What is the best year Toyota Rav4 ? And Common Problems

hey what's up guys this is mj1 100k and today we got to talk about what is the best year Toyota Rav 4 if you want a used one that's going to be the fourth generation which runs from 2013 to 2018 but if you want a new one I would recommend getting either the hybrid or the Rav 4 Prime which is a plug-in hybrid the new plug-in hybrid is so good I'm officially crowning it the greatest Rav 4 ever made I told you all that I was the greatest of all time now those are my favorite years but the thing is there isn't really a bad year for the RAF 4 every generation is actually really good but like everything in life nothing is perfect there are a couple of common problems you should investigate before you buy anything so today you are in luck we are going to discuss common problems features engines transmissions and a super rare Rav 4 you may have never even heard of in fact we're going to go over every generation from 1996 until 2024 so pull up a chair grab some snacks to munch on because today it's all about the Toyota Rav [Music] 4 [Music] before we get started Safety First the Rav 4 is affected by the Takata airbag recall I put a link in the description to where you can put in your VIN number to see if your vehicle is affected the replacement airbags are free okay back to business the first generation Rav 4 runs from 1996 until the year 2000 it used a 2 L 16 valve engine that makes 12 27 horsepower the engine is made it to either a 5-speed manual or a four-speed automatic transmission the 2L engine does have a timing belt but fortunately it is a non-interference engine so if the belt breaks while you're driving the vehicle will stop running but you shouldn't have any internal engine damage here's a fun fact in 1997 the RAF 4 was named automobile of the Year by Automobile Magazine the things I like about this generation Rav 4 are the fact that it has more ground clearance than a typical car and it's super reliable as far as common problems well listen these vehicles are over 20 years old at this point so literally anything could be a problem your push rods are missing line between your uh your your cam shaft lifter and your rocker arms so cut your mechanic some slack when he's working on it older vehicles can cost more to fix because sometimes unrelated parts will literally crumble when you try to take them apart so if your mechanic tells you it's going to cost a little more to fix than he quoted because he had to order some extra parts it's most likely true try now little lady try now yes thank you're really a great help you're a hell of a mechanic will you think so manam but you know what I'm even a better sink I say don't you no noop it it before we go to the second generation I'd like to mention a super rare Rav 4 that was all electric that's right the Rav 4 had an all electric model before it was popular the first generation Rav 4 EV went from 1997 to 2003 and the second generation went from 2012 to 2014 the second generation was co-developed by Toyota and Tesla at the Toyota Technical Center in Ann Arbor Michigan I remember seeing one of those in the garage back when I used to work there [Laughter] here's a fun fact Toyota used to own a 3% stake in Tesla of which they purchased for $50 million Toyota decided to make their own electric cars and had sold all of its shares in Tesla by the end of 2016 in 2024 that 3% stake of Tesla that Toyota used to own would have grown to over2 billion I bet they wish they hadn't sold that stock do you realize what you've done [Music] hey the Toyota Rav 4 EVS were mainly sold in California as leases but once the leases were over Toyota let the people keep the vehicles so occasionally you may find an electric R for for sale online the range is only about 100 miles per charge so I probably wouldn't actually buy one if if I were you but if you're an engineering student and you want to try to figure out how to put some Modern batteries in to increase the range I think that would make a pretty cool project for one of your engineering classes get those nerds nerd nerd the second generation RAV4 runs from 2001 to 2005 starting in 2004 they upgraded to a 2.4 L 2azfe engine the 2.4 L engine has a timing chain instead of a timing belt like the last generation also in 2004 Toyota improved the safety structure of the vehicle and added vehicle stability control as a standard option so if you're going to Target the second generation I would get a 2004 or 2005 if you can common problems for the second generation include the following the 2002 and 2003 years can have a transmission issue due to a bad solder in the ECU but these vehicles are over 20 years old so that repair was most likely done many years ago also there's a TSB for the 2004 and 2005 models for the head bolts being loose due to damaged threads it's the back three middle bolts closest to the firewall they do make inserts that can repair this issue if that head bolt issue happens you may see signs of coolant leakage on the rear of the engine so watch out for that from what I've read online this only happens if you drive around with your engine overheating which you shouldn't be doing anyway listen I have the same exact engine in my 20 four Camry with 275,000 miles on it and my head bolts are just fine you know why I've never driven around with it overheating so now that you know about this issue know that if you see your engine overheating stop driving immediately and get the car towed to a mechanic and fix it so you don't stretch out your headbolts really that's what you should do if any car is overheating you should never ever drive around with your engine overheating the third generation Rav 4 goes from 2006 to 2012 from 200 6 to 2008 it had the same 2.4 L engine as the second generation starting in 2009 the Rav 4 came with a 2.5 L ARF engine both four cylinder engines are made into a four-speed automatic transmission in addition to the four-cylinder the third generation Rav 4 is the only generation that also has an option for a V6 engine nice nice nice the 3.5 L V6 makes about 270 horsepower power and can tow up to 3500 lb if you