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Anyone traded your 4th Gen RAV4? If so to what vehicle

15K views 59 replies 28 participants last post by  KJPAT08 
#1 ·
I'm contemplating whether to trade in my 16 RAV4 hybrid cuz of the annoying rattle from the driver side. Looking at a 4Runner but I'm sure I'll miss the gas mileage on this thing


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#39 ·
Haven't traded it since we just bought one in January but might go for a Korean or Japanese BEV SUV (if my wife still wants one) in the distant future if Toyota doesn't jump on the bandwagon.
Hyundai All-Electric SUV To Arrive In 2018, With 200 Miles Of Range
My wife wanted Tesla. Had to talk her out of it and bought her a RX450H hybrid instead. We are happy with it.

She has run out of gas twice in the last 4 years in her 4 cylinder Camry that we just sold for the RX.
I didn't want her out of charge all the time and me taking time off from work to rescue. :serious
 
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#46 ·
Trading in 2 2013's for 2016?



Hi, do you mind sharing why you traded both in?

I tend to keep my cars a very long time, and my current 07 used Forester is just 7 years old to me, (got in feb 2010) but many $$$ mechanical fixes turned me to the Rav4 and known Toyota reliability.

Your reasons may be so specific to your needs, but still curious as I am deciding 2013 over 205/16 Rav4models.
thanks
 
#11 ·
Haven't traded.... yet, but have test drove a few Highlanders. Sure like them a lot more. Ride better and quieter. Love the V-6.
Too many squeaks and rattles in the RAV after 2 years. NVH has been sub-par from day 1. And yes I've been lubricating the door & hatch seals. Just can't seem to get rid of them and also hate the tire noise.

Working on the biggest obstacle to trading in the RAV.... the wife.
(then again, I have traded in wives in the past >:D)
 
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#14 ·
I considered trading in my Rav for a 4Runner. Ultimately decided I couldn't justify the extra size (I live in the city, would be tough to park when going out to dinner and such). Don't dislike the Rav but I don't really love it either. It's a good vehicle that we got a great deal on and always only planned to keep for a few years at most.

Pre-ordered a Tesla Model 3 and will probably sell the Rav in 18 months or so when it's ready. At that point, might pick up a 4x4 project as a second vehicle for camping and trails.
 
#16 ·
I'm very intrigued by the 2017 Highlander. So many nice features. I might even be able to make do with an XLE now that it will come with BSM standard. It wasn't even an option on the 2016 - you were forced into the LTD if you wanted BSM.

My next vehicle needs to ride a little smoother than my RAV4 does. Wow, I'm getting old!
 
#17 ·
I too have contemplated the move to the 4Runner, but personally, there are a few issues:

4Runner lacks a lot of the technology that you can get in a Rav4 - Blind Spot Monitor, RCTA, etc.

4Runner's 5AT makes it feel a lot slower on it's feet than the Rav4's 6AT (yes, I know the 4Runner is 1k lbs heavier, too)

4Runner gets much worse gas mileage, though with gas sitting at ~$2.10 a gallon here right now, not a huge deal.


The real deal breakers for me are the lack of tech and antiquated powertrain in the 4Runner.
 
#18 ·
I am also most tempted by the Highlander, especially the 2017 model.

New V6 - 295hp/267lb-ft of torque
8AT
Toyota's new tech and safety suite
Stop/start tech
LED DRLs



If you're thinking of a Highlander, the changes are worth waiting for.
 
#19 ·
We traded our 15 RAV in for a 16 Cherokee Trailhawk. We love it, it rides better, it's quieter, it is comparable on fuel even with the v6 and best of all the dreaded 9spd shifts and drives better then our Rav ever did. It will also shift back up when in cruise and doesn't stink of antifreeze all the time. The jeep keyless ignition also stays running when you open the door if you used the remote start. The Rav did have better cargo storage though. So far we have no regrets going for the jeep Cherokee. Ps the 9 speaker stereo is great also.
 
#20 ·
American cars are so inexpensive and best bought with rebates as they regularly come along. Before subprime, I recall all those weekly car ads with tons of incentives. They haven't been as aggressive anymore and the negative stigma attached to them is partially gone. Lately, they have built many nice looking cars than the Japanese for sure.

