What To Look For? Xt5 08 30K Miles

[Doctornick]

Hi All,

Thinking of buying an XT5 from a dealer. It's a 2008 2L petrol auto and done 30k miles for £12k.

I would be grateful for any advice on things to look out for like common faults at this mileage.

Did short test drive and seemed ok, bit sluggish but I expected that.

Thanks,

Nick

[grasshopper]

Just bought mine - the 2.0 is a bit sluggish, any noise from the transmission? Check the 4wd works as well - my advice is switch the radio off on the test drive and if you hear any whining then flag it up. Check the oil level and make sure it's full.

Any corrosion on alloys? These flippin Toyota's are renowned for it! If they are / and you are buying from main dealer then negotiate a drop in price / or refurb as when they go - boy they look crap.

[anchorman]

The VVTi's are generally bomb proof is somewhat thirsty. You will be OK if you just check everything is working.

Furthermore you can spend your time communicating with us lot - welcome to the club.

[firemac]

Just bought mine - the 2.0 is a bit sluggish, any noise from the transmission? Check the 4wd works as well - my advice is switch the radio off on the test drive and if you hear any whining then flag it up. Check the oil level and make sure it's full.

Any corrosion on alloys? These flippin Toyota's are renowned for it! If they are / and you are buying from main dealer then negotiate a drop in price / or refurb as when they go - boy they look crap.

I can't comment on the 4.3 but both our 4.2 petrol autos are nippy cars, esp the 3-dr. Not in anyway sluggish at all.

Agree about Toyota alloys (& Jap alloys in general - I had a Mazda once where the alloys had to be replaced under warranty!). We had to have the alloys on both ours refurbed about 18 months ago.

[firemac]

The VVTi's are generally bomb proof is somewhat thirsty. You will be OK if you just check everything is working.

Furthermore you can spend your time communicating with us lot - welcome to the club.

Yes, thirst is their downfall.

[CharlieFarlie]

Bulletproof engines with few if any common faults.. As said a bit unrefined and they have a thirst but a decent car none the less.. Again as above check the alloys as the do like many Japanese cars suffer from corrosion which shows its self clearly..

[Davrav]

Check for any steering knocks - when turning and when slow speed manouvering.

Footnote:

Any one know why my editing buttons are greyed out? Can't add links or emoticons...........

[flyboyprowler]

My 2007 is a cracking car, 18000 miles, 1 owner, bought from a non franchised dealer, same spec as yours, and I get fair consumption around 30+ but I am a "careful" driver. I paid 12500 for it 9 months ago, and was first in a queue of others wanting to buy it, so no discount! Check that this car has had its recalls done, but with a dealer it should be ok. My only grouse, the sat nav is a wee bit complicado for and oldish f==t like me.

[LeeADAB]

Just to chip in that my 2003 5dr 2.0 petrol manual is definitely not sluggish either. Woohoo.

All four alloys were also replaced under warranty back in 2006 but they are corroding again. :( Grrr!!

[CharlieFarlie]

Ah yes the steering knocks ! My car has had the noise for 35K miles and has got no worse and I'm 99% sure its not a safety issue

Whether the 2.0 petrol is sluggish or not is purely subjective as some will think they are slow and others will think they are quick. But in comparison to say the 2.2 diesel they are very slow to get going and have to be revved hard for decent results but then some love cars like that !

David. No problems with buttons here ................

[Davrav]

David. No problems with buttons here ................

Sorted Charlie - it was a 'toggle' issue

[Fat angin missile]

Hi mate

There are two issues with the 4.3 petrol manual ( mine 2006 ). 1st you must make sure your exhaust is sound ,not blowing. 1k+vat

2nd rear suspension is gas shocks ,my model needed changing at 48k with no tow bar.

But this is less than 200 inc vat . But that's it ,these cars are otherwise nuke proof . My advise offer the dealer 10% less ,leave your

Contact details and they will get back to you I guarantee you'll pay less . I did , result ! good luck.

[namead]

The VVTi's are generally bomb proof is somewhat thirsty. You will be OK if you just check everything is working.

