New Rav4 purchase falls apart .... not sure what to do

[SilentWalker]

+2 on the quick disconnect switch.

I don't see where you responded to this suggestion. This $12 part will save your $500 deposit and eliminate any concerns with parking anywhere long term.

Top Post Battery Master Disconnect Switch

I have used similar device on vehicle I left sitting idle for six months at a stretch when I was working on assignments in other states. As far as on a daily basis, the biggest pain is opening the hood to disconnect.

Until there is some indication that Toyota has figured out the problem, you can always use a battery tender. I use one on a semi-weekly driver just to make sure the electronic don't drain the battery significantly.

When you use the quick connect, eventually the ECU will discharge. So you after reconnecting, you need to be aware that most modern cars will need to be driven at least 30 miles before you can have them inspected. In Texas, they use information from the ECU to gather information about your emissions. The 30 miles is necessary for the ECU to register information they need for inspection.

I have had a similar battery issue develop with my 2018 RAV4 hybrid. It gets driven only 4-5 times per month right now and we had two recent occurrences of the dead battery after just 7-8 days of sitting in the garage. The Toyota dealership looked into it and could not find anything wrong but replaced the battery anyway under the warranty. The service manager did not seem to think this is a specific RAV4 issue and that these new models just need to be driven every couple of days to keep the battery charged.

About the quick disconnects and cheap jumpers: the 2018 RAV4 hybrid has battery in the back of the vehicle under trunk floor and trunk door lock does not operate without power. I can crawl into the trunk from inside the car, but the trunk door needs to be open for me to open up the floor board to gain access to the battery. The trunk door lock can be opened from inside with a screw driver, which took me about half an hour and several viewings of an Youtube video demonstrating it. Not exactly an exercise I want to do at an airport parking lot after coming back from a 24+ hour travel from Asia or Antarctica. If other RAV4's have similar genius design I think the disconnect switch as well as <$100 jumpers are pretty much a dead idea. The car has jump sites under the hood but they are about 3' apart so I ended up buying a $200 "professional" briefcase jumper to get one with long enough clamp cables to reach the RAV4 jump contacts under the hood.

 

[JoeWras]

I see a lot of "no big deal" kind of excuses here. "Just bring a jumper pack."

What is going on? This is not right! This is moving backwards in design. And I'm not just talking RAV4 since this problem seems to be infecting many cars.

On one hand we have people excited about the future of self driving cars. On the other hand we have people willing to throw away all the progress made on basic electric (charging and starting) from the 30s through 90s. I'm not going to trust the design and engineering of some fancy bullet self-moving through the city at 70mph if they can't get the basics right.

Hey, no big deal if your car doesn't start. A problem that was massively improved is now back. How is this progress? And I really don't care if the reason parasitic drain for fancy electronics. Just solve the damn problem.

 

[finnski1]

I see a lot of "no big deal" kind of excuses here. "Just bring a jumper pack."

What is going on? This is not right! This is moving backwards in design. And I'm not just talking RAV4 since this problem seems to be infecting many cars.

On one hand we have people excited about the future of self driving cars. On the other hand we have people willing to throw away all the progress made on basic electric (charging and starting) from the 30s through 90s. I'm not going to trust the design and engineering of some fancy bullet self-moving through the city at 70mph if they can't get the basics right.

Hey, no big deal if your car doesn't start. A problem that was massively improved is now back. How is this progress? And I really don't care if the reason parasitic drain for fancy electronics. Just solve the damn problem.

I agree completely. I read may auto reviews touting the latest 12" display screen etc as if that's the only reason to buy a vehicle.
I want reliability above all else in my vehicles.
Granted I like some of the modern conveniences we didn't have growing up such as cruise control,AC, power windows, heated seats etc. but make sure the thing starts up when I go out there at 5 degrees in February.

 

[Oakster]

Find a holdover 2019 that is still new, or buy a gently used vehicle. No worry then and probably save a little money. If you dont like it, get a new one in a year or two when this issue is fixed.

 

[FreeBear]

Keeping my 2005 Camry. Still starts after a 6 week sit, as long as we don’t arm the aftermarket alarm. No camera or auto braking or auto anything accept auto trans. But can actually see out the back window and even into the “blind spot” by just turning your head.

