Looking for a new vehicle

So I want people's opinions/ideas on a new vehicle. Wife and I are looking to trade our 2007 Rav4. It burns oil, dealer refused to do the oil consumption TSB (new piston rings) as it burning half a quart every 1,000 miles is "acceptable". I don't think it is, and I have no desire to start replacing cats to pass our state inspection every year like I did with my Corolla when it was burning oil.


The car also has an annoying habit of throwing a CEL after it rains (some ECU fault if I recall, I couldn't scan it when it happened this week). Dealer wanted $94 just to check the damn code. On top of that they wanted $1500 to replace the rusted muffler (meanwhile my 1 yr, 30,000 mile older truck has it's muffler intact). So needless to say I'm frustrated with the dealer and Toyota in general.

Oh, and every time a CEL comes on CC, VSC, and 4WD get disabled. That alone pisses me off because we bought the Rav for the 4WD!! Now we need to carry a code reader around with us just turn the god damn 4WD back on during the winter! (Toyota apparently doesn't view this as a safety issue, but will gladly notify me 3 times per vehicle to get my gas pedal shortened and floor mats bolted down.)

We need something to seat 7 anyway (eldest step daughter moved in with us after we bought this) so we've been kicking around the idea of a bigger vehicle anyway. Now with this BS, and the potential repair bills caused by the oil burning, we're getting serious about trading.

But I don't want to get into the same situation with another vehicle.

A Tacoma is out, due to seating capacity mostly. What does everyone else with a larger family drive? What issues have you had? Any models to avoid?

Really getting frustrating with this, so thanks for any info!

 

minivan, or 4runner if they have 3rd row seating

 

your budget would help get a better answer.toyota siennas have an available awd a reliable and peppy 3.5 v6.

 

If you get a small SUV or crossover, the 3rd row seats are for small children I would say. I am 6' 1" and sat in the 3rd seat of a 4runner and was cramped, same way with the Highlander and Venza. I'd get a full SUV for comfort but the MPGs wouldn't be as good as a smaller SUV but would be more comfortable. If you don't mind driving a minivan like the above user said, I would go that route.

 

Honda Pilot or Chevy Traverse if you don't want another Toyota. I'd go with the Honda.

 

My moms 08 rav4 is junk too. It knocks like a diesel, the rear brakes get rust ridges very quickly and constantly make grinding noises, rattles everywhere inside, and the 4wd system is retarded the way it only works up to 20 mph or whatever. It needed snow tires just to handle in winter. The leather seems pretty cheap and thin too. All around, the thing is just a poor toyota product.

 

Looking at vans or a 4-runner sized SUV. She likes the Mitsubishi Outlander. Might be out of our price range though.

Not really sure. Looking at $300-$400 a month maybe. Looking more for models that would be reliable or have known issues, and then see what's available around here.

Thanks. I thought the same about most 3rd row seats. The Rav and 4-Runner where damn near just 2" cushions laid flat on the floor. Not good for anyone bigger than a toddler. Wife and I are both 5'10-5'11 and the kids seems to be shaping up to be about the same size. The 6 and 8 yr old would be ok for a couple years maybe.

We want 4WD/AWD, but that leaves only the Toyota Sienna in the mini-van range. With our snowfall and mountains we really want the added traction. It's a nice van, but Toyota's track record is scaring me now. (93 Tercel,98 Corolla,07 Rav4 all burned oil.)

I'll look into those! You have or know people that have either one? I've thought about the Traverse a few times. How reliable are they?

Yup, that's what we're seeing. Ours rattles too. I forgot to mention the swaybar links broke, and we had to fix those. And seriously! The 4WD turns off with a CEL?!?! WTF! If it was all "computer controlled functions" then why does the ABS still work? Shitty programming.

 

Wife and I rented a 2013 GMC Acadia recently (same thing as the Traverse, i think). It was a really nice vehicle. It had a peppy engine for the size, handled pretty well, all wheel drive, 3rd row seating, touchscreen controls, and rode nice. Quiet too. We were thinking about getting one, then saw the 43,000 dollar price tag. It did not get very good gas mileage though, we were getting around 17 mpg over about 1000 miles, almost all highway. We want a 3rd traveling vehicle but couldnt justify the cost for what we need, so now we're looking into getting a Subaru Forester.

 

I've ridden in both because I have family who have each. The Traverse is nice but I hear the gas mileage sucks and so does the resale value because a lot of car rental companies use them and then the market floods with used cars. The Honda is nice and it's probably what my wife and I will get when we outgrow the Forester, unless Subaru makes a bigger vehicle with a third row or the highlander gets better gas mileage.

