Rav4 Owners - Input Needed - NF - UPDATED!!!

[NAW]

Does anyone have any input they would like to share on their Rav4?

I'm considering picking one up for my wife.

We live in the country, and need something with 4 wheel drive, and decent ground clearance.

Not really going to tow with it, but the spec I read said it can tow 1500lbs. Which is more than enough for my toys. Around 9 L/100k, which could be worse.

Any input, good or bad would be great!

Or suggestions on another small SUV of Crossover. Our price cap is $15,000.. And no older that 2010.

Edited June 11, 2014 by N.A.W

[irishfield]

Leah has never managed to get her Ford Sport Trac stuck... and that's a testament with our laneway. It also had no problems pulling my 17' Glastron up hill to Temagami. They stopped making them mid year in 2011 and I've been babying her '03 along for awhile now while she decides how to "renew".

[Muskieman]

I have a few angles , but have never owned one.

 

A) From behind the parts counter ; for the limited amount of Ravs we have here in Sturgeon , I'll bet that I've seen everyone of them , from ball joints to wheel bearings and terrible brakes and exhaust, and a lot of parts can't be had in the aftermarket , Altrom or Beck Arnley ( Import aftermarket suppliers ) don't even service them , but ...

like most Toyotas the powertrain is pretty darned near bulletproof ( except the iForce 5.7)...but ( I can't believe I'm gonna say this ) for every Rav4 , I've seen 5x more, Compasses,Torrents, Vitaras, Escapes , Tributes, CRVs, Rios and XTrails..

 

2) My friend has one ( his wife ) we ( him and I) take it occasionally to go down to Toronto, not so good on gas as we thought , probably 30$ difference between the Rav and my Expedition , It's sorta capable off road , but is very light and wobbly in a crosswind and oncoming big rigs... they've had most of the problems listed above , and some rust issues ... they've never touched the drivetrain and at just about 350,000K doesn't burn a drop of oil.

 

I personally would go a little bigger ....

[moxie]

All brands have their faults but Rav or CRV, Toyo and Honda. Can't really go wrong with either. Good luck.

[John Bacon]

My wife loves hers. She is driving a current model so I can't really comment on long term reliability. It has been great in the short term. It is roomy and great to drive.

 

She doesn't tow or take it off road. It handles Toronto snow conditions. We live at the bottom of a hill on a cul-de-sac; so we often have to drive up an unploughed hill after it snows. It handles that well; but this is Toronto snow, not Barrie snow.

 

It also provides good ground clearance. It doesn't bottom out on our drive way; some minivans do.

 

It also provides a good amount of interior space for the size of the vehicle.

 

We have never tried it in snow belt conditions.

 

The one thing that I do not like about it is the adjustment for the drivers seat. I am 6' 4" and my wife is not. In addition to sliding the seat all the way back; I have to pump a lever to tilt the whole seat back to give me more room. Then I have to adjust the angle of the back of the seat to compensate for tilting the entire seat. Then my wife has to the opposite when she drives. It's a bit of a pain to adjust between our heights. If the seat would just slide back an extra couple of inches it would eliminate all of the other adjustments.

[mike rousseau]

My mom has one... Been great to her... No major issues... Never been stuck... Fair amount of room in them for a small SUV...

 

As stated above if your a big person (I'm 6'4" 275lbs...) it's not roomy by any means... But I can get in and out find and sit fairly comfortably...

[adempsey]

I leased a 2009 RAV4 for 4 years. Great car, NEVER an issue. It has the most room of all compact SUVs as far as I know. After my lease was up, I purchased a 2014 Mazda CX-5 (last June). Great car as well. Almost picked up a 2014 Subaru Forester instead, but opted for the CX-5 because it was more stylish. I test drove every single compact SUV on the Canadian market (at least I think I did!).

 

I left Toyota for reasons not related to car quality. I also really disliked the look and feel of the new RAV4, but loved my 2009 RAV4.

