A rattle under the dash was fixed by the dealership under warranty. The rattle is back and the car will be spending another day with Toyota soon.
A plastic cover (covering bolts) on the roof rack fell off somewhere. Dealer replaced it at no charge.
This vehicle is too heavy for its 2.0L 4 cylinder engine. Although the engine has broken in nicely and gained power since it was new, it definitely needs a V6.
The car gets very poor gas mileage for only having a 2.0L 4 cylinder engine. I expected that the 4WD and the huge tires would take a toll on the mileage, but I think 22mpg average is a little low.
The gas tank is way too small for this car. At 22mpg, the range is only about 260 miles before having to stop to fill up. I think the RAV4 should have a tank that is at least 17 gallons and I am not even a commuter.
The passenger seat is extremely uncomfortable. I'm not sure why it's only this particular seat. It feels like the bottom of the seat is sloped forward and since I feel like I'm sitting on the seat rather than in it, I feel like a swift step on the brakes will send me onto the floor. The driver's seat also feels like it is tilted forward even though I have adjusted the tilt as far back as it will go. The rear seats are very comfortable especially reclined.
This vehicle handles very well for its size. I am very impressed by the precision of the steering.
500km per tank re fuel consumption seems normal??
Is that not so??
Rear indoor light could be further back.
SEL.
Don't feel bad, my 2001 Rav4 L is averaging 200 miles to a full tank. Be grateful for 22 mpg. I'm ready to just buy something else at this point-it's far poorer gas mileage than Toyota hypes.
Ever since I bought my 2001 Rav4 back in 2004 the gas mileage had been a stinker. A lot of it has to do with it being 4WD. I wish I could adjust it to 2WD in summer and 4WD in winter. Other than the gas issue, I love my Rav4.
Ironic given the new RAV4's ad campaign is all about how economical the vehicle is which is a bunch of crap because only the 2WD manual transmission one with the base engine is remotely economical and no one buys those even if you can find one (my friend wanted a manual transmission one and there were something like two available in California).
As far as AWD, even if you could disengage the AWD system you would still get poor mileage as the added weight of the AWD system is a big drain on the relatively light car.
But, as I've always said, if you're looking for an SUV of any size you shouldn't be concerned with gas mileage. Get a Corolla or better yet a Prius.
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