Hopefully yours will provide years of hassle-free and troublesome service. Since my bad experience with a Ford Villager my dad bought and the rampant rebates, I have stayed away from American cars as finding out I bought at the wrong time will leave me grating/foaming in the mouth.

Now I know what those ****** eyed Cherokee's are called. :)
 
#30 ·
Now I know what those ****** eyed Cherokee's are called. :)
I didn't know what the Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk looked like, so I had to do a Google search to see what warranted such an expression.

"...****** eyed...?" That sounds pretty much like a racial slur to me. I'm Asian-American and have lived in the United States for my entire life -- except for the first six months of my life, where I lived in Japan, the land of my birth, and a few overseas tours of duty in the service of this country -- and have been called ***** and nip and **** and a few other choice names (including one of my all-time favorites, "baby killer," when I joined the Army in 1971 and hadn't even gotten out of Basic Training yet, let alone gone to Vietnam and killed any babies!). But it's been awhile since I've heard such an expression as "*****."

All things considered in this day and age -- and especially considering all of the slurs and negative comments and rantings and ravings by one of our presidential candidates -- I guess I wouldn't be all that surprised by such a term from a citizen of the United States, but I thought Canadians were somewhat more enlightened (not, I guess, that I have a whole lot of experience with Canadians!).

Ah well...such is the world in which we live..... :crying
 
#21 ·
Jeeps are the reason I've been driving Toyotas for the last 10 years. After driving 4 Grand Cherokees since 1990 I've learned a thing or two about Jeep quality - never again. ?

Good luck!


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#23 ·
The jeep reliability comment is funny because I bought the Rav thinking it would be dead reliable. Unfortunately Toyota has it's head up its a#* and is just floating by on its name now. The domestic vehicles have greatly improved these days. Oh and jeep has actual leather vs Toyota cheap pleather( which I didn't mind) however when you purchase an upscale version it should be a tell when the company puts vinyl in instead. The jeep also has suspension that functions when going over bumps.
 
#28 ·
The pentastar is actually a nice smooth engine. I must give the Rav credit in that Toyota awd functions very well. It always surprised me how well it performed in snow and ice. We have not had the opportunity to try the jeep in the snow and ice yet but it also has a very computerized 4wd system with multiple settings. If the Rav had better underside protection it could be a great little back country camping and fishing rig (within reason of course)
I in no way mean to slam any bodies Rav we just unfortunately had zero luck with ours. I would be interested to know if the revised 16 Rav addresses some of our issues like ride quality and shifting in cruise control.
Out of curiosity, what reliability issues did you have with your Rav4?

Toyota makes no qualms about SofTex or what it is, so I'm not sure what you are referring to above.

If you didn't like the ride quality, I'm not sure why you thought it would change after test driving and decided to buy it. The ride quality is rough and needs improvement - for sure, but I knew that after I test drove it and still decided to buy.

Not sure what type of vehicle you came from previous to the Rav4, but the over-eager shifting in cruise control is because we are getting transmissions with more gears than we had before, so transmissions shift more often to stay at your pre-selected speed because the ratios are narrower. When vehicles had 4 and 5 speed automatics, the gear ratios were longer so the vehicle shifted in and out of gear less often to stay at speed. With 6+ speed transmissions, the gears are shorter and require more shifting to stay at one speed if the grade of the road changes. I will give you the fact that sometimes the shifts can be abrupt, but this car only has 176lb-ft of torque, so if you combine that with the 6 speed automatic, you're looking at a powertrain that stays rather busy shifting gears on a steep grade.

Coolant smell? Not sure... I feel like some of the resins, coatings and materials used inside the Rav4 have a stronger smell, but I personally don't hate it. My car has 60k on it and still "smells new" for that reason, IMO.
 
#24 ·
I think you are right in that reliability is a given for most cars in the first few years of service. Even I bought extended warranty on our 2016 RAV4 Hybrid. :)

Heard that that Pentastar engine is rated really well and quite reliable. Enjoy your vehicle with real 4WD. :)
 
#25 ·
The pentastar is actually a nice smooth engine. I must give the Rav credit in that Toyota awd functions very well. It always surprised me how well it performed in snow and ice. We have not had the opportunity to try the jeep in the snow and ice yet but it also has a very computerized 4wd system with multiple settings. If the Rav had better underside protection it could be a great little back country camping and fishing rig (within reason of course)
I in no way mean to slam any bodies Rav we just unfortunately had zero luck with ours. I would be interested to know if the revised 16 Rav addresses some of our issues like ride quality and shifting in cruise control.
 
