Rav4 T180 Chip Upgrade - I Have The Power!

[local hero]

If I'm completely honest all this talk of the fragility of this engine plus not wanting to endanger the extended warranty given again on this particular engine. I think I will sit on the fence on this one. I realise of course that The box can be easily removed in the event of engine problems arising BUT if that Denso unit is that complicated its possible that it will exhibit what has been taking place .........

Plus if the motor is a little on the fragile side then adding extra load as is unavoidable with these devices might just encourage the ******* to go bang !! Lastly at £375 quid which is actually a very good price from Kingo. Its going to take a while to recoup that coin. and that's if I can resist using the extra power that's been paid for.

I bought the Toyota as a long term workhorse as I've said.Now having read all the doom and gloom about the engine I will not be keeping this car outside of that extended warranty if that long.. If I had read about these problems I would have just bought something else.....

Charlie.

Aye....that's the worst about car forums, Charlie....it's normally full of the things that go wrong, for which people seek help, which is not usually economically available to them from their dealer.

Never mind.....have a look at Volvo XC90 / Landrover / Range Rover forums, then ask a Maserati owner how often his car has been in for electrical faults, and now I will start a trend.....

AH REALLY LIKE MA CAR, SO MUCH SO AH BOUGHT ANURRA WAN....

Anybody else want to chip in and Cheer up Charlie......?

Big Kev

Honestly not trying to sell you a Chip Charlie, but I would not worry about over stressing the engine, do not forget Toyota (TTE) sell their own chip Mfd by Van Arken at about £1000, and you still retain the Toyota warranty, If you look at the silver RAV4 sport, (below in my signature) this has a 212bhp engine, so it would seem that Toyota themselves are happy to do this. However, if as you say you are only interested in saving fuel then I doubt any "chip" is a viable proposition, but if you factor in the extra power and driveability then it could make sense, I have a mate that poodles around in an old banger most of the time and then gets his Honda NSX out of storage when he feels like a blast Stew

[Manxrav]

Good point Stew, but am I wrong in believing that TTE no longer excist. Where they not cut a couple of years ago when Toyota Europe pulled the plug on motorsport?

It was a crying shame cause they did some crackin products.

Regards Clare

[blue monster]

Kev, I agree with your comments about other forums, we came from a 2006/56 Nissan X-Trail to our T180.

I did do some homework before we bought the X-Trail but TBH our previous car was knackered - the dashboard was lighting up like a Christmas tree, it wasn't running right and I needed to get rid quick so I off loaded it to a Nissan main dealer!!

We bought a top spec 2.2 dCi X-trail with 6k on the clock as I was aware that there were turbo & intercooler issues with the older & higher mileage models. Not long after buying it we experienced issues with the EGR valve which involved a re-map at my cost, rust & brakes - we had to have new discs & pads all round at 14k which we again had to pay for!! I kicked up a stink with Nissan GB and they simply did not want to know (and I am not one for giving up easily) even though the car was still well within it's original 3 year warranty.

The more I read on the X-Trail forum, the more & more issues I uncovered and eventually got rid when I discovered an oil leak from the turbo and oil in the intercooler at 28k miles. There are still issues with the new X-Trail which Nissan sems to turn a blind eye to. The car wasn't that bad but Nissan GB and a number of Nissan dealers that I had the unfortunate experience of dealing with were all a bunch of twunts.

I have had Honda's & still do for over 12 years now (bikes and cars) and expected Nissan being Japanese to have the same level of customer care as Honda - how wrong was I!!!

Coming to Toyota, I have found out there there are a few issues that may impact your car. The way I look at it is, you have a warranty and I chose to extend mine to the 3 years and if some thing goes wrong with it you take it back to Mr T. My experience with Toyota so far as been great, I have had parts replaced under warranty and there were no issues and I have had parts fitted at my expense and in both cases the customer experience has been outstanding - this goes a long way when having to deal with any car manufacturer when some thing does go wrong.

