Hi Newby Help And Advice On Rav 4 Automatic Please?

[cbv8]

Hi All

This is my first visit and message on this brill looking and informative forum so Hello again right here we go oh i am also new to Ravs i have owned a couple of Hilux,s the rest of my 4x4 ownership is L.Rover (Range Rovers) sorry for swearing :censor: I am now wanting to get rid of my gas guzzling R.R V8 and buy a Rav4 i can only drive automatics so am limited to what i buy i have considered Mitsus/F.Landers even Hilux's again but non of them fall into the criteria i want ie good mpg reliable maintenance friendly and not too big! I have found a 1997 Rav4 L? automatic lpg'd and just over 60K on clock is lpg'd and in very good condition price £4k does this sound too much or just right i do know the chap selling quite well a garage and he has never done me a bad deal with all the cars i have had off him :) Also when buying are there particular faults or potential probs i should look out for i have done many search on these motors and cannot find a bad word about them except for it's a womans car mate ah what does he know :censor: Anyway the reason for me changing my car and going for Japanese is i want realiabilty somthing that will get me to my caravan down Devon without using too much fuel also in comfort and without any worries of breaking down which is why the Rav4 is my choice :D As i said i am a Rav4 virgin so be patient with me i know nothing except for everything i have read off the net about these motors so proper owner unbiased advice and user experience is invaluable so come on all you knowledgables out there . One last thing i am going to test drive this motor today and if i like i'm gonna buy it there is a lot of interest in this car so i have to be quick before some lucky bugger gazumps me thanks again in anticipation

cheers,

chaz

[cbv8]

Hi All

This is my first visit and message on this brill looking and informative forum so Hello again right here we go oh i am also new to Ravs i have owned a couple of Hilux,s the rest of my 4x4 ownership is L.Rover (Range Rovers) sorry for swearing :censor: I am now wanting to get rid of my gas guzzling R.R V8 and buy a Rav4 i can only drive automatics so am limited to what i buy i have considered Mitsus/F.Landers even Hilux's again but non of them fall into the criteria i want ie good mpg reliable maintenance friendly and not too big! I have found a 1997 Rav4 L? automatic lpg'd and just over 60K on clock is lpg'd and in very good condition price £4k does this sound too much or just right i do know the chap selling quite well a garage and he has never done me a bad deal with all the cars i have had off him :) Also when buying are there particular faults or potential probs i should look out for i have done many search on these motors and cannot find a bad word about them except for it's a womans car mate ah what does he know :censor: Anyway the reason for me changing my car and going for Japanese is i want realiabilty somthing that will get me to my caravan down Devon without using too much fuel also in comfort and without any worries of breaking down which is why the Rav4 is my choice :D As i said i am a Rav4 virgin so be patient with me i know nothing except for everything i have read off the net about these motors so proper owner unbiased advice and user experience is invaluable so come on all you knowledgables out there . One last thing i am going to test drive this motor today and if i like i'm gonna buy it there is a lot of interest in this car so i have to be quick before some lucky bugger gazumps me thanks again in anticipation

cheers,

chaz

Hi All

This is my first visit and message on this brill looking and informative forum so Hello again right here we go oh i am also new to Ravs i have owned a couple of Hilux,s the rest of my 4x4 ownership is L.Rover (Range Rovers) sorry for swearing :censor: I am now wanting to get rid of my gas guzzling R.R V8 and buy a Rav4 i can only drive automatics so am limited to what i buy i have considered Mitsus/F.Landers even Hilux's again but non of them fall into the criteria i want ie good mpg reliable maintenance friendly and not too big! I have found a 1997 Rav4 L? automatic lpg'd and just over 60K on clock is lpg'd and in very good condition price £4k does this sound too much or just right i do know the chap selling quite well a garage and he has never done me a bad deal with all the cars i have had off him :) Also when buying are there particular faults or potential probs i should look out for i have done many search on these motors and cannot find a bad word about them except for it's a womans car mate ah what does he know :censor: Anyway the reason for me changing my car and going for Japanese is i want realiabilty somthing that will get me to my caravan down Devon without using too much fuel also in comfort and without any worries of breaking down which is why the Rav4 is my choice :D As i said i am a Rav4 virgin so be patient with me i know nothing except for everything i have read off the net about these motors so proper owner unbiased advice and user experience is invaluable so come on all you knowledgables out there . One last thing i am going to test drive this motor today and if i like i'm gonna buy it there is a lot of interest in this car so i have to be quick before some lucky bugger gazumps me thanks again in anticipation

cheers,

chaz

Hi Again,

I cannot believe i have had not one god damn reply from all you Rav4 owners come help me out here pleeeease

cheers,

chaz.