I think thirsty is a bit subjective - if driven "spiritedly" its thirsty, driven at 55 on cruise control (how my wife drives to work) it returns over 30 mpg time and again, and on a run with cruise set at 75 (such as Calais to Aachen), will show over 30 on the fuel economy and return actuals of over 30 as well. If you do drive "briskly", its 22-24mpg in my experience

Our XT5 has 99,000 miles now and the only problem has been an oxygen sensor and the sat nav/stereo failed (bought a replacement B9004 on ebay). The car was an ex-motability bought in 2009 (its a 56 reg whith a spare wheel) showing 39,000 miles. That 39,000 was spent driving between Telford and Wolverhampton everyday.

Other problems? Crap horns and unless you've a later sat nav disk (I think 2008 is ok), its a pain having to stop to do anything.

Oh - and for some reason, people seem to love pinching the towing eye covers.

Enjoy...

[grasshopper]

Dont get me wrong I love our new Rav4 2.0 VVTI but can I please say one thing - the engine is pathetic - I was crusiing on a bypass tonight in 5th gear going uphill doing 50mph foot to floor and nothing....it's a bit raspy at speed as well - I think Mr T should've put a turbo on the 2.0 or gone for a bigger engine - oh and a 6th gear for crusiing but I guess that's the age of the engine and Mr T being tight not investing in a new engine in the 3rd series. Oh and dont even think about towing anything bigger than a small trailer!

But, I do love it - it's my wife's car for pootling around town - I've done a couple of motorway drives and it's just not viable to be a daily driver 80miles a day. Put it this way I was filling up twice a week whereas a diesel will last all week.

We should have had the V6 from the US - petrol was cheap back in 2006!

[firemac]

Dont get me wrong I love our new Rav4 2.0 VVTI but can I please say one thing - the engine is pathetic - I was crusiing on a bypass tonight in 5th gear going uphill doing 50mph foot to floor and nothing....it's a bit raspy at speed as well - I think Mr T should've put a turbo on the 2.0 or gone for a bigger engine - oh and a 6th gear for crusiing but I guess that's the age of the engine and Mr T being tight not investing in a new engine in the 3rd series. Oh and dont even think about towing anything bigger than a small trailer!

But, I do love it - it's my wife's car for pootling around town - I've done a couple of motorway drives and it's just not viable to be a daily driver 80miles a day. Put it this way I was filling up twice a week whereas a diesel will last all week.

We should have had the V6 from the US - petrol was cheap back in 2006!

I find this amazing. Both our vvti's go great guns. Sluggish they ain't. They're both autos and the match between engine & box seems almost ideal - maybe that's the difference -vs- the manual. I also had a 4.2 D4D a couple of years back and I certainly don't recall it being perkier than the vvti; if anything the petrol auto was smoother & lots quieter.

[flyboyprowler]

Dont get me wrong I love our new Rav4 2.0 VVTI but can I please say one thing - the engine is pathetic - I was crusiing on a bypass tonight in 5th gear going uphill doing 50mph foot to floor and nothing....it's a bit raspy at speed as well - I think Mr T should've put a turbo on the 2.0 or gone for a bigger engine - oh and a 6th gear for crusiing but I guess that's the age of the engine and Mr T being tight not investing in a new engine in the 3rd series. Oh and dont even think about towing anything bigger than a small trailer!

But, I do love it - it's my wife's car for pootling around town - I've done a couple of motorway drives and it's just not viable to be a daily driver 80miles a day. Put it this way I was filling up twice a week whereas a diesel will last all week.

We should have had the V6 from the US - petrol was cheap back in 2006!

I find this amazing. Both our vvti's go great guns. Sluggish they ain't. They're both autos and the match between engine & box seems almost ideal - maybe that's the difference -vs- the manual. I also had a 4.2 D4D a couple of years back and I certainly don't recall it being perkier than the vvti; if anything the petrol auto was smoother & lots quieter.

I do agree with the above, our 4.3 is better than the 4.2, but neither car could be called a slouch. No problem with motorway cruising, both cars are auto, and problem free.

[Big Kev]

Dont get me wrong I love our new Rav4 2.0 VVTI but can I please say one thing - the engine is pathetic - I was crusiing on a bypass tonight in 5th gear going uphill doing 50mph foot to floor and nothing....it's a bit raspy at speed as well - I think Mr T should've put a turbo on the 2.0 or gone for a bigger engine - oh and a 6th gear for crusiing but I guess that's the age of the engine and Mr T being tight not investing in a new engine in the 3rd series. Oh and dont even think about towing anything bigger than a small trailer!