There is no point in worrying about what if - otherwise you would end up never stepping outside our your house for the fear of being hit by a bus!

Enjoy driving the car and if some thing does happen calll Mr.T

[Manxrav]

Hi Blue interesting comments on the Nissan Xtrail,(sorry if I am going off thread ) A very good friend of mine runs a 2005 DCi SVE and it has done 49000 miles.The problems she,s had have been monumental,especially regarding Turbo and engine issues.I won,t go into it in too much depth but I agree 100% with your comments.The engine is actually a Nissan engine not a Renault one, which I would have been a better propersition.Plus the Nissan Dealer is a complete T*****r and only has one view "The I,m a Nissan Dealer and can,t be wrong". At least I can get "sense" out of my Toyota dealer on island.

Regards Clare

[local hero]

Good point Stew, but am I wrong in believing that TTE no longer excist. Where they not cut a couple of years ago when Toyota Europe pulled the plug on motorsport?

It was a crying shame cause they did some crackin products.

Regards Clare

You may be right Clare, I really dont know I would not advocate anyone buys a TTE chip at huge money just that it does show that Toyota either Do or did endorse them. Stew

[blue monster]

I forgot to mention that I did ask Kingo prior to buying one if this chip kit invalidated the Toyota warranty and he told me it did not.

Chip it & enjoy it

[blitzchaser]

If I'm completely honest all this talk of the fragility of this engine plus not wanting to endanger the extended warranty given again on this particular engine. I think I will sit on the fence on this one. I realise of course that The box can be easily removed in the event of engine problems arising BUT if that Denso unit is that complicated its possible that it will exhibit what has been taking place .........

Plus if the motor is a little on the fragile side then adding extra load as is unavoidable with these devices might just encourage the ******* to go bang !! Lastly at £375 quid which is actually a very good price from Kingo. Its going to take a while to recoup that coin. and that's if I can resist using the extra power that's been paid for.

I bought the Toyota as a long term workhorse as I've said.Now having read all the doom and gloom about the engine I will not be keeping this car outside of that extended warranty if that long.. If I had read about these problems I would have just bought something else.....

Charlie.

Aye....that's the worst about car forums, Charlie....it's normally full of the things that go wrong, for which people seek help, which is not usually economically available to them from their dealer.

Never mind.....have a look at Volvo XC90 / Landrover / Range Rover forums, then ask a Maserati owner how often his car has been in for electrical faults, and now I will start a trend.....

AH REALLY LIKE MA CAR, SO MUCH SO AH BOUGHT ANURRA WAN....

Anybody else want to CHIP in and Cheer up Charlie......?

Big Kev

totally agree

[anchorman]

[For Me if it gives a measurable improvement in economy it would be good but it will take along time to recoup the gains !!

It will when you are riding around trying it out against your Jag

[CharlieFarlie]

[For Me if it gives a measurable improvement in economy it would be good but it will take along time to recoup the gains !!

It will when you are riding around trying it out against your Jag

The Jag uses less fuel than the Rav does Mate..... Take a look on Autotraders website ! The Jags figures are better than the Toyotas..

Im talking about the 3.0 twin Turbo 3.0D S engine here though.. The earlier 2.7s were heavier on fuel by some 20% the new 3.0D S engine is the very latest diesel technology..

Anyway one is a tool/workhorse the other is for pleasure..

[CharlieFarlie]

Here Ya go

Jag 3.0D S

Fuel consumption (urban) 30 mpg

Fuel consumption (extra urban) 51.3 mpg

Fuel consumption (combined) 42 mpg

0 - 62 mph 5.9 seconds

Top speed 155 mph

Cylinders 6

Valves 24 v

Engine power 275 bhp

Engine torque 443 lbs/ft

Rav4 T180

Fuel consumption (urban) 33.6 mpg

Fuel consumption (extra urban) 46.3 mpg

Fuel consumption (combined) 40.4 mpg

0 - 62 mph 9.3 seconds

Top speed 124 mph

Cylinders 4

Valves 16 v

Engine power 177 bhp

Engine torque 295 lbs/ft

You need to do Your homework ,Matey... I can tell you in total honesty that the Jag does indeed use less fuel than the Rav does !!

