Question For All The 4.2 Owners - Year 2000/2001

[Zincubus]

Still considering swapping my W reg 4.1 for a W reg 4.2 !!

A couple of people have suggested that I just stick with the 4.1 as all the faults will have been corrected WHERAS the W reg 4.2 would be the first batch of the new model and MAY have a few teething problems .

Any thoughts on the above , peeps ???????

[bitman]

i have a 2001 auto 5-doors gx. problems were a sensor but that was fixed under the warranty, an oil leak on the transfer box / rear prop shaft what was fixed under the extended warranty and a light bulb for the license plate... bought this vehicle in feb 2006.

if the 4.1 doesn't have permanent 4wd then stick with it since that's my biggest con of this vehicle. having full time direct connected 4wd! very primitive! even the daihatsu terios has a centre differential!

[bothwell_buyer]

i have a 2001 auto 5-doors gx. problems were a sensor but that was fixed under the warranty, an oil leak on the transfer box / rear prop shaft what was fixed under the extended warranty and a light bulb for the license plate... bought this vehicle in feb 2006.

if the 4.1 doesn't have permanent 4wd then stick with it since that's my biggest con of this vehicle. having full time direct connected 4wd! very primitive! even the daihatsu terios has a centre differential!

Silly boy. The 4.1 has a diff lock to lock up the 4 wheels as you ken. Otherwise its 4 wheel drive which is normally wot you buy a jeep fur.

I use the diff lock when sprinting number 1 - got up to 92 mph with the diff lock on no bother. The 4.1 transmission will handle some 350bhp before its starts to complain. Dunno about the 4.2? Does it handle the 140bhp alright???

When I want a 2 wheel drive I use the Punto - P for primitive

[local hero]

Still considering swapping my W reg 4.1 for a W reg 4.2 !!

A couple of people have suggested that I just stick with the 4.1 as all the faults will have been corrected WHERAS the W reg 4.2 would be the first batch of the new model and MAY have a few teething problems .

Any thoughts on the above , peeps ???????

I am a little confused over why you would think a 7 year old car is going to have teething problems also i have only just caught this thread, are they both 5 door? if so IMO the 4.1 5dr is looking a bit dated, whereas the 3dr is still a classic, again IMO. if as i suspect, you are hankering after a change then go for it, sometimes we all do things because we just want to, not for any logical reason.

[Hoovie]

I think it was me who said about teething problems.

What I was referring to is the situation where a brand new model (which is what the 4.2 the poster was looking at would have been) often has quirks that get resolved after a year or so and which buyers of the first production run just have to put up with. Don't think the RAV4 has many problems like that, but it was more of a general comment about being wary of the first production run of anything.

[local hero]

I think it was me who said about teething problems.

What I was referring to is the situation where a brand new model (which is what the 4.2 the poster was looking at would have been) often has quirks that get resolved after a year or so and which buyers of the first production run just have to put up with. Don't think the RAV4 has many problems like that, but it was more of a general comment about being wary of the first production run of anything.

agree with you totally Hoovie, i just meant that any problems on that particular car would have been sorted by now, and i get the impression that Zinc wants to change in any case, sometimes i feel we try to justify something which we want to do anyway

[Zincubus]

My 4.1 is a 3 door - with permanent 4x4 as far as I am aware - with the above mentioned DIFF lock. The propsed 4.2 is also a 3 door Rav.

Yep , I spose I do fancy a change after the value of this 4.1 seems to have dropped by around £2000 in 10 months.

Just presumed the newer 4.2 model and shape may hold it's value better - but I won't swap if the 4.1 is a BETTER vehicle on the whole.

[bothwell_buyer]

Trust me - I'm not a doctor..........

The 4.1 3 door is an excellent car. The VVTi engine is more up to date which means its electronics don't have valves. Just means that when things go wrong, its more complicated/more expensive.

I'd stick wi the 4.1 and gie it a good polish and check the underside - for rust

If my turbo engine knocks hell out of the transmission wi the diff lock, and 7 others in the world can support me, then you have a pretty robust car. I think the transmission will actually handle about 400bhp afore it gets angry. The 4.2 - can't commment as I don't know its transmission.

