2002 Toyota RAV4 Rav 4 review from North America

Came from the dealer with a bad transmission (jumped out of 3rd gear every 20 minutes)

A Bad CD player.

A dent from the inside out on the rear drivers side door.

Engine hesitation (intermittent)

Handles nicely, esp. during one panic manouver.

Poor fuel economy compared to the same size engine in a 1986 Toyota van fully loaded with tools and equipment.

The original dealer that I've bought 6 Toyotas from treated me like dirt, claiming that all of my issues with the behicle were due to my driving ability. They flat out refused to road test the vehicle to check the transmission problem. When I threatened to cancel the purchase, they finally gave me a loaner car (after I had to argue that I would not pay for a rental), and they finally admitted that the transmission had to be rebuilt.

They then did not address the dent in the body, nor did they deal with the CD player or engine hesitation. That took 2 more trips to another dealer who dealt with the issues proptly.

At 40K miles, the water pump developed a leak, and now at 60K miles the check engine light is on.

After a total of 9 Toyotas that I have owned, 6 new and 3 used, this is by far the worst track record that I've had on any Toyota. I drive my cars hard and put about 35-40K miles on them per year, but maintain them well. I get about 225K miles out of all of my Toys, but I'm not sure that this one will last past 125K.

I'm not sure if I'd buy a Toyota again, Hondas are starting to look pretty good.