 

get a sienna! if my memory serves me well the only sienna with the AWD is the SE (the sport one)

 

Yeah, $43k is damn near what we paid for the house! So Yeah, I can see why you passed on that.

Interesting point on the Traverse. Haven't really looked into them that much.

Ugh. Really? Thanks for the headsup! My wife has a phobia about Mitsubishi's after getting run over by a semi in one! She had a Mirage and it bogged down when she floored it instead of accelerating and she couldn't get out of the way of the trailer crossing lanes on what we call "Kamikaze Curve" around here, due to the 5 lanes merging to 3, up around a mountain, banked...

Although she seems to have gotten over that enough to fall for the Outlander. Then again, maybe because so far it's the only SUV we've seen with a place to put your feet in the 3rd row since the seats lift out of the floor, leaving room to drop your feet down. Every other SUV looks like a seat cushion tossed on the floor, forcing your knees to your chin if you're more than 2 ft tall.

Yeah, we've found that to be true. Other vans have traction control without AWD, but I'm not sure how well that works in 2WD. I should just get her a 4x4 Ford Econoline and pimp it out!

 

I see a lot of Pilots on the road and don't see them on tow trucks. A Sequoa might just be too damn big, friggin thing is a school bus

 

I recommend the sienna with awd or the odyssey if you don't care about awd. The rest of the mini vans are junk.

The honda pilot is a really nice ride too.

 

Yeah, those sequoia's were HUGE! Like putting an SUV back on the truck. She already is concerned about blind spots in a minivan. She'd need 3 spotters for one of those! Also, I haven't seen one in ages! Do they even make them anymore?

I saw a Nissan Armada at one of the dealerships. Looked nice, but I think it had 100k on it or so. No idea if that's high for one of them or not, but it looked so big. Then again, with our small army of rebels...ahem... children, maybe she needs to learn to drive something bigger. Would certainly allow for more guns and ammo along with troops.

That's what I keep hearing about the sienna! And none of the other minivans have really impressed us.

 

The Sienna or Odyssey for minivans, '03-'09 4Runners were available with third row seating for 7 passengers.

 

This...

 

Mini van or a honda pilot. I can comfortably seat 7 in my pilot.

 

None of the 7-pass SUVs have adult-sized 3rd-row seats.

High oil consumption doesn't appear to be an issue with current generation of Toyota vehicles, including the '08+ RAV4s.

I'd recommend the Sienna LE AWD.

 

Cool thanks. How is it overall? Any issues to be aware of or anything that bothers you about it?

Do you know if they changed something with the 08+? My 93 tercel, 98 Corolla, and now this 07 Rav all burned oil. I just assumed the previous two were mostly due to high mileage. I think I had 100k on the Tercel before trading it due to consuming a quart every 2-3 weeks. Then with the Corolla I heard rumors the cylinders were slightly larger than needed, Toyota made up for with larger rings, and once those wore down a little the oil burning started. Don't know if that was true or not, but given the TSB for the Rav (and half a dozen other models that use that engine) calls for new rings I'm starting to think that's a trend with Toyota. Of the 4 I've owned my truck is the ONLY one to not noticeably burn oil, and still show full on the dipstick at 5k. Still getting a p0430 code on it like the car did with it's oil clogged cat, but at least the dipstick shows full instead of just the very tip like the Rav is doing.

And honestly, the oil thing isn't a deal breaker! I can clear codes and I could chip it to bypass the code if it became prohibitively expensive to replace the cat. I just hate the fact that a code comes up while driving and suddenly 4WD and VSC stop working! That's the most retarded thing I've seen in a long time! I get the p0430 code on my truck on a weekly basis. Doesn't matter if I reset it or not, my 4WD still works!

 

Maybe this is a dumb question, but what's high mileage these days? What would be high enough to say no, and move on to another vehicle?

I know my Corolla had 190k on it when I traded it, but that was with a second tranny and a second clutch in the new (used) tranny, and that one was starting to go. Body was good, but the engine burned oil and I replaced both master and slave cylinders before the clutch. So I probably should have just done the tranny. Previous clutch replacement blew up and thus the new tranny so it seems they don't like to be replaced.

Truck is at 120K, new clutch a couple years ago, and 3 new wheel bearings. I think the first replacement was cheap as it died within a year, last 2 from Monro were more expensive.

The Rav is at 97k, bought it 3 yrs ago with around 48k I think.

I'd like it to last at least 5 years until it's paid off.