T180 Dilemma. Advice Please.

[Ladyowner]

I have owned a T180 57 reg for 3 years (53K miles) with no engine trouble at all and the oil usage seems normal. Never have to top-up between services. Even the dreaded run-flats have ceased to scare me ( I have a new spare wheel and tyre in the garage). I have been reading stories on here about the head gasket probs on older models and as ,the 7-year warranty will be up in 2014, am wondering whether I should jump ship now.

Him Indoors says I should get something sensible! Like what? I really love my Rav and don't want a Fiesta/Polo.

I could go for another Rav, one with its spare on the back door but am undecided. Also book price of my lovely car is only about £8k.

Any advice guys?

[jolly-friar]

A RAV is a sensible car... I love mine & wouldn't think of driving anything else now.. :)

If my OH suggested I got a different car... I would suggest a different OH... lol :D

If I was in your situation, and I had the cash, I would upgrade to a newer one.

But as you have said, one with a spare wheel already on the tailgate... ( I had to convert mine... )

Hope that helps..

[voyager t180]

My T180 is among the best cars I've owned,and very similar mlg to yours and touch wood has no engine issues either.

If your really worried you should get your local dealer to do the engine oil consumption test before the Toyota 'goodwill' warranty expires.

[Big Kev]

Sums.......compare what it would cost to trade in yer totally thus far reliable Rav against something you know not the provenance of.

This could be compared against what it would cost you, say £4k, to replace the engine incl labour should your totally reliable thus far Rav. have the engine problem you are correctly concerned about.

Try buying a similarly equipped car for your notional £8k plus the £4k, again with no provenance. See me......ah would check and clean my EGR regularly, not use supermarket fuel, and stop worrying until it all happens......good luck.

[Ladyowner]

Thanks Jolly and Voyager. I guess the happy T180 owners don't come on here much so we only see the problems. If I upgrade to a new model which one should I choose? I love the power of the T180 and the newer Ravs don't have tailgate mounted spares.

What is the engine oil consumption test by the way?

[CharlieFarlie]

See here for the low down on the oil consumption test and other relevant information

http://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/topic/132178-charliefarlies-guide-to-the-toyota-2ad-diesel-engine-and-its-issues/

The absolute truth is all we can offer is our opinions not really advice on your particular situation...

My opinion is that you have the car and clearly love it so that reason enough to stick....

But thought has to be given as to if you could or would want to afford an engine replacement "If" it were to go pear shaped after the good will warranty expires on your particular car....

Thats why there is and cant be a one size fits all reply...

To those like a recent new member who had placed a deposit on a car but had not completed the sale I would say my opinion is don't complete.

If you already have a car then its an evaluation as to the costs and the ability to pay if the pear shape was to occur.. We have a member whose car is at this time having its engine replaced at the moment just outside of warranty and the financial aspects are for him very bad indeed.. Not everyone can afford 4K for an engine ...

These issues remember are not only applicable to the T180 cars. All cars fitted with the 2AD series engine are at risk..

Without question the later the car the lesser the risk but another 2008 Rav4 was reported just this week...

Of course its true we hear less from the happy owners.. But we do have several here who like me love their cars..

Just lately we have had a lot of T180s reported as suffering.. My opinion as one who spends far to much time on this blooming subject is that by tuning the engine that has inherent faults to produce the 180BHP the results are more cars showing faults...

Not a lot of use am I.......

[Ladyowner]

Thank you Charlie. I appreciate your help.

[voyager t180]

Also if you still have the run flats and are quite happy with them,you don't need the extra weight of a spare wheel cluttering up the tailgate.

Don't get to bogged down with the excellent but never ending engine thread,you'll end up more confused than ever.

You could argue your situation til t'cows come home,but in the end it's your call.

Personally I'm with Kev, on this, partly I admit cos MY warranties long gone,but his maths do add up.-;)

[Ladyowner]

Thanks Voyager. Just looking at replacement cars is depressing and would have to put loads more cash to get a newer and less exciting Rav. As a born worrier I read all the tech stuff and panic that I'm not doing enough. Service every year, check oil and tyres regularly etc and hope for the best.

Am thinking about px'ing OH for newer model by the way. Would like newer styling and more performance.

[Hoovie]

If you have a full (even just good?) service history, you may be able to purchase an extended warranty from Toyota for another 1 or 2 years. This should cover the specific engine issue should it occur, I would think (maybe Kingo could confirm?) as well as lots of other stuff on the car as well of course.

Doing this will give you some extra 'breathing space' if the current motor is running fine and in which time the better 2010 onwards RAV4s will have dropped in price to make your cost to change lower :)

[CharlieFarlie]

Another way to play it is this...

Your car is just fine and showing no signs of problems.. So just keep a very close eye on you coolant levels and oil consumption.... IF it shows signs and it will show signs well before anything untoward happens then that is the time to get shot....

As Kev says you could easily PX or swap it for a complete lemon and doing so will likely cost a good few quid so don't spend that money unless the indicators are evident... Like I said above don't be running from a boogey man that aint there !

A good T180 really is a brilliant car and what would you replace it with.. Time to get a new sheepdog is when the old one cant chase sheep anymore.........