1994 Rav4 - Permanent 4wd ?

1994 Rav4 - Permanent 4wd ?

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V8RX7

Original Poster:

26,762 posts

262 months

Friday 18th April 2014
quotequote all
I've googled and keep finding conflicting info.

Does the Mk1 Rav4 94 - 2000 have permanent 4WD or is it FWD until it senses slip ?

I've seen a 4WD button mentioned (I think it's a centre diff lock) is that standard on UK models ?

Thanks

cuprabob

14,414 posts

213 months

Maracus

4,227 posts

167 months

Saturday 19th April 2014
quotequote all
It is permanent. As you said, the button is for the diff lock. HTH.

V8RX7

Original Poster:

26,762 posts

262 months

Saturday 19th April 2014
quotequote all
Bobs link seems to be for the later 06 model which shows it's an electronic FWD until slip - is the earlier one the same ?

Boobonman

5,645 posts

191 months

Saturday 19th April 2014
quotequote all
Earlier ones are definitely "full-time" four wheel drive. The button on the dash is for locking the centre diff. If you're buying, check the rear diff mounting, they can get loose and create a bit of drivetrain slack.

TRUENOSAM

763 posts

169 months

Saturday 19th April 2014
quotequote all
As above,

On a side note I have a 1995 Rav 4 and it's the most dependable vehicle amongst my collection. Very capable car.

Watchman

6,391 posts

244 months

Saturday 19th April 2014
quotequote all
It is full time but not a lot of torque is sent to the rear wheels. Having said that, ours was quite useful in the snow on decent tyres.

Watchman

6,391 posts

244 months

Saturday 19th April 2014
quotequote all
This is a bit of a harsh test but shows what I mean:

http://youtu.be/kRniF4JQN2U

In the real world you're unlikely to encounter a 3-wheel slip scenario. We never challenged ours that much but it was better than the 2WD cars we had previously on snow.

Mustard

6,992 posts

244 months

Saturday 19th April 2014
quotequote all
Boobonman said:
Earlier ones are definitely "full-time" four wheel drive. The button on the dash is for locking the centre diff. If you're buying, check the rear diff mounting, they can get loose and create a bit of drivetrain slack.
Leaking rear shocks tended to be the only issue (pretty common one) with these when they were 3+ years old!, not sure what other quirks have been found over the years since

Maracus

4,227 posts

167 months

Saturday 19th April 2014
quotequote all
We bought ours tax free new in Cyprus in 1997. Kept it 3 1/2 years and 36k. The only problems we had were squeaky rear suspension and rusty sunroofs.

We had oil changes every 1500 miles for the 18000 miles we used it in Cyprus yikes it's still on the road somewhere in the UK.

Boobonman

5,645 posts

191 months

Saturday 19th April 2014
quotequote all
Maracus said:
We had oil changes every 1500 miles for the 18000 miles we used it in Cyprus yikes
Why?

V8RX7

Original Poster:

26,762 posts

262 months

Saturday 19th April 2014
quotequote all
Watchman said:
This is a bit of a harsh test but shows what I mean:

http://youtu.be/kRniF4JQN2U

In the real world you're unlikely to encounter a 3-wheel slip scenario. We never challenged ours that much but it was better than the 2WD cars we had previously on snow.
That's a good test though.

Watchman

6,391 posts

244 months

Sunday 20th April 2014
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V8RX7 said:
That's a good test though.
I agree, and there are few 4x4/4WD/AWD cars that can apportion enough torque to either axle to move them in slippery conditions, and much fewer that can do so to a single wheel.

Doesn't really happen in the real world though. If you put decent "appropriate" tyres on any of those tested, they will all cope with snow in Britain because those tyres stop you from having to deal with a 3-wheel-slip condition. More appropriate in the real world is the symmetrical aspect noted in that test.

My mother has had a Rav-4 (old "T" reg), Honda CRV MY05, and now has a MY09 Nissan X-Trail. I have had a couple of Subaru Legacys ("W" reg and MY05) and now have a MY08 Merc ML. All of them will cope with even the worst of snow in Britain but the Subarus stand alone in providing predictable traction and predictable handling in those conditions. All that means (to me) is that I can take greater "liberties"... i.e. I can drive faster in the snow **confidently**. The others will all get there, just a bit slower.

