c32kompressor

Just a quick update guys. Well I've been adding the Lucas fuel additive in my last 3 refills, and since then I have not seen any dramatic change in fuel savings or power. However, the improvement I have noticed is definitely in my morning start up. It has been smoother than before I had used the product. So I guess it does have some benefits. As for the fuel economy, maybe that'll take a few more fill ups. I'll be driving up to Sydney in couple of weeks so maybe the fuel economy will shine on the open road!!! Fingers crossed!!! But I guess the real test for the fuel efficiency will be on my drive up to Brisbane and back. Anyway I'll keep you guys posted.

Hi Guys, Well today I have just purchased this fuel additive that claims to improve both power and fuel efficiency. I have used Lucas products before on older cars and was satisfied with the results. My Rav4 2.4 CV auto 2008 has 45,000km now and the fuel efficiency that I am getting from it is the best it has ever been since new. It just seems as more time goes by, the better the fuel efficency gets as well. Anyway since the engine has now done a few k's, I thought I would experiment with this product. Last year I drove from Canberra to Brisbane over the xmas holidays and this year I am planning to do the same. The best fuel economy I have gotten so far is about 580Km (highway) before the low fuel light comes on (which means that there is about 10 litres left in the tank). So 580km out of 50 litres is not too bad. I'm wondering if this Lucas product will better that this time. I bought a litre for $18 from super cheap autos and will pour it everytime I fill up in the month of November. I just want to see of there are any dramatic improvements. If so, I'll buy another bottle before my trip and use it then as well to see how well it does in the open road. I'll keep you guys updated with the results. If anyone has used it or any general comments, please do share.

My Rav is now just over 2 years old. It's a 2.4 CV auto and when I bought (new) the fuel economy was horrible. I would get some like 360km before the fuel light would come on. When the fuel light comes on, there is still about 10 litres in the tank. My what I have realsied is that everyday I'm getting better fuel economy. I've used premium fuels from day one. I mostly use 98 RON but 95 RON at servos that do not have 98. Now 2 years on with just under 45,000km, on the highway I can get 580KM brfore the fuel light comes on. So it's pretty much getting 580km from around 50 litres of fuel. I'm pretty happy with that. I think the worst fuel economy I got was till about 15,000km and then it started improving and but after the 40,000km mark, the fuel economy is the best that I have had.

Thanks Buff Hamster. The Yokos really look good now and love the thread pattern as well. I was thinking of Yoko initially as well but more for the Geolander as I didn't know of the Prada. But I think I'm sold on these and once I get them I'll keep you guys posted on the performance. Thanks again.

I've done about 44,000 km on my Rav and need the factory tyres replaces. I'm going be replacing all 4 by the time I hit 50,000. The tyres are pretty expensive and not really sure which ones to go for and the size is also not that common which means less choices. Bob Jane has Bridgestone Dueler A/T for $299 each. Because of the uncommon tyre size it's hard to browse for prices online. I was also thinking of looking into Cooper Tyres, Kuhmo, Yokohama, Toyo etc. Does anyone recommend anything that is pretty good all round. And if anyone has used Cooper Tyres oe knows of prices that would be much appreciated as well. I'm particularly interested in them because in the TV Adverts they comment on the fact that they have 30% more tread which means more tyre life. So I guess a I would like to do a cost benefit analysis on that.

My standard rule of thumb is to at least visit 3 dealerships. When I purcahsed the Rav I actually spent 2 weeks shopping around and visited 4 dealerships. I got quotes from each one, I guess they did fight for my business. I got a pretty good deal as well. So was happy with that. With car dealerships you must always negotiate!!!

$600+ is quite steep. I don't have reverse sensors and find the Rav pretty easy to park (reverse park, pararell park etc). I'm sure you'll also get used to it. But it all comes down to your skills in the end. If you feel more comfortable with reverse sensors, maybe its a good investment now rather than later just in case.

True that the RAV is FWD most of the time, it's AWD always at start up (of the line), and the rear wheels do not only come in when the ecu detect the front wheels slipping, it also anticipates slippage e.g. high speed cornering. It's also true that you can manually lock the AWD by the manual over-ride button upto speeds of 40km/h, but this does not mean that the AWD does not kick in over 40km/h. Its just that the manual over-ride will hold the AWD in place even if it is not necessary.

