2020 RAV4- thoughts after 3 years

[SimonAdd]

Hi,

My wife has had her Exel model for 3 years. Had the service & Mot yesterday.  It’s on PCP like the C-HR launch edition & GT86 before it.

Unlike those, we’re keeping this one.  Partly because it’s only done 20,500 miles but mainly because we both love it.

She specd it up too so it’s got black wheels, JBL & the 360 degree camera system. The Toyota dog guard & heated front screen too.

it’s been perfectly reliable & tends to average high 40s mpg wise. Even when fully laden & fitted with a roof box.

The only negatives are the lack of switch illumination on the drivers door panel & the overhead light panels. This can be quite frustrating. Also front tyre wear considering how gently it’s drive (the Dunlops are at 2mm).  It’s a shame there’s no phone charging pad or wireless CarPlay too but I’m looking at adding those soon.

Overall, a great family vehicle 🙂

[philip42h]

1 hour ago, SimonAdd said:

Also front tyre wear considering how gently it’s drive (the Dunlops are at 2mm)

The front tyre wear surprises me somewhat - at 15k miles I'm at 5mm, so wouldn't expect to get down to 2mm 'til around 30k - this is on Michelin Cross Climates. I'd have expected the GrandTreks to be more hardwearing ...

[Rigsby]

I had Dunlops on my previous car (Jaguar XE R-Sport) they were possibly the most disappointing tyres I have ever had on a car. 
 

The wear was very rapid, handling not the best and to top it all off they all developed cracks after 12 months where the tread met the sidewall (they were all very low profile)

Dunlop we’re very unhelpful, I offered to drive to their depot in the Midlands so they could inspect them, but they insisted that the only way that they would inspect them was if I removed all the tyres from the wheels and palletised them and returned them to their depot at my cost.

I didn’t go ahead with it because they would only offer a % off new Dunlop’s, I told them I wouldn’t put Dunlop’s on my pushbike, so I bit the bullet and put a new set of Michelin’s

 

[AndyN01]

I had a similar experience with Avon's on my previous car. Guess what, I'll never buy Avon's again. Seems a stupid way to behave but hey, presumably they know best and couldn't care less about keeping customers?

Andy.

[SimonAdd]

Just to update this. Had a pair of Bridgestone Turanza 6 fitted to the front today.

Original rears are at 5mm.

 

[TonyHSD]

3 hours ago, SimonAdd said:

Just to update this. Had a pair of Bridgestone Turanza 6 fitted to the front today.

Original rears are at 5mm.

 

Nice. 
Did they not pushed to fit the new tyres on the rear? This seems to be a common practice these days. 

[Yugguy1970]

On 8/4/2023 at 12:27 PM, SimonAdd said:

Hi,

My wife has had her Exel model for 3 years. Had the service & Mot yesterday.  It’s on PCP like the C-HR launch edition & GT86 before it.

Unlike those, we’re keeping this one.  Partly because it’s only done 20,500 miles but mainly because we both love it.

She specd it up too so it’s got black wheels, JBL & the 360 degree camera system. The Toyota dog guard & heated front screen too.

it’s been perfectly reliable & tends to average high 40s mpg wise. Even when fully laden & fitted with a roof box.

The only negatives are the lack of switch illumination on the drivers door panel & the overhead light panels. This can be quite frustrating. Also front tyre wear considering how gently it’s drive (the Dunlops are at 2mm).  It’s a shame there’s no phone charging pad or wireless CarPlay too but I’m looking at adding those soon.

Overall, a great family vehicle 🙂

You can change the interior switches to lighted, lots of us have done it and its dead easy.

[NASY]

Tyres are a subject close to my heart as I had a catastrophic failure of one of my OE Yokohama's where the tyre gunk just bled out of the hole. So called a firm who just took all 4 wheels away and fitted Cross Climate 2's all round. Next day torrential rain and huge puddles and this is the first time I have experienced a tyre that just refuses to react to water - just parts it in an Old Testament way so the car stays straight - awesome. Looking forward to snow this winter.

