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Toyota RAV4 (pre-2006): Problems & Solutions

46 messages,  Last post on Jan 17, 2009 at 2:02 PM

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#24 of 46 1997 Rav4 engine blown by 3canoers Oct 09, 2007 (11:56 am)
1997 Rav4 engine blownMy 1997 rav4 engine blew while climbing a pretty good mountain in western North Carolina. There was no warning light, no smoke, and I had personally changed the oil 4 weeks before. I bought it about 5 months ago from a private party. I have no reason to suspect they were selling a lemon. Any ideas why this engine blew? Any ideas on how to avoid it happening again to the rebuilt engine I am about to pay a lot to put in it? Any ideas on where to obtain reliable rebuilt engines? Thanks to any one who can help shed light on this mystery. Replies to this message: electricdesign (Oct 29, 2007 9:31 am)
#25 of 46 Re: 1997 Rav4 engine blown [3canoers] by electricdesign Oct 29, 2007 (9:31 am)
Replying to: 3canoers (Oct 09, 2007 11:56 am) One of the best places to buy a rebuilt engine from is Jasper, find them on the internet. They do quality rebuilds with 3 year warranties.   One possibilty of why the engine blew is that it could have become oil starved going up the incline. The incline could have tilted the engine enough so that the oil pick up started sucking air.   If you are going to do that kind of stuff, you might look into some specialized stuff, like a deeper high capacity oil pan with a deeper oil pickup tube.   Good Luck, E.D. ISF
#26 of 46 2003 Toyota Rav4 and Check Engine Light by lrose1 Nov 12, 2007 (5:10 pm)
I have a 2003 Toyota Rav4 with less than 66,000 miles on it. Today my check engine light came on and I went to Auto Zone to have them check it. The code came back P1135, Air/Fuel sensor heater circuit response (bank 1 sensor 1). The Auto Zone employee told me that Toyota, by law, has to keep the sensors current for five years beyond the model year and they should replace it for free. Is that true?
#27 of 46 Interior smell by becstar Feb 19, 2008 (3:37 pm)
I just bought a 2004 Rav4 about a month ago. Love the car so far, except for the smell of the interior when I drive. I first noticed it after driving the car for about an hour-a strong smell of something like exhaust I think. It seems to be coming from the air vents. I have tried using the interior only circulation to prevent sucking in exhaust from cars in front of me, and the smell persists. It seems to be worse when I am climbing hills or on a longer drive. Any ideas?
#28 of 46 Rav4 Wireless key entry; my Rav's posessed!!!! by hainesrav4 Apr 12, 2008 (7:17 am)
Help! My keyless lock mechanism on my 2004 Rav has started acting up; when you hit unlock, it locks. When you hit lock, it does nothing. When you turn off the car and remove the key, all the doors lock. This morning, I hit the remote to see if it cleared up (after rain, I thought a short?), and it started locking and unlocking repeatedly on its own and the headlights came on. My car is alive! I can't find any info in the manual; is there a fuse to check, or a wiring diagram to see if there's a short? Surely it can't be the battery in the remote. It does the same thing with both remotes. Any suggestions?
#29 of 46 Cabin Filter alternative by andrelaplume Apr 28, 2008 (4:44 am)
I have heard a cheaper replacement for automobile cabin filter would be to purchase a Filtrete ac home filter (good ones are about $10 for a 16 X 24” filter). Depending on the size of the filter in your car, that $10 can make 4 – 6 cabin air filters. The biggest challenge is cutting and fitting into the housing for your vehicle…some have a plastic housing that make this easy, some do not. Can anyone see a downside to this? Any possible way it could harm the car? Any safety issues? I have allergies and would like to replace the filter more often but at $20 a pop it’s ridiculous. Thoughts?
#30 of 46 RAV4 Transmission by tpinma Apr 28, 2008 (5:29 am)
Similar to suvshopper4 (comment #22), I recently had automatic transmission problems in my 2001 4 cyl RAV4, which is approaching 100K. The car was having problems shifting. First, when I shifted from P to D, the engine hesitated a few seconds before shifting. Then, as I sped up and the car changed gears, at one point RPM's got up to over 5000 before shifting to the next gear (I think that was going from 2nd to 3rd gear, it was around the 30 mph mark).   I took it to my local mechanic who I think does good work and is trustworthy. After looking at it they said there was a leak in the seal and this caused the transmission to slip and would cost $3000 to repair (I may not be stating the problem correctly - my mind was blown away by the cost). After making that repair, they encountered a problem with the computer (powertrain command module?) that prevented the transmission from working properly. So they had to replace that for another $1200! They think the computer problem caused the original transmission problem, and they said this has been a not-uncommon problem with RAV4s.   So, I don't know if I got screwed by the mechanic, because maybe if they had just replaced the computer up front, the original transmission may have gone back to working fine. Or, if this is a computer problem Toyota is aware of and should be issuing a recall for. Either way, I'm out almost $5K. If I had known that going in I probably wouldn't have had the repairs done. Replies to this message: suvshopper4 (Apr 29, 2008 3:36 pm) sbgirl3 (Jul 03, 2008 6:19 pm)
#31 of 46 '01 Orginal owner - Water Pump by cowboymc Apr 28, 2008 (6:23 am)
I am a orginal owner of 2001 with 156,600 miles on it. Starting hearing noise from engine compartment. Turned out I had to replace water pump. Posting this so people can compare what problems arise and when.
#32 of 46 Re: RAV4 Transmission [tpinma] by suvshopper4 Apr 29, 2008 (3:36 pm)
Replying to: tpinma (Apr 28, 2008 5:29 am) My sympathies, tpinma.   I have read, on a RAV-specific site, that the Transmission Control Module is one cause of RAV tranny problems. Some people say they have had the TCM replaced (~$1,200, I think, same as yours), and their problems ended.   If I understood correctly, the TCM is part of the Engine Contol Module, located on the firewall behind the glovebox.   In my case, the invoice for the re-man tranny work did not reference the TCM, so I suppose they did not replace it. And a year later, no return of the problems. Fingers crossed, since the re-man warranty was for just one year.   -ss4 Replies to this message: sbgirl3 (Jul 03, 2008 6:19 pm)
#33 of 46 mdeveau by mdeveau May 11, 2008 (9:35 am)
I have a 2002 Rav 4 L series, bought recently from a good friend who gets factory required maintenance, etc every year...very anal fella   Anyway, I discover (after problems with NEW tires) that rear alignment must be completely redone. (needs rear lower control arm and support arm, bushings, bolts and adjuster plates, PLUS new tires must be replaced). Toyota serviceman believes it came from the factory this way, but dealership who has serviced it over the years says it has never had an alignment done. I've done TWO front alignments in two weeks. I see in these posts that this is a problem Matrix owners are dealing with...anyone see this on their RAV4? I do not have $2000 to do these repairs and am pretty p.o'd. Friend says he's never heard of this problem. If we don;t repair then we will be buying new tires at least once a year.

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