Hey guys, I moved from Perth last year in October. I've been to the toyota meets there. Had a red Sportivo then. Got that traded and currently have a RAV. Wouldn't mind going to any Toyota Meets that Canberra has to offer. Cheers

Hi, Initially I did try and change my driving style by being very light on the pedal...but that it very frustrating and I don't think that I achieved a lot of benefit from it. What I can see is that as the kilometres are racking up, the fuel economy does get better. I can almost average 10km/Litre now. It's a little bit more than that but close enough when you combine the ciy/highway cycle. With the RAV I guess after the initial fuel consumption shock, things get better lol. I wonder if the same is true for the CR-V and others like it. A frind of mine has an X-Trail and he too, went through the initial shock with the fuel consumption but with his car it has also gotten better with time. I also found that the RAV performs and delivers the best fuel economy with Caltex's Vortex 98. Since the car was new I used BP Ultimate, but now I try and use the Vortex as I feel that overall the car performs and delivers better performance and fuel economy.

Try www.redbook.com.au They can give you a range for trade in values and private sale values.

Hi Sandshoe, I'm glad you had fun on your travels. Good to see people using their RAVs to their fullest potential. I just wanted to make a similar comment on an issue that you have noticed. I have 08 RAV CV that I bought brand new and it has just over 30,000km atm. I have never towed anything with it but go travelling within often. I too have noticed that sometimes when the cruise control is on, the car downshifts to 3rd (as mine is a 4 spd auto) on uphills and when the road levels up, it remains in 3rd for a long time before going to 4th and overdrive. Like you said, if you manually shift it from D to 3 (in my case) and back to D it shifts up. But on its own it can stay stuck in 3rd for a while. It doesn't happen all the time but rarely. The thing is, the car is never loaded either and its just me and my partner in the car. So there is no real load. I'm just guessing that the RAV feels that there might be another hill coming up, so just stays stuck in a lower gear LOL. Other than that, it's a great car and really good for travelling long distances.

I forgot to tell you that as for the fuel consumption, I keep my tyres at 38 psi instead of the 32 psi that is recommended. The result in ride quality is a bit stiffer but not unbearable at all. Also feels like there is less body roll.

Hey, The fuel economy can shock you when the car is new. I know that I got a shock lol. But over time it does get better. For example, the first week I had the Rav, I only got something like 320km from 50 something litres of petrol (I also only have used 98RON sicnce new) This was mostly city driving. But after it did about 12,000km the fuel economy improved. Now that it has done 30,000km, I get I average about 10.5 Litres/100km. The best I got on highway driving is about 11.6 Litres/100km. So its does improve over time. Tyres are another story. At around 16,000km I got a screw in my front tyres sidewall. These cannot be fixed and as I had to replace only one tyre, I had to by the OEM Bridgestone that came with the car and these are expensive. I got 1 for $320!!! So, then I got the spare and put it on the front as well so that both the front tyres were brand new. But remember, when you need to change all 4's, you don't have to put these tyres. Yokohama, Toyo, Kuhmo all have tyres that are substatially cheaper. I got a quote for a Kuhmo and that was like $220 per tyre. So when I change all 4's I'll go for some other brand. One of the best things about the Rav is the handling. There is body roll and understeer when you corner at speed, but the steering feel is direct and better than the other SUVs that I test drove. The steering feel is really like a car. Another option with tyres is that, when its time to replace all 4, you can get a rim and tyre package from Tempe tyres and give the whole car a new look. At least that is something I'm thinking of doing when I have to change all 4 tyres. Well, good luck with your hunt for a new car, and I can assure you that if you get the RAV, you won't regret it. Beside Toyota has some promotion at the moment, so you might get a good deal. Another thing is that when you buy a Toyota these days, they come with the Toyota Advantage Plan which has fixed price servicing for the first 60,000km or 3 years. When I bought the car it meant that for these services I only pay $150. I think they might have pushed it up to $170 now.

I'm not too sure how to answer your questions as not too sure about the mods you are considering. But there is this other RAV owner that had done a few mods for towing etc. Here is the link: http://www.4wdmonthly.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=58487 :)