Maracus

4,227 posts

167 months

Sunday 20th April 2014
quotequote all
Boobonman said:
Why?
It was part of their service requirements, probably climate related.

IIRC the cost was about £20 a visit.

k-ink

9,070 posts

178 months

Sunday 20th April 2014
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Watchman said:
This is a bit of a harsh test but shows what I mean:

http://youtu.be/kRniF4JQN2U

In the real world you're unlikely to encounter a 3-wheel slip scenario. We never challenged ours that much but it was better than the 2WD cars we had previously on snow.
Interesting test. Just goes to show most of these soft roaders are all show and no go.

V8RX7

Original Poster:

26,762 posts

262 months

Sunday 20th April 2014
quotequote all
k-ink said:
Interesting test. Just goes to show most of these soft roaders are all show and no go.
I think most (certainly older) land rovers would also fail that test.

Friends off road and I remember them being annoyed that a std Land cruiser could get where their much modified land rovers couldn't and them being amazed that it could move even if only one wheel had traction.

Robert Elise

956 posts

144 months

Sunday 20th April 2014
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Test is very harsh. soft roaders have their place. i have a rav4 for alpine use (on road!). Snow tyres do most of the work. Lockable diff, but never used. big tyres and extra ground clearance useful for parking on snow mounds in supermarkets. i'm not climbing Ben Nevis... the Toyota is compromised but better than a car in winter.

Watchman

6,391 posts

244 months

Sunday 20th April 2014
quotequote all
k-ink said:
Watchman said:
This is a bit of a harsh test but shows what I mean:

http://youtu.be/kRniF4JQN2U

In the real world you're unlikely to encounter a 3-wheel slip scenario. We never challenged ours that much but it was better than the 2WD cars we had previously on snow.
Interesting test. Just goes to show most of these soft roaders are all show and no go.
As I said, in the real world you won't encounter this type of scenario, so I think it's unfair to claim soft-roaders are poor. I can't stress enough that it's all about tyres on any car. If you get *any* mechanical traction in slippery conditions, you're 9/10ths of the way to winning. During the really bad snow in 2010 (was it?) I had proper winter tyres on my Legacy so my young lad and I went out looking for people to help - just for a bit of fun. We ended up towing a couple of Range Rovers as well as some other relatively decent off roaders like a Suzuki "jeep", and a Nissan pick-up... as well as a BMW X5 - all were on very poor tyres for the conditions. No-one would claim a RR is a soft roader really - put the right tyres on one and they're devastating in any weather.

My (current) ML has General Grabber ATs on which are not so great on ice but make the car virtually unstoppable in snow, and even though it doesn't have the axle twisting capabilities of a jacked-up Defender, it's pretty useful on muddy fields towing some quite heavy trailers with relative ease.

I had hoped to prove that a BMW X5 can be good in the snow on proper tyres but ours was stolen only weeks after we bought it last May, so we gave up on that idea. Also, the winter never really arrived anyway.

In place of the X5 we bought a MY12 E-class. Just in case the winter arrived we also bought some winter tyres for it, to differentiate it from the C-class we used to have which was hopeless in the snow on it's normal tyres. Pity we never got chance to prove the point really (I love driving on snow).

k-ink

9,070 posts

178 months

Sunday 20th April 2014
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Re: tyres - On the same page. I'll be putting a set of Pirelli Sottozero on my CLS next winter. They were great on my S3.

Boobonman

5,645 posts

191 months

Sunday 20th April 2014
quotequote all
V8RX7 said:
k-ink said:
Interesting test. Just goes to show most of these soft roaders are all show and no go.
I think most (certainly older) land rovers would also fail that test.

Friends off road and I remember them being annoyed that a std Land cruiser could get where their much modified land rovers couldn't and them being amazed that it could move even if only one wheel had traction.
Silly thing you would breeze that test in an old eunos or 325i sport... hehe