put your reg. no. in, it should tell you if you need any?

Mike.

[Bryan Davies]

Bought a 2005 2.0 petrol with full Toyota FSH however notchy between 1st and 2nd I did some research and decided to change gearbox oil to REDLINE MT-LV. It was quite expensive but has transformed the gear change quality - highly recommended.

[Avalon]

… it’s been 6 years 😄

[Tompaine]

My 2010 RAV4 86000 miles is the same changing up from 1st to 2nd but is fine changing down from  3rd to 2nd. Most odd.  Does anyone else experience this. 

[philip42h]

18 minutes ago, Tompaine said:

My 2010 RAV4 86000 miles is the same changing up from 1st to 2nd but is fine changing down from  3rd to 2nd. Most odd.  Does anyone else experience this. 

Yes - with my 2009 4.3. As mentioned way back in this thread there is an issue with the syncros in the manual gearbox in that they seem to be a little 'slow'. If you snatch the gear change / try to change gear too quickly the change seems to baulk; if you change gear slowly it's as smooth as can be.

I used to try to change from 1st to 2nd in two stages - 1st to neutral then neutral to 2nd with just an imperceptible pause between the two - and found that very effective. I had no issues between 2nd and 3rd since you need to move across the gate in neutral anyway ...