If you really want to motor, throw in a 3SGTE engine n turbo from a wrecked MR2 import and find out what driving is really about!

[anchorman]

The 4.1 has a switchable 4WD and the 4.2 is permanent 4WD. There are no significant problems with the 4.2 model and the 2.0VVTi is a gem. The only possible skeletons in the closet are the oxygen sensors and cat which you might find have been done. A good person to ask is Bob King and Bitman runs one as well (above) although he doesn't seem to be keen on the idea of permanent 4WD it is generally bomb proof.

Regards

Jet lagged!

[local hero]

Jet lagged!

Welcome back Am, best cure for jet lag is stay awake all day, which won't be a problem for you as there are people all over britain with broken down Ravs who are waiting for your return, Take it their were no vacancies for train drivers in the U.S. then?

[anchorman]

I had quite a few pm's stu!

In the US you need to drive a train with one hand while the other is constantly on the horn! Stuck with the UK for now ;)

[Fujisan]

Welcome back Anchorman

Good Holiday? ;)

[anchorman]

Welcome back Anchorman

Good Holiday? ;)

Yes thanks Fuj' I got back to find my elderly mum has had a nasty accident which was unpleasant but otherwise everyhting is OK. There may be big gaps in me replying to posts for some time yet while I am back and to the hospital.

Cheers mate.

[Fujisan]

Welcome back Anchorman

Good Holiday? ;)

Yes thanks Fuj' I got back to find my elderly mum has had a nasty accident which was unpleasant but otherwise everyhting is OK. There may be big gaps in me replying to posts for some time yet while I am back and to the hospital.

Cheers mate.

Hope your mother has a steady and full recovery

[Avalon]

Still considering swapping my W reg 4.1 for a W reg 4.2 !!

A couple of people have suggested that I just stick with the 4.1 as all the faults will have been corrected WHERAS the W reg 4.2 would be the first batch of the new model and MAY have a few teething problems .

Any thoughts on the above , peeps ???????

The issue is the 4.2 you were looking at was a very early 4.2 and as such it would have been the guinepig run so to speak. Anything major should have been fixed by now but when buying a new car you'd normally not want one of the early versions as they are more likley to have issues while the production line shakes down, it also had significanly more miles on it than your own car and as such is that much closer to needing more expensive repairs.

You stated in the last thread you were worried your car was loosing value quickly over a short term and planned to combat this by spending 1800 to buy a slightly newer one (that's 2k lost on your last purchase and 1.8k to buy the new one + your last one) that will have the same problem yours does in terms of residuals all over again (you WANT to loose another 2K in 12 months ?!). If you want to spend the money then spend it but you'll be hard pushed to find a mechanical or financial justification for doing so but it's your money

[anchorman]

Welcome back Anchorman

Good Holiday? ;)

Yes thanks Fuj' I got back to find my elderly mum has had a nasty accident which was unpleasant but otherwise everyhting is OK. There may be big gaps in me replying to posts for some time yet while I am back and to the hospital.

Cheers mate.

Hope your mother has a steady and full recovery

[local hero]

The issue is the 4.2 you were looking at was a very early 4.2 and as such it would have been the guinepig run so to speak.

Just a general question, are new Toyotas introduced worldwide simultaneously? because i suspect new models are released in Japan, sometime before we get them here, if so problems, and lets face it someone on here would know, if there were any! would have been sorted before the car even got to our little island. but as always, I stand to be corrected.. :shutit:

[anchorman]

You would hope so but the problem is that there are so many variants and local requirements. For instance the diesel engine and 6 speed box was only for Europe so I guess the development work was done in Belgium (I think that's where the European development Centre is). Things like sump leaks and gearbox input shaft oil seals are popping up as problems. The NCAP test are only applicable to Europe and the airbag system was modified as a result of testing to meet the standards - early models have a "deficiency" and later ones are modded. US models with the long body crack windscreens as a result of body twist and ours don't as much etc etc.

It goes on but when I was doing vehicle development we could do all sorts of durability testing and we often never found problems until the vehicles were in the field. Now having said all this I quite certain that any common problems have been identified with the 4.2 and any others are down to normal statistical failure rates. It cannot be avoided with any model or make and it would not stop me from buying a car unless the whole thing was a known bad egg.