[Red Hazard]

I noticed that when I stop after driving about a quarter mile or less, that there is a soft howling sound coming from the rear differential area. After I drive 7/10ths of a mile to a stop sign, the noise is gone. Vehicle is still under Warranty ~20K miles. Is this a problem I should take to the dealer or is it typical? Thanks!

 

[govtech4]

i would wait for it to do it alittle moreoften,or duplicatable and then make an appt with the dealer and be present in the veh for the road test with the tech or better yet the shop foreman,so there is no doubt what noise you are talking about,

if they blow you off and down the road it piles up there is a record of the complaint at the dealer.

thats what you do.

 

[ThePointblank]

What version of the RAV4 is it (engine, etc)? If your RAV4 has the 2GE-FE 3.5L V6 engine coupled to the 5 speed automatic transmission, it is a known problem in the RAV4, and there is a TSB that recently came out for it (for the US, it is T-SB-0192-10). Basically, you will have to take your car back to the dealer, and they will have to replace the transmission, as the noise is caused by the final drive gears. There is also an modification to the engine's mounts as well which is supposed to be done initially to see if the problem goes away first.

Otherwise, I recommend you join us on the RAV4World.com forums, which an active RAV4 community with lots of owners dedicated to their RAV4's.

 

[Red Hazard]

What version of the RAV4 is it (engine, etc)? If your RAV4 has the 2GE-FE 3.5L V6 engine coupled to the 5 speed automatic transmission, it is a known problem in the RAV4, and there is a TSB that recently came out for it (for the US, it is T-SB-0192-10). Basically, you will have to take your car back to the dealer, and they will have to replace the transmission, as the noise is caused by the final drive gears. There is also an modification to the engine's mounts as well which is supposed to be done initially to see if the problem goes away first.

Otherwise, I recommend you join us on the RAV4World.com forums, which an active RAV4 community with lots of owners dedicated to their RAV4's.

Thanks! I have the 3.5L engine w/5 speed auto. I will contact the dealer and THANKS for the info and TSB number. How come Toyota did not contact me...maybe hoping it would not break down in a year when the vehicle is out of warranty(?)

 

[ThePointblank]

Thanks! I have the 3.5L engine w/5 speed auto. I will contact the dealer and THANKS for the info and TSB number. How come Toyota did not contact me...maybe hoping it would not break down in a year when the vehicle is out of warranty(?)

Not all V6 powered RAV4's exhibit the whine, and its not an actual recall.