#26 ·
The pentastar is actually a nice smooth engine. I must give the Rav credit in that Toyota awd functions very well. It always surprised me how well it performed in snow and ice. We have not had the opportunity to try the jeep in the snow and ice yet but it also has a very computerized 4wd system with multiple settings. If the Rav had better underside protection it could be a great little back country camping and fishing rig (within reason of course)

I in no way mean to slam any bodies Rav we just unfortunately had zero luck with ours. I would be interested to know if the revised 16 Rav addresses some of our issues like ride quality and shifting in cruise control.

I for one never felt that you were slamming any individuals RAV, but there are pros and cons for every vehicle out there. ?


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#29 ·
The 6spd in our Rav worked perfectly fine until you were on the highway and using cruise control. If cruise was engaged and something caused a downshift from 6-5-4 as example it would just hang in the lower gear and not ever shift back up. Flat ground, down hill it would still just hang in that gear until I pressed the gas pedal, hit acc on cruise, hit dec on cruise or turned off cruise. Toyota denied and kept saying nothing found. If you never used cruise it worked perfectly so that is a Toyota software issue but if they won't admit it they won't fix it. Side note: I am very familiar with 6spd transmissions and more frequent shifting.

The rough ride I should have caught on the test drive but I chalked it up to a sporty/firm ride. We did test drive a xle and then ordered a limited so possible the limited's lower profile tires magnifies this. Should have noticed ride more but didn't so my bad, however harshness gets more aggravating over time.

No tire sensors on Canadian models. Does not say this anywhere when purchasing and my base model work truck has this feature. Not normally a issue but this was my wife's car and we did not have a flat in 10 years but got 2 on this and wrecked 1 tire due to driving on it. ( just a tick off and didn't help my view towards it)

Antifreeze smell constantly outside and not by the overflow bottle. Overflow bottle level dropped and Toyota said "we can smell it but we can't see anything so just keep an eye on it". Does not build confidence in reliability to take my family on the highway somewhere.

Engine rattling on start up. That started around 10000km and on forums can be an issue with the 2.4 and needed phasers or something swapped. Warranty or not this was my last straw because our particular dealer was not very good and I wasn't going to waste my time leaving it sit there just to be told "could not duplicate"

Remote start that was installed by our dealer would crank the motor 2-3 times before actually starting it. (This happened while awaiting the new jeep so I never took to dealer)

Extremely loud road noise on the highway. Also not noticed during test drive.

Also if you looked at it sideways it would dent or the windshield would crack. Sound funny but I swear everything dented this thing and I received large windshield chips from small stones.

Some of our issues could have been fixed with better dealer support. I have had other new vehicles in the past and sometimes you just get a dud. I had a brand new dodge with the mighty 5.9 Cummins and that was the biggest lemon ever and Canada does not have the "buy back" option. Currently my gas Ford truck is 3 years old and only gets used for hauling/towing and has only needed oil changes. This Ford isn't perfect but I know I can take it anywhere presuming I can afford to keep gas in it. So far our new jeep is really nice and we're happy but only time will tell how well it holds up.

Sorry for the long post but the question was asked.
 
#35 ·
Sorry I brought it up -- since all of this has nothing to do with the actual topic of this thread. I should have just kept my comments to myself. I was not personally offended -- I've been called much worse by my dad! So even had the comment been directed at me -- which it obviously was not, it was directed at a Jeep! -- I wouldn't have been particularly offended by it. I was more surprised to see it in print than anything else (and even more so now by internalaudit's revelation that he is apparently of Asian descent ("I didn't know I was insulting my own ethnicity.") and still finds the term "*****" perfectly okay and somehow didn't know it was considered a racial slur. I knew it was a racial slur the first time I was called that and had the crap kicked out of me after transferring to a WASP suburb of Indianapolis at the age of nine years old. Perhaps internalaudit is so young and has lived such a sheltered life in the Far East (more accurately called East Asia since the '60s or '70's) and in Canada that he has never heard the term used in a negative manner.

Either way, again, I apologize for bringing it up and think we should just return this thread to the topic at hand (before a moderator steps in and chastises us for going off topic).

c ya.....
 
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