2001 Toyota RAV4 Consumer Reviews

I've had my 2004 toyota for many years. Gone on cross country trips with no problems. It recently hit 198,000 in 2023 and it started giving me issues. I got a check engine light on and two other lights that concerned me. About 2 weeks after the initial lights turned on my car suddenly started staggering. It was the transmission(after many wrong diagnostics). Had to do an overhaul on it and thought everything was fine. The check engine light kept turning on. After a long and frustrating research I found out the PCM was faulty. Had to get that changed. Could of saved myself time and money if only I would have read reviews on KBB faster.

Very hard to find used; for good reason. Mine has 300k miles and runs and drives like new. This series ('turtle' RAV) was the best. Incredible utility, plenty of power, AWD, and very high resale value. Best features: Easily configured interior with removable rear seats and a heavy duty roof rack make hauling almost anything a breeze. Drive train is smooth. 2 4 litre is known to burn oil after 100k (in every application) but not alot. Performance is brisk. Ride is firm, but handling is excellent. MPG is typical for AWD (better with premium or ethanol free). Reliability is top of the class.

Mine has 296,000 hard miles on it and still runs great. If reliability is important to you Toyota vehicles are top of the class. AWD is a plus; but gas mileage is average because it's always engaged and doesn't have low/high range engagement. Power is adequate, but engine is kind of noisy especially when accelerating. Fully removable rear seats make the cargo compartment huge. Interior is comfortable when equipped with power seats and leather. Controls are logical and easy to use. A/C is ice cold even in lower settings. Overall a competent rugged vehicle with few surprises.

2005 Base model L with AWD and automatic transmission. Bought used in 2008 with 36,000 miles. Passed through the family starting with the parents and then into service for 3 years as my daughters high school transportation (tidy size, easy to park and drive, sits up, good road view, no blind spots, AWD helps in snow, no worries, no issues). Now in its present life as my weekend kayak and bicycle hauler. At 18 years old and 126,000 miles just starting to replace non maintenance items - alternator, thermostat, links in the rear suspension. No corrosion issues. Fuel consumption usually in the 23 to 26 MPG range. KBB still shows private party value as hovering around $7500. Not pretty, not fast, not stylish. But INCREDIBLY reliable heading towards 20 years (20 YEARS !) of daily service. Cheap to insure, parts are readily available. Simply one of the best vehicles I have ever owned. Just thumbs its nose at the current $800 per month average car payment insanity. Fully expect to make it to thirty years and 250,000 miles.

Good comfortable even after 21 years old. I got it used 2 years ago, had to have AC fixed and only had to fix one other small thing. The plastic pieces on the roof rack have gotten weathered and some have flown off on the highway but mechanically it is all good still. And still has a great look

Overated as being reliable. Has numerous well known issues Toyota was aware of and did very little to fix. Inferior valve guide seals allows for oil leaking into pistons and smoking, consuming oil. Also faulty ecm allowing damage to automatic transmissions. This is for 2nd generation. 3rd generation 2.4 liter engines consume excessive oil due to wrong oil rings in pistons.

I bought my 2004 car used in 2008, for under 10 grand, It's a 5 speed and I have no regrets. I love how the seats all fold down flat and I have so much cargo space. It's so reliable, has not left me stranded. No repairs have been needed, other then your normal wear and tear, tires, batteries and brakes. I only have 98,000 miles on it. I've owned about 5 cars in my lifetime and this has been my favorite cause of how versatile it is and how good it does on gas. No plans to sell it anytime soon. I recommend this gas saver if your able to find one.

There is not enough weight to the vehicle, so it likes to slide in normal conditions. No aerodynamics to the vehicle, so it likes to blow around real easy, especially on the freeways. Traction control causes many false issues causing the ABS to engage when not needed and unnecessary downshifting of the transmission. The only good thing about it is it's reliability.