Rav 4 Petrol Vs Diesel

[SFV]

Hi All

My wife has had a petrol RAV 4 1st generation (P reg) that needs to be retired to the car heaven shortly. Obviously she wants another RAV 4, and we were looking at models from 06 onwards, but am not sure if the petrol or diesel versions will be best. Currently she is leaning towards a petrol model, but will consider diesel.

Also, are there any known issues to look out for in the generation 3 RAV4's ?

Thanks

[firemac]

Hi All

My wife has had a petrol RAV 4 1st generation (P reg) that needs to be retired to the car heaven shortly. Obviously she wants another RAV 4, and we were looking at models from 06 onwards, but am not sure if the petrol or diesel versions will be best. Currently she is leaning towards a petrol model, but will consider diesel.

Also, are there any known issues to look out for in the generation 3 RAV4's ?

Thanks

this thread through first to understand the issues withthe 4.3 diesel engine.

http://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/topic/132178-charliefarlies-guide-to-the-toyota-2ad-diesel-engine-and-its-issues/

The vvt-i petrol engine is virtually bomb-proof but isn't the most economical engine around, especially wit hthe autobox. Having said that though, we've had 4 of them (4.2's) and would have another without hesitation.

[SFV]

Thanks for the link !

Are there other known issues with the RAV4, either mechanical or electrical to be on the look out for ?

Also, are there any rust issues with the RAV4's ?

[firemac]

We,ve had 4 x 4.2s and 1 x 4.3. All the 4.2s were petrol autos and the 4.3 was a D-CAT auto. Only electrical issues are the usual EMS sensors giving up the ghost occasionally. We had a cat go on our first RAV but the cost of that was down to an incompetent dealer more than anything else and the serpentine belt broke after 9 years. Other than that, no issues at all.

The 4.3s can develop a rattle from the middle steering shaft but ours didn't (it was a 12-reg, mind) although I believe that there is a relatively cheap fix for it.

The run-flat system on the 4.3s can be a pain in the a** and there are very few dealers who have the gear to deal with it but Toyota replaced them with a sealant and compressor system in about 2009/10 - mind you the lack of a real spare is still a nuisance but some owners carry a full-size spare in the boot instead. Many had the run-flats removed and fitted with normal tyres but as there was also a TPMS fitted, you need to be sure that any car you're looking at that has had the run-flats removed has also had the TPMS dealt with.

The RAV isn't known for rust and none of ours suffered any whatsoever. Our current 3-dr is a 54-reg and it has no rust at all.

[SFV]

Thanks Firemac !

[Cyker]

From what I've gleaned the diesel ones are a lot nicer to drive due to the low end torque, but not that much more economical as the petrol ones as one might hope. You have to do your research about the engines as IIRC there are versions of both the petrol and diesel that have issues.

What will you be using it for? If it's like, school runs and pootling to the shops etc. I'd avoid the diesel. Diesels really need to stretch their legs and run hot or they get sooted up and develop lots of annoying issues.

[Grumpy stumpy]

I asked a good friend of mine who runs a Toyota independent garage which one is best to buy before I bought my 4.2 Rav, he said the petrol Ravs are bullet proof as previously mentioned with only the odd o2 sensor now and again and are chain driven engine where as the diesel,s are belt driven and at some point you will need to replace the duel mass flywheel clutch and turbo cost £1200 , given the choice of a 4.2 he would go petrol , had one or two issues with the auto,s not changing gear which is normally the Ecu apart from that both are very good motors.

[Cyker]

Did some of the 1.8's not have that oil issue?

[firemac]

As far as I know, the 1.8 was only available as a 2WD and only in the NV. Not many were sold in the UK, the majority petrol engines are 2.0 litre vvt-i's and, apart from occasional O2 sensor failures, they are brilliant units, utterly reliable, don't use oil, will run to 100K+ easily with just routine servicing.

The autobox glitch is an ECU software problem that can affect some of the pre-2003 4.2s but which is easily fixed by having the ECU re-flashed by someone like ECUtesting jn Derby. Otherwise the petrol with autobox is a sublime drivetrain - just not very economical.