find one with the towing package for safety Toyota gave all US models the star safety system which includes vehicle stability control anti-whiplash head restraints and a ton of airbags it also comes with electric power steering and an optional ignition immobilizer to help keep this Toyota from getting stolen no Kia boys over here it looks to me that for the third generation Rav 4 toy toota really wanted to give their best effort if I'm good enough I'm smart enough and dog on it people like me net effort paid off because For the First Time the Rav 4 was Toyota's number one selling SUV the Rav 4 is an excellent used car choice but it is not perfect there is a TSB for oil burning that is due to piston rings for the 2006 to 2008 2.4 L RAV 4S now some people think that all Toyota 2.4 l have this oil burning issue but it's only the 2.4 L engines that have low compression piston rings the earlier year 2.4s have regular piston rings but anyway this issue was detected by Toyota pretty early hence the TSB so if you want a 2006 to 2008 Rav 4 if I were you I'd call a Toyota dealer and give them the VIN number they might be able to check and see if this repair has been done already or I'd try to check the Carfax to see if this repair is listed listed in the service history I made a video about how to check the Carfax online for free in most cases and if you want to check out that video the link is in the description with the oil burning issue the thing is even if you have the car inspected by a mechanic the real test to check for oil consumption is a little involved you're supposed to fill it up to the correct level then drive the car for 1,000 miles and then see how much oil was lost and well when somebody's just inspecting a used car ain't nobody got time for all that so to sum it up if you can't verify that the Piston Ring repair was done it's probably easier to just skip the 2006 to 2008 model years if you want a four-cylinder of this generation the second common problem that I found is a TSB for a rattle noise at Cold startup this affects years 2009 to 2012 so this problem may also have been repaired under warranty many years ago but it's good to keep your ears open and get this fixed if it happens to your vehicle one last common problem for the third generation is for the V6 model years from 2007 to 2009 there was an issue with an oil leak from a rubber line for the variable valve timing Toyota did a campaign to replace those years ago as well I put a link in the description to the announcement if you'd like to read more information about this issue the fourth generation Rav 4 runs from 2013 to 2018 now this is my favorite generation for a used Rav 4 you are so beautiful I like the 2.5 L engine I also like the super reliable and smooth six-speed transmission as expected the fourth generation gets a lot more modern safety features and I think the fourth generation has a more modern look to it you can get a used 2013 RAF 4 which is actually an 11-year-old vehicle at this point and it will still look pretty modern inside and out unfortunately for the fourth generation they no longer offer the V6 engine as an option instead of the V6 the RAF for now has two powertrain options which are the 2.5 L 4cylinder that gets about 23 MPG City and 29 Highway starting in 2016 you can get a 4cylinder hybrid which gets about 34 MPG City and 30 on the highway now whenever I think about buying a used hybrid from any brand I tend to worry about the Hybrid battery what do I do what can happen if you're financing a vehicle having to replace a hybrid or an electric car battery can be really expensive so for that reason for any brand I recommend only getting used EVs and hybrids from the dealership that are still under the OEM warranty I looked it up on toyota.com and found that the Hybrid battery is under warranty for 10 years or 150,000 Mi the EV Drive components are under warranty for 8 years or 100,000 miles as far as safety the fourth generation comes with a ton of airbags stability control and backup camera over the years more safety features were added including blind spot monitoring rear cross traffic alert and many others one common problem for the 2013 to 2015 Rav 4 is a shutter from the Transmissions torque inverter clutch this was a known issue and there was a warranty extension by Toyota to address this so let's think about this if you just avoid those years you may be missing out on a vehicle that has had the torque inverter replaced already if you can verify that the repair has been done one of those years may actually be preferable because that vehicle has a torque inverter with less miles on it most of the vehicles with this issue were most likely fixed by now but you should do your Automotive nerd research and try to figure out if the Rav 4 you're thinking of buying was checked out for that issue the fifth generation Rav 4 goes from 20 19 until the present which is 2024 this generation is definitely the latest and greatest Rav 4 by a large margin there are now three powertrains to choose from a naturally aspirated 2.5 L engine a hybrid or a plug-in hybrid starting in 2019 the raav force 2.5 L 4 cylinder engine is now direct injected but it also has Port injectors as well this type of direct injection system is proving itself so far to be pretty reliable the extra set of injectors is there to help avoid getting carbon build up that can be common for other types of direct injection fuel systems the second powertrain choice for the fifth generation is the Rav 4 hybrid it has a 2.5 L engine made it to a ecvt transmission the third powertrain choice for the fifth generation is the Rav 4 plug-in hybrid you can get the best version of the Rav 4 ever created which is known as the Rav 4 Prime Optimus prize you got what is this you got the power now light our darkest power now maybe I'm biased because when I worked at Toyota I was in charge of testing a Prius Prime plug-in and that was my favorite vehicle that I tested while I was there so now that the Rav 4 has also gotten a plugin Hybrid drivetrain I am so excited the ra 4 Prime has a 18 .1 Kow perh lithium ion battery and it gets 302 