 

[homestead]

Or is it a squeeky wheel thing? As more and more people understand the power of the 'net and how/where to post reviews, are we seeing a very skewed distribution? That is so very difficult to determine.

Case in point: until yesterday I was unaware that individuals could file complaints at NTHSA. How many people are unaware of this and instead post on the 231-item thread at CarGurus.com on this subject?

There is power in the information sharing of the internet, but there are pitfalls, too. ARRRRGH!!

Perhaps, I looked up sales for Rav4 this year in US/Canada 340k so far.
That is a lot of cars.

 

[RobbieB]

Bad news is big news, good news is boring.

 

[Nick12]

The company flies below the radar but I've always liked Mazda. You could check out the Mazda AWD SUVs. It's definitely cheaper than a Toyota.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Keeping my 2005 Camry. Still starts after a 6 week sit, as long as we don’t arm the aftermarket alarm. No camera or auto braking or auto anything accept auto trans. But can actually see out the back window and even into the “blind spot” by just turning your head.

I just bought a one owner 2012 V-6 Accord and couldn't be happier. That model has proven reliability and all the safety items I want (stay puff marshmallow man interior w/ all the airbags) and without all the pain in the arse electronics. It cost me 1/4 of the $$$ I got for selling my '18 F-150 to Carvana. Also, considering that we put less than 5K miles a year on cars, it'll be at least 4 years before it hits 100K miles. Oh, and the insurance is significantly cheaper, too.

 

[brett]

We are in year 11 of the 2006 Accord full load V-6 that we bought in 2009. So glad we kept it. Same for the 2007 Solara (Camry).


We put so few miles on the either that I suspect they may be our last vehicle purchase before electric in 10 years time!

 

[BarbWire]

(to paraphrase Paul Harvey: here's the rest of the story).....

I walked out on the Colorado Rav4 deal on Thurs 10/8 and ate the $500 deposit. I simply wasn't comfortable with a daily "will my vehicle start?" worry, especially in remote areas by myself...with a potential situation that a simple jump couldn't fix. Couldn't imagine calling (cell signal?) for a flat-bed tow from the back-of-beyond.

I hoped that by saying I was backing out because of personal safety concerns they would offer to refund the $500 but no dice. C'est la vie. Given how these were flying off the lot on the last day of Sept, I figured they'd sell it over the holiday weekend with a better mfg rebate.... but nope. Still on the lot. Interesting.

At the same time, a CPO 2017 Subaru Forester -- without the bleepin' Eyesight system -- showed up at the local Subaru dealer. A personal lease return with 40K miles. I test drove it Tuesday, then went over to my family's mechanic about a mile away to discuss .... less than an hour after the test drive I went back to the Subie dealer to say "can I have it inspected by my guys tomorrow?" and well...maybe .. It was already out on another test drive.

Apparently the person with the keys has "dibs."

But they came back, didn't make an immediate offer, so I put a $500 refundable deposit on it and arranged to take it to my mechanics the next morning.

Mechanic found a major ($2000) issue with the A/C condenser/compressor but otherwise said "buy it." Back to Subaru: they would replace the compressor because it had a leak, but not the condenser. OK. But the condenser is the known problem part, which caused Subaru of America to extent the warranty on it for another 2 years .... a ticking time-bomb. In the end I negotiated "I buy the $350 MSRP condenser from your parts dept, but you guys eat the installation cost while you are doing the compressor." Done.

WEAK POINT: the Subaru CVT transmission. But the CPO transfers the original power-train warranty will cover me for another 3.5 years or 60K miles. And unlike the Rav4 "dead battery club" you get some warning that a CVT is about to goes toes-up.

So: I ate the $500 deposit at Toyota for a new Rav4, but cancelled airfare and 4 nights hotel (1200 mile break-in road trip back to my temporary perch in central TX).

The 2017 Subie also comes standard (or added on by the first lessor) with item I could have to buy for the new Rav4: window tint, roof rack with aero-cross bars, moon roof(!), all weather mats.

The best: it has a mechanical "not smart' key.

