2007 Rav 4 -Fuel Filler Pipe

[the fox]

Hi Aqualung glad you finally got sorted and like you I believe because the pipes are badly placed every one need to be on their toes, mine is a 2007 model and I think I caught it in time, two years ago I knew of this problem but it was brought to my attention via two badly looked after RAV4's but it looks like a bad design...

[DeclanCorollaD-4D]

Same problem here but a 2003 corolla Estate, haven't even called toyota for a price yet but after seeing yours i'm not looking forward to it haha. Hope you get yours sorted soon bud.

[DeclanCorollaD-4D]

Just had a proper read of this Aqualung666 and noticed you got it fixed! May check mine and if its not to bad all the way up I'll find some suitable hose and replace the rusted bit for a while and see how that goes, or see if my mechanic fancies the job due to the weather conditions in the Midlands recently! Your situation seems a little more promising Ian, I'd be interested to hear how much it cost you for the part

[Aqualung666]

Well, the actual part costs around £180 then obviously you have the labour, so expect £240 in total. Mine cost me more as I had to wait 5 weeks for the part as TOyota in belgium were low on stock, so my mechanic fitted a temporary repair to get me back on the road. He ordered the a bit of the system from Toyota and then cut out the really badly corroded section and clamped it together with a large jubilee clip. So all the messing about and paying for this in itself cost me another £180. When I get chance I'll post a photo of the old system and you will be able to see how they did the temporary repair. To be honest they did a good job and it would probably have run for a few years like that before the remaining corrosion finally gave way, but I didn't want to risk it. The only plus out of it all was they managed to save a full tank of diesel which they put back in.

I'm becoming increasingly disillusioned with Toyota. Their parts are ridiculously priced and for no reason I can see, i.e this new fuel system isn't anything special and would cost peanuts to produce...well £40 tops! Fair enough if it had happened after 150,000 miles and 15 years on the road, but to fail at 66,000 miles and 7 years in a supposedly well built car, is very very poor.

It clearly is a major design fault and unless you can be bothered to periodically take the wheel and wheel arch off and power wash it, or coat it in something, then there will undoubtedly be many more Rav owners like me staring at a puddle of diesel under their cars.

[the fox]

well said Aqualung, the fuel pipe problem will be huge, I'm glad you have the bottle to slag off your RAV4 they are not without problems, many manufacturers have caught Toyota up and many are surpassing them unfortunately....Like you stated 7 years is nothing....

[Mike169]

Hi All.

This is a very common problem with this car and sometimes the fuel tank needs to be changed as well, it's a design fault in my opinion as the pipe is a mud trap

The only way to avoid it is to regularly pressure wash off the pipe which includes removing the wheel and inner plastic cover and coating the pipe with whatever underseal takes your fancy, which of course is something that we don't or shouldn't have to do.

The price of a new metal pipe is a joke as far as I am concerned.

Mike.

[Grenadekidffere]

I don't know if its a problem with every rav4. My 94 with original filler started leaking shortly after I got it, I chanced a replacement out of an online breakers taking their word it was in good condition from a 1998, it was perfect, as if off the shelf, naturally I painted it with a coat of hammerite and waxoyled the crap out of it after fitting. Alas we find over the last few years that the quality of steel used in products leaves a lot to be desired.

On the bright side with all these chinese steel imports worldwide it should be down to £50 next year :D

[Aqualung666]

Thought I'd post up a photo of the old fuel pipe which was eventually replaced....the left hand end shows the temporary repair my garage did for me. Excuse the state of my yard!

[the fox]

The pipe makes your yard look like it should be in Hello magazine, someone needs to show this to Toyota GB before it gets any worse, I have seen others this bad but they had been well used and un-cared for, ticking time bomb..

[DeclanCorollaD-4D]

Took my wheel arch liner out yesterday to find only the corner and a little upwards was rusted. Would have been a fairly straightforward repair with reinforced rubber hose, but due to lack of time off work and the horrible weather in the midlands at the minute I found and ordered a new pipe for £118... Also left oil/filter etc too late this year so have got the garage to do it; charging me another £30 on top to fit the pipe so all in all I've been lucky with the cost.

[Aqualung666]

There are many things I like about the Rav 4, but increasingly there are many things that are very poor considering the price and brand reputation. I have contacted Toyota about other matters and the response has been less than encouraging, so I doubt they'd be remotely interested in the fuel pipe issue. I still need to get this current car to next October and then I'll be looking at a change. That, of course, is if this dreaded engine head gasket failure doesn't hit me, if that happens, I'm in a real mess. Having said that I'm doing everyhting I can to ensure it doesn't; regular oil changes, fuel additives to clean the system, all the while checking coolant, oil and performance. Sad that owning a supposed quality car can be such a depressing, worrying experience.