horsepower and you can go 42 miles in all electric mode so if you live close to your job you could drive around in electric mode just about all the time if you fill up the 14.5 galon gas tank and fully charge its battery you can get up to 600 mil of total range that's crazy speaking of charging you can fully charge it at your house by plugging it into a regular 120 volt electrical outlet for 12 hours or you could set up a 240 volt charging station and it will fully charge it in 2 and 1 half hours so if I had to choose between these three powertrains I would definitely pick the hybrid or preferably the Rav 4 Prime plug-in hybrid the main reasons why I prefer the hybrid and plug-in hybrid are the super high gas mileage and the ecvt transmission the RAF 4 hybrid and ra 4 Prime use a ecvt transmission which is a lot different from a regular CVT transmission CVT transmissions use pulley and a steel band but the ecvt transmission uses two motor generators to create the gear ratios that drive the wheels and power the high voltage battery the rear differential also has an electric motor generator to help power the wheels this may seem complicated but it's actually simpler and more robust than a traditional CVT transmission it's also way simpler than the 8-speed transmission that comes in the naturally aspirated Rav 4 in general electric motor generators like the one in the ecvt transmission are known for being super durable and trouble-free so if you can afford it I would definitely go with the hybrid or the Rav 4 Prime plug-in hybrid if you're targeting the fifth generation Rav 4 I actually think the plug-in hybrid technology right now is more practical than and a full EV vehicle for common problems my diligent Automotive nerd Research indicates that for the fifth generation Rav 4 there is a common problem for the hybrid and plug-in hybrid that is referred to online as cable gate the hybrid cable connector that goes to the electric motor generator inside the rear differential can become corroded it tends to happen mostly in salt Belt states in the US but if it happens it will ruin the entire wire it is a high voltage wire so you can't solder it or repair it it must be completely replaced Toyota did find out about this issue and there is a countermeasure there is a TSB about this issue and I linked it in the description during my research for this video I found a person on YouTube who tried to fix this issue himself and unfortunately he actually made a huge mistake so I'm not going to link that video in the description but I will explain to you what happened with pictures so you don't do the same thing so here is the connector in question unfortunately water can get in there and sit if that happens that will eventually cause corrosion in the wires here's a picture of what can happen if the wires corrode so Toyota came up with a fix which is to open the connector so that water won't sit in there and cause corrosion they also added a plastic Shield to help keep water away some of the later year RAV fors come from the factory with the plastic shield and the partially open connector that person I mentioned who shall remain nameless read some information online about this issue and decided to try and quote fix the cable gate issue on his Rav 4 he saw his updated partially open connector and he misunderstood this as a problem so he decided to cover the connector with duct tape and wire ties when he did that he actually created the very problem he was trying to solve now I don't point this out to try to shame or make fun of this man but I'd like to use this as aert learning opportunity for others here we go number one if you read about an issue online please try to double check the information before attempting a repair try and find an actual TSB from the OEM you can look on nit.com sometimes they're on there or you could try to Google your issue and add the search term TSB this way you can read the repair info from the OEM directly if you own a hybrid or electric car even if you're able to find the TSB information I recommend that you do not try and repair anything on a vehicle's hybrid system yourself the electrical systems in hybrid and electric vehicles operate under very high voltages you have to know the OEM specific procedure to disconnect and power down the Hybrid battery to make the vehicle safe for you to work on even dealership mechanics go through special training use special gloves and tools to work on these systems safely I don't want to see you get hurt so as you can see from today's video the Rav 4 has come a long way from the first generation in 1996 to the current generation Rav 4 hybrid and Rav 4 plug-in hybrid 27 years has led to amazing advances in technology but before you run out and buy the first Rav 4 that you could find remember this the Rav 4 is a great vehicle but the specific Rav 4 that you want to buy could be terrible it could have been in a wreck flooded or be completely rusted out so get any used car inspected by an actual mechanic and do your Automotive nerd research on the previous owner's maintenance habits I made a couple videos that give you my expert tips on how to do just that all right that's all I got for you today there is a whole playlist on my page if you'd like to see some other great used cars if you have any questions please put them in the comments and if you own a RAV for yourself please let everyone know what has been your experience good or bad so until next time thank you for tuning in and have a good one [Music] f

Channel: MJ100k

Views: 4,994

Keywords: MJ100K, automotive, reviews, review, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2020, dependable, reliable, best, years, year, to buy, advice, timing belt, timing chain, used, preowned, ceftified, 2007, common problems, common, issue, cablegate, what is the best year toyota, what is the best year Toyota Rav4, Toyota, Toyoda, RAV4, Rav 4, takata airbag recall, hybrid, plug in hybrid, EV, RAV4 EV, camry, corolla, Hylander, prius, Lexus, corossion, hybrid drivetrain, 2.4 oil consumption, warranty

Id: QGwJUEyjPug

Length: 21min 35sec (1295 seconds)

Published: Tue Jan 09 2024