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My Rav 4 Is Terrible On Fuel


Smudge999
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Can anyone help me my Rav 4 is brand spanking new we have not done 5k yet and the fuel economy is shocking, its been back to our Toyota main agents 4 times now and they just don't know what to do, or say to me.

its 25% less then what you would expect . I cannot even do 37 MPG on the motorway when my previous one did well over 40MPG

its a RAV 4 SR 2.2 Auto

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I know there's a big difference between the new RAV4 and mine, but in my 1.8 RAV4 2001 2WD I average around 27MPG.

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Can anyone help me my Rav 4 is brand spanking new we have not done 5k yet and the fuel economy is shocking, its been back to our Toyota main agents 4 times now and they just don't know what to do, or say to me.

its 25% less then what you would expect . I cannot even do 37 MPG on the motorway when my previous one did well over 40MPG

its a RAV 4 SR 2.2 Auto

Nope, I give up. What was your previous RAV?

I can tell you that the mileage you are getting from this one is no worse than mine. It's down to a combination of the D-CAT system and the auto box. It might improve a bit more when the weather gets consistently warmer (if we are lucky) and it has done some more miles. They often take up to 10k to fully bed in. However, don't expect miracles. I doubt it will ever do 40.

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What rav4 model do you have?

My tips for improving your car mpg is to

- never drive with a full tank. I always drive with only 3 gallon of gas. I drive 40 miles a day and so it makes no sense to carry 15 gallon of gas on any given work day.

- make sure your tires are inflated. The tire pump only costs like $20 so I won't take chances driving under-inflated tires.

- use synthetic oil only

- make sure all your fluids are at recommended range

- change engine air filter to performance

I usually get 27-30 mpg driving in 50/50 traffic/highway everyday. But also i drive only 60-70 mph and accelerate pretty smoothly.

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are you going by the dashboard readout or are you using a calculated method?

Alex

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I've used the dashboard controls as well as writing it down when travelling on a long journey, its awful really. My old one used to do 40 Plus on the motorway and that was a Manual Diesel 2007 XR.

I am now speaking to trading standards as its so poor whilst looking at what options I have. One of the main selling points was the fact it was so much more economic than the one we had. Thats not true

I will let you know the next step, thanks for the information

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You say what it wont do but not what it is actually doing ?

We are after all talking a 2.2 AWD large estate car ?

As for driving with little fuel in the tank it has been proven this actually makes so little difference its immeasurable...

I fill to the brim so only one trip to the garage so less time effort and running around. Sorry not bieng difficult but it really is splitting hairs...

So many times these days the fuel figures come up but we Rav owners have to face facts.... The engines are a wee bit long in the tooth now having been around since very late 2005 early 2006 so the epitome of economy they aint but still they turn in very respectful figures for a large heavy estate / utility vehicle that has much equipment.

Driving style plays a huge part that I'm convinced of as many struggle to crack 40MPG while for some its easy....

Your profile says model year 2012 so I take it your car while new is one of the older shape cars ? Its often been said on here that these cars are not good on fuel ...

Quite why the Auto box drags the consumption down baffles me just a little.. I have said before that my Jag XF with its 3.0 V6 Diesel easily beats my old T180 on the fuel stakes and it is a normal.. By that I mean conventional torque converter 6 speed automatic transmission and it must be as heavy as the Rav....

Quite how you stand on legal terms is very debatable.. So many cars do not and cannot achieve the ridiculous publicised figures that appear on sites like Auto trader and the like ....

Trading standards would be ridiculously busy if they took on all car owners who cant get publicised MPG figures from their vehicles

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I agree with you charlie, if people want a car that'll do a 1000 mpg then perhaps they should get a cycle and not a 4x4. Lol

keith

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Driving style plays a very big part yes I totally agree, We have change our vehicle not the style of driving, hence the concerns from our point of view. If your spending the best part of 30k on a vehicle which was sold with a promise it would produce & deliver these statistics then what are my rights?

if it was short by 10% maybe 15% at most then ok i accept that. But its not, its shocking and concerns me.

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The car returned 28.6 MPG today in and around the city centre however on a run of 60 miles , half of which was a 50mph speed limit it crept up to 36 MPG

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So what are the actual returned figures then Smudge?

Frankly, you have done so few miles that any numbers at this stage are pretty meaningless.

I have kept data on my XTR from the day it was new and it has returned a calculated average of 42.1 over nearly 70K.

The OBC reads anything from 37 to 52mpg depending on the weather [Anchs - I'm sure it always does better when there's a bit of humidity in the air]

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In short your rights mate are extremely limited.... You chances of success in a litigation scenario against a major car manufacturer are virtually nil !

Why ? Well because firstly the figures publicised are given from testing under vary controlled circumstances which would rarely encountered in real world terms.. Plus and this really is the biggie driving style ...

It varies so much its ridiculous.....

I'm still in the dark on the questions I've asked above... 1 Is your car the very latest version ? Toyota I believe say the brand new car is up very slightly on the 2012 car but it is only very slight.. It is after all the same engine bar a couple of very minor tweaks as the older car and is one major reason why the latest brand new car is not worth the extra $ well IMO anyway...

Manufacturer's promise very much and often fail to deliver when it comes to MPG and many things.. To enter into litigation would mean very very deep pockets indeed required............

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The car returned 28.6 MPG today in and around the city centre however on a run of 60 miles , half of which was a 50mph speed limit it crept up to 36 MPG

I actually dont think those figures are that bad.. OK not class leading but given the size and type of car not that terrible...
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As said many times before ALL 4wd's are thirsty beasts..iirc Landrover group being one of the worst.

