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2005 rav4 with 24k engine question

2K views 9 replies 5 participants last post by  gtex50 
#1 ·
I am considering buying the above. A little concerned about the engine and toyota oil consumption issue. I had a 06 solara with this problem and don't want to make the same mistake. A toyota mechanic told me the '05's pistons and rings where manufactured differently by a different manufacturer than the 06 therefore the 05 doesn't have the issue. Would feel more comfortable if someone else could confirm that. Any help appreciated. Thanks
 
#3 ·
I had 05 for almost 15 years, 109K mostly city traffic miles and there was not a single time I had to add oil. Engine did show its age, acceleration is not great anymore, and in cold weather it did not want to move until warmed up. But never ever it consumed any oil.
 
#4 ·
My mom still has her '05 with ~72k miles with city traffic and all those years that I've changed the oil, I hadn't seen any consumption/leakage when draining the old out. For a '05 with only 24k miles, that's VERY low mileage, you should try and get the maintenance records. If you know the VIN, you can call a dealer or register it on toyota.com/owners to see if any service history shows up; you can delete the VIN later. Take it to a trusted mechanic to have it thoroughly checked out.
 
#5 ·
Thanks for the feedback. Interested if anyone knows why this year, 2005, 2.4 would not have oil issue. If I look up pistons and rings for this year verses other years with known problem, part no.s and specs are the same. What changed. Thanks
 
#6 ·
If you're ever in the supply chain process, you'll know that there always will be a second (or third) source to the original parts. These 2nd/3rd source will be manufactured by a different ODM at a different factory, where the tooling machines will be different regardless of the same specifications. The overall engine code will be the same, but you just don't know where the parts were sourced from. The '06-'08 RAV4 2.4L were oil burners, thus, the move to 2.5L starting with '09, likewise for other models.
 
#8 ·
I just got a 2005 RAV4 4WD with 117,000 miles on it. The car runs like a dream! It is definitely showing its age, but it has been very well maintained and will continue to be so. I went to my local Big O Tires to ask for their opinion because I trust their judgment, they told me to run with it, no questions asked. Toyotas run forever IF they are taken care of. Enjoy your new-to-you car!
 
#9 ·
The low mileage is great, but given my experience I would expect some oil consumption, at least initially.

My RAV had 60K when I bought it. Previously one owner, little old lady in the upper Mid-West. Oil was changed on miles driven only, no care was given to calendar months. Service history included a replaced PCV at 11,000 miles. This is nuts, and further evidence to me the vehicle was seldom driven

I used five quarts of oil in the first 3,000 miles under my ownership. After some frequent flushes I got it under control again.

The problem as I understand it are stuck piston rings. The 2006+ 2AZ-FE was a mid-cycle refresh from our 2.4L predecessor. It had 9.8:1 compression and a revised cam profile (among other changes) that produced more power than ours. It was rated at 177hp, impressive given it was an even more stringent profile than previous. If we assume the pistons were identical, these changes alone could have caused the oil consumption problem to breach the critical mass point. Whereas on 2004-2005 models oil consumption may occur, 2006 later models practically guaranteed it.
 
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