[Boro Sera]

Hi mate,

Welcome to TOC

No idea where all the Rav owners are today though !

Good luck with the test drive.

Rich

[Uncle Bob]

Hi All

This is my first visit and message on this brill looking and informative forum so Hello again right here we go oh i am also new to Ravs i have owned a couple of Hilux,s the rest of my 4x4 ownership is L.Rover (Range Rovers) sorry for swearing :censor: I am now wanting to get rid of my gas guzzling R.R V8 and buy a Rav4 i can only drive automatics so am limited to what i buy i have considered Mitsus/F.Landers even Hilux's again but non of them fall into the criteria i want ie good mpg reliable maintenance friendly and not too big! I have found a 1997 Rav4 L? automatic lpg'd and just over 60K on clock is lpg'd and in very good condition price £4k does this sound too much or just right i do know the chap selling quite well a garage and he has never done me a bad deal with all the cars i have had off him :) Also when buying are there particular faults or potential probs i should look out for i have done many search on these motors and cannot find a bad word about them except for it's a womans car mate ah what does he know :censor: Anyway the reason for me changing my car and going for Japanese is i want realiabilty somthing that will get me to my caravan down Devon without using too much fuel also in comfort and without any worries of breaking down which is why the Rav4 is my choice :D As i said i am a Rav4 virgin so be patient with me i know nothing except for everything i have read off the net about these motors so proper owner unbiased advice and user experience is invaluable so come on all you knowledgables out there . One last thing i am going to test drive this motor today and if i like i'm gonna buy it there is a lot of interest in this car so i have to be quick before some lucky bugger gazumps me thanks again in anticipation

cheers,

chaz

Hi chaz and welcome to the RAV4 section of the TOC , the vehicle you are looking at is going to be a japanese home market vehicle, so its a grey import, the RAV4 L was a model never brought to the UK by Toyota GB.

There are up and down side to buying a grey import, they are cheaper that UK vehicles and all come with air/con.

One of the down sides is the speedo would have been changed from KPH to MPH, if its been done on the cheap, it would just have a speedo face change, this means the trip meter will still run in KPH :( .

With an import you don't get factory fitted alarm, read fog light, internal headlamp height adjuster and no way of knowing if its been correctly serviced.

Last point, imports can be more expensive to insure, and insurance companies will insist on at least a cat 2 alarm fitted......any more help just shout

Whats a UK model, that will be a GX, GS or VX model :) .

[Ray99]

Hi CBV8

If I can add my twopen'orth. Don't buy any Toyota with LPG. Or even one that used to have LPG. The engines just can't cope with it. LPG destroys valves for a pastime, especially in Toyota engines. I've seen a couple of engines (Toyo) with LPG and they gave nothing but trouble. Look for another Rav that uses liquid fuel exclusively. Regards Ray

[cbv8]

Hi CBV8

If I can add my twopen'orth. Don't buy any Toyota with LPG. Or even one that used to have LPG. The engines just can't cope with it. LPG destroys valves for a pastime, especially in Toyota engines. I've seen a couple of engines (Toyo) with LPG and they gave nothing but trouble. Look for another Rav that uses liquid fuel exclusively. Regards Ray

Hi Ray&All that replied nice one Bob very informative stuff the grey import bit right lpg not meaning to sound ungrateful for your input Ray but how can lpg destroy the valves Isn't the Rav enigine designed to run on unleaded and if so i can't see how lpg can affect the valves unless it has not been set up right and is burning lean (hot)

[cbv8]

Hi CBV8

If I can add my twopen'orth. Don't buy any Toyota with LPG. Or even one that used to have LPG. The engines just can't cope with it. LPG destroys valves for a pastime, especially in Toyota engines. I've seen a couple of engines (Toyo) with LPG and they gave nothing but trouble. Look for another Rav that uses liquid fuel exclusively. Regards Ray

Hi Ray&All that replied nice one Bob very informative stuff the grey import bit right lpg not meaning to sound ungrateful for your input Ray but how can lpg destroy the valves Isn't the Rav enigine designed to run on unleaded and if so i can't see how lpg can affect the valves unless it has not been set up right and is burning lean (hot)

