2006 Rav4 T180 - Lots Of Questions!

[barkerboy]

So we've had our Rav4 T180 (56 reg) for 2 weeks now. Love the ride but having a number of issues i thought i would document. Also need some advice/help which i'm unable to find answers for although i believe they have have been covered in the past.

Anyway i spent 2 hours of my life i will never get back with Mr T on Wednesday for a new (run flat or whatever they are called) tyre to be fitted. I asked if i could watch them change the tyre but was told there was no safe place to watch from £231 lighter as a result and this will be charged back to the garage i bought from. And i had to book 3 days in advance to get a timed slot otherwise it was 2 days and leave the car with them all day!

While they had the car they did a safety check and have identified a leaking water pump and oil leak from the filter which will need replacing. Water pump quote £300+ and Oil filter £90ish. Again i will get this charged back to the garage i bought from.

So on to my questions. Note the car is registered Oct 2006 so between 3-4 yrs old.

One of the 18" wheels has a bit of pitting where the paint is bubbling. We had a terrible case of this on our 2001 Rav alloys and i don't want that again. Did i read once Toyota replaced these under warranty? Should i approach them as we are only just out of warranty?

My main concern at present i have reset the fuel / trip computer and after a couple of hundred miles we are only getting 26mpg. I'm driving under 2000rpm as suggested elsewhere but this is hardly making a difference. I read there was an ECU upgrade but can't find the original post. How do i know if this has been done and if it hasn't is it free?

And finally i asked the stealer about Cam Belt changes and he informed me the T180 has a chain, not a belt so that won't need changing. Looking in the engine on the left hand side seems to be a belt. Anyone know for sure if it is a belt or chain on the T180?

Thanks again all.

[anchorman]

Where did you get it from. If a dealer then you may have some come back on them. If private things are a bit different. The tyres are well documented and the best thing you can do is get rid of them as they come up for renewal.

Does that water go down in the header tank? If not it may weep for ever more. Don't bother about it but keep an eye on the water level. If you do need one get it off Kingo and fit it yourself or get a local garage to fit it. The oil filter is a new one. Ask why it needs renewing. A new filter comes with new seals so that would be my first call unless it is cracked or something in which case get it done now. However, pro rata-ing the cost of a water pump (about £80 from memory) you are looking for a lot less for oil filter parts. It needs more clarification.

Ask the dealer about a policy claim on the wheels and if he says no write to TGB and ask the same. They should also tell you if the flash has been done on the ECU but don't expect miracles with the fuel consumption - keep those revs right down and a very light right foot.

The T180 has a chain and the belt you can see is for driving auxiliaries. That should last years but have it visually checked at service periods.

[bluevortex]

So we've had our Rav4 T180 (56 reg) for 2 weeks now. Love the ride but having a number of issues i thought i would document. Also need some advice/help which i'm unable to find answers for although i believe they have have been covered in the past.

Anyway i spent 2 hours of my life i will never get back with Mr T on Wednesday for a new (run flat or whatever they are called) tyre to be fitted. I asked if i could watch them change the tyre but was told there was no safe place to watch from £231 lighter as a result and this will be charged back to the garage i bought from. And i had to book 3 days in advance to get a timed slot otherwise it was 2 days and leave the car with them all day!

While they had the car they did a safety check and have identified a leaking water pump and oil leak from the filter which will need replacing. Water pump quote £300+ and Oil filter £90ish. Again i will get this charged back to the garage i bought from.

So on to my questions. Note the car is registered Oct 2006 so between 3-4 yrs old.

One of the 18" wheels has a bit of pitting where the paint is bubbling. We had a terrible case of this on our 2001 Rav alloys and i don't want that again. Did i read once Toyota replaced these under warranty? Should i approach them as we are only just out of warranty?

My main concern at present i have reset the fuel / trip computer and after a couple of hundred miles we are only getting 26mpg. I'm driving under 2000rpm as suggested elsewhere but this is hardly making a difference. I read there was an ECU upgrade but can't find the original post. How do i know if this has been done and if it hasn't is it free?

And finally i asked the stealer about Cam Belt changes and he informed me the T180 has a chain, not a belt so that won't need changing. Looking in the engine on the left hand side seems to be a belt. Anyone know for sure if it is a belt or chain on the T180?

Thanks again all.