These are of course the government figures but all cars are tested using the same formula.

Both using the brim to brim way of establishing the consumption And the cars fuel computers the Jag wins every time.

[blue monster]

Charlie mate, you want to get chipped, seriously, I have done less than 50 miles since yesterday, admittedly some hooning but mostly driving as normal and my fuel computer average MPG has gone up!!

Next fill up I will reset every thing and post back on here what I get but I fully expect to see an increase in MPG.

[CharlieFarlie]

Charlie mate, you want to get chipped, seriously, I have done less than 50 miles since yesterday, admittedly some hooning but mostly driving as normal and my fuel computer average MPG has gone up!!

Next fill up I will reset every thing and post back on here what I get but I fully expect to see an increase in MPG.

Mate as said its a tool and that's it.. Yes its a !Removed! good tool and a nice motor. But despite what Kev has said I wont be keeping this car for to long... I realise that this engine thing has got a bit out of proportion but the Guy who is rebuilding and replacing the engines aint doing if for nothing !! Plus Toyota would not be extending the warranty for nothing !!

To be honest I was looking at 3 cars to do what this car is to do. The Honda CRV. Ford Kuga. and the Rav4. Im already looking again this time the short-list is one and it will be a CRV....

To spend nearly 400 quid on a tuning box therefore is out !! Cheers.

Charlie.

[Davrav]

Im already looking again this time the short-list is one and it will be a CRV....

To spend nearly 400 quid on a tuning box therefore is out !! Cheers.

Charlie.

If you go with the CRV Charlie just make sure you keep a carbon monoxide alarm in the cabin:cracked manifold

[Manxrav]

So it looks like Byebye to the Rav4 section?

Regards Clare

[CharlieFarlie]

Im already looking again this time the short-list is one and it will be a CRV....

To spend nearly 400 quid on a tuning box therefore is out !! Cheers.

Charlie.

If you go with the CRV Charlie just make sure you keep a carbon monoxide alarm in the cabin:cracked manifold

Mate I will buy a New or ex demo next time around to get a full or almost full warranty.. I will opt for an auto trans as well I think...

[Davrav]

Im already looking again this time the short-list is one and it will be a CRV....

To spend nearly 400 quid on a tuning box therefore is out !! Cheers.

Charlie.

If you go with the CRV Charlie just make sure you keep a carbon monoxide alarm in the cabin:cracked manifold

Mate I will buy a New or ex demo next time around to get a full or almost full warranty.. I will opt for an auto trans as well I think...

Have to say that it was either the CRV or the RAV when I was looking.

Came down to the RAV mainly on ride and driving experience - CRV felt quite skittish on the road and this was demonstrated scarily on the test drive when a dog lurched out and I had to do an emergency stop with four up at only about 40mph on a flat road - the damned thing was all over the place. Noisy in the back too - transmission whine.

[Mistermena]

I have to say that the "TUNIT" box is amazing. It has completely changed the car for the better! The MPG has gone up and the car has got quieter. I can't comment on the box that Kingo supplies, but I'm guessing that the two boxes perform in a similar way.

The T-180 has had lots of problems but Toyota are standing by there customers and sorting the issues out at NO cost to the owners. What other car manufacturer would do that after the original warranty was up?!...

[tatteam]

Charlie mate, you want to get chipped, seriously, I have done less than 50 miles since yesterday, admittedly some hooning but mostly driving as normal and my fuel computer average MPG has gone up!!

Next fill up I will reset every thing and post back on here what I get but I fully expect to see an increase in MPG.

