[mljacobs14]

We were driving on the highway at about 75mph the other night when my power steering fail, my dashboard lit up with a bunch of warning lights, radio cut in and out and my speedometer went to 0. Was able to pull over, restart with only 3 warning lights now and cruise control not working but power steering was back.


Took the car to the dealer this morning and they are telling me my alternator needs to be replaced. I know I've seen plenty of people with this same issue and I'm not sure I believe it's the alternator.


Any help would be appreciated.


2007 Rav4 with 115,000 miles on it.

 

[vanib]

You do not have the old style power steering but Electric power assisted steering (EPS).
You would to take it to another mechanic to get a second opinion but do not tell them what the other dealer said.

 

[Octane]

what year is it? any decent place can test if the problem is with the battery of the alternator, I would get a second opinion, or test the voltage of the alternator with a voltmeter to start...

 

[mljacobs14]

I have a 2007 Limited 2WD. Battery was just replaced in July and we just took it to test it and the alternator about 2 weeks ago and they were both good. And I haven't had any issues with my battery or car not starting.

 

[Canon101]

Without looking at the vehicle and experiencing the problem it is hard to say what would have caused the issue but it does sound like it was an electrical issue of some sort.

Did you hit a bump in the road, were the battery cables tight, did something else happen, was there a voltage spike from the alternator, did the engine just quit (may not of noticed when driving at speed).....all things to think of and more when trying to diagnose what happened if everything is checking out OK.

Could have been an isolated incident or could be something much deeper than what it appears to be on the surface.

 

[rav4system]

Your engine stalled...that is why all those lights lit up...I have had this happen due to crank sensors before...I would definitively take it to another shop to have a look at...most likely if your alternator had failed then the battery would have been dead and the rav would not have restarted...

 

[bluskie99]

If u regained your power steering, then it most likely isn't your alternator. The same thing happened to me where my alternator died and lost the power steering. I jumped the battery and got it started again but then the car was just draining the battery. That lasted 50 sec before the power steering vanished again. I'm in the process of changing my alternator on my V6. Let me tell you now, THERE IS NO WAY TO REMOVE THE ALTERNATOR WITHOUT REMOVING THE RADIATOR FIRST. So don't waste your time looking.

 

[jakub4]

If u regained your power steering, then it most likely isn't your alternator. The same thing happened to me where my alternator died and lost the power steering. I jumped the battery and got it started again but then the car was just draining the battery. That lasted 50 sec before the power steering vanished again. I'm in the process of changing my alternator on my V6. Let me tell you now, THERE IS NO WAY TO REMOVE THE ALTERNATOR WITHOUT REMOVING THE RADIATOR FIRST. So don't waste your time looking.

This isn't entirely true. My wife's RAV4 had the alternator slowly quit on her last year. The symptoms were similar to what the OP described, albeit what happened was at low revs. The battery light, CEL flickered, and power steering was lost. Revving the engine kept the output of the alternator up enough to regain power steering and limp. Once home, I charged the battery overnight but the next day the same thing happened. After getting the battery tested, I performed a parisitic test on the battery to see if there was any current draw that was causing the battery to lose it's charge overnight. Turns out there was no to very little draw during non-use hours, so I set out to change the alternator. During this time, I changed it out and upgraded it to a 140A without removing the radiator. It was tight, but it can be done.

 

[DJRav]

I've got the same symptom at the moment. I've run the car with a volt meter running and the steering cuts out when the voltage RISES to 18 volts!
I had all the lights pop up too.
Voltage regulation is built into the alternator, so I've just ordered a new one from DENSO (as the original on my UK 2007 model)
(AKA "DAN 1013" by DENSO for mine)


Hope the change out isn't as hard as described, I can't afford to pay the garage price!

 

[jakub4]

I've got the same symptom at the moment. I've run the car with a volt meter running and the steering cuts out when the voltage RISES to 18 volts!
I had all the lights pop up too.
Voltage regulation is built into the alternator, so I've just ordered a new one from DENSO (as the original on my UK 2007 model)
(AKA "DAN 1013" by DENSO for mine)


Hope the change out isn't as hard as described, I can't afford to pay the garage price!

It's not as bad everyone makes it sound. It's tight, but not impossible. I didn't remove the radiator, just undid the top retaining mount. I also don't think I removed the coolant reservoir. Take your time, and don't force anything. Also, make sure to disconnect the negative battery terminal prior to starting. I forgot to do this and ended up blowing the main alternator fuse. :serious

 

[Dave R]

Usually, the only things that really fail on alternators are the brushes (very common) or the regulator (not very common). On many, these parts can be changed rather than replacing the entire alternator. They also typically cost tiny amounts of money in comparison and on some cars, can be very easily changed without removing the alternator. Worth looking into. I think this part number works on V6 models: 11326RK (with alternator 27060-0P240 or 27060-0P241)

I have no experience with RAV4 alternators so I can't say for sure if this is an option.

 

[vanib]

I had to change my alternator at 65K miles. I was expecting it to last at least 100K miles.
I got a refurbished alternator (refurb done in Canada, not sure where the parts are from) for CA$199+tax.
Paid mechanic CA$100 to change it.