2018 TOYOTA RAV4

Big Fat Disappointment

Comfort Rating: 3 Performance Rating: 4 Interior Rating: 5 Reliability Rating: 2 Safety Rating: 3 Technology Rating: 1 Value Rating: 1

So this review spans over about 10 years and three different Rav4's. I'll start with the 2006 Base V6 4WD. We bought this new 2006 and it served us very for a good number of years. When the miles got closer to 100,000 miles we started developing some problems. The first thing that happened was the intermediate shaft starting clunking. This is a very normal thing for most Toyota's of this generation. My 2005 Avalon did it and all three of the Rav4's did it. Toyota will not offer any help replacing the defective part once your out of warranty and its about 500 bucks to have it done. Toyota has ever come up with a new part that doesn't have this problem. There is a TSB that says to lube it and the problem will go away for a few months but ultimately it needed replaced. The next problem came at about 80,000 miles and keep in mind I'm very particular about the maintenance on my vehicles. While driving on the highway we started to develop a roaring noise from the rear end. I put a set of tires on it thinking that we had a bad tire or even a wheel bearing. After a new seat of cooper tires we found that the noise was still there and that the rear differential was going out. Again another common problem for the Rav4 with 4wd. Toyota in their great wisdom came up with a repair kit to rebuild these rear ends as it was a common problem. At about 110,000 miles on our home from picking up a motorcycle in Arkansas we starting noticing a strange noise from the engine. The bearing on the water pump was going out. Just the water pump ended up being about 500 bucks and its not an easy repair. I think the total came out to be around 1100 bucks to replace the water pump due to the amount of labor there was to replace it. The final straw on this rav4 was the alternator, the cam seal, and the front shocks. These all came at once and we where looking at around 3000 grand to have this vehicle fixed correctly. I'll start with the alternator. The alternator is very hard to get too and requires remove the passenger front wheel, and the radiator to remove it. I found out that his yet another $500 dollar part and $200 with of labor. During this repair we found out that the cam seal was leaking. This is not an easy job and Toyota does not have a real good fix for it. In fact the TSB says to remove the cam seal cover and apply more sealant. To replace this cam seal you have to drop the entire motor out of the bottom of the car. I've seen prices from 1800 to 2800 depending on where you take it. Since you have the entire front of the car on the ground we were going to go ahead and have the front struts replaced because they started popping and making noises while driving. We ended up driving this turd to the nearest car lot and traded it for a Lexus so we didn't have to put 3000 grand into a 5000 dollar car. Now the other 2006 and the 2007 were 2WD 4 cylinders. All of them had the same issues with the exception of the cam seal. The 4 cylinder on both of these vehicles had a significant problem as well. They both started consuming oil that was acceptable by Toyota. We were adding about half a court every 2000 miles. Toyota did extend the warranty to cover this problem but according to the forums most of the them did not consume enough oil to be covered under the warranty which would require and engine replacement. Both of our Rav4's did not consume enough oil to be covered under warranty. My 2007 actually ended up messing up a vacation I took it on. Up until this trip it would never consume more than half a court of oil every 2000 miles. I checked the oil on the 2007 before I left and the next day I found my dip stick to be dry after 400 miles. This is was very disappointing and didn't feel comfortable driving it home. To be covered under the warranty toyota charges you to change the oil and then bring it back after 1000 miles to check the oil and change it again. Standard oil consumption test but I have seen reports of this process taking a few months and I didn't have time to deal with that. So i traded my 2007 while on vacation. Other than these major mechanical problems we actually enjoyed the cars. They drove good, the V6 had lots of power and the 4WD was epic in one of our foot deep snow storms. Being a huge toyota fan I think my 2016 Rav4 is my last ditch effort to give Toyota once more chance. Nothing is cheap to repair on these cars. Even replacing the front suspension the 2007 cost my 500 bucks. On most vehicles when you replace suspension components you can buy a quick strut kit which has the spring already around the strut. You can't find those for this generation so be ready to pay big money you have to replace your front struts. I don't think I would buy this generation of Rav4 without an extensive service history.

