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5000 Miles In My Rav4


ALake
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Well, I've now done just over 5000 miles in my 2008 2.0 VVti XTR and this is my summary of what I think:

Good

- Like the looks and overall dimensions

- Nice comfy seats

- Stereo is good, bluetooth works well and I love having a sunroof again

- Nice design features make it a good family car

- Excellent headlights (Vauxhall seem to use candles!)

Bad

- 2.0 just doesn't cut it, too slow and too noisy

- Build quality - sorry but its no better than my previous two cars which were Vauxhall and Kia. At 15k miles the engine vibrates and the clutch judders - I'd expect this at 100,000 miles

- Stupidly expensive for some parts, reasonable for others (although this is not just restricted to Rav4s or indeed Toyota for that matter!)

- One of the worst clutch actions I've had in a car for a while, heavily sprung with a unpleasant action in traffic. Gearchange is clunky as well

- Dealers (local to me anyway) - at best friendly and helpful but ultimately useless, at worst apathetic.

- No spare wheel and a can of gunk I've discovered has expired, so is probably now useless!

With only 15k miles on mine its had a vibration at 3500 that seems to be unsolvable - one dealer has replaced all of the engine mounts which seemed unlikely but I've given up trying to get this sorted now. I had this carry on years ago with an Avensis which spent 35 days in a year at the dealer while they bumbled around trying to find the fault.

In summary 6/10 - could do better!

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Disappointing then…..? The majority of the issues seem to be related to the petrol engine, something I have never had in a Rav, having said that the smaller vvti engines we have had in several Yaris etc have been faultless.

The gear change is a fair criticism, it can be a balky box, particularly 1st to 2nd, might be worth checking the history to see if the oil has been changed for a thinner viscosity grade. You don't mention whether the clutch has been changed ? maybe the previous keeper was a clutch 'jockey' and a new assembly would solve the issue.

T'is a pity you're not delighted with your Rav, i can't comment on Kia but I'm sure a Vauxhell Antara or what ever they're called wouldn't have been trouble free, a friend of the wife's won one in a competition and still doesn't like it, the second prize rowing machine would have been faster and more reliable…...

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Well, I've now done just over 5000 miles in my 2008 2.0 VVti XTR and this is my summary of what I think:

Good

- Like the looks and overall dimensions

- Nice comfy seats

- Stereo is good, bluetooth works well and I love having a sunroof again

- Nice design features make it a good family car

- Excellent headlights (Vauxhall seem to use candles!)

Bad

- 2.0 just doesn't cut it, too slow and too noisy

- Build quality - sorry but its no better than my previous two cars which were Vauxhall and Kia. At 15k miles the engine vibrates and the clutch judders - I'd expect this at 100,000 miles

- Stupidly expensive for some parts, reasonable for others (although this is not just restricted to Rav4s or indeed Toyota for that matter!)

- One of the worst clutch actions I've had in a car for a while, heavily sprung with a unpleasant action in traffic. Gearchange is clunky as well

- Dealers (local to me anyway) - at best friendly and helpful but ultimately useless, at worst apathetic.

- No spare wheel and a can of gunk I've discovered has expired, so is probably now useless!

With only 15k miles on mine its had a vibration at 3500 that seems to be unsolvable - one dealer has replaced all of the engine mounts which seemed unlikely but I've given up trying to get this sorted now. I had this carry on years ago with an Avensis which spent 35 days in a year at the dealer while they bumbled around trying to find the fault.

In summary 6/10 - could do better!

Too bad that it isn't all that you'd like but I guess that is always the risk with a used car. Unless you know the previous owner(s) then there is no way of telling how well or badly the car has been treated or even whether it's suffered accident damage. You say that the car has only 15K on the clock which is very low for a 6-year old vehicle and that you've done 5K of those - how long have you had it? Also I'm a little bit confused: you say that it's had a vibration since 3.5K; is that 3.5K from new or since you bought it? If the car has been abused in the past or used for lots of towing or off-road work then the clutch could be the source of the vibration.

We've had 4 RAV's, two VVTi auto 4.2's and two diesels, one new & three used and all have been brilliant. I can't help thinking that the previous owners maybe didn't do your car too many favours.

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I actually do know the previous owners -a big selling point as they are very meticulous about maintenance etc and this was a very low mileage and mint car for its age! They looked after it, never towed with it and serviced it at the main dealer bang on schedule!

Sorry, I meant 3.5k RPM not miles! Its that exact rpm the vibration comes in and vanishes slightly higher or slightly lower.

I'm not saying Vauxhall or Kia are perfect mind :) just the problems I've had with those makers cars have been at much higher mileages or ages!

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Hmmm sorry to hear this A but can only relate to our petrol Rav which is a 2004 model with 53k on the clock now,so not sure if there is any difference but ours is great,touchwood.Although i don't drive ours Mrs P says its the best car she has driven,after mainly driving Fords and Vauxhalls.