Hey guys, I bought my RAV new in Oct 2008 and since then it's all been good. Have owned Toyotas forever and this is my first SUV. I bought it in Perth but move to Canberra in Oct 2009 for work. Since I've been on the East Coast have had the pleasure of driving the RAV from Canberra to Brisbane (by myself non-stop other than refueling), drove it to Melbourne and my partner and I are always driving it to Sydney on weekends. I just got the 30,000km service done to and they told me that my front brakes might need to be done on the 40,000km service. Its pretty good on the open road, but even I had known that I was gonna move to the East Coast and do so much highway driving I might have opted for the V6. But the 2.4 4 pot does a pretty good job other than when I set cruise control and the slightest up hill climb can send the auto box into a frenzy, down shifting and up ****fing the whole time. But have gotten used to it now and it doesn't really bother me. While in Perth I did a lot of sand driving in the dunes and on the beaches. It was quite fun and the RAV is quite capable as well. Something I'm going to miss in Canberra. But can't wait for the winter to take it in the snow to see how it does there. We did a bit of driving in snow, right at the end of the ski season last year when we moved here (tried to upload a pic but I think its too big). I've also seen a few RAVs with 18" and 19" rims. Thinking I might get some from Tempe Tyres as I'm just a couple of hours from them now. There's also a few RAVs with after market rims on Tempe Tyres' website. They look pretty cool. You guys might want to check it out. I'll take pics time to time and post them up. I plan on keeping the RAV for a while as in the last few years I bought too many cars (all new) and then traded them in and lost a lot of $$$. LOL. Anyway a lesson learnt. But I've always loved the Kluger, the looks especially, and now that the new Prado is out, I love that too. I also heard that the FJ Cruiser (on sale in the US since 2006 or 2008 I think) might be finally coming down under. So, I better keep the options open to upgrade. I hope everyone is enjoying their RAVs as much as I am and I hope all the negative media around Toyota has not affected our attitude towards Toyota negatively. They do build good solid products but they also messed up when they took over GM as the largest car manufacturer. I guess they grew too fast since then and maybe cut corners. But they have always innovated. They perfected the just-in-time production lines which people will still read about in economics books. I think they'll learn from their mistakes and make even better products. Anyway, as I find myself babbling on, I will post more pictures as my journey continues.

I've used my RAV on the beach a bit and also on sand dunes. Tyre pressure and momentum are the key things as it has been mentioned before. The 4WD system that can be manually activated does stay on til 40 km/h and that in the sand on the beach or on sand dunes seems to be pretty fast. So as long as your tyre pressure is about 20 psi, I do not think it'll be a problem. Just make sure when you finally decide to stop, that you stop on moderately hard sand, otherwise going is going to be an issue. Another point to note is that if you do get slightly stuck, don't the slam on the accelarator and dig your self in the sand so that you bottom out. If going forward is an issue, try putting it into reverse and most of the times it seems to back out and you can continue with your fun in the sand.

Hi guys, I just relocated from Perth to Canberra as I have a new job. Took my Rav last weekend to Perisher (about 200km from Canberra). These are the snow fields and they just had a fresh batch of snow. In some parts, where it was quite icy it got pretty scary as the posiibilty to get stuck was pretty high. Especially if you were parked and then wanted to take off. Does anyone know if the tyres pressures need to be adjusted for icy or snowy conditions. I usually keep the tyres at 35-36 psi. I know in WA, on the beach I would deflate the tyres to about 20 psi. :)

I bought my 2008 CV brand new last year in Oct for 32,000 driveaway and included floor mats, 12 months rego and tint. Had to bargain with 4 different dealerships to get that price though. Finally got it from New Town Toyota in Perth.

Very nice...I was thinking of getting 18" but after seeing yours might go the 20s". Did you get them from tempe tyres? How much were they? any error on the speedo? Nice mate. Congrats!

Hey Nellie. For a second there I could not believe what I saw. That's my old car. I traded it in last year around this time for a RAV4 as I wanted a car more for exploring and going to the beach and stuff. The Sportivo still looks awesome. Use to love it!!! Waxed and polised every month. And loved the colour, though it scrathes to easy. Good to see you are taking good care of it. Small world!

Hey guys, Just wondering if there are any RAV4 owners in Canberra? Going to be moving there in about a month to start a new job. Pretty excited about taking the RAV in the snow...if there is any snow left by the time I get there?

I wouldn't get rid of my RAV...it's great for weekend getaways...before that I had a 05 Stivo and I miss that dearly...but anyway...I don't think I'd get a diesel and pay $3000 premium over a petrol model...$3000 still buys a lot of petrol...Had a yaris along with the RAV that I sold recently...maybe that was a mistake...but I'd definitly consider buying a second car again, something like the Honda Jazz if petrol keeps rising...and in all my cars I only use 98RON...so something like that Jazz would be perfect around the city....

That could be right. I have a 2.4 and the best city driving I get about 8.2 km per litre. But I have had about 6.7Km per litre as well. Yeah in start - stop traffic the RAV seems drink quite a bit. The only thing I've learnt, is to keep my right foot just tapping the accelarator!

Yeah the original deluxe nudge bars with the rubber and the Rav4 stamp do look nice. And original Toyota accessories are a way to go as well...I might get some as well...I was aslo thinking about the side steps too...I like tham as well...Congrats on the car...I'm sure you'll have lots of fun with it...Great Car!