Fun to drive

Comfort Rating: 3 Performance Rating: 5 Interior Rating: 4 Reliability Rating: 4 Technology Rating: 5 Value Rating: 5

Very peppy car with a V6 comfortable and dependable

Don't fall for Toyota reputation- it's garbage

Comfort Rating: 1 Performance Rating: 1 Interior Rating: 2 Reliability Rating: 1 Safety Rating: 1 Technology Rating: 1 Value Rating: 1

I don't even know where to begin. We are in a time crunch and needed to buy a car and we had always heard that Toyotas were very reliable and dependable. We are loyal Honda owners however we figured we'd give a Toyota a chance. We bought a used 2007 RAV4 with clean car fax from a reputable dealer and low miles (72k, which for a nine-year-old car is great). The dealership had changed the oil and done a complete tuneup before selling the car to us, however we had the oil change just 3000 miles later after we bought it and the person changing our oil said he couldn't believe the car was still functioning because there was almost no oil left. This is a consistent problem with Toyotas. We also had issues with the engine making noises and check engine light coming on sporadically. The car would shake and rattle and we had to have the oil changed four times in the less than six months we owned it. The worst part was when the air conditioner died and all of the coolant was leaking out through the front onto the driver and passenger's feet!! The car would shake and rattle and we had to have the oil changed four times in the less than six months me owned it. The worst part was when the air conditioner died and all of the coolant was leaking out through the front onto the driver and passenger side's feet! Worst money we ever spent. If you're considering buying a used RAV4, please look into the fact that this year had over 12 recalls alone. There are known issues and the dealerships and Toyota are not good at taking care of these issues. They tried to put a Band-Aid on them and people like me suffer. I shouldn't have needed to buy a new car six months after owning this one. It is such a shame. From now on I am only buying Honda. For those of you thinking about this model please run don't walk. Look for a 2001 or 2002 Honda CRV. Much more reliable or you could get a Honda element which is even larger interior space and much more dependable.

RAV4 V6 Review

Comfort Rating: 4 Performance Rating: 5 Interior Rating: 4 Reliability Rating: 5 Safety Rating: 5 Technology Rating: 2 Value Rating: 5

The V6 engine is very fast. Watch out for the touchy gas pedal.

My first Car

Comfort Rating: 5 Performance Rating: 5 Interior Rating: 4 Reliability Rating: 5 Safety Rating: 5 Technology Rating: 3 Value Rating: 5

2007 RAV4 was the first car I ever owned! And I loved it, I'm sad to say that I totaled it after three years. I never had any problems with it at all, I put one set of new tires on it and had oil changes and that was it. Comfortable, spacious, good turn radius, decent gas milage and cute. Just don't t-bone a blue mustang and it should last you a really long time like most toyotas.

Quick Get-away

Comfort Rating: 4 Performance Rating: 5 Interior Rating: 4 Reliability Rating: 5 Safety Rating: 4 Technology Rating: 4 Value Rating: 4

Great Car, very good performance and acceleration.

Old Friend

Comfort Rating: 4 Performance Rating: 5

Original owner, 204K miles. Have a V-6, Limited -- which is the same engine they are putting in Highlanders now, I believe. I did have to replace the charcoal canister last year ($1200) but otherwise have only changed oil, tires, and battery. My mechanic thinks it will go another $100K miles. At almost 9 years old now, this car has exceeded every expectation I have for it, and probably will cause everything I own after it to not live up to expectations. I have done everything in this car. My kids have grown up in this car. If I had kids of driving age, I would make them drive this car. Best car purchase I have ever made.

Teenage Driver

Comfort Rating: 5 Performance Rating: 5 Interior Rating: 5 Reliability Rating: 5 Safety Rating: 5 Technology Rating: 3 Value Rating: 5

I love this car. My uncle gave it to me after he no longer needed it. I drive it to school and basketball games and everything. I love the commanding view and it is relatively easy to park. It's a stylish and fun SUV and my friends always complement the interior (dashboard). I This car is very very dependable and I will use it in college and probably forever!

still love you but time to upgrade

Comfort Rating: 3 Performance Rating: 5 Interior Rating: 3 Reliability Rating: 5 Safety Rating: 5 Technology Rating: 4 Value Rating: 5

this car has been extremely reliable, low maintenance ,handles great in winter

History of problems

Performance : 5 Comfort : 5 Fuel Economy : 3 Fun To Drive : 4 Interior Design : 4 Exterior Design : 4 Build Quality : 1 Reliability : 2 Comfort Rating: 5 Performance Rating: 5 Interior Rating: 4 Reliability Rating: 2

2007 Rav 4 First 100,000 miles= a real problem At 80,000, external oil line blew- lost all oil but was just coming up an I 95 ramp so I was able to save engine- This occurred before the recall- - Bad battery in the first 18 months. - $600 air bag electronic line went bad- no recall. - Disk brake rotor plate- front and rear and to be replace- under 60,000 miles. 100,000- to 238,000 - Car works like a Toyota - and even get much better mileage than the first 100,000.- Bottom line- the engineering team should have been fired.