Hi All,

Just to let you know i have bought the Rav and pick it up end of next week i must admit my first impressions were nippy yes top end struggle ie ran out of road before i could get above 90mph just to say it was a loooong empty collector road i know Anyway my other impressions of the Rav it was a little noisy (engine noise) but reading a few of the posts on here it sounds like lack of soundproofing was the culprit the car was very stable and handled very well with no clunks rattles or frightening noises All in all i am happy with the car obviousley i cannot compare it to my Range Rover Vogue SE 3.9 even though i did at first well it's in the blood L/R and all that but it's time to change When i got back down to earth and came to my senses and thought practically yes this little Rav is just the jobby for me&missus granson and daughter just the ticket to get us to Devon and back in relative comfort reliable and economically so i went for it and bunged me deposit on :drool:I appreciate your replies god the Rav is a rare beast only 3 so far but can anyone give me anymore info on this model ie mpg best oils&fluids etc as i intend doing ALL the servicing myself and would really appreciate as much help and advice as possible thanks again in advance muchness appreciatussuss

cheers,

chaz

[mlp]

Hi Chaz

i have a rav4 auto 97 model 5 door that i have had converted to LPG

and it runs very well , I am still in the process of evaluating the MPG the book says 28 mpg but the lpg converters reckon about 22-23mpg but i only pay 38p per litre and around here petrol is 84.9 it works out about 2.17 time cheaper to buy lpg which gives me about 43.24 to 58.36 equivalent depending on the road and speed the journeys were between 108 miles to 266 miles.

I am really pleased with the convertion however you should make sure you have a valid lpg convertion certificate preverably from an LPGA converter for your insurance company

hope this helps you

Regards

marshall

[cbv8]

Hi Chaz

i have a rav4 auto 97 model 5 door that i have had converted to LPG

and it runs very well , I am still in the process of evaluating the MPG the book says 28 mpg but the lpg converters reckon about 22-23mpg but i only pay 38p per litre and around here petrol is 84.9 it works out about 2.17 time cheaper to buy lpg which gives me about 43.24 to 58.36 equivalent depending on the road and speed the journeys were between 108 miles to 266 miles.

I am really pleased with the convertion however you should make sure you have a valid lpg convertion certificate preverably from an LPGA converter for your insurance company

hope this helps you

Regards

marshall

Hi Marshall

At least i'm not the only one with an lpg'd Rav ;) how big is your lpg tank and where is it positioned mine is a (55lt-20%=44lts usable) cylinder in the boot on nearside. I have got a cert for the conversion but it was done sometime ago 2001in fact so i will get it checked out by a qualified lpga fitter i know

[mlp]

hi Chaz

i have a 77ltr tank torriodal in luggage space which gives me about 300+ miles i have it mounted flat with shelf on top so i loose about 9 or ten inches depth in boot and it still leaves a reasonable load area for us ( just me and the mrs)

the talk about valve damage is only for vvti models (as i understand it) the valves are longer and can't stand the heat. My converter did advise me to have a flash lubricator fitted which prevents damage, I,m sure he did it as a failsafe but i think its really for vvti valves when do you get yours?

cheers

marshall

[mlp]

hi Chaz

thought you might like to read some of this with pictures

http://toyotaownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=57392

marshall

[cbv8]

hi Chaz

thought you might like to read some of this with pictures

http://toyotaownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=57392

marshall

Hi Marshall,

Great pictures or what wish i could send some of mine but i ain't got a clue how to do it no good explaining i am p.c illigitamate i mean illiterate i thought i had limited boot space i get my Rav this Fri can't wait By my calculations you are averaging 22ish mpg ie 77lts-20%=61.6lts usable divided by 4.55lts=13.53gals divide 300miles by 13.53=22ishmpg on lpg do you do mainly town or motorway also what revs are you doing @80mph does 3000rpms sound about right sorry for all the questions but you have the exact model as me so everything you can tell me is relavent to my model thanks again

[mlp]

Hi Chaz

just went to fillup and my supplier has reduced his price to 36p litre I use the local Flowgas depot and

last time i filled he said he was suffering from competion @38p

so he did the decent thing and reduced

marshall

what questions do you have?

[cbv8]

Hi Chaz

just went to fillup and my supplier has reduced his price to 36p litre I use the local Flowgas depot and

last time i filled he said he was suffering from competion @38p

so he did the decent thing and reduced

marshall

what questions do you have?

