New Rav 4 Owner

[lloydy28]

Well impressed with my first Toyota RAV 4 XTR, great build quality, fantastic fuel economy (Diesel), any issues I need to know about?

lloydy28

[pmb]

Have you read Charlie Farlie's guide to the engine issues in the pinned tech info above? Welcome to the club (aka madhouse) btw.

[lloydy28]

Have you read Charlie Farlie's guide to the engine issues in the pinned tech info above? Welcome to the club (aka madhouse) btw.

Hi pmb, no I haven't read the guide, where can I get it from?

lloydy28

[Davrav]

Have you read Charlie Farlie's guide to the engine issues in the pinned tech info above? Welcome to the club (aka madhouse) btw.

Hi pmb, no I haven't read the guide, where can I get it from?

lloydy28

Welcome to the club Lloydy

If you look just above the most recent topic/post you will see a pinned topic 'Technical Information/hints & Tips'

If you look through there you will find all sorts of stuff.

This is a link directly to the engine issue that Charlie kindly prepared: http://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=132178#entry1175067

If your XTR has had warranty engine work your local MrT should be able to tell you. If it hasn't, just keep a regular check on the oil level

Other things to look for: steering clunk or knocking, both of which have been covered by TSBs but do not, apparently merit being regarded as a safety issue.

Brake disc corrosion due to insufficiently abrasive pads - sometimes only evident on the inside faces. Depending on disc thickness, this can be cured with skimming and new pads.

Have a look at the aircon cabin filter. These get really dirty and can cause the cabin air to become really smelly. Easily replaced in about three minutes. Instructions in the pinned section and Kingo, our moustachioed parts man will send you one at a discount.

Annoying this time of year is that the screen wash reservoir is relatively low capacity and has no low level warning.

When it gets really cold the heater will take a good while to warm the interior and the inside of the screen will mist up. To prevent this, keep the aircon on at your preferred temperature and use the demist button on the heater controls for the first few miles - the car has a supplementary electric heater which will work to boost the heat of air going to the screen.

Can't think of anything else right now but others will no doubt.

[DjRav]

I think you covered everything!!

Dave

[anchorman]

To save trawling, don't put supermarket diesel in it.

[silly sausage]

To save trawling, don't put supermarket diesel in it.

I will second that, Shell V Power whenever possible. I hope you enjoy your new car.

[grandad46]

sorry to jump on this thread i have 2003 petrol rav 4 can i use 97 octane petrol or do i just carry on using 95

[Hoovie]

sorry to jump on this thread i have 2003 petrol rav 4 can i use 97 octane petrol or do i just carry on using 95

The V Power recommendation was for the Diesel really.

Don't think you will gain any benefit from going for a Super-Unleaded for the 2.0 VVTi (I certainly found it made zero difference in mine), but still worth going for branded standard Unleaded from Shell, BP, etc IMO

[BeechCustom]

sorry to jump on this thread i have 2003 petrol rav 4 can i use 97 octane petrol or do i just carry on using 95

The V Power recommendation was for the Diesel really.

Don't think you will gain any benefit from going for a Super-Unleaded for the 2.0 VVTi (I certainly found it made zero difference in mine), but still worth going for branded standard Unleaded from Shell, BP, etc IMO

Hey Hoovie

I've bought into the whole 'branded petrol is better than supermarket petrol' arguement and now I only fill up my VVT-I with Shell regular BUT I have to say there seems to be little hard evidence to support this. Even WhatCar say that there is no difference between the two:

http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/what-car-q-and-a/is-supermarket-petrol-different/215240

[Hoovie]

Could well be the case and is pyschological :)

From my travels around the UK, I reckon Shell tends to either the same or less then other brands INCLUDING supermarkets, so I would stick to Shell anyways where possible (and I NEVER put Tesco fuel into any vehicle not least as I avoid Tesco for ANYTHING as a principle)

[grandad46]

sorry to jump on this thread i have 2003 petrol rav 4 can i use 97 octane petrol or do i just carry on using 95

The V Power recommendation was for the Diesel really.

Don't think you will gain any benefit from going for a Super-Unleaded for the 2.0 VVTi (I certainly found it made zero difference in mine), but still worth going for branded standard Unleaded from Shell, BP, etc IMO

thanks for the reply will stick to normal then i do know that when i had mitsu pajero i only used bp utimate diesel and that was deffo the best thing to do and stay well away from supermarket fuel that was what i was told

[anchorman]

If I had a petrol I would still stick to high grade fuel.

[grandad46]

If I had a petrol I would still stick to high grade fuel.

you mean 97 ron or just bp Shell and if you mean 97 ron can i use that in my 2003 petrol and what advantages do you think i would get

thanks

[flyboyprowler]

My VVti in UK runs on Shell super. I really think that it feels like it is running better, but having watched some Derren Brown stuff, I am wondering if it may be a bit psycho suggestive. Spooky or what!! The Spanish car runs on Repsol fuel, and I get an intermittent "eng" light, after long journeys. When we took it to UK and fed it Shell, all returned to normal.

[Davrav]

Getting back to the original post, one thing I forgot to mention is the fact that the screen washers freeze up in a frost. Best to put high strength/low temp washer fluid in at this time of year to help prevent freezing.

[lloydy28]

Thanks very much for all your comments.

Lloydy28