I'm looking to get a used one and want to know of any common issues they might have. I've heard about the paint peeling on the white ones.
Any issues to lookout for on a 2015-2018 RAV4?
pers0n
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wow, your post has been up 5 hours and no one has replied....i was hoping someone did cause i have some questions about these years also. you should have titled it something like: conventional or synthetic oil OR which brake pads are best for my car or something like that. those threads tend to get piled on quickly, haha.
tony
tony
yeah I've seen the white paint thing its white ones and turns chalky on hood or above windshield on ones I've seen. Like factory clearcoat/top coat was too thin. The ones I have seen 2 or 3 were all just out of warranty and the factory rep approved manufacturer paid repaint on those cars. Otherwise look for normal things, oil leaks (timing cover, ect....)
coolant leaks (water pump/radiator)
look for issues caused by outside influences, aftermarket electrical items (audio, remote starters, trailer wiring....ect)
pull a carfax
look for service history on owners.toyota website, you can enter VIN and look at dealer repair and service history
the biggest issues I see are owner caused, lack of maintenance, dirty car, worn tires, damaged windshield, add on items installed by amateurs, (best buy, radio shops, ect)
what I like is clean carfax, dealer history, clean and maintained car, and dont pay top dollar for a car that needs
tires and alignment (can go to $1000.00 easy) windshields $500-700.00..........
Wife's '15 has 30k on it, no issues at all.
Super White (not pearl) and the paint is fine.
Every now and then, she complains that the hatch doesn't open, but she'll leave it parked for a week at a stretch and I've heard the lift can get flaky when the battery is down a bit.
Not experienced it personally, but I've seen reports on torque convertor stutter same as the Camry.
Super White (not pearl) and the paint is fine.
Every now and then, she complains that the hatch doesn't open, but she'll leave it parked for a week at a stretch and I've heard the lift can get flaky when the battery is down a bit.
Not experienced it personally, but I've seen reports on torque convertor stutter same as the Camry.
In general, these are pretty solid cars... just make sure the transmission shifts smoothly. That's the torque converter stutter issue. Read up a bit on it, but I wouldn't let it deter you from buying one. The large, large majority of Rav4s/Camrys are fine. I doubt that you'd find one with major transmission issues at this age though. Everything else should just be regular used-car buying checklist items.
One thing to keep in mind, 2017-2018 models have Toyota Safety Sense standard. Don't know whether that's important to you or not, but if it is, confine your search to 2017-2018 models.
One thing to keep in mind, 2017-2018 models have Toyota Safety Sense standard. Don't know whether that's important to you or not, but if it is, confine your search to 2017-2018 models.
I'm doing a quick learn attempt on all things 2017/2018 RAV4 as well today, as my older kid has decided that the issues with recent Honda CR-V's is enough to make her jump the loyalty ship. Her 2013 CR-V (which I bought for her) has been great, but between oil dilution and cold vibrating cabins the newer ones seem to be no bargain.
She's looking for 'affordable' and not fancy, and LE models are plentiful.
Safety Sense is big in my book. I don't want to ever have regrets that I steered my most precious into something that cost them injury or their lives. Second up is a decent AWD system, then reliability and cost of ownership followed by utility and driving dynamics.
My quick study says the rear electric clutch AWD system is reasonably reliable but not the best in terms of response (I'll keep my Subaru, thank you...). I'll get an extra set of wheels & winter tires for her (all our cars have winter tire packages). Engine, tranny and overall build are stock Toyota. Help me if I've missed something big here!
Driving dynamics and comfort are OK, but not class leading. The redesigned 2019 is better, but not affordable for her.
Some premature tire and brake wear issues, especially on pre-owned vehicles. Some paint issues.
Am I missing anything???
She's looking for 'affordable' and not fancy, and LE models are plentiful.
Safety Sense is big in my book. I don't want to ever have regrets that I steered my most precious into something that cost them injury or their lives. Second up is a decent AWD system, then reliability and cost of ownership followed by utility and driving dynamics.
My quick study says the rear electric clutch AWD system is reasonably reliable but not the best in terms of response (I'll keep my Subaru, thank you...). I'll get an extra set of wheels & winter tires for her (all our cars have winter tire packages). Engine, tranny and overall build are stock Toyota. Help me if I've missed something big here!
Driving dynamics and comfort are OK, but not class leading. The redesigned 2019 is better, but not affordable for her.
Some premature tire and brake wear issues, especially on pre-owned vehicles. Some paint issues.
Am I missing anything???
my research on this subject is all over the map.
i'd like to have a moonroof and navi but it looks like mostly you gotta have the xle or limited models to get that although some le's do have one or both of them for some reason. very confusing. kinda like why does my 06 le have leather? never understood that one. in the good ole days, le's were basic, with xle's having the leather and such and limited's with heated seats or traction control. i wouldn't mind an le and put my own hu in it with bt, navi, mp3, dvd but then i'd lose the factory information feeds from the engine, and other control modules around the car, so still researching.
tony
i'd like to have a moonroof and navi but it looks like mostly you gotta have the xle or limited models to get that although some le's do have one or both of them for some reason. very confusing. kinda like why does my 06 le have leather? never understood that one. in the good ole days, le's were basic, with xle's having the leather and such and limited's with heated seats or traction control. i wouldn't mind an le and put my own hu in it with bt, navi, mp3, dvd but then i'd lose the factory information feeds from the engine, and other control modules around the car, so still researching.
tony
There are options packages that you can get on the lower end models, but I don't think a moonroof or Nav are available on anything lower than the XLE.
