RAV4 Mk3 - Spare Wheel on rear door

[CP3377]

Hi All. I was wondering, just out of interest, if anyone knows why Toyota stopped placing the spare wheel on the rear door of the Mk 3 RAV. We have one and I’ve noticed it is in the minority being at the beginning of the production run.

Apart from a potential propensity to rattle was there a more significant reason?

[philip42h]

"Knows" might be a rather strong word ... 🙂 ... but the presence of the spare wheel restricts the width of the opening of the rear door since the spare wheel must not obstruct the rear lights / reflectors. Without the spare wheel the rear door can open fully which is far more practical.

[Cyker]

Maybe people kept nicking them  

[CP3377]

Both are highly plausible! The point about the opening being restricted makes sense. I seen some, er,  “adjusted” to allow wider opening but putting it underneath seems a more sensible solution, although equally stealable…Thanks for the responses! 

[robo1]

Other reason. Tyre inflation kit a lot  cheaper than supplying 5th alloy wheel and tyre. 

[ernieb]

9 hours ago, robo1 said:

Other reason. Tyre inflation kit a lot  cheaper than supplying 5th alloy wheel and tyre. 

It's also considerable lighter when the car is being tested for emissions and fuel economy.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Wonder if the main reason for dropping the tailgate mounted spare wheel, was the change from having a side hinged tailgate to a top hinged tailgate from the 4th generation (2012 onwards). 

[philip42h]

The OP's question related to the mid life design change on the 4.3:

On 6/14/2022 at 9:34 PM, CP3377 said:

Hi All. I was wondering, just out of interest, if anyone knows why Toyota stopped placing the spare wheel on the rear door of the Mk 3 RAV. We have one and I’ve noticed it is in the minority being at the beginning of the production run.

And it was, at least in part, in order to allow the tailgate to open fully (i.e. through 90 degrees). With the spare wheel mounted on the tailgate the opening was limited to around 60 degrees and access to the boot was compromised.

There was a guide on changing the check strap to allow better access:

The spare wheel was first removed from the boot on the T180 and its 'replacement' the SR180 that were fitted with BSR runflats, TPMS and no spare wheel at all. I believe that solution carried on across the range before being replaced by no spare wheel, TPMS and a can of gunk. I don't believe that the 4.3 ever had any alternative mounting for a spare wheel.

The 4.4 and on have top hinged tailgates and provision for at least a space saver spare in the boot.

[anchorman]

15 hours ago, ernieb said:

It's also considerable lighter when the car is being tested for emissions and fuel economy.

This was the original reason.  They were under pressure to improve fuel economy and emissions.   The T180 never had a spare because the run flat tyre and wheel was way to heavy.  

[Cyker]

Bloody hell anchs you were busy back then!!  I didn't realize you'd posted so many guides!  

[Dippy]

I have a 2008 “T180” bought new in Spain. No run-flats, spare on rear door, rear door opens fully 90 degrees. 

[CP3377]

So did the change in 2007/8 swap the tyre on the back door for run-flats and a can of foam?

[philip42h]

15 minutes ago, CP3377 said:

So did the change in 2007/8 swap the tyre on the back door for run-flats and a can of foam?

The run-flats were introduced without foam - foam isn't necessary with the run-flats.

But, the Bridgestone Support Ring (SR) style of run-flat really wasn't the best of all ideas. It was unique to Bridgestone and the RAV4 - no other manufacturer adopted it - and it wasn't very popular. So, over time that was dropped in favour of a conventional tyre and a can of foam.