Advice/ help

[L55hol]

Hi, I'm new to the forum as a member but have looked on here for a few maintenance tips etc.

i have a 2010 RAV4 xtr  2.2d4d with just over 80,000 miles. The rav has been running perfectly, I went to top up the screen wash to suddenly notice the coolant level was really low. Had no warning light on the dash or the engine temperature go above half way on the gauge. I topped it up with some ready mixed coolant, checked all around the block and head for leaks and could not find any. Drove the car a few miles and found the coolant has been coming out of the spout on the top of the reservoir so obviously the system is pressurising. Head gasket must be the problem.

i see Toyota extended the warranty on older 2.2d4d engines due to a fault with pistons and piston rings. Surely this must be the same problem with my engine as I feel that a car that is less than 6 years old and 80,000 miles is too soon for a head gasket to let go. I have mechanical sympathy with my cars so always take things steady until the engine has warmed up after 15 mins of driving.

i rang Toyota gb customer services and the lady would not comment if Toyota have extended the warranties for this problem, she just said I would have to take it to a dealer for diagnostics.......

it is only now since I have had this problem with my rav that I know about the trouble people have had with needing new engines fitted. It seems like too much of a coinsidence that my gasket has gone and it to not suffer from the same thing as earlier engine  models.

has anyone else with a 2010 year car had this fault? I wonder where I will stand with Toyota as I said earlier this is just too soon to have happened and must be a design fault still.

Any help or advice would be very much appreciated 

[FROSTYBALLS]

Hello Lee - welcome to Toyota Owners Club 

Have a look at the following extensive thread - 

You will see from the above thread that the head gasket issues were relating to the 2AD engine fitted to the Rav4 up to the September 2008 build date, and Rav4's built after September 2008 had modified engines which solved the issues.

Toyota covered the head gasket issues on the engines built before the above date under a goodwill arrangement, not an extended warranty, subject to evidence of satisfactory servicing and maintenance.

As yours was registered in 2010, it was probably built after the relevant date of Sept 2008.

Does the car have a full Toyota service history?

When in 2010 was your car first registered? If prior to 1st June 2010, it would have come with a 3 year/60,000 mile warranty. If it was first registered on or after 1st June 2010, it would have come with the 5 year/100,000 mile warranty.

As either new car warranty will have expired, do you have an extended warranty? If so, the car will need to be diagnosed by a Toyota dealer, and the repair should be covered under an extended warranty.

If you don't have an extended warranty, you will be reliant on Toyota providing goodwill towards the repair. If the car has a full Toyota service history, you will stand more chance of receiving some goodwill from Toyota - which may be either the full cost of repair or a percentage towards the cost of repair.

If you don't have a full Toyota service history, the chance of getting goodwill will be reduced, perhaps considerably.

In any event the issue will need to be diagnosed by a Toyota dealer as a first step.

 

[NORTHERN_LAD]

So sorry to hear of this problem as my car is a similar age and mileage. This is the first report of problems on this forum. 

I take it that yours is a 150 bhp and is the face lift edition. 

Keith

[Ogster]

I think you need to be more certain of the problem before jumping to conclusions.  If I were you, top it up to the correct level when the engine is warm and running, then drive around a bit and check the level carefully again. If you are indeed loosing coolant, it is not necessarily HG failure. It could be leak or a weep somewhere unseen, radiator failure, air in the system etc...Even if you do suspect HG failure, this should be checked out by a sniff test. Any garage should be able to comply.

[Heidfirst]

As Ogster says you need to confirm that it is the HG at fault (although tbh overpressurising the coolant system does make it sound likely). Another point of failure could be a water pump leak (especially if the system is being overpressurised).

[GavRav4]

Wouldn't you know about hg fail by removing the oil cap and seeing "mayo" around the top of the hole?

[Heidfirst]

you can get that on cars that never really warm up (short journeys) too.