Hi New Member Needs Help Identifying Different Auto Boxes!

[Stee]

How can I tell if the Rav4 has the dreaded Cvt or a regular Auto box. Looking at cars online the 2000-2005 auto's have the simple straight lever design in the cab, the later ones seem to have a much more complex shape, are these all Cvt's ? . . . . .I've searched high and low, Wiki and all, but can't find the help i need in identifying which is which.

So really hoping that someone on this Rav4 site can advise me, many many thanks.

[PaulinhoT]

Hello and welcome in to the TOC, maybe worth asking in the Rav4 section :)

[acetip]

Welcome to the TOC.

[Red Yaris 54]

Moved to RAV 4 forum

Welcome to TOC

[anchorman]

How can I tell if the Rav4 has the dreaded Cvt or a regular Auto box. Looking at cars online the 2000-2005 auto's have the simple straight lever design in the cab, the later ones seem to have a much more complex shape, are these all Cvt's ? . . . . .I've searched high and low, Wiki and all, but can't find the help i need in identifying which is which.

So really hoping that someone on this Rav4 site can advise me, many many thanks.

Only the new model with the 2.0 valvematic petrol has the CVT. They are not "dreaded" any more, they are a reliable means of keeping the revs constant and don't do the old revving and getting nowhere.

All other models have conventional auto's where specified.

[Stee]

Thank you all for the warm welcome, and apologies for posting in the wrong section, I'm not fit to be out on my own!

And thank you Don for replying to my post. Perhaps I was a over dramatic calling the CVT 'dreaded' it's just that I've read some less than reassuring stuff about them.

My fears are also founded in the Honest John (and other) reports, on some of the negative aspects of the Rav4 through the years.

Expensive petrol lambda failures.

01-03 Serious Ecu auto probs (which Toyota did not acknowledge)

Excessive oil consumption on VVT engines,

By 2009 manual box bearing probs increasingly common,

And of course the DMF failures.

None of the above has stopped me from owning a Rav4, I'm just more realistic about potential problems and how poorly Toyota may treat you if you have a problem that's not of your making. This seems true of every major manufacturer now, they all seem to have quality control problems, hardware and software, we are testing their products for them. Strangely many cars don't fail and appear very reliable, but far too many fail for comfort, it looks like a lucky dip when it comes to reliability.

So given that scenario I would prefer documented evidence of the reliabilty of the new CVT, I'd feel more secure with the older proven auto, maybe it's a form of mechanical neurosis on my part!

So if there is anyone who knows how to identify which is which from a picture, I would appreciate it to know how!

And curiously Don I see you have a diesel Rav4, I don't know if yours is a manual or auto, but I believe that the diesel version with auto is only sold with the regular auto box and not the CVT, which makes me suspect that the CVT is not as robust, any thoughts?

[anchorman]

Stee

Are you looking at buying a newer RAV? It will narrow down what we discuss.

Some of the Honest John stuff is rubbish; VVTi's are not noted for using oil and I have never heard of one bearing failure on a 2009 manual box.

As far as the CVT goes, it is matched to the Valvematic engine at nearly fixed revs to get the best economy and emmissions. I'm not sure what the spec is for torque but maybe the diesel's 340Nm exceeds the limit. It won't make it any less suitable matched to an appropriate engine although I do remember one owner having ECU problems with the CVT.

[Hoovie]

Hi Stee,

I have a Diesel RAV4 with the Auto Box and my conclusions are:

1) The Autobox is fantastic and is a great drive

2) The Fuel consumption is significantly worse then the Manual RAV with the same engine. I don't know how much of that is down to the Auto box, and how much is due to the D-CAT system, but as you have to have the D-CAT if you have the Auto on a diesel, doesn't really matter which it is.

I think the economy of the Petrol CVT Auto is actually very similar to the economy of the Diesel Auto and with the current extra cost of diesel over petrol, I would seriously consider both options.

[Stee]

Stee

Are you looking at buying a newer RAV? It will narrow down what we discuss.

Some of the Honest John stuff is rubbish; VVTi's are not noted for using oil and I have never heard of one bearing failure on a 2009 manual box.

As far as the CVT goes, it is matched to the Valvematic engine at nearly fixed revs to get the best economy and emmissions. I'm not sure what the spec is for torque but maybe the diesel's 340Nm exceeds the limit. It won't make it any less suitable matched to an appropriate engine although I do remember one owner having ECU problems with the CVT.

Apologies for my late reply, as there was no email notification of new posts, I thought I was sent to coventry for blaspheming! . . .so I was surprised and pleased to see further answers to my post, thank you.

You obviously take a jaundiced view of the opinions of John the Honest! . . .fair enough. And I appreciate the concept of why a CVT should be superior.

I am hoping to buy a petrol Rav4 auto about 5 years old. I'm living in Tenerife where the native folk are suspicious of auto's, so their very rare and hard to sell. although a few expats use them. And there are no auto specialists on the Island that I'm aware of.

There is greater choice on main land Spain, so I will be obliged to fly there and come back on a 30 hour ferry trip, but it will be worth while if I can get a good Rav with FSH.

[Stee]

Hi Stee,

I have a Diesel RAV4 with the Auto Box and my conclusions are:

1) The Autobox is fantastic and is a great drive

2) The Fuel consumption is significantly worse then the Manual RAV with the same engine. I don't know how much of that is down to the Auto box, and how much is due to the D-CAT system, but as you have to have the D-CAT if you have the Auto on a diesel, doesn't really matter which it is.

I think the economy of the Petrol CVT Auto is actually very similar to the economy of the Diesel Auto and with the current extra cost of diesel over petrol, I would seriously consider both options.

Hi Hoovie,

It's great to read your positive post, I'll take your advice into consideration, although I not sure that the CVT is available in a 5 year old Rav4. I suspect that it's must be a much more recent car, as I haven't seen the Valvematic engine designation on any of the on- line Ravs that I've looked at. I still can't figure out what year they started producing it, although I've trawled the internet.

Anyway, I appreciate your positivity and encouragement!