RAV4 Owners & Aficionados

Nice to hear that you guys are happy with your RAV4 . We bought ours in January of 21 so there was no dealer markup at that time. We got our 2021 XLE premium for 32 grand. We really like it. Kind of amazing all the technology it has. We probably won't do all the mods you guys have , but we're happy with it just like it is. Will probably install the start /stop override in the near future, but that's probably it. We've had it over a year now and it has 2200 miles on it , so we're hoping to get many years of trouble free miles out of it.

 

We bought our 2021 Hybrid Limited in Ruby Flare in September. Replaced the tires with a set of 245/60-18s. That corrected the speedometer that was reading 3% over. Also installed a set of Rokblokz mudflaps. We plan to do so mods to make it a nice trail capable rig. Nothing more serious than a fire road.

 

I can't stand the auto start/stop. We had an 18 Escape, officially the last Ford I'll ever own, that had it and what a stupid feature. Thanks for the reminder as I'll be looking for the delete today.

Anybody found a decent TW-type forum on RAVs?

@Slick Taco Any ride penalties with the level kit? Was thinking of doing the same and adding a little more tire. Our 22 has LED projectors, DTRL, and all interior lights. My wife damned near killed me when I told her I would put new bulbs in after what happened with me frying the Taco doing that! I'm not allowed to put any stickers on it either but Sasquatch is pretty badass. Maybe she won't notice?

I had to buy a shitty set of Fogs on Amazon that got me the new panels for the fogs. $54 got the panels, a harness with the OEM style left side switch, and shitty Chinese lights that I'll bin. The DD's should be here today.

We're waiting on 90 days for paint cure. In the haste of a pre-delivery was while we were doing paperwork, one of the punks likely used a dirty towel to dry the hood and with the shops interior lights I noticed a long, fine scratch in the clearcoat. You have to get it just right in the light to see but I tagged it with the sales guy and a few others on the car. They called yesterday asking when I can bring it back for them to correct but after talking to my pro detailer friend, he said wait and he'll do a full correction on the finish. It's got a layer of water spot and pollution throughout, as does my Taco. I'm getting the Taco done first. I'm not letting the dealer guys touch it again.

 

I tried first to get my wife to do a 4Runner for obvious reasons and she said it was old looking inside (she’s not wrong), then tried to get her into a Highlander so we don’t need to upgrade once kids show up, she said it was too big after the test drive lol, so hybrid rav it was and we both love it, rides great, perfect amount of tech and awesome mpg.

Wife with her 16.5 129000 mile Camry we got $12k trade for.

 

Last may we traded a limited 4Runner, made a few grand, and picked up a Rav4 prime for MSRP. We love it, most days we use zero gas. But for long trips we have the hybrid, it’s just odd hearing the engine. But at this point we have 10 fill ups.
Best part, the wife is very happy driving it, only complaint was the shitty speakers, as I wouldn’t get the better factory system, fixed that in the first month or so by replacing all the speakers, now it’s great.

For the forum question, I use https://www.rav4world.com/

 

I've got a little time on rav4world. It ain't TW, unfortunately but it's a start.

Just got some air deflectors to hide the one shiny chrome-like strip on the car and supposedly, these help wind noise I hear. We'll see. They look kinda-sorta cool....at least that's what my wife said when she saw me attaching and polishing them.

 

What brand did you go with? Stick on or in-channel?

I’d like to get rid of that chrome strip myself. Thought about wrapping it or going this route.

 

These are the AutoClover dark smoked stick on. Install was super easy. It took longer to lift a corner on the adhesive strip on each piece then it did to install. Watch their little video and your dialed.

They shipped these in a box that was the size of a kids mattress! They had a little haze on them from manufacturing and maybe the plastic packaging so I wiped them down with Meguiar's Scratch X that's a super fine polish. They look better than new after topping them with a hybrid ceramic finish.

The only thing I don't like is the size and where they embossed their logo. It's very much "in your face" and could have been done much more tastefully. I'll live with it for a while and start a return if it pisses me off.