Mrs Ps sister has a 2007 petrol Rav and we get the same sort of feedback off her as well and she does do a lot more mileage in hers.

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I agree about the power, just not enough, especially for an auto.

Ours is a runaround, good for short journeys and down farm tracks and across fields.

Back seats usually removed so it is versatile.

I don't mollycoddle it (always serviced on time though) and in nearly 6 years it has had no issues at all, except of course 2 new batteries but I can live with that.

For longer journeys we have a diesel saloon, as the Rav drinks petrol.

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Well........

My Rav4 is now on 126'000 miles, my clutch does very slightly judder when its cold and queueing in traffic after work.After its warmed up it glides nicely and sits at speeds very smoothly.

I do however have a slight clonk !, occasionally when going over bumps , pot holes etc etc I get a clonk from the underside of the Rav. I have tried rocking it by standing in the rear door opening and swaying from side to side,all seems ok,the suspension is all moving as it should.

All suspension seems ok,propshaft mountings seem ok.....but somethings definitely hitting the underside. :g:

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Well........

My Rav4 is now on 126'000 miles, my clutch does very slightly judder when its cold and queueing in traffic after work.After its warmed up it glides nicely and sits at speeds very smoothly.

I do however have a slight clonk !, occasionally when going over bumps , pot holes etc etc I get a clonk from the underside of the Rav. I have tried rocking it by standing in the rear door opening and swaying from side to side,all seems ok,the suspension is all moving as it should.

All suspension seems ok,propshaft mountings seem ok.....but somethings definitely hitting the underside. :g:

You've not been waking up any Sleeping Policemen have you, Jamie?? :laughing:

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If the clutch judders, it is very likely to be the cause of your vibration at 3500rpm. It is out of balance.

I seem to remember you were warned about the pulling power and noise before you bought it and yes, your gear change can come out at clunky but that might be cured to some extent if the clutch isn't as it should be. I agree that some parts are hellish expensive - like the exhaust for instance. However, the day that Bosal launch an aftermarket version, TGB will have to find a space for all their stock as they will not sell another one at what should be the illegal price they do now. They were supposed to be getting a grip of those semi-consumables (exhausts, shockers etc) but so far somebody there can't see further than the end of their nose and they spoil it for the dealers who lose out.

As for the dealer - vote with your feet. Some are as good as gold and I can't speak highly enough of RRG Macclesfield.

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Which? magazine voted the Rav 4.3 as the most reliable 4x4 in December 2012

http://www.which.co.uk/news/2012/12/best-and-worst-used-4x4s-for-reliability-305628/?cmp=emmembers_pref

WhatCar magazine used car report gives the 4.3 a 5 star rating overall - you won't find many cars that get a 100% scoring. The report does acknowledge the shortcomings of the petrol version in terms of noise and performance.

http://www.whatcar.com/car-reviews/used/toyota/rav4-crossover/full-review/25539-3#tabsection2

Whether it's a Rav or any other unfamiliar used car - test drive a few Rav's if you can, so that you can observe inherent issues with the model and determine if there are specific issues with a particular car.

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My experiences are based on 5000 miles of ownership - you can only really get a proper feel for the car after a good length of ownership. I did drive the car before buying and noticed the engine was a bit noisy, but less noisy than the car I owned at the time!

As for car reviews, I tend to read them and take them with a pinch of salt. Too much emphasis on handling and co2 for my liking! Quite a few cars that I've had good experiences with (Vectra, Mini) have had relatively poor reviews from some of the motoring press.

Anyway, I wouldn't say I was unhappy with the rav, or I regreted buying it, just passing on my observations for the next person who's looking at buying one! Things like the clutch I notice because I have some heavy traffic to endure - otherwise I wouldn't even notice it was heavy. Still not as heavy as the X Type I had which had a really heavy pedal action

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I'm surprised that some 2.0 vvti owners are complaining that the petrol engine is underpowered. I'm actually very happy with the performance of my 4.2 petrol given that it's a heavy car with permanant 4 wheel drive (I realise the 4.3 is temp 4x4). I'd go so far as to say the acceleration is pretty swift! It's very revvy though and certainly not as refined as my previous 318iSE.

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Well........

My Rav4 is now on 126'000 miles, my clutch does very slightly judder when its cold and queueing in traffic after work.After its warmed up it glides nicely and sits at speeds very smoothly.

I do however have a slight clonk !, occasionally when going over bumps , pot holes etc etc I get a clonk from the underside of the Rav. I have tried rocking it by standing in the rear door opening and swaying from side to side,all seems ok,the suspension is all moving as it should.

All suspension seems ok,propshaft mountings seem ok.....but somethings definitely hitting the underside. :g:

You've not been waking up any Sleeping Policemen have you, Jamie?? :laughing:

Hmmmmmmmmmmm. not seen any, oooops :dontgetit::crazy:

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