Mate as said its a tool and that's it.. Yes its a !Removed! good tool and a nice motor. But despite what Kev has said I wont be keeping this car for to long... I realise that this engine thing has got a bit out of proportion but the Guy who is rebuilding and replacing the engines aint doing if for nothing !! Plus Toyota would not be extending the warranty for nothing !!

To be honest I was looking at 3 cars to do what this car is to do. The Honda CRV. Ford Kuga. and the Rav4. Im already looking again this time the short-list is one and it will be a CRV....

To spend nearly 400 quid on a tuning box therefore is out !! Cheers.

Charlie.

I can understand your feelings about TOYOTA, but as I've passed through my experience with my 2007 engine and out of warranty, at first I had same feelings too. But the way MrT tackled the problem made me proud to be a TOYOTA owner and now I'm a happy and a satisfied customer with the great job they've done and also extended another 2year warranty not sure if any other dealer would do so. That's what I call a GOOD CUSTOMER CARE.

[Parts-King]

I don't believe that it is a Tunit one, I will take a look tomorrow but I'm sure Kingo will be able to confirm.

Right folks I'm here!

NO our kit is not a Tunit kit, they are made in Germany by a company that just makes them just for the trade, they do not retail. Dealers who buy them, then tend to brand them, like we do, as our own

The latest boxes (for T180) are adjustable, the T180 is a difficult engine to tune, too many firms will supply a "one size fits all" tuning box and that type will not work properly on a T180

As mentioned elsewhere, you wont get a Denso pump remapped, it hasnt been done yet, and I dont expect it will be done either. I have lots of people tell me they can get it done, but suprisingly never come back to me with any details, as far as I am concerned, it cannot be re-mapped

ManxRav- but am I wrong in believing that TTE no longer excist. Where they not cut a couple of years ago when Toyota Europe pulled the plug on motorsport?

Yes you are quite right Clare, TTE closed as a business when Toyota pulled out of F1, Toyota do still sell the faster moving TTE parts but in general, TTE no longer exists

Blue Monster- I forgot to mention that I did ask Kingo prior to buying one if this chip kit invalidated the Toyota warranty and he told me it did not.

This is not a Toyota genuine kit, they dont do one for a T180, as mentioned elsewhere they used to do a kit for 3.0 Hilux but expect to pay £1000 for one of those. Our kits have a 2 year warranty, a manufacturer like Toyota cannot void the whole warranty on the car just because it has a kit on it. There is an urban myth about chip kits, usually spouted by those who have no idea about them. They do provide smoother power, increased torque, and a big grin factor, I have been selling them for about 5 or 6 years and what I have NEVER seen, is an engine go bang, or a clutch or transmission fail through fitting a chip kit, it is often what the fellowship of the miserable would claim, but in reality, it just does not happen

The increased economy comes through increased torque allowing you to use a lighter throttle opening, if you thrash the car with your new found power you wont get any benefit, but if you use the extra torque you have, it is easily possble to get better MPG, I have lots of customers who give me anecdotal evidence of this. We offer a 30 day money back guarantee, if it doesnt work for you, we will give you your money back!

Kingo

[Mistermena]

I don't believe that it is a Tunit one, I will take a look tomorrow but I'm sure Kingo will be able to confirm.

Right folks I'm here!

NO our kit is not a Tunit kit, they are made in Germany by a company that just makes them just for the trade, they do not retail. Dealers who buy them, then tend to brand them, like we do, as our own

The latest boxes (for T180) are adjustable, the T180 is a difficult engine to tune, too many firms will supply a "one size fits all" tuning box and that type will not work properly on a T180

As mentioned elsewhere, you wont get a Denso pump remapped, it hasnt been done yet, and I dont expect it will be done either. I have lots of people tell me they can get it done, but suprisingly never come back to me with any details, as far as I am concerned, it cannot be re-mapped

ManxRav- but am I wrong in believing that TTE no longer excist. Where they not cut a couple of years ago when Toyota Europe pulled the plug on motorsport?

