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Rear differential failure other problems to follow ?

61K views 48 replies 22 participants last post by  pelo18 
#1 ·
I have a 2008 v6 with 79,000 miles on it. I started hearing a wine from the rear of the car. To my and my mechanics amazement the rear differential is gone. I am wondering what I did wrong. The car hasn't been off the road. It has never towed. We currently have a Highlander with 200,000 miles on it with no problems. I have owned 5 other toyota's with no problems. This is the least expensive Toyota I have purchased and I am wondering if there is a quality difference. Yes I called the dealer and Toyota, dealer said 1 out of 10 isn't bad. Toyota recorded the information. I did see a thread where others are seeing this problem. Should I get rid of this before the next power train problem ?
 
#2 ·
Was the rear differential ever serviced or was it left to run dry of lube? No one but you can decide whether to keep it or not. If it hasn't been replaced yet the water pump is almost a sure thing to be replaced soon. With extended warranty these are inconvenient problems. Without it they are inconvenient and expensive out of pocket repairs.
 
#3 ·
My mechanic told me the fluid was fine except for metal in it :-( which does not surprise me after the failure. Have the quality standards for Toyota really fallen so far that differential loss at low mileage is considered acceptable ? I find that to be sad.
 
#6 ·
Let me say this Toyota wagon 250,000 miles no problems only oil changes gave it away, Toyota Camry 300,000 miles only oil changes and air conditioner, it away died in accident, Sienna van 250,000 only oil changes, gave it away status unknown, Four wheel drive Highlander 200,000 rear wheel bearing and air conditioner condenser still driving it. Many 4x4 ford trucks no differential problems in more than 100,000 miles each. Rav 4 79,000 miles rear differential failure I am concerned about quality when comparing to all other vehicles I have owned. That is why I asked the question
 
#8 ·
IMO.....you have a right to question Toyota's quality as I am doing the same. Most people NEVER change their gear box oil and never have issues. Your mileage should be nothing to a gear box unless it was defective when it was installed.
My 08 Limited diff. was changed under warranty because it was leaking ,even though the service guy wrote on the bill " making noise " It wasn't making any noise and I never mentioned anything about noise , but it must have been a common problem for them to change it so easily.
I talked to the service manager the other day about the "oil burning" problems they were having and he tried to remember what Toyota says is normal ,but couldn't without looking it up. So I told him that burning 1 litre in 1200 miles is not OK with me, but is with Toyota. He tried to defend it by saying it's normal these days...... A little oil burning is normal , but not a lot.
I have a 2006 Corolla that has 147,000 km's and it doesn't burn a drop of oil between oil changes. That's what a "good" engine should do ...IMO..... that's why I went with Toyota....... We'll see next time.....
 
#9 ·
The car is completely stock. I am using stock wheels. Tires are blizzaks in the winter and continental all season in the summer.

Way back in 1973 I had a Mercury Capri that burned a quart per thousand and Ford said the same thing to me. Unfortunately that car was a mechanical disaster. Never had an engine problem other than oil burning and water pumps though.

Doing this to customers does not seem like good business practice does it ? I have to replace my highlander soon and because of a 1k retail part Toyota looses an easy 40k plus sale and a long time customer.

Thank you all for your responses.
 
#11 ·
Back in 2007 (IIRC) when RAV4.3 were fairly new, someone in Australia racked tons of km in new RAV4 and had rear diff failing right after the warranty period. I posted about it on this forum back then. It was an early indicator that the diffs are not the strongest point of this car.

If one wants to prevent it, early and frequent fluid replacements with SPECIFIED oil are in order. Note that FSM calls for SAE90 for over 0F and 80W90 under 0F. That is an indication how hard that small diff works and average 80W90 or 75W90 is not going to cut it IMHO.
 
#12 ·
I recently drained, flushed, and refilled both trans case and rear diff with valvoline syn 80w-90. 08 Rav4 has 51k miles and both came out nasty drak green; rear was worst. But now i have a slight squeak almost squeel (think mouse wheel) when i do a quick acceleration. What the hell is that all about? There are no clunking or hard shifting sounds, but it does feel a lot smoother and it seems as though i hear a swirling sound that i never heard before. Its not loud at all just audibly different.
 
#15 ·
Ok at first reading your post i was worried. But i honestly do not believe it sounds at all like a school bus whine, but then again i dont really know what that sounds like. As i mentioned it is a faint sound but with my ocd i can hear it. I hope its not the same situation as you had. What is your status?
 