But tbf the wifes 2012 Rav4 2.2d manual does 35-50mpg depending on whose driving.

Your higher mpg is the pay back for low emissions and not having to change gear.;~)

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Thanks for all the information its appreciated this end and probably makes me feel a degree happier. My model is December 2012, its not the new shape one which came out in March 2013.

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Thing is if it's a diesel your talking up 20,000 mls before its run in properly.

Keith

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I purposely avoided the auto as even the published mpg figures are much lower than the manual.

My 2012 2.2 Rav manual is averaging 38.5 mpg since I had it in august last year. It's done 6k miles now. It was up at 42 but dropped to 37.8 at its lowest and has started to creep back up over the last few weeks as tge temperature has picked up. I do 20 miles a day round trip to and from work, on 50;50 residential roads and dual carriageways. I reckon the economy is pretty good for a car of this nature. I have seen 46+ on motorway runs at a steady 70.

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I've had my 59 plate RAV for 4 weeks now, its just done 10.000 miles and the OBC says 34MPG.

I have only filled up once since I bought the car so cant really tell what the real MPG is when worked out on how many miles per gallon, but will let you know. I expect no more than 40 MPG ever out of the RAV even on a long journey.

Despite the brochure for my model saying 49 MPG combined !

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Its a derisory notion to compare a manual with an automatic D-CAT engined vehicle. I suspected it might be the case in post No1 which also said you had a brand new RAV.

When we get to the crux of it you are not comparing apples with apples and you do not have a new shaped RAV as mooted. I'm afraid I take the same bewildered stance as your dealer does.

I also suspect your RAV was not built in Yorkshire so that might be your answer if that is what you think.

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Anchorman, thanks for the input Im sure the consumption rate will increase to a satisfactory level with all the feedback Ive received. We bought the car brand new with Zero miles (well 7 actually)

The main trust and selling point from the sales point of view was its much more efficient, cleaner, greener blah blah blah. At this point it is not. I/We are more than happy with our new car but hopefully now the explanations given will come to fruition when we get miles under our beat.

Yes Yorkshire is a fine county, I doubt it was built here like most things in the UK so yes they don't meet a Yorkshiremens standards.

NEVER ACCEPT SECOND BEST.......

Thanks for the kind replies everyone

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And to endorse Bigend's comment, diesels aren't REALLY run in until 20-30,000 miles, and that's a fact.

New, good diesels (and Toyota certainly is) are unbelievably tight, and it's not difficult to stall one on driving it out of the showroom. The mechanicals wear so slowly that the engine doesn't really loosen up and give maximum power and flexibility until the figure above. On the other hand, you can expect up to half-a-million miles from the major parts of the engine. In practice, the doors might drop off, or the seats sag, long before that.

Chris

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And to endorse Bigend's comment, diesels aren't REALLY run in until 20-30,000 miles, and that's a fact.

New, good diesels (and Toyota certainly is) are unbelievably tight, and it's not difficult to stall one on driving it out of the showroom. The mechanicals wear so slowly that the engine doesn't really loosen up and give maximum power and flexibility until the figure above. On the other hand, you can expect up to half-a-million miles from the major parts of the engine. In practice, the doors might drop off, or the seats sag, long before that.

Chris

Considering the lengths that manufacturers go to to max their mpg's & reduce CO numbers, it's no wonder the average owner can't get anywhere near them.

Have a look at this article out of this month's "Car Mechanics" mag.

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28 & 36 mpg in a lump of a car with an auto box, I have to say, ain't bad. Perhaps a Lindop chip may help? It's next on my list.

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And to endorse Bigend's comment, diesels aren't REALLY run in until 20-30,000 miles, and that's a fact.

New, good diesels (and Toyota certainly is) are unbelievably tight, and it's not difficult to stall one on driving it out of the showroom. The mechanicals wear so slowly that the engine doesn't really loosen up and give maximum power and flexibility until the figure above. On the other hand, you can expect up to half-a-million miles from the major parts of the engine. In practice, the doors might drop off, or the seats sag, long before that.

Chris

That rocked me back, Chris.....20 to 30k run in....? My previous SR180 improved dramatically at 10k, and based on figures you and Keefy are quoting, it will take me more than 3 years to run in ma car FFS !!!

Now you are all typing WTF did I buy a diesel for.....? Coz that is whit ah wanted........

Big Kev

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Hi Kev,

Yep, 20-30k to run in completely. After that, most diesels don't get any "looser" and responsive.

But you don't have to wait until that sort of mileage for things to run well. The running in (and loosening up) is progressive. The first 1k-2k will often feel distinctly underpowered - you might stall now and again, or be disappointed at the engine's ability to pull uphill at lowish (below 1500) rpm. You'll certainly have to use the gears more. All this slowly disappears, and, if you use decent fuel, things just get better and better.

Petrol-engined users don't have anything like this sort of thing, but then their engines will have only a half (or less) the life of a diesel.

But, if you are going to renew your car every time it clocks up 20k or so, then you'll never see the best from a diesel - the next owner will!

Never mind, just enjoy the torque, reliability (I am serious), relaxed driving and economy of near bomb-proof innards.

Our own 2003 D4D now has 100k miles on the clock, but it did take 25-30k of those to see it routinely leap up 1-in-4's in second. Problem? Not at all - a real workhorse.

Chris

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