But, I do love it - it's my wife's car for pootling around town - I've done a couple of motorway drives and it's just not viable to be a daily driver 80miles a day. Put it this way I was filling up twice a week whereas a diesel will last all week.

We should have had the V6 from the US - petrol was cheap back in 2006!

Ah Gasshoppa....you have probrim....maybe you lunning car on Hi Kalate after Shave.....?

Wife's 3 door petrol goes like stuff off a shovel....as aboves have said, it is no slouch.....you have a problem somewhere. MAF been cleaned...? Iridium plugs fitted where spec calls for? Air Filter bowfin.....?

Sorry if you have covered in previous posts, and I have recently run some Archoil fuel cleaner through it....no appreciable difference except whilst it was in the mix.....seemed to increase performance marginally.

Big Kev

[LeeADAB]

"engine is pathetic" - Ouch! Not so!!

& "dont even think about towing anything bigger than a small trailer!" you say - Well I tow my 21ft Sportsboat with mine every summer (only a short distance each way mind you) and it does the job brilliantly. Even with a steep slipway covered in wet sand and seaweed it digs in and pulls - EVERY TIME!! I also had 5 adults in the car a couple of weekends ago and towed a 5x3 trailer fully loaded on a 200 mile round trip and even that wasn't sluggish.

ANOTHER DAY ANOTHER BAY!!

[grasshopper]

DId I touch a nerve - haha, well I stand by my word - and some of you are comparing your series 2 against my 3 which I am sure will be different. Put it this way the 0-60 is as per the book, but flippin heck 3rd gear acceleration - crap, and forget 5th gear uphill like I said.

Air filter is new, car was serviced last August. I cant imagine the MAF is that bad it's only 6.5 years old - never cleaned the MAF on any of my cars - if I compare with my old IS200 that never felt like it lost power - but then again that was a slow coach as well lol.

[LeeADAB]

Surely newer is better though? :)

Depending on the "hill" and only doing 50 wouldn't one need to be dropping down to 4th anyway? Need to keep revs up and 5th will have dropped them too low? Is there power in 5th on the flat at 50?

[namead]

A couple of things if I may, if you use it "briskly" and kick down the auto box, it does shift (with a consequent increase in fuel use).

Compared to my T180, my wife's auto XT5 is slow, but compared to other cars it isn't bad at all.

Yet again, everything is relative. If you'd had a fast car before, a 2 litre 16v auto can appear to be a bit slow

[grasshopper]

Surely newer is better though? :)

Depending on the "hill" and only doing 50 wouldn't one need to be dropping down to 4th anyway? Need to keep revs up and 5th will have dropped them too low? Is there power in 5th on the flat at 50?

Of course it will - I was making a point that I just found 5th gear gutless going uphill and changing down a gear reminds me of the 80's in my old astra lol.

[grasshopper]

A couple of things if I may, if you use it "briskly" and kick down the auto box, it does shift (with a consequent increase in fuel use).

Compared to my T180, my wife's auto XT5 is slow, but compared to other cars it isn't bad at all.

Yet again, everything is relative. If you'd had a fast car before, a 2 litre 16v auto can appear to be a bit slow

Sorry should have used multiquote - it's a manual box and yes I have come from faster cars, my other car will accelerate uphil in 6th gear without a hicup so maybe that's my downfall!

There's nothing wrong with the car as I've tested the 0-60 but my first and lasting impressions when I test drove the car was that it was gutless. Just a shame Mr T didnt make the VVTi engine better and quieter as it would have been a brilliant package. Wonder why they didnt pinch the VVTi out of the Lexus IS as that had 6 gears as well.

[Doctornick]

Thanks everyone for the really useful advice.

I am now the proud owner of my first Rav.

I paid £12250, which is probably bit above market value but there don't seem to be many around (XT5 auto petrol).

Couple more questions.

Dealer is pushing manufacturer warranty. Car's done 28K miles 08 plate. Offered £500 for 2 years including parts and labour. Do people think this Is a good idea?

Also offering me some sort of paint protection. Never bothered with any of my other cars.

Thanks,

Nick

[Davrav]

Don't go near the paint protection con.

Just give the car a really good polish and apply a carnauba based wax.

As for the warrany, doesn't the car come with warranty for a year anyway?