My wife has a '15 XLE and my mom has a '17 XLE... Mom's is significantly de-featured compared to my wife's. Wife has moonroof, Nav, power lift gate, and roof rails. Mom has only the moonroof.
My wife has a '15 XLE and my mom has a '17 XLE... Mom's is significantly de-featured compared to my wife's. Wife has moonroof, Nav, power lift gate, and roof rails. Mom has only the moonroof.
Yesterday my wife and daughter hit a few dealers, and one had several 2018 XLE's with the Value Pkg: adds BSM on top of Safety Sense, push button start, the upgraded radio head, roof rails and some other fun things. CPO, 20 to 30k miles, around $20k. Part of the Toyota Rental program, so a car I might have driven when our Sienna was in for service. I'm thinking about it....
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Well ... you might know about my headlight obsession from Siennachat so my suggestion would be to look for a 2018 RAV4 with the projector LED headlights instead of one with the reflector LED headlights. That would exclude the 2018 XLE. Not that the projector LED headlights are anything to rave about but at least they get an Acceptable rating from the IIHS instead of a Marginal rating.
Here is a link to the IIHS ratings: https://www.iihs.org/ratings/vehicle/Toyota/rav4-4-door-suv/2018#headlights
I've been suggesting a new RAV4 to my wife as a replacement for her 2012 Prius v but the IIHS has not yet evaluated the projector LED headlights available on the 2019 RAV4. The reflector LED headlights on the 2019 RAV4 get a Marginal rating.
IMO, Toyota should stop installing reflector LED headlights if they can't design them to get at least Acceptable ratings from the IIHS.
If Toyota wants to be known as a company that produces safe vehicles then they should equip all its vehicles with headlights as good as the adaptive projector LED headlights on the 2019 Camry Hybrid XLE which get the highest "Good" rating from the IIHS.
I'm getting a bit harsh about this issue in my old age. Headlight performance is really important to us old people and I'm not going to buy ANY more vehicles with headlights that don't get the highest "Good" rating from the IIHS.
I don't believe that the 2018 LE or XLE models use LED headlights. I haven't pulled the Owners Manual yet, but I'm pretty sure they are projector halogens. One source indicates a 9012 HIR bulb. Which seems a bit confusing as I don't see a separate high beam bulb. I'll need to look closer at this....
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You're right (as usual!). It's the halogen headlights on the lower 2018 RAV4 trims including the XLE that get the IIHS Marginal rating. It's the projector LED headlights on the higher trims that received the IIHS Acceptable rating.
Here is a link to the 2018 RAV4 sales brochure: http://www.auto-brochures.com/makes/Toyota/RAV4/Toyota_US RAV4_2018.pdf
I took a closer look late this afternoon, but it was too light to assess illumination. The system seems to use a single filament bulb per side in a projector housing with a mechanical shutter to change position and thus light pattern spread for 'low beam' or 'high beam'.
Not quite sure how that happened, but a RAV4 followed us home... Or at least we can go pick it up early next week.
A friend who has both a 2018 RAV4 and an older Honda CR-V says the headlights on the RAV, while not world class, kick but compared to the 9003 bulbs in the Honda's reflectors. That's was a sufficient testimonial for us to move forward on the car.
20.1k miles, XLE AWD with the Plus Extra Value Pkg (smart key, roof rack, Blind Spot and Rear Cross-traffic in addition to Safety Sense, Upgraded radio head, etc.).
A friend who has both a 2018 RAV4 and an older Honda CR-V says the headlights on the RAV, while not world class, kick but compared to the 9003 bulbs in the Honda's reflectors. That's was a sufficient testimonial for us to move forward on the car.
20.1k miles, XLE AWD with the Plus Extra Value Pkg (smart key, roof rack, Blind Spot and Rear Cross-traffic in addition to Safety Sense, Upgraded radio head, etc.).
Yes and no.
It does not have fully automatic headlights, but if you leave them on 24/7, they come on with the vehicle, and go off after either 20 minutes, or if you hit the lock button on the fob a 2nd time.
My wife's '15 XLE automatically dims the radio based on the dash sensor, so the headlight issue is an acceptable option if it doesn't bother you hitting lock twice. My wife did it for a while but went back to just using the stalk like she was used to.
Of course, she turns the lights ALL the way off, which on US models, kills the DRLs :facepalm:
You can't even turn the DRL off on my 2001 Camry. I like having them on, but I always thought it was stupid that turning them off wasn't even an option. I guess Toyota changed this in later years.
The 2008 Tacoma was the same way. I didn't have them on my base model, but there was a simple harness plug-and-play mod to activate them... but not switchable.
Canadian models, by law, can not be disabled.
It was the same on our 2008 Sienna. LE vans did not come with DRL invoked, but it was an easy jumper fix to enable them. Of course the dealer wanted $100 to do the same 5 minute mod that I did once I looked at the wiring diagrams in the shop manual!
The 2015 Sienna and the 2018 RAV4 includes them, but also makes it too easy to accidentally disable them. And that's a shame....
The 2015 Sienna and the 2018 RAV4 includes them, but also makes it too easy to accidentally disable them. And that's a shame....
How good are the headlights in the 2013-2015 RAV4s? I like the look of those years better than the 2016-18, but want good headlights.
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