#14 ·
#19 ·
I believe anchorman meant that the electric coupling, which is part of the differential, has a multi-plate clutch.

Does anyone know if the electric coupling is lubricated by the diff oil...I would ass-ume it is...or is it self-contained?
 
#20 · (Edited)
I believe anchorman meant that the electric coupling, which is part of the differential, has a multi-plate clutch.

Does anyone know if the electric coupling is lubricated by the diff oil...I would ass-ume it is...or is it self-contained?
It was the clutch plate material I doubted. I suggest Dr. Dyno has done more study on this than we have: http://www.rav4world.com/forums/99-4-3-mechanical/91988-rear-differential.html#post934501 although Anchorman http://www.rav4world.com/forums/99-4-3-mechanical/91988-rear-differential-2.html#post934914 on the same thread talked of the clutch material too. So maybe Anchorman is right. Maybe somebody will dissect a failed part. Fortunately there do not seem to be a lot of failures.
 
#23 ·
My 08 rav4 with 90,000 miles has the whining noise coming from the coupler/carrier assemblies that many have talked about here and on other threads. The dealer wants around $3000 to fix it with new parts. So, I've decided to try replacing it myself with a used one from a newer 2011 rav4 at around 35% of the cost. Does anyone have the service manual section for just changing out the differential? It looks to be a straight forward job but I would like to have a guide. Thanks
 
#28 ·
#33 ·
No more noise, i replaced the coupling with a salvage unit.
Here are some pictures of the tear down and don't
do like i did, drain the diff. first.
;)
 

Attachments

#35 ·
I have just encountered the same problem at 130KM. A high pitched whistle in the rear area. Found a relatively new oil leak on the rear differential driver side drive shaft. Topped up the gear oil but the whine persisted. It is now at the shop. Obviously the seal is gone. Probably the bearing as well. They say 500 to replace the seal but I cant see how that would fix the whine. I hope that the whole rear end isn't toast. Sounds like a big bill. The mechanic seemed quick to suggest finding a used differential. Oh oh. Is this a common problem?
 
#39 ·
for whatever its worth, I have been a 30 year Toyota owner but this year I am getting rid of my 2006 RAV4 as I an currently very unhappy with it at 120,00 miles. I don't feel its the same quality as the many Toyotas I have had before. I think it could fall apart at any second and it already has problems with the rear differential and the water pump and the MPG sucks and one of the computers goes bonkers in high humidity.
I have sworn off Toyota at this point. the Mazda 6 kills the Camry and the Forester kills the new RAV 4.
its not the same Toyota of earlier days.


I have a 2008 v6 with 79,000 miles on it. I started hearing a wine from the rear of the car. To my and my mechanics amazement the rear differential is gone. I am wondering what I did wrong. The car hasn't been off the road. It has never towed. We currently have a Highlander with 200,000 miles on it with no problems. I have owned 5 other toyota's with no problems. This is the least expensive Toyota I have purchased and I am wondering if there is a quality difference. Yes I called the dealer and Toyota, dealer said 1 out of 10 isn't bad. Toyota recorded the information. I did see a thread where others are seeing this problem. Should I get rid of this before the next power train problem ?
 
#45 ·
Really? I get like 26-27 mpg average. I'd say that's with a 70%/30% split of hwy/city driving. I consider that good for a non hybrid SUV with 270 HP. Only when I tow my 2800 lb boat do I get poor mileage. Roughly 17mpg average.
I feel you in the quality department though, I feel the RAV is a too flimsy for an SUV and not meant for anything but groceries. Thats why I rarely tow my boat with it and use a friends Expedition 95% of the time instead.
My plan now it to find a 2008-09 toyota 4Runner V8, those are tanks that last forever and ever. I wish they still made the V8, even as good as that 4.0L V6 is.

Anyways, as you can research in my other posts, I had a bad coupler and axle seals within an 8 month period. I am not exactly happy with this. I like the rest of the vehicle for the most part. That 3.5L is a pretty good engine.
 
#41 ·
A little more info on my rear end whine. It turned out to be the viscous coupler. The Mech. tells me that there had been water in the rear end. I suspect the previous owner had submerged it while unloading his boat. He made a temp. repair that held long enough to sell it. I got stuck with a 1500 bill. Don't you love people like that.
 
#43 ·
"Hi,
the problem is with this bearing inside the magnetic coupling, the pictures shows the rusted bearing with the seals removed.
Poor design if you ask me."


I see you got the bearing out, does this mean you can replace the bearing and seals and possibly reuse the unit ?
 
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