Hi Marshall,

Sorry didn't all your previous posts i see you have got an mpg of 22 thicko me eh :!Removed!: anyway what sort of revs are you doing @80mph my Range Rover is doing 3500@80mph so just wondering how the two compare really

[mlp]

Hi Chaz

My mph varies so much according to what roads and how fast.

Speed seems to make a hell of a difference and i don't go that fast

but 3500 @80mph is roughly the same as my rav but a little high if anything

I recently did some trips and I will let you know how MPG s compared over

different driving attributes

but first Ive got to find the details .

will post again tonight

marshall

[mlp]

hi Chaz

I can't get a copy of a spreadsheet page to show on the forum but i have some figures for you

1) 187 miles around town and countryside, low gears, hills, winding lanes, slow motoring, 42.46 ltr gas 20.02 mpg gas 38p litre

2 ) 240 mile trip good low speed beginning then motorway and dual roads not above 70mph 39.78 ltrs gas, 27.43 mpg gas 39.9pltre

3) 108 miles around town all the time 24.16 ltr gas 20.32mpg gas 39.9p ltr

4) 266 miles motorway dual roads 23.72 ltres gas 23.72 mpg 38p litre

5) 194 miles around town and country roads 43.25 litres gas 20.32mpg 36p litre

quite pleased with some of it

cheers

marshall

[cbv8]

hi Chaz

I can't get a copy of a spreadsheet page to show on the forum but i have some figures for you

1) 187 miles around town and countryside, low gears, hills, winding lanes, slow motoring, 42.46 ltr gas 20.02 mpg gas 38p litre

2 ) 240 mile trip good low speed beginning then motorway and dual roads not above 70mph 39.78 ltrs gas, 27.43 mpg gas 39.9pltre

3) 108 miles around town all the time 24.16 ltr gas 20.32mpg gas 39.9p ltr

4) 266 miles motorway dual roads 23.72 ltres gas 23.72 mpg 38p litre

5) 194 miles around town and country roads 43.25 litres gas 20.32mpg 36p litre

quite pleased with some of it

cheers

marshall

Hi Marshall,

I too would be quite happy with those figures espescially the 240 round mile trip@70mph so i'm reckoning @80 it should drop to about 25ish mpg that will do nicely :D Thanks again for spending the time and effort and giving me those figures nice one but don't think you have heard the last of my questions yet you wait until i pick my Rav up Friday i'll have a few more for you know doubt

[cbv8]

hi Chaz

I can't get a copy of a spreadsheet page to show on the forum but i have some figures for you

1) 187 miles around town and countryside, low gears, hills, winding lanes, slow motoring, 42.46 ltr gas 20.02 mpg gas 38p litre

2 ) 240 mile trip good low speed beginning then motorway and dual roads not above 70mph 39.78 ltrs gas, 27.43 mpg gas 39.9pltre

3) 108 miles around town all the time 24.16 ltr gas 20.32mpg gas 39.9p ltr

4) 266 miles motorway dual roads 23.72 ltres gas 23.72 mpg 38p litre

5) 194 miles around town and country roads 43.25 litres gas 20.32mpg 36p litre

quite pleased with some of it

cheers

marshall

Hi Marshall,

I too would be quite happy with those figures espescially the 240 round mile trip@70mph so i'm reckoning @80 it should drop to about 25ish mpg that will do nicely :D Thanks again for spending the time and effort and giving me those figures nice one but don't think you have heard the last of my questions yet you wait until i pick my Rav up Friday i'll have a few more for you know doubt

Hi All,

Sorry for this next message but i have had the Rav for a week and i must say it is definatly NOT the car for me i drove to Devon four days done a few miles tootling around all in i done over 600 miles in that time. My honest and personal opinion of the car is it's best suited for what it was designed for i guess which is short runs to the shops and town work forget looong journey's as it just becomes a chore I did get the car over 100mph on a quite downhill stretch of the motorway note the word downhill as any inclines the car would struggle to keep up to 80mph with constant kickdowns which then meant me averaging 16.6mpg So that's about it really i do thank all who replied to my questions and do hope you have fun in your Ravs they are not a bad little cars if you don't expect too much from them which i suppose i did :!Removed!:

[mlp]

Hi all

thought i would bring this to the front again in view of the recent post by bt

as I stated in that post my last trip 250 miles I got 26.98mpg and gas at 39.39 litre

hope its of interest

regards

mlp