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For quite some time now I have been getting PMs from members asking questions about the engine issues and the procedure as to how Toyota decide on replacement or not and what happens and also what to expect ect ect... Now I have always responded to these questions and have never once ignored a PM.. But with HUGE respect most of the answers are here and not so hard to find.. Many of the members here are also very competent (Most more than me !) of answering the questions .. I just don't have the time these days to come on so often and I don't want anyone sending a PM to think I am ignoring them as sometimes I flit in and out without much time.. I sincerely hope no one is offended by this and I will continue to reply.. But expect it to take a little time.. Charlie.

Our 5-dr has about 89K miles up now, Still drives beautifully; everything's still nice & "tight" in the suspension and oil consumption remains zero. The RAV's are extremely well put together and robust. I guess the only thing to watch out for with autos up to the 2003 facelift is a fault with the autobox ECU which is well-documented on here and for which the fix is about £200. Having said that it only happens on some cars so it's not a foregone conclusion in every case. It's also worth checking the condition of the serpentine belt that drives the alternator, water pump, A/C compressor, etc. (think very long, heavily grooved fan belt!). It's not a particular problem part but, if it breaks, it's a pain in the a55 as it immobilises the car and it's not an off the shelf service part so the dealer has to order it . It's not particularly expensive but will mean the car being off the road for a couple of days. Mind you, ours went for about 9 years before it broke! That taught me to get the 3-dr's replaced at the next service just to avoid the hassle should it break. If you renew, say, every 5 years that would prevent the problem. Some members on here have replaced it DIY so it's not a big deal if you're handy with the spanners. Generally if you get a car with a Toyota service history, that will improve confidence considerably.

Hello Alberto - welcome to TOC. Hope you enjoy your Auris Hybrid.

That looks a fantastic day Taz. Some really nicely turned out iQs as well. I like the colour scheme of Jo's mat red and black looks good. Never seen a RC iQ either. Thank you for sharing and showing us what we are missing.

so i am gone put 5w-30. thats ok isnt?

Drill out the rivets, pop off the caps and put a dab or two of Tigerseal inside before replacement. Job jobbed.

If you take it to Kwik Fit for a regas they will do all the tests first before they actually try to fill it with gas,by evacuating the old gas then pressure test and only if it has no leaks will the machine refill the system,oh and they also put in a dye to see if there are any leaks and if there are any problems during the process you are not charged,as i said Kwik Fit are good for this service,just about anything else not so good...oh and i don't work for them either.

Paul.....please edit start of your post....."you were right" should be in capitals, as it doesn't happen that often !!!!!! LOL....... Stonking result. Big Kev

note... the compressor won;t engage if the pressure level is too low.... I'd head down to a trusty garage and ask them to check it out ... they should do a pressure test to start with.

Most likely needs re-gassing but you could always begin by having a look at the fuse box. Does your engine change its sound when you switch it on? As if its working harder? On my other car, it doesn't. After an electrician played about with it he found a pressure sensor had given way. Lets hope it not that on yours.

Kevin You were right on the money. The ECU was removed and sent off for repair. It has been returned and re-installed and now the car runs better than ever. The cost was about £200 but compared to a new gearbox etc so the cost is easily justified. Quite peeved by the fact that the garage I took it to (40 years in business) didnt know what the problem was and could offer no help. I come home, looked on the internet and the problem/answer is revealed. It just shows that these forums/clubs are fantastically powerful sites. Cheers Paul

Hi Anne, I had the same problem and I solved it by placing washers under the head of the each bolt, so it wouldn't go loose. It was a bit of a hassle to get the nuts back on, but actually it took me about 30 minutes. Worth trying.

Diesel engines are not affected by use of the aircon compared with petrol engines, so the economy will only be slightly worse. I like other posters use the aircon during the winter and when there is condensation to clear the windows. I have used QuikFit and found them okay.The aircon is still working 4-5 years later.

