Ceeber

Yes well the other thing that Terry Shields Toyota told me when I was ringing around Australia for an answer was that the noise can come back after the repair is done!! The pinion and crown wheel field fix reduces the noise, but doesn't completely eliminate it. Now that my ear is tuned in, I can still here the noise if I concentrate hard. To the average person though I'm quite sure the noise is now quite acceptable in our RAV.

Interesting the noise got louder between 105000 and 110000kms. I have encountered a few examples with many less kms on the clock and with really loud whining. The engineer we used (Robert Chapman - Victoria) says that this particular problem will end up in premature trans failure. Selling the car before repair might be tricky too if its howling its head off! Good owrk getting the repair done for $2,500. That's a bargain. Our Rav has now done 83,000kms and the repair by CMI Toyota is still nice and quiet. Have a new problem though - the plastic cover on the passenger A pillar keeps coming loose - there is an airbag behind it and so need to be careful about 'back yard' remedies to secure it back in place. Its a plastic clip system, but does not seem to work very well. Any thoughts on this one? Cheers.

Hi Daniel, Good feedback thanks. In the V6 its the final drive pinion and crown wheel that do not mesh properly from the factory that causes the noise. Toyota have made a 'field fix parts set' comprised of new pinion and crown wheel machined to match properly, once the correct pre-tensioning is set when the box is re-assembled (that's my understanding anyway). So...... your description of what happened to your car sounds very similar to mine. It looks like anyone contemplating buying this model Rav4 needs to be VERY vigilant indeed before handing over their money. Cheers.

No probs Gert, Happy to help anytime. Just post again when you're ready. I get the feeling that Toyota has a lot to answer for in this particular model RAV in the form of manufacturing faults. Its certainly taught me a lesson - if you think you're safe because you're buying 'the badge', then think again. Toyotas need close inspection before you buy, just the same as any other brand. Cheers.

Hi Gert, When the selling dealer says 'its a characteristic of the Rav 4' I smell a rat. You don't say how many kms the car has done and this could have a bearing on your case. Is the selling dealer a Toyota franchise? Critical question is - Is the noise what would normally be expected for a car of this age and kilometres travelled? If not, then you should follow it up. Suggest you do what I did and get a few professional opinions in writing - eg, RAA (or equivalent in WA), another Toyota dealer, transmission specialist, independent mechanical engineer (find you local Institute of Automotive Mechanical Engineers IAME, and ask for help). I did this over here in SA and they put me in touch with a sensational bloke with lots of experience who helped me immensely. Go get 'em !!

Stan and others - VCAT has published the findings in our case against Peter Davey Toyota. If you go to VCAT Decisions and search for 'Brown v Davey Motor Company Pty Ltd', you will find all the details there, including the name of the consulting engineer, Robert Chapman, who assessed and wrote the report on the RAV. He did a sensational job. Good luck to any of you who have this problem with yout Rav 4 V6 - I hope what we did helps you out.

Stan, I'm running exactly the same tyres as you on my SX6 and they are not noisy. Usually new tyres are quiet and only show that they are noisy once they have a few kilometres on them. Mine have done 13,000kms since new and I would still call them quiet. A friend of mine has Bridgestone Dueller H/Ts on his Nissan Dualis and the thing sounds like a helicopter at urban speeds - revolting. How many kilometres has your Rav done now? An SRD dealer is specialised Toyota service centre that has an automatic transmission repair workshop. Lane Toyota are an SRD dealer in Melbourne, but there could be another one there too. In Sydney, its Terry Shields etc. In SA its CMI, Christies Beach. You might be lucky to have one in Townsville. If not then the local Toyota Dealer could remove the trans and send it to where ever the SRD dealer is - maybe Brisbane? If your trans is changing gears properly and is otherwise going well, then you should only need the 87/10 field fix parts set installed. Thing is the repairer will probably cover themselves by saying 'it depends what we find when we open up the box'. On the Monaro - yes body hardware is not Holden's strong point.

Two interesting points in your post Megan. On the cost of repair, people need to be very careful before agreeing a price. One dealer quoted me $8,000 - clearly a gouge. When I rang Lane Toyota in Melbourne, the quote was HALF this amount - so shop around folks. Re the wait for parts, when you go to the Toyota counter as a 'random walk-in', you're likely to be told the parts are ex Japan, but the truth is they now keep a stock of these matched bearing sets in Melbourne. Maybe your case made an impression Megan!! The other possibility is that this 'blurb' at the counter is used as a deterrent to discourage people from bothering. One Toyota dealer told me the parts had 'very limited' availability ex Japan. Again, more lies Toyota.