Once I get used to the odd noises I think I will like it very much. Took possession on Friday 10/9.

Looking forward: if I can begin global travels again in 2021 or 2022, I will sell it. My loss will certainly be less than the cost of renting or leasing for a couple of years.

If I am "trapped" in the USA beyond 2021, I will rethink and consider trading it for something else if the 2017 Fozzie isn't ticking boxes.

 

[travelover]

I'm glad I don't have to deal with customers.

 

[Telly]

I'm glad I don't have to deal with customers.

I'm glad I don't have to deal with dealers!

Oh the stories I could tell... but won't... my BP would shoot sky-high. I hope to keep our existing vehicles until it's urn-time.

 

[JoeWras]

Mechanic found a major ($2000) issue with the A/C condenser/compressor but otherwise said "buy it." Back to Subaru: they would replace the compressor because it had a leak, but not the condenser. OK. But the condenser is the known problem part, which caused Subaru of America to extent the warranty on it for another 2 years .... a ticking time-bomb. In the end I negotiated "I buy the $350 MSRP condenser from your parts dept, but you guys eat the installation cost while you are doing the compressor." Done.

WEAK POINT: the Subaru CVT transmission. But the CPO transfers the original power-train warranty will cover me for another 3.5 years or 60K miles. And unlike the Rav4 "dead battery club" you get some warning that a CVT is about to goes toes-up.

Ouch, the A/C issue stinks!

Subbie CVTs always seem to be on the edge of something. At least the 2017 has a few design years behind it. I have the 2010 Legacy, first year design. People have had a lot of problems. Knock on wood I'm OK at 135k miles, but every now and then while stopped at the light, the car feels like it will stall, but doesn't. Been going on for years. For some people, it graduates into an actual stall. About 1/2 of the complaints on the NHTSA site are for that issue. Subaru actually extended the warranty to 9 years! I didn't have to take it.

I'd rather stir my own gears, but alas the manual is nearly dead, and my knee doesn't like them anyway.

FYI: I have a friend with the 2017 Forrester, and another with the 2019 Forrester. I've had a chance to drive both. I prefer the 2017. Lots of goodies without the expensive first generation stuff that can fail. Oh, and a key.

 

[RunningBum]

I have a 2014 Forrester. I love the CVT. It always feels like it's in the "right gear" on the mountain roads I drive, unlike automatic transmission cars I've had. No issues with it.

 

[FreeBear]

I have a 2014 Forrester. I love the CVT. It always feels like it's in the "right gear" on the mountain roads I drive, unlike automatic transmission cars I've had. No issues with it.

I avoided a 2015 crv since it was the first year with a cvt. My 2014 crv with the old geared auto drives me nuts on the highway. It constantly downshifts on the bigger hills at higher speeds. I didn’t want to buy Honda’s first gen cvt in a crv. At least I saved 3 grand going with the older model just as the first 2015’s we’re rolling out.

The crv’s of that vintage also have tiny batteries, maybe 450 CCA. I cram in a big 700 CCA from Costco. It helps.

The aftermarket alarm could kill drain the factory battery overnight. Even without arming the aftermarket alarm, I wouldn’t leave the factory battery sitting for weeks. Just too much drain... the bigger battery gives more margin for error.

I also keep a jumper box and cables in the crv. The battery goes on the maintenance charger is the car is unused for more than a few days.

 

[JoeWras]

I have a 2014 Forrester. I love the CVT. It always feels like it's in the "right gear" on the mountain roads I drive, unlike automatic transmission cars I've had. No issues with it.

As a guy who loves manuals, I still think the CVT is cool. It is the ultimate opposite of a manual transmission. Correct infinite gear, all the time. I also kind of like the whooshing sound my 2010 Legacy makes. Every now and then I let it all hang out and floor it, watching the engine hit near redline while the gearing slowly grabs. It is unnervingly cool.

It is kind of funny that some manufacturers are simulating classic automatic gearing in their CVTs by forcing simulated shifting.

 

[pb4uski]

We have a 2016 Outback with over 70k miles and I like the CVT... which was a bit of a surprise to me. I especially like the paddle shifters for downshifting for steep grades or for decelerating without using the brakes.