[SFV]

From what I've gleaned the diesel ones are a lot nicer to drive due to the low end torque, but not that much more economical as the petrol ones as one might hope. You have to do your research about the engines as IIRC there are versions of both the petrol and diesel that have issues.

What will you be using it for? If it's like, school runs and pootling to the shops etc. I'd avoid the diesel. Diesels really need to stretch their legs and run hot or they get sooted up and develop lots of annoying issues.

The wife will only use the car for commuting (around 25 miles a day), and the occasional longer trip. I think from the comments above the petrol engine will be the one. The petrol models available within her price range seems to have mileage around the 90k and above. Will there still be lots of life left in the engine with that kind of mileage ?

[Grumpy stumpy]

From what I've gleaned the diesel ones are a lot nicer to drive due to the low end torque, but not that much more economical as the petrol ones as one might hope. You have to do your research about the engines as IIRC there are versions of both the petrol and diesel that have issues.

What will you be using it for? If it's like, school runs and pootling to the shops etc. I'd avoid the diesel. Diesels really need to stretch their legs and run hot or they get sooted up and develop lots of annoying issues.

The wife will only use the car for commuting (around 25 miles a day), and the occasional longer trip. I think from the comments above the petrol engine will be the one. The petrol models available within her price range seems to have mileage around the 90k and above. Will there still be lots of life left in the engine with that kind of mileage ?

Absolutely! Mine has now done 87k and bought it with 50k and I do 50 mile round trip to work everyday and has never missed a beat, get around 35 mpg , keep it serviced regularly, I do mine every 10,000 miles and have never had to add oil in between services, and outstanding in the winter weather , can,t wait for snow !! Good for another 80k at least .

[firemac]

From what I've gleaned the diesel ones are a lot nicer to drive due to the low end torque, but not that much more economical as the petrol ones as one might hope. You have to do your research about the engines as IIRC there are versions of both the petrol and diesel that have issues.

What will you be using it for? If it's like, school runs and pootling to the shops etc. I'd avoid the diesel. Diesels really need to stretch their legs and run hot or they get sooted up and develop lots of annoying issues.

The wife will only use the car for commuting (around 25 miles a day), and the occasional longer trip. I think from the comments above the petrol engine will be the one. The petrol models available within her price range seems to have mileage around the 90k and above. Will there still be lots of life left in the engine with that kind of mileage ?

Absolutely! Mine has now done 87k and bought it with 50k and I do 50 mile round trip to work everyday and has never missed a beat, get around 35 mpg , keep it serviced regularly, I do mine every 10,000 miles and have never had to add oil in between services, and outstanding in the winter weather , can,t wait for snow !! Good for another 80k at least .

I'd second Grumpy's endorsement. The vvt-I engine is not over-stressed and will eat up the miles, no problem. We had our first 4.2 for 11 years from new and traded it in for D-CAT at which point it had 90k miles up and was running like new. If you find one with a FTSH and a sympathetic previous owner, you won't go far wrong. Just do the usual checks that you would for any used car plus a good test drive.

Good luck.

[Mike169]

Buy a petrol automatic one, least trouble of all.

[Doug Scriv]

I have a 2.2 2014 diesel, Doesn't get anywhere near the claimed mileage, about 42 on a run,36 local and 26 towing a caravan but it's a joy to drive and doesn't know the caravans behind it. I live in a very hilly area (the Pennines) so that will obviously bring the mileage down. The one thing I don't like is the automatic rear door, I could open a manual door throw the shopping in and close it by the time it opens itself.

Other than that it's a cracking motor. hoping to get another seven or eight years out of it and not expecting any major faults. it's my third Toyota and I have never had any trouble.

[SFV]

Thanks for all the great feedback thus far !!

I think we have set our minds on getting a petrol version, with a manual gearbox. I have been looking on Autotrader and there seems to be quite a few RAV's for sale at present. My last question for now will be, if there is any massive difference between the:

• TX3
• TX4
• TX-R

I assume it will only be trim levels, but would appreciate some input from current owners ?

[firemac]

Thanks for all the great feedback thus far !!