I have seen a previous post by someone who claims to be a Toyota technician on this website. From memory, he/she said that the problem arose from incorrect pre-load on the bearing assembly when it was built in the factory. This leads to sloppy meshing (my words) which then generates the whining noise. One of the key things with making a claim under a second hand car warranty is whether this type of fault (and it is definitely a fault) would be expected for a vehicle of this type, age and kilometres travelled. In our case the Rav had done 43,000kms, was four years old and sounded like a taxi that had done 500,000kms. Toyota failed its customers by not doing a recall, probably because it would have been too expensive for them, so they fixed them on a complaint basis. The next step in this might be for someone who has the final drive whine in a vehicle that has done 100,000kms to tackle Toyota on having the repair done under the 87/10 newsflash. Unfortunately Toyota have proven themselves to be liars and in the USA this led to their recent $1.2b penalty after several people died. I don't see Toyota Australia in a different light here - their all tarred with the same brush in my experience. Some other car makers have proven to be just as bad - eg Mitsubishi and its faulty truck brakes circa 2002 - caught lying and covering up the issue.

MC2 - I think you have taken the right approach and you are fortunate in having the new vehicle warranty. My understanding is that under new car warranty as soon as a customer complains, the field fix parts set comprising pinion, ring gear (matching machined set) and support bearings are installed once the transmission is removed. The diff is inside the transmission housing itself. With all due respect to Lean and Bennet, I doubt they would be paying for the repairs and so its no skin off their nose. Toyota Aust would have paid the bill. In my case, all I had was a used car warranty and Toyota Aust cut me loose - they said 'we don't care, go talk to the dealer' The dealer said its not a warranty issue, but VCAT said otherwise and they were ordered to fix it. Justice done. Stan the point you raise about not being able to sell the car cause it sounds like a piece of crap was also my greatest fear with our car before it was fixed. You can see the parts I described above re the diff, but you need to go to an SRD Toyota dealer in QLD and and ask about the field fix parts set described in Toyota's technical newsflash number 87/10 of 20 December 2010 - and have the vehicle assessed. This is not a cheap repair - I would say $4-5,000 as the trans has to come out of the car. There may be only ONE SRD dealer in QLD, as there is here in SA. The repair is technically specialised and I would only go to the SRD Toyota dealer to get it done. Having said all this, the first thing you should do is have the SRD dealer drive and listen to the car ........oh and get the minor noise repairs done first like those wheel bearings (if they are a problem). This will allow you to hear any residual noise from the trans/differential area. Stan you have not mentioned tyres either and some brands can be really noisy - need to check this too before ripping out the trans. Good luck !!

Hi everyone, Well I have much to report on my whining V6 Rav 4. Since my last post I engaged an expert mechanical engineer to assess the vehicle and armed with this and the other reports I mentioned previously, I took the Toyota Dealer to the Victorian Civil and Administrative tribunal and won!! VCAT's assessment was, in brief, that there was a breach of the warranty that goods be of acceptable quality as required by section 54 of the Australian Consumer Law. The dealer was ordered to fix the car, in accordance with Toyota Australia's 'Technical Newsflash' number 87/10 of 20th Dec 2010. The repair has fixed the whining noise and the car is now a pleasure to drive. In addition, the dealer was ordered to pay 75% of my cost in engaging the specialist Mechanical Engineer. This outcome now sets a precedent for the final drive whining noise in Rav 4 V6s. Toyota and other second hand car dealers can no longer claim that this is 'operational noise'. It is indicative of possible premature failure of the transmission. If you have bough one of these and it whines like a taxi that's done 500,000kms, AND you have a current warranty, either used or new, then you might want to follow up the selling dealer and ask them to fix it. I pursued this for my own peace of mind but also because I hate being ripped off or seeing others ripped off. Consequently, I'm happy to guide anyone who has this problem with their V6 Rav4. You need to keep in mind though that this decision by VCAT is quite specific to the circumstances surrounding our vehicle, its history, low kilometres etc etc.

