KeithB1

Some developments. I've contacted my local Toyota dealer and the 2 dealers who had previously serviced the car and all were very helpful. It turns out that the car has only ever had "interim" services, so the diff oil has never been changed. Interestingly 1 of the dealers said they'd never had a problem with diffs (although I don't suppose they get many owners of new cars who ignore the servicing of them completely!) and another said they'd only expect to service them at 30-50k miles. I took that at the time to mean they'd only change the oil then but could they have meant something else? Is there anything else to do on them at that sort of mileage? Anyway, we've gone back to the seller and said we'll go ahead if he pays for a full service, including attending to anything missed out on previous services and not covered by the 10 yr service, and the car is given a clean bill of health particularly with regard to the diff. That would have the added benefit of getting a Toyota warranty from the date of the service till the car's 10th birthday-only a few months but useful nonetheless. The seller is thinking about it! I'll let you know what happens, but in the meantime thank-you for your contributions. keith

Yes the servicing was done by a Toyota dealer which adds to the mystery really because I would have expected the dealer to do the correct service, unless of course they were specifically told not to, to keep the cost down. I'm going to go to a toyota dealer local to us and see what info I can get out of them about the cars history and cost of getting a full sevice together their opinion on whether there is anything to be concerned about. After that I'll see what the seller is prepared to do if anything.

Thanks for the replies. The vehicle looks absolutely brilliant-as good as a 10yr old car that's been used is going to look, but I was aware of some noise whilst sitting in the back seat when we went out in the car and on subsequently looking at the service booklet/invoices it seems only minor services have been done for some years., ignoring the diff oil change. I've never owned a RAV 4 (or any other Toyota for decades) so don't really know what to expect. Do Toyota keep computerised records of services for individual vehicles? I have mixed feelings about the seller, and in the end I think we'll have to err on the side of caution as I imagine if there should turn out to be a problem in 6/12 mnths it will be an expensive one!

Hi all. New to the forum and looking for some help. My daughter is considering buying a used RAV 4. A tight budget means she's looking at perhaps 10/11/12 plates with perhaps 60k miles on the clock. We're keen to find a car which has been serviced fully by the book and thought we'd found 1 today only to find servicing has been a bit patchy. In particular we couldn't confirm whether, or indeed if at all,the differential oils had been changed. Are we right in thinking this should be done every 2 yrs/20k miles? If it's neglected does this seriously affect the life of the unit? I thought I could detect some noise from the rear of the vehicle when we went for a test drive but I couldn't be sure where it was coming from. It worried me enough not to proceed with the purchase but otherwise the car was very good and I wouldn't want my daughter to miss out on the car if I'm worrying unnecessarily. Any thoughts/advice/information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance Keith