[GBgraham]

12 hours ago, NASY said:

Tyres are a subject close to my heart as I had a catastrophic failure of one of my OE Yokohama's where the tyre gunk just bled out of the hole. So called a firm who just took all 4 wheels away and fitted Cross Climate 2's all round. Next day torrential rain and huge puddles and this is the first time I have experienced a tyre that just refuses to react to water - just parts it in an Old Testament way so the car stays straight - awesome. Looking forward to snow this winter.

With my new RAV4 chariot that is coming this week with Yokohama's fitted, what was you main criticisms that you found with your tyres?

[Oscarmax]

3 hours ago, GBgraham said:

With my new RAV4 chariot that is coming this week with Yokohama's fitted, what was you main criticisms that you found with your tyres?

Yoko's fitted to both my previous Outlander PHEV and current Suzuki Across excellent tyres

[NASY]

My note of caution on the Yokohama tyres is their lack of grip in the wet. They were okay in snow and in the dry, which is hardly a challenge. With 300 plus BHP and a high weight component, though low down, the tyres just didn't resist understeer in the wet and I'm not talking about driving at all quickly.

[kucyk]

50 minutes ago, NASY said:

My note of caution on the Yokohama tyres is their lack of grip in the wet. They were okay in snow and in the dry, which is hardly a challenge. With 300 plus BHP and a high weight component, though low down, the tyres just didn't resist understeer in the wet and I'm not talking about driving at all quickly.

These Yokohamas are a danger to drive and should be banned in Europe and sold in Africa at most where the rain is an extraordinary phenomenon. Absolutely awful on wet, almost undriveable. If you ever drove on a proper winter tyres on snow, that's how Yokohamas are on wet. You need to be 100% focused, watch your speed, distance and analyse every sharp turn.

lf I would rate their grip on wet, I would probably give them 2 out of 10. I'm sliding on the roundabouts all the time, looking forward to changing them soon.

[GBgraham]

Thanks guy's I will bear it in mind but we here have on average at least 300 days of sunshine😉

[Cyker]

Soooo good drift tyres then...?  

[ColinB]

My biggest gripe with the Yokohamas is road noise, especially on bad surfaces such as concrete motorways. I can have the front tyres scrabbling for grip pulling out from T junctions, but this doesn't happen often. As they will probably last longer than I will keep the car I'm not willing to spend c£800 to change them though. 

Colin 

[NASY]

I'd have stuck with the tyres to save money however once one needed to be replaced it seemed sensible to get a total upgrade if having to open the wallet anyway.

[Shootgun]

On 10/7/2023 at 7:59 PM, Yugguy1970 said:

You can change the interior switches to lighted, lots of us have done it and its dead easy.

Any link or more info on this please?

[Yugguy1970]

1 hour ago, Shootgun said:

Any link or more info on this please?

https://cartrimhome.com/LED-Power-Single-Window-Switch-for-Toyota-RAV4-2019-RHD

They are pricy, but I couldn't find any rhd ones on aliexpress.

This video is quite long, it really only takes a few  mins.  You need a trim tool, a philips head and a small flat screwdriver.  When doing the passenger and rears just be gentle when you tease the old switch out.

 

 

Pics on page 3 and 4.

[Shootgun]

31 minutes ago, Yugguy1970 said:

https://cartrimhome.com/LED-Power-Single-Window-Switch-for-Toyota-RAV4-2019-RHD

They are pricy, but I couldn't find any rhd ones on aliexpress.

This video is quite long, it really only takes a few  mins.  You need a trim tool, a philips head and a small flat screwdriver.  When doing the passenger and rears just be gentle when you tease the old switch out.

 

 

Pics on page 3 and 4.

Thank you!

Any VAT or duty to pay in UK?

[Yugguy1970]

No the price includes all that.

 

[SimonAdd]

Just to update.  Car had 4th service & MOT yesterday.  Passed as expected but rear tyres were picked up with cracking (original Dunlops) so had a pair of Bridgestones fitted to match the fronts that got changed last year. 
 

Service was a big on so with the tyres & MOT, £770 spent.

Got the protection plates fitted FOC as mentioned before but there’s no mention of these on the paperwork.

Aside from my rear bumper incident, car remains in great condition & is wearing well 🙂