Yes you are quite right Clare, TTE closed as a business when Toyota pulled out of F1, Toyota do still sell the faster moving TTE parts but in general, TTE no longer exists

Blue Monster- I forgot to mention that I did ask Kingo prior to buying one if this chip kit invalidated the Toyota warranty and he told me it did not.

This is not a Toyota genuine kit, they dont do one for a T180, as mentioned elsewhere they used to do a kit for 3.0 Hilux but expect to pay £1000 for one of those. Our kits have a 2 year warranty, a manufacturer like Toyota cannot void the whole warranty on the car just because it has a kit on it. There is an urban myth about chip kits, usually spouted by those who have no idea about them. They do provide smoother power, increased torque, and a big grin factor, I have been selling them for about 5 or 6 years and what I have NEVER seen, is an engine go bang, or a clutch or transmission fail through fitting a chip kit, it is often what the fellowship of the miserable would claim, but in reality, it just does not happen

The increased economy comes through increased torque allowing you to use a lighter throttle opening, if you thrash the car with your new found power you wont get any benefit, but if you use the extra torque you have, it is easily possble to get better MPG, I have lots of customers who give me anecdotal evidence of this. We offer a 30 day money back guarantee, if it doesnt work for you, we will give you your money back!

Kingo

Having said that a manufacturer can not void the whole warranty on a car, does this mean though that if an engine fails (And it can be directly contributed to the remap box) then they would? I understand that a whole warranty can not to void and you've never had any engine fail to date using your tuning box! But what would happen if it did?

[Parts-King]

Toyota dont make the box, they cannot warrant a part they dont make. There are too many fail safes built into the box to make it blow an engine, Just like any other claim, it would be investigated and a decision made. I have every confidence in the product and would take each case on its merits, the product is designed to work in such a way that it does not overstress any componant, unlike re-mapping where you can adjust the car to make it do things way beyond what it is safe to do. I cannot specifically answer "what ifs" because it would depend on a lot of circumstances

Kingo

[Mistermena]

Toyota dont make the box, they cannot warrant a part they dont make. There are too many fail safes built into the box to make it blow an engine, Just like any other claim, it would be investigated and a decision made. I have every confidence in the product and would take each case on its merits, the product is designed to work in such a way that it does not overstress any componant, unlike re-mapping where you can adjust the car to make it do things way beyond what it is safe to do. I cannot specifically answer "what ifs" because it would depend on a lot of circumstances

Kingo

Thats a fair point. I wonder how many boxes out there from other manufactures that have caused problems to the drive train? I'm guessing quite a few with some of the £14.99 ones you can buy off eBay! I think its worth opting for a box from a recognised company like "Part-King" and "Tunit" at the end of the day you get what you pay for.

[Parts-King]

The ones off Fleabay, often costing up to £100 or more are generally a nice box with a cheap resister in it, fooling the engine into thinking it is running colder than it is, overfuelling constantly which is obviously bad for everything within the engine. I would steer away from anything like that. I always say to people these boxes are a bit like a powerful PC, able to make changes to your fuel and boost very very quickly, the cheap and cheerful boxes are like a Sinclair Spectrum, not able tyo do a lot and not very quick at all :D:

At least we are here on the end of the phone and not going anywhere, try and get hold of your Fleabay seller when you need him

Kingo

[jedi134]

So it looks like Byebye to the Rav4 section?

Regards Clare

Nar it will just morph into a Landrover type forum where, people take it in their stride when their landy breaks down, They have a laugh and a joke about it, Some cry at the ammount they have to spend on them.

Dare I say it, you can even swear on it...

And you never hear the word "dealership" on there, as Landy owners are not that stupid to take their cars there.

[CharlieFarlie]

I think and having read this thread and I particular Kingos input. The Toyota one from Him would be My bet..... The eBay ones will be Cr@p. The big advantage of the plug in box is that it can be sold if You decide to part with the car and will recoup a fair chunk of the outlay... Right then Who wants to sell Me Theirs ??? Cheap now !!!

Charlie.