Folks, Well its 6 weeks on since I last posted on this and its moved forward a bit. The dealer, Peter Davey at Werribee is steadfastly refusing to accept liability saying its 'operational' noise. I have written to consumer affairs who have no power (as they are strictly a referee) and now the matter has been referred to VCAT as a formal complaint. By the way, complaining to Toyota will get you exactly NOTHING. I did and they sent someone to drive the car, who then told the dealer it was 'operational noise' and 'inherent' to the vehicle. Interesting thing was that Toyota are unwilling to even acknowledge to me that they drove the car and are also unwilling to provide a written report. They have referred me back to the selling dealer and have stated that they cannot take any responsibility 'as all our Toyota Dealerships are independently owned franchises, we have no jurisdiction over there day to day practices'. Well once again excuse me for being obvious, but this is a cop-out. How can Toyota Australia make a blanket statement that implies a dealer can behave in any way they like and still enjoy the comfort of having the Toyota shop front. What a load of crap. I'll bet if they stepped out of line on the terms of their franchise agreement with Toyota Australia, they would be told in double quick time to pull their heads in. Pathetic Toyota Australia.................

Since my last post I have obtained Northpoint's written assessment and an opinion from Adelaide's 'SRD' Toyota dealer that has an auto trans repair workshop AND and independent opinion from Rowell and Searle - a long standing and highly respected auto repairer here in Adelaide. The consensus from these FOUR reports is unanimous saying that that the transmission noise in UNACCEPTABLE and in one report that the noise is not typical for a 'vehicle of this type and kilometres travelled'. What's more the SRD dealer has stated in writing that the fault is one for which 'Toyota has developed field fix parts for'. So...Toyota Australia knows about the fault in these transmissions and has fixed plenty of them under new car warranty in the past. Its a manufacturing defect, which I understand results in premature wear in the auto box. I have issued the selling dealer with a letter of demand to either provide an unconditional refund OR repair the transmission at their cost. I have complained to Toyota Australia who are sending someone to drive the car next week, however I am firmly of the belief that this is now an issue of consumer law, not technical assessment. Judging by the lack of response from the selling dealer, Consumer Affairs Victoria will be engaged to intervene on this matter mid next week. Rest assured that if this dealer, which operates from Victoria, does not repair the transmission, I will expose them on this site (moderators willing). It is a disgrace that their attitude to date has been to refuse to accept liability for the fault - hardly acceptable behaviour for a Toyota Dealer. If this is what you have to go through to get a statutory warranty honoured, it is indeed a disgrace. No wonder people shy away from second hand car dealers.

Hi Megan, Wow what a result !! Thanks so much for sending me your post as I had not actually thought of this as a way forward. I'm not as far advanced in the process as you were and am currently waiting to see if the dealer has a view about their liability. One thing is for sure - if they decide that the noise is 'operationally acceptable' they are going to have a fight on their hands. Like I said the RAA is firmly of the view the noise results from a mechanical fault that should be repaired. Interesting that you report their comment that 'its not the worst they've heard'. That's exactly what I got from the service adviser at Northpoint.... quite frankly that means squat. When I asked the service adviser what OBJECTIVE criteria they have for assessing the noise, she said 'experience'. Well excuse me for being literal but 'experience' is not an objective critereon on which to base an assessment of mechanical noise. The interference with the sound system listening, the fact it can be easily heard with the fan on its second to highest setting AND that it is tonally annoying are objective criteria that all point to a major problem. More to come on this in a few days !! Cheers.

Hi there, I'm new on TOCA but have just bought a 2009 SX6 with 43,000kms on the clock and a transmission whine. Very disappointing and most of all totally unexpected for a Toyota I thought. I'm talking to the dealer about getting it fixed under Statutory Warranty as per Ashren's post above. Very encouraging, thanks Ashren. I've had the noise assessed by RAA in SA and they say its a mechnical fault that needs repair. I'm just hoping that either Toyota or the Peter Davey at Werribee will do the right thing. The whining noise occurs from 40 - 70km/h irrespective of which gear you are in and is at its loudest when the engine and transmission are at full operating temperature. Here are some objective criteria to compare; With the radio on volume 15, I can easily here the whining noise mixed with the music that's playing. With the ventialtion fan on second to highest setting (and radio off), I can hear the noise quite clearly despite the fan noise in the car. With no background noise in the car the noise in tonally annoying to listen too and I want it fixed. When the car went to Northpoint in Adelaide for assessment recently, the Dealer Master Technician (the most learned technical chap) he admitted the noise was very noticeable and said that if it was his car he would not be happy. Well, welcome to my world !!! I'll keep you all posted on progress, but it could be a long process. I would be grateful for any members sharing their experiences on this, especially if you have had a successful repair under warranty like Ashren did. Cheers.