I think we have set our minds on getting a petrol version, with a manual gearbox. I have been looking on Autotrader and there seems to be quite a few RAV's for sale at present. My last question for now will be, if there is any massive difference between the:

• TX3
• TX4
• TX-R

I assume it will only be trim levels, but would appreciate some input from current owners ?

The XT3 is the base car in the early 4.3 range (i.e 2006-late 2009/10) but is pretty well equipped: air-con, CD/Radio, OBC, elec windows, alloys. It's hardly a pauper's special!

XT4 is next up: as XT3 + climate control (as opposed to air-con), elec sunroof, cruise control, heated front seats, CD auto-changer (and maybe a few baubles that I may have missed).

XT-R is as XT-4 + elec fold mirrors, nicer alloys.

XT5 is as XT4 + leather, elec adj seats, satnav.

Post face-lift (i.e. from 2009/10 to 2013 when the 4.4 hit the showrooms) - you can tell because it has the revised front end with the Toyota "family" chrome grille and revised headlamp assy. There were only two models in this final version of the 4.3, the XT-R and the SR. The XT-R was very fully equipped: climate control, CD auto-changer, heated seats, Alcantara and leather trim, satnav. The only options available were Touch & Go which is a keyless security and start/stop system.

The SR added different alloys plus a body kit (and I think it only came as a D-CAT diesel but I'm open to correction).

We had a 12-reg 4.3 XT-R automatic D-CAT and it was an excellent car but economy wasn't the best with the autobox, although the drivetrain was very smooth.

If you can get a car with OEM mudflaps and side steps these are very useful options as they keep the lower flanks of the car free of crud and stone chips as well as making the car look much better IMHO.

[SFV]

Thanks for all the info thus far !

The hunt is on for a VVT-i, with a manual gearbox, and XT-4 spec (with OEM mudflaps and side steps if possible) :D

[SFV]

Also forgot to ask about the following. With the XT-R models the spare wheel is not on the back. Does it come with a spare or does all the XT-R models have run flat tyres ?

[firemac]

Also forgot to ask about the following. With the XT-R models the spare wheel is not on the back. Does it come with a spare or does all the XT-R models have run flat tyres ?

If you find a car with the spare wheel on the rear door then you will have no issues re tyres - everything is straightforward with these.

If there is no spare on the back then the car will likely have a repair kit comprising a bottle of goo and a compressor that you plug into the cigar lighter to reflate after goo is inserted. AFAIK, Run Flats were only fitted to the T180 & the SR180 which are the high performance diesel models so, as you are going for petrol, the RF problems shouldn't arise. But you can check easily as any car with RFs will have no repair kit in the boot, will probably have Bridgestone tyres fitted and will have a marking on the sidewalls showing that they are RFs. I believe that the RFs were discountinued completely from the later 4.3 models, i.e from 2009.

In any event, on cars without the spare on the rear door, always lift the floor panel in the boot and check if there is the repair kit of goo bottle plus compressor. If so, you can forget about RFs.

[SFV]

Thanks Firemac !

[SFV]

I finally found a RAV that we were looking for, and paid a deposit on Saturday, with the car to be collected next Saturday. The only small issue is that the car only has one transponder key, and a spare.

Is it easy to get another transponder programmed ?

Once again, thanks for all the advice !

[firemac]

I finally found a RAV that we were looking for, and paid a deposit on Saturday, with the car to be collected next Saturday. The only small issue is that the car only has one transponder key, and a spare.

Is it easy to get another transponder programmed ?

Once again, thanks for all the advice !

You need to ask why there is only one remote locking key. AFAIK replacement remote keys and programming ain't cheap. I'd suggest that you make the dealer provide a second key in the deal. If it's a private sale, phone up Mr.T, ask how much for new key and programming and then get seller to drop price accordingly.

You can live without the Valet Key (the non-remote one) but two remote keys are essential IMHO.

Good luck.

[SFV]

Mr T ?

[dwilson]

Mr T ?

Toyota dealership

[Cyker]

If you have at least one master key then it's very easy - Toyota can do it, but it will cost £120-200 IIRC

There are other ways but this is the least painful and easiest path.