Hi Barkerboy. Good choice of car, I purchased a T180 56 plate registered Sept. Unfortunately, the run flats are expensive to replace and you are very limited with who can fit them. It might be worth getting them cut off when they need replacing and just carrying a spare wheel? All 4 of mine are currently 6mm plus and I belive 20K+ is possible but will wait n see. The down side appears to be the tyre pressure light would be permanantly on if they were replaced due to the valves? Still thinking this over with my T180 but as I plan to switch wheels every winter with snow tyre/wheel combo I might wait n see if this is going to be an issue for me? regarding the alloy corrosion or bubbling this is also an issue on my wheels and I know this is not caused by acidic cleaners because the car used to belong to my father, and I have looked fater the car from new. Please let me know the outcome if you approach toyota about this as I may do the same.

Regarding the Average mpg, the last time I looked at mine I struggled to register 30mpg which is shockingly low. However, I seem to be averaging around 400 miles to the tank and I don't drive slow. My advice switch it to another setting and don't look!! I haven't found the fuel economy to be a problem :D

My car has just been in for it 40K service at Toyota. I note there was an ECU upgrade carried out at the same time, not sure what it was for coz I didn't notice until I got home. My engine drive belt had been a bit noisy under acceleration but they inspected it and confirmed all was well. I had previously sprayed with WD40 (which was the wrong thing to do) however, the noise has now gone.

I am really enjoying the car so far and its nice to have all the toys... top of the range! What colour is yours btw?

Cheers

Blue

[barkerboy]

Thanks for the replies. I bought the car from a reputable Used Car Centre who give 3 months warranty. They agreed to pay for the new tyre and cover the cost of Toyota changing the water pump and oil filter so i'm happy with the service i'm receiving from them. The faults were picked up on a free safety check Toyota do and although the oil and water levels haven't gone down in the 2 weeks we have owned it, better to get it sorted under warranty than to wait until it becomes a problem later. Toyota say the oil filter looks like the seal/ring has a fault so may not have been installed correctly when the used car centre carried out their pre sale service.

Anyway yes i may look into the wheel claim as i really don't want them 18's looking ruined. If i do i will let you know how i get on.

The car is grey with the style pack, black roof bars and In Car Entertainment System which is basically a DVD player under the drivers seat that feeds 2 screens in the front head rests. As you say, lots of gadgets

The fuel economy is a big concern for me as on paper Urban is quoted as 33.6mpg, mixed 40.4mpg yet i'm getting 26mpg and i've started driving like the pope to try and see what the best economy i can acheive. Our previous 2001 Rav4 3dr NRG with 2.0 Petrol engine was doing around 26mpg i think so had expected this diesel would do better. I had originally ruled out a 4x4 as our new car due to expected poor fuel costs but was impressed by the claimed mpg. Watch this space!

[wardude]

Hi

I get about 350 miles on a full tank with my 180. The trip comp normally says 36mpg

As for the tyres, i bought a spare and popped it in the boot. Gonna get the rings cut when the tyres need changed and hopefully just keep the valves so the light doesent come on the dash

Mine is making a funny sqeaking noise when you accelerate. Sounds link pinking or a belt?? Any ideas??? Only seems to do it when your accelerating in a gear that is maybe struugling and you should be in next gear down, once you have accelarated a bit it stops (if that makes sense)

[anchorman]

Hi

I get about 350 miles on a full tank with my 180. The trip comp normally says 36mpg

As for the tyres, i bought a spare and popped it in the boot. Gonna get the rings cut when the tyres need changed and hopefully just keep the valves so the light doesent come on the dash

Mine is making a funny sqeaking noise when you accelerate. Sounds link pinking or a belt?? Any ideas??? Only seems to do it when your accelerating in a gear that is maybe struugling and you should be in next gear down, once you have accelarated a bit it stops (if that makes sense)

Are you using good quality fuel?

[wardude]

Hi Dan

cheers for the reply

I use JET fuel as its next to where I work and cheapest around here at £1.16 per litre. I added some Forte fuel additive last week and ran but it made no difference. You think I should maybe fill up at BP or Shell using there super duper diesel instead of the bog standard????

[anchorman]

On the rare occasion that red one had regular diesel due to nothing else being available, it could produce a noise that was a mix between piston slap and pinking (detonation). The result was a bit like a bird chirping in time with the engine especially under load.

Low grade fuel just goes "bang" and explodes but high grade fuel has a more controlled and continuous burn. It might just be worth trying some when you get the chance then let us know how it seems.

[wardude]

On the rare occasion that red one had regular diesel due to nothing else being available, it could produce a noise that was a mix between piston slap and pinking (detonation). The result was a bit like a bird chirping in time with the engine especially under load.