$53 AUTOCLOVER Tape-On Rain Guards Window Visors 6 Pcs Set for Toyota Rav4 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 / Window Deflectors, Out-Channel Vent Shades (Smoked)

AUTOCLOVER Dark Smoked Side Window Vent Visor 6 Piece Set for Toyota RAV4 2019 2020 2021 2022 / Safe RAIN Out-Channel Guard Deflector

 

Ride penalties?

 

Sorry! Did it mess up, stiffen, or cause any issue with the ride of the car?

 

Nope. It rides no different. And radar and all safety sense features function normally

 

I have a first year Prime with almost 6k on it now. Saves gas and gets me through my 15 mile commute without using a drop of gas. It’s got issues though. Heat pump is crazy loud (common issue apparently) even on “cold” California days and the drivers side seat heater stopped working. Thinking of trading in on the new Sequoia when it’s out and just using my LS430 to commute. But that’s 1 fill up a week with premium.

 

Ouch. Maybe hang on to the to the Prime through this hideous fuel crunch we're about to suffer all in the name of pie in the sky environmental policy. I'm really even more happy we bought this RAV now given the turn of events. We've only put gas in it twice since buying it, the second about 30 minutes ago but we even traveled up north a total of about 300 miles up & back and my wife cruising back and forth the 35 or so mile round trip everyday...not to mention me stealing it whenever it's in the driveway!

Sport Mode is cool.

 

Anybody do the LED cargo light mod? They go in the 2 pockets in the hatchback door. It ties into the single lamp on the right side of the cargo bay. Apparently my '22 uses a different style of molex-type plug at the splicing junction. Think I might snag a set and just get a new plug for it rather than waiting for the Chinese crap to get around to it!

$40 Powerty Compatible with LED Lights Toyota RAV4 2019 2020 2021 Cargo Lamps Decorative Atmosphere Lamp Trunk Ceiling Lighting 2 PCS (Not Fit for 2022+ RAV4)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B083ZDYTH3?_encoding=UTF8

 

$5 a gallon is definitely tough. I was even thinking of trading it for a midlife crisis car like the IS500.

I put Baja designs rock lights in the plastic cutouts on the hatch. Saw a guy at Costco using those Chinese LEDs and they weren’t bright enough for my taste.

 

We're hovering at $5 already. I bought at Costco, the cheapest we have in the county for good fuel. We're all going to be wishing we had $5/gal gas coming up soon.

BD's in those spots?! Might sunburn the top of my head! I'm gonna try the cheapest and go from there. Meso needs to get in on this model!

 

Got my wife a Lunar Rock Rav4 in July of 2020, XLE Hybrid and it is really nice to drive. I am 6'6 and 280lbs and it is a very comfortable drive even for me. Although I prefer to drive my Tacoma, hers has heated seats and steering wheel so I will take that sometimes when it is cold out. We are really happy with it now at 16xxx miles since we got it with 3.

 

In January of 2020 we visited the local Toyota dealer to test drive a RAV4. I don't recall the exact model, but it was a non hybrid. We were disappointed with the performance of the drive train. Particularly the stop/start system. (Yes, I know about the off button and aftermarket bypass systems. Still a pain to deal with.) As were we leaving the lot, the sales manager approached us. He said the hybrid model (Prime plug in not available until the next year.) was quite different and to try one. We tried a hybrid RAV4 XSE and it was for us, a huge improvement. With the hybrid system, stop/start was very smooth with impressive acceleration. As a comparison, we also stopped by the local Honda dealership to test drive the 2020 CR-V. Like the non hybrid RAV4, the stop/start system was awful in our opinion. Just hated it. Honda at the time did not have a hybrid CR-V to test and would not get any soon. Also, I believe the hybrid CR-V was not going to come with a full size spare so we crossed that one off the list. A full size spare was an essential on our list due to previous tire injuries for which the spare in a can left us stranded. My wife and pot holes, don't get me started! 2 years later, the hybrid RAV4 was definitely the right choice. Go test drive!

 

Auto Start/Stop or ASS, is a pain in the ass in every vehicle I have experienced it in. I ordered the delete gizmo last night. Problem solved.

 

I think I have more output with one of my lights than that whole kit does though.