1999 Rav 4 Heat Car Jack

[blackbear]

Last Sunday I hit a pothole and damaged my front nearside wheel and tyre . It had to be changed

luckily my son was nearby and came to my assistance. I took out the jack from the car that I had never had cause to use until now. It was brand new. The car was jacked to its full extension and when we came to fit the spare on it would not go on as the jack did not lift 235x16x60 wheel to correspond to the wheel studs. We had to let the air out in order to get it on eventually. We then had to go and get a

pump to blow it up in order to get the vehicle mobile. ( IT Was Freezing Cold)

I am posting this in case another RAV 4 member has not checked to see that their jack can do the job properly if required in an emergency like this .

The second point is that if you have a small pump that you can blow your tyre up with via the cigarette lighter find a spot for it in the car.

I am 77 years old and no longer the Samson I used to be and my RAV4 is my legs.

I have 24 hour Road Acc Recovery Cover and I have a small pump but it was not with me when it should have been.

Luckily my children where nearby and rallied round to assist and get the job done as it was freezing cold and I no doubt would have to have waited a long time for the recovery people to get to me .

SO PLEASE CHECK THAT YOUR JACK CAN DO THE JOB PROPERLY !!!!!!!!!!

ps : Anybody any Informaion with regard to a better emergency jack ???? Thank You BJS

[Hoovie]

Some useful advice there for people to check they are ready for changing a tyre before it happens for real!

I have a couple of trolly jacks and find that I need to use a piece of wood quite often depending on the vehicle (only ever use really solid hard wood, never wide-grain pine!) to provide an extra couple of inches. The same technique could be tried with the scissor jack, maybe having a piece of wood to rest the base of the jack on?

[DjRav]

I have had a "normal" 2 ton trolley jack for years and its always struggled to lift a 4x4 high enough. So for Xmas (I bought it got myself!) I got a 3 ton high lift jack, bought direct from a company that makes them. It was about £80, cheaper than Halfords charge for a small jack. I wouldn't carry it round for changing a tyre (especially as I don't have a spare!) but it's great for DIY etc.

Dave

[Merseyshark]

my Toyota supplied jack was perfectly serviceable last August when I suffered a blow out on by 4.2 5 door.

[mrbilly]

if the correct jacking locations are used then there should be no problem.

see attached

[blackbear]

Fellow members,

Thank you for your information and advice.I know you mean well. I wont go into the pros and cons of it as all I intended to do was HOPE that this experience of mine would alert some of the members to the mishaps that occurred to me. I should say that I am too old to carry a Sainsburys shopping bag let alone a trolley jack. As for the information about the correct jacking locations this adds some more advice about making sure that you carry in the glove compartment the booklet that describes these in detail. At this juncture I should mention that I have been a Toyota owner practically since the Toyota Starlet . I am very familiar with the Jacking points etc. I have the RAV4 and a1992 Carina GLI bothe still on the Road and functioning beautifully as Toyota do. This is the 1st time I have been in this position as I never dreampt that the jack would be short.

I have also in the past used the various methods pointed out. I just hope the members with less experience than me take note and avoid this kind of mishap. Especially in the cold midwinter and if they themselves are not physically perfect. I hope this does not convey any disrespect to the other contributers as it is not meant to . I wish you all the very best. Thank you BJS

[Davrav]

Forewarned is forearmed..............................

[Hoovie]

Going back to suitable alternative jacks, one option that could be perfect to less mobile/agile drivers might be the inflatable jacks that use the exhaust gas to raise the vehicle?

[Davrav]

Going back to suitable alternative jacks, one option that could be perfect to less mobile/agile drivers might be the inflatable jacks that use the exhaust gas to raise the vehicle?

I was going to suggest the same Hoovie but I wonder how safe/reliable they are?

Anyone use/used them?

[anchorman]

Fellow members,

Thank you for your information and advice.I know you mean well. I wont go into the pros and cons of it as all I intended to do was HOPE that this experience of mine would alert some of the members to the mishaps that occurred to me. I should say that I am too old to carry a Sainsburys shopping bag let alone a trolley jack. As for the information about the correct jacking locations this adds some more advice about making sure that you carry in the glove compartment the booklet that describes these in detail. At this juncture I should mention that I have been a Toyota owner practically since the Toyota Starlet . I am very familiar with the Jacking points etc. I have the RAV4 and a1992 Carina GLI bothe still on the Road and functioning beautifully as Toyota do. This is the 1st time I have been in this position as I never dreampt that the jack would be short.

I have also in the past used the various methods pointed out. I just hope the members with less experience than me take note and avoid this kind of mishap. Especially in the cold midwinter and if they themselves are not physically perfect. I hope this does not convey any disrespect to the other contributers as it is not meant to . I wish you all the very best. Thank you BJS

Blackbear

We are very grateful for your comments and the warnings. Don't think they aren't appreciated. When somebody puts up a post, it provokes lots of different opinions and discussion but rest assured there will be many readers that take your advice. Its really impressive that you are still a Toyota addict at 77 - I only hope I will be the same!!!

Since 1987, I've had a Corolla, Carina II, Carina e (company car - amongst several other brands) and 5 RAVs.

Regards

Don

[blackbear]

Hello Anchorman,

I appreciate your comments as I have in the past, many moons ago. Just to finish my saga. I had my POTHOLE

damage assessed, The brake pipes etc and geometry checked out and had to have a new Yokohama 235x16x60 GO33 replaced on the front offside wheel The rear offside Shock absorber replaced, all for the princely sum of £303.78 (£50.63 VAT). and we are sending all that money to far off countries to make nuclear warheads,. These Yoko's are 10" wide and did not cope with this hidden pothole in the middle of the road filled with water. Just my luck. Nobody injured except my lovely Rav4 got a shock as did my pocket. Ces't la vie. Regards BJS

PS I have put a better quality jack and an air pump into the back of the car incase it happens again before my maker calls me to his domain. That's if the" Devil !!! " dinna get me first

[Davrav]

Any chance of putting in a claim for the damage?

http://www.potholes.co.uk/claims/how_to_claim

You never know.....................

[blackbear]

Hello Davrav,

I have all that in hand but do not have high hopes at this stage. If I am successful I will post it. Regards BJS

[Davrav]

Let's hope you get redress.

Sometimes you can get lucky.

I was amazed this week to get a full refund from a parking mangement company regarding an alleged overstay. Sent them an e-mail of complaint questioning their actions [didn't go as far ast to question their parentage though I felt like it.........]

[Ady-Rav4]

Ahh, a 1999 RAV4 Heat, we owned one once. (she wrote it off, I still miss it.)

I used the jack mounting points as shown in the manual, as posted by MrBilly.

When nearly fully extended, the jack just lifted the wheels enough to remove them. It doesn't look that safe though.

Just a warning here, if your jack looks unused, then put some grease on the thread. I had a situation with the RAV jack where the thread ceased due to the winding pressure.