 

If I were shopping used, I'd be looking at the RAV4, CR-V and Forester for sure. Probably look out for some of the higher end brands as well, like Acura MDX and Volvo.XC60.

[aplumma]

I would look at the forester if there is a dealer in the area. Great cars and lots of value for the dollar.

 

 

Art

[moxie]

I would look at the forester if there is a dealer in the area. Great cars and lots of value for the dollar.

 

 

Art

Almost forgot about the Soobs.

[NAW]

Thanks for the info so far.

 

You guys pretty much are confirming what I thought to be true.

 

I've heard the subaru's can be hit more miss for quality. But obviously great for driving.

 

My wife was looking at Nissan Rogue.. But I haven't heard much good things about them... I notice they haven't been mentioned in this thread yet..

[Rod Caster]

Rav-4 or the Soob are good vehicles based on my anecdotal evidence and reading . Don't get the Nissan.

 

Agreed with whoever said the forester and the new Rav are UGLY.

 

My dad has an older equinox and its a terrible vehicle.

[NAW]

Rav-4 or the Soob are good vehicles based on my anecdotal evidence and reading . Don't get the Nissan.

 

 

I'm surprised your not telling me to get a JEEP!

[12footspringbok]

Just thought I'd throw the Santa Fe into the mix for ya there NAW. Awesome bang for you buck, and bigger/more room than Rav 4 or CRV. Doubt you'll find someone that owns one and isn't happy with it.... Hyundai has come a loooong way....

Edited March 14, 2014 by 12footspringbok

[Steve]

my friend was towing with his hyundai santa fe and where the hitch attached to the frame broke... but not the hitch bar, but the frame!

 

he was towing on the highway and his load struck the vehicle behind him....

 

it wasn't pretty.

 

i'd be afraid to use a hyundai for anything that requires "working"....

[Raf]

get a jeep.

 

rav4s are fantastic vehicles, my mom drove one for years till it was totalled when she was rear ended. very reliable vehicle and she loved it. she replaced it with a 2013 forrester.

[Big Cliff]

I have a Rogue and I am not the least bit happy with it:

 

The back up sensors on it are a joke (they are actually pointed up in the air rather than down behind you and even when they do work, you can't hear them)

 

I have had my air bag light come on but they can't figure out why (they said it must be weather related but they don't know, that is very rearasuring)

 

I don't find the seats comfortable for long trips, they are hard and boxey

 

The "sport mode" switch is located right beside the drivers seat so if you are wearing a coat you are constantly putting it into sport mode which is harder on fuel but does little else for you

 

My car is only 4 months old and already there are rust bubbles coming through the paint on the tail gate

 

I get 460 km for the first half a tank of gas and less than 100 km before the empty warning light comes on, clearly the fuel gauge isn't calibrated properly but as with so many other things with this car, "that's just the way it is!".

 

You are not supposed to be able to lock yourself out of the car while the key is in the ignition, yup, 4 times so far when I talked to the dealership about it they told me that it happens so often now the techs even put the window down on the car when they are working on it. (Not good when you are trying to warm the car up on a cold winter morning).

 

The first time I took Sue out on the highway with it she kept checking to see if the one of the windows was open because of the wind/road noise, her Toyota is much quieter.

 

Start the car on a cold winter morning and you'll think you have a deisel, even sitting in the car you have to turn the radio up to hear it over the valve clatter.

 

In Jan. I went through a snow drift coming in our road, my neighbor had been through it 20 minutes before me with his Honda, Sue drove through it about 10 minutes before with her Toyot, as I went through it I herd a snap sound, when I got home I checked and the spoiler had a crack in it from the top down, I showed it to the dealer and their comment was that "well this is a much colder winter than normal" Wait a minute, the Honda and Toyota which are both smaller than my Rogue didn't have any damage to them and there is no impact mark or anything so I didn't hit a chunk of ice or anything.

 

I have been driving Nissans for 12 years now and was always very satisified but based on my experience with this one it will be my last.