Low grade fuel just goes "bang" and explodes but high grade fuel has a more controlled and continuous burn. It might just be worth trying some when you get the chance then let us know how it seems.

Hi Dan. thats just what it sounds like, a bird chirping. then once you speed up a bit and the loads gone, the noise goes too

[Lordy1]

On the rare occasion that red one had regular diesel due to nothing else being available, it could produce a noise that was a mix between piston slap and pinking (detonation). The result was a bit like a bird chirping in time with the engine especially under load.

Low grade fuel just goes "bang" and explodes but high grade fuel has a more controlled and continuous burn. It might just be worth trying some when you get the chance then let us know how it seems.

Hi Dan. thats just what it sounds like, a bird chirping. then once you speed up a bit and the loads gone, the noise goes too

Bird chirping sounds like the drive belt and or tensioners. Had exact same noise on mine especially when trying to accelerate when in too higher gear. Sounded like a dead pheasant. Toyota tried to tell me it was just a characteristic of the model !!!! Well had belt and tensioner changed under warranty now perfect.

Regards

[barkerboy]

Going back to my fuel economy. I filled up Saturday on Shell Regular Diesel and reset the mpg counter. After an 80 mile round trip Maidstone to London it is now registering 35mpg which is a lot more like it. I guess time will tell how far i go on a tank but i'm much happier now i think i don't have a problem.

[Parts-King]

Sounded like a dead pheasant.

Makes a note to oneself..........Put that one in the book of excuses for future use ;)

Not sure what dead pheasants sound like but I like it

Kingo

[wardude]

filled up with BP Ultimate. After 130 miles its still doing it though it doesent seem as bad. Dunno if thats just in my head!!! Maybe get the tensioners checked. God knows how much they will be. Might just out up with it as it only does it under load

[vivianM]

So we've had our Rav4 T180 (56 reg) for 2 weeks now. Love the ride but having a number of issues i thought i would document. Also need some advice/help which i'm unable to find answers for although i believe they have have been covered in the past.

Anyway i spent 2 hours of my life i will never get back with Mr T on Wednesday for a new (run flat or whatever they are called) tyre to be fitted. I asked if i could watch them change the tyre but was told there was no safe place to watch from £231 lighter as a result and this will be charged back to the garage i bought from. And i had to book 3 days in advance to get a timed slot otherwise it was 2 days and leave the car with them all day!

While they had the car they did a safety check and have identified a leaking water pump and oil leak from the filter which will need replacing. Water pump quote £300+ and Oil filter £90ish. Again i will get this charged back to the garage i bought from.

So on to my questions. Note the car is registered Oct 2006 so between 3-4 yrs old.

One of the 18" wheels has a bit of pitting where the paint is bubbling. We had a terrible case of this on our 2001 Rav alloys and i don't want that again. Did i read once Toyota replaced these under warranty? Should i approach them as we are only just out of warranty?

My main concern at present i have reset the fuel / trip computer and after a couple of hundred miles we are only getting 26mpg. I'm driving under 2000rpm as suggested elsewhere but this is hardly making a difference. I read there was an ECU upgrade but can't find the original post. How do i know if this has been done and if it hasn't is it free?

And finally i asked the stealer about Cam Belt changes and he informed me the T180 has a chain, not a belt so that won't need changing. Looking in the engine on the left hand side seems to be a belt. Anyone know for sure if it is a belt or chain on the T180?

Thanks again all.

Most of your questions have been answered but fuel consumption does vary wildly I get 39/40 mpg on a good long run but only 35/36 on short local runs - using the AirCon does make a difference around 10% less mpg if it is on all the trip.

I have found an occasional diference with the onboard display reading - very low when I reset with the car stopped after filling up and a much higher reading when I set it after travelling about 1/2 mile !!

I, following Anchorman's advice, now use Total Excellium fuel, pricey but the engine seems much smoother and mpg is quite good, on my long runs I do not hang about but it is very rare that I need to go above much 3000 revs in any gear.

Surprisingly to many people I am quite relaxed about the run flats and many others are also but I do have a spare which I only put in the back for very long trips. I am not sure that I would like to try to mend anything than a very minor puncture with the goo you have to squirt in on the latest models.

I am sure you will grow to like your T180 very much as soon as it settles down with you. Just a point in the past before OBC's no one bothered with a read out to the nearest mile per gallon you just watched the gauge going down!!

Guy