RAV4s - why are they feeling so different?
Discussion
My girlfriend previously owned an American model Toyota RAV from 2003, a 2.4 litre auto which she loved - it was very nippy and with the lightest touch of the accelerator she would happily leap forward like a trusted labrador (the RAV4, not the girlfriend. Although... 
).
Unfortunately due to reasons I won't go into here, we had to sell and rushed into buying a 3.0 Lexus RX300. It was more luxurious but rather dull in it's throttle response: 'oh, you pressed the accelerator? Oh right. Ok. Hang on. Ah, right, lets go'. It had the power but it was rather laborious in getting there.
We decided to change it. She test drove a 2008 RAV4 2.0 (XT5) auto and fell in love. It had the same snappy response as the older 2.4. It was a low mileage 30K model and a bit out of our price range, so we started looking for the right one for us and test drove two this week.
The first was a wreck. It had done 109k and had not been treated kindly; panels were hanging off and she was scratched to hell. We took it for a drive anyway and although it responded well to pressing the pedal, it was almost TOO jumpy - and the engine sounded horribly strained. It was as if the engine was 'too loose' and was on it's way out.
The second sounded much better, and we thought it would be a no brainer - 2006, 47k miles. But she was rather disappointed. It just didn't 'go' as well as the others; the pedal needed more pressing and it was just a bit more cumbersome in accelerating. It too sounded a little strained - but not as bad as the wreck.
We appreciate that it's a heavy, auto SUV and not a sports car. But compared to the first one we drove, it just felt underpowered.
I know there was an improvement in engines in 2009, from 150 to 156bhp, but we're pretty sure the first one was a 2008 model with the same engine.
A 47k Toyota engine shouldn't have been 'worn out' compared to a 30k one. Could it be that it was just a bad example, perhaps it had been abused? Or could it be more related to an issue with the auto gearbox having an issue and not changing at an appropriate time?
Does anyone have any thoughts/experience on this?
).Unfortunately due to reasons I won't go into here, we had to sell and rushed into buying a 3.0 Lexus RX300. It was more luxurious but rather dull in it's throttle response: 'oh, you pressed the accelerator? Oh right. Ok. Hang on. Ah, right, lets go'. It had the power but it was rather laborious in getting there.
We decided to change it. She test drove a 2008 RAV4 2.0 (XT5) auto and fell in love. It had the same snappy response as the older 2.4. It was a low mileage 30K model and a bit out of our price range, so we started looking for the right one for us and test drove two this week.
The first was a wreck. It had done 109k and had not been treated kindly; panels were hanging off and she was scratched to hell. We took it for a drive anyway and although it responded well to pressing the pedal, it was almost TOO jumpy - and the engine sounded horribly strained. It was as if the engine was 'too loose' and was on it's way out.
The second sounded much better, and we thought it would be a no brainer - 2006, 47k miles. But she was rather disappointed. It just didn't 'go' as well as the others; the pedal needed more pressing and it was just a bit more cumbersome in accelerating. It too sounded a little strained - but not as bad as the wreck.
We appreciate that it's a heavy, auto SUV and not a sports car. But compared to the first one we drove, it just felt underpowered.
I know there was an improvement in engines in 2009, from 150 to 156bhp, but we're pretty sure the first one was a 2008 model with the same engine.
A 47k Toyota engine shouldn't have been 'worn out' compared to a 30k one. Could it be that it was just a bad example, perhaps it had been abused? Or could it be more related to an issue with the auto gearbox having an issue and not changing at an appropriate time?
Does anyone have any thoughts/experience on this?
Anyone?
We drove two more today. A 53k 2006 model which felt pretty good; not as great as the first, but pretty brisk. We noticed that after 5-10 mins it was much better - I guess that type of engine performs better when warm? Most cars do but didn't expect it to be so significant.
Then second was a 39k 2007 model, pushing it on the price side but we wanted to compare - it drove brilliant, as good as the first one.
Do there RAV4s suddenly get slower at the 50k mark???
We drove two more today. A 53k 2006 model which felt pretty good; not as great as the first, but pretty brisk. We noticed that after 5-10 mins it was much better - I guess that type of engine performs better when warm? Most cars do but didn't expect it to be so significant.
Then second was a 39k 2007 model, pushing it on the price side but we wanted to compare - it drove brilliant, as good as the first one.
Do there RAV4s suddenly get slower at the 50k mark???
The ECU in most cars adapt to a style of driving somewhat, so if it's been owned by a light footed driver, then it may well try and "help" the driver to drive like this.
Then your lead footed OH gets in and tries to boot it, but it is still trying to Drive Miss Daisy.
It will relearn over time, or there is usually a simple reset procedure that might be found using the internet. (I only know it for BMWs)
Either that or there's something wrong.
If you find the reset procedure before you go, it will help you on the next test drive
Then your lead footed OH gets in and tries to boot it, but it is still trying to Drive Miss Daisy.
It will relearn over time, or there is usually a simple reset procedure that might be found using the internet. (I only know it for BMWs)
Either that or there's something wrong.
If you find the reset procedure before you go, it will help you on the next test drive
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