 

I have even requested a meeting with Nissan regarding the issues with it, that was three weeks ago and as of this morning they have not responded or even acknowledged my request so if you are thinking a Rogue you might want to consider my experience!

Edited March 14, 2014 by Big Cliff

[NAW]

Dang cliff.

 

Nuf said. I will let my wife read this post and it will change her mind for sure!!!

 

Sorry about your luck!!

[Fisherman]

my friend was towing with his hyundai santa fe and where the hitch attached to the frame broke... but not the hitch bar, but the frame!

 

he was towing on the highway and his load struck the vehicle behind him....

 

it wasn't pretty.

 

i'd be afraid to use a hyundai for anything that requires "working"....

GM trucks had quite the CL3/4 hitch failure a few years ago. As for Nissan, a family member had a brand new Frontier that was bought back after arbitration last fall. Quality disaster and dealer incompetance for repairs.

[aplumma]

I used to be a Nissan guy but I had a warrentee issue that they did not resolve and I feel the company is morally bankrupt. I do like the vehicles but without a company that will do the right thing I can't take the chance.

 

 

 

Art

[Big Cliff]

GM trucks had quite the CL3/4 hitch failure a few years ago. As for Nissan, a family member had a brand new Frontier that was bought back after arbitration last fall. Quality disaster and dealer incompetance for repairs.

Boy I wish they would take this one back, how do you go about it without loosing your shirt on it?

[crappieperchhunter]

Just thought I'd throw the Santa Fe into the mix for ya there NAW. Awesome bang for you buck, and bigger/more room than Rav 4 or CRV. Doubt you'll find someone that owns one and isn't happy with it.... Hyundai has come a loooong way....

X2 for the Sante Fe. Really really happy with mine. Love the extra room and gets about 550-650KM per tank. I must add that it is only 1 year old though..so I can't comment on how well they stand the test of time. I know several people who own them and all are happy. The other Plus for me anyway is the dealership has been 100% great to deal with. Debbe drives a 2005 Accent so we have been dealing with them since 2005. I see lots of Santa Fe's on the lot that aren't very old and are well within your price range.

[Rustic-Fisher]

Picked up a Subaru Forester last year. Traded in my jeep Rubicon for it :-( .

Honestly , it's been a great vehicle thus far. With a set of high end winter tires and the all wheel drive system the little beast feels unstoppable in cruddy snow conditions . I'm reaching for the Subaru keys over the Dodge Ram Megacab keys 9/10 times and not just due to fuel.

Not to impressed with the dealership though, but that's another can of worms.

[Fisherman]

Boy I wish they would take this one back, how do you go about it without loosing your shirt on it?

You must have a decent track of every attempt you made to have the vehicle fixed and the outcome, time/date is excellent, who you spoke to, any paper trail such as the work orders, etc. When he submitted his case, he had all his "ducks in a row", the arbitrator was amazed and the Nissan rep just sat there dumbfounded. He only lost a small amount for the 5 month period.

[NAW]

Thanks for all the info everyone!

 

I called my buddy who is a service manager at a Hyundai dealership. He agreed that the Santa Fe is a great vehicle. He also said the older v6 Tucson is the best vehicle Hyundai ever made.

 

So I'll be checking them out as well.

 

So the list has been narrowed. Thanks to OFC.

 

 

Rav4

Santa Fe

Tucson

CRV

Forester

 

Time to start test driving!!!

Edited March 15, 2014 by N.A.W

[tbayboy]

I'm driving a 2007 V6 Rav 4 sport and love it. 180K, no problems at all (not lots of miles for its age so take it with a grain of salt). Lots of interior space but the right size overall for living in the city (and easy to hoist the kayak onto the roof). The V6 has plenty of ooomph - I really love that part. Haven't towed with it yet but its seen some rough roads up in the temiskaming (yeah I cant spell) area without a problem. The new ones worry me though - no more V6 and they moved the spare from the back to underneath which is a pain in the *ss but thats just my opinion I guess.