Rav 4 Petrol Or Diesel?

[clive f]

new here and hoping to be a happy Rav 4 owner tomorrow, question is diesel or petrol, both cars high mileage, 138k and yr 2000, so are the vvti 2lt engine good for 200k plus???

thoughts please.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Hello Clive - welcome to Toyota Owners Club.

Duplicate post deleted.

[clive f]

thanks, a bit of fat finger syndrome!

[alan333]

Petrol if you do short journeys

[firemac]

VVT-i is a splendid, cam-chain engine. Virtually bombproof. Only things to watch out for are what you would expect: occasional O2 sensors for EMS (but I've found that using branded petrol rather than supermarket stuff has a positive effect in reducing need for replacements), the serpentine belt that drives water pump, aircon, alternator, etc. immobilises car if it breaks and it is not an off-the-shelf part so replace every, say 5 to 10 years (ours broke on our first 02-reg RAV at 9 years/85K miles).

The only real downside is that they are not the most economical engines re MPG, esp with the autobox. On the other hand they've never used a drop of oil between services and the oil stays clean as well.

We've had 3 VVT-i automatics (still running a 54-reg 3-dr) and they've been/are brilliant cars. Also had a 4.2 diesel and a 4.3 diesel auto which were also great but I prefer the petrols.

If you're looking at an automatic then bear in mind that there is an ECU flaw on early 4.2s (up to 2003) that can wreck the box if not dealt with promptly. However it is easily fixed with a re-flash of the software for circa £300.

Like every other car though it depends on how well it has been looked after by previous owners.

Good luck.

[clive f]

thanks guys, both cars I`m looking at are manuals, with good service history, little to choose between them really.

I`ve been driving a diesel golf as my daily hack for the last couple of years, as much as I like the fuel economy I do prefer a petrol engine to be honest, so hoping for positive responses on the vvti engine, I`m a firm believer in the look after your car and it will look after you saying, so long as I find a well looked after one in the first place, lol

[atkiman]

Petrol bomb proof,my vvti did 10 years and 138k mls and just had a set of sensors. And they can leg it when required

Dont ask about my diesel.

[Mike169]

Buy a petrol auto if you can source one. Just my preference, i have a diesel auto but knowing now what i didn't know than i would of gone for a petrol version.