Hi Kenno, I've fitted a reversing camera to a 2008 XT5 with a Sony XNV-L77BT headunit. I suspect that your installation will need to be a bit different to mine as I have no door mounted spare wheel and my number plate is mounted on the door. Can I suggest that you use the same route to get the cable into the car that a standard Toyota tow-bar wiring kit does? Behind the section of the rear bumper that wraps around the side of the car ( both sides ), there is a ventilation grill arrangement - a bit like a closed venetian blind . The tow-bar cable passes through this and, from personal experience, causes no problems. If you were to route the cables, power and signal, through this grill you could pick up the feed to the reversing lights and use this to feed 12v to the camera. If your headunit is similar to mine, you also need to take the same feed to the headunit to tell it when to display the image from the camera. It is not difficult to route the cables, probably best to use the trim removal/replacement and routing instruction that Toyota issue for the tow-bar wiring. If I'm teaching my granny to suck eggs with the next bit - just ignore me! Where the signal and power cables pass through the grill, it would be prudent to give them some extra protection against rubbing. Maybe two or three layers of shrinking sleeving or several layers of insulation or self-amalgamating tape. Also fix the cable securely both inside and outside the grill to prevent movement. HTH

You need to check what kind of connection you already have installed. Must remove back door trim and find S7 connector... here link to tutorial LINK T180 and XT5 are already prepared to install rev camera. I have installed rev camera to my XT5 last week. Pretty easy job but I did serious mistake with connection and fried camera. Luckily I had 2 same cameras and second one (after made few connection mods) works briliant. I have heard that some XT4 has all rev camera wiring already installed. Maybe you are lucky? Check it out :)

Just a thought. Plan B is to go to a proper auto-electrician and ask him to find the current leakage. In my experience these chaps are usually very specialized, fairly cheap, know their stuff, and do not like to say, 'sorry, I've no idea what is wrong'. They know electrics. Garages just replace bits these days.

£40 for a aircon recharge i find aircon usage make little to no difference in mpg i allways use to demist in the winter

Kwik Fit are pretty good with air con recharge although i wouldn't use em for anything else.. here's a ;link.. http://www.kwik-fit.com/mot-testing-and-servicing.asp

My air con is on most of the time. I have found on every car I've owned that it makes no difference whatsoever to fuel economy. Try yours for a tank full and see.

I suffered the same on the first car I had with air-con (was my wife's vauxhaul) ... I know a few people who leave the air con on all the time .. must kill their economy. Needs to be a balance I guess.

it is highly likely the seals have all dried up and gas leaked out. They recommend you use the air con regularly (at least once a week, throughout the year) to preserve the system. I use mine more in the winter than summer as it helps de-mist on cold mornings. It's a definitely specialist job, you need special licences to deal with the gas ... find a decent local garage, they should be able to do a pressure test, replace seals and re-charge ... (£50-£100 I would think)

It is way over 6000 units....... We do not know for sure what is going wrong other than most burn oil at a rate that Toyota have up till now have said is way to much... This oil burning will cause other issues and eventually ruin the engine. This is why up to now they have been replacing them.. Initially engines were done at the Dealers and modified pistons and rings were replaced so I would guess the faults lie there Worldwide I don't know.. Its 6000 plus units here in the UK that does not take in what is happening in other countries or markets As far as I'm aware the American market does not get the diesel variants as they use a V6 petrol Sorry but that amount of replacements is just mad.. Name Me another manufacturer that has had to replace so many engines ?? I have been vague over the numbers for a very good reason but the numbers I have put up are very conservative.... I go onto quite a few Forums and its rare to hear of an engine replacement unless someone has run one out of oil or maybe run a car through deep water and ingested water,, That is common on BMWs.. But not down to an intrinsic engine design fault ..... Kingo. There are changes in the air !! Dealers are not privy to those changes just yet.. I said about the change in oil consumption test and You said I was wrong.. So did others..... Still turned out to right though.... We shall see.