Which Rav4 engines had the head gasket failure problems?

[Wandering Vampire]

I'm sure this topic has been done to death but can someone please help and keep it simple? I'm fancying a 2003 or 2004 2.0 petrol VVTi RAV4 but I'm worried about the dreaded head gasket failure. Were all engines affected or just certain ones? Was the 2.0 VVTi petrol engine prone to this problem? I need this car to be my daily work horse. Thanks. 

[FROSTYBALLS]

It was the 2.2 2AD diesel engine built between July 2005 to December 2008 that suffered from heavy oil consumption and head gasket failures. See:

 

[Wandering Vampire]

So the 2.0 vvti petrol engine is a safe bet? 

[Avalon]

9 hours ago, Wandering Vampire said:

So the 2.0 vvti petrol engine is a safe bet? 

As it’s not a 2.2ltr diesel produced between those dates, yes. Realistically people went with the 2.0 diesel in the second generation because it was the better engine, generally you will have a better selection of used diesels in nicer trim levels than the petrol for the period you mention in your initial post.

[Wandering Vampire]

1 hour ago, Avalon said:

As it’s not a 2.2ltr diesel produced between those dates, yes. Realistically people went with the 2.0 diesel in the second generation because it was the better engine, generally you will have a better selection of used diesels in nicer trim levels than the petrol for the period you mention in your initial post.

Thanks! This is interesting because I fancied this generation RAV4 but I was deterred by the potential cylinder head failure. I need a tough car for work purposes. I'm not doing big mileage (about 100 miles per week) but my car is exposed to the usual battle scars of motoring plus I occasionally have to drive down farm tracks and such like. My next car has to be a Toyota because I'm so impressed by their engineering and attitude towards car building. I want an automatic because the vast majority of my driving is in town. The cars I'm considering are as follows:

Gen 2 Prius

Gen 2 or 3 Avensis

Gen 3 Rav4

 

I want a petrol engine for obvious reasons (town driving). I know the Prius is the obvious choice but I think I can live with the poorer mpg of the RAV4 if it means a high driving position, robust nature and better carrying capacity, especially on the roof rails. Does anyone have any thoughts or advice?

[philip42h]

The 2.0 VVTi is generally considered robust and largely problem free - from that point of view it would be a great choice. The one 'problem' folk occasional 'complain' about is fuel consumption but if your mileage is comparatively low that is less of an issue.

[Wandering Vampire]

3 hours ago, philip42h said:

The 2.0 VVTi is generally considered robust and largely problem free - from that point of view it would be a great choice. The one 'problem' folk occasional 'complain' about is fuel consumption but if your mileage is comparatively low that is less of an issue.

Are we looking at about 27mpg around town?