RAV4 problems, need new TV

[Glenn Baglo]

Thanks Carol.
It's all in the details, which we often don't get here on the web.

[Mike Magee]

My Highlander just had the spiral cable (in steering column, going to the air bags) replaced for a second time, this time under recall warranty; first time cost me $700 3 years ago. And they did the brake/accelerator update as well; this will kill the fuel supply if both pedals are pressed simultaneously, they told me. While it was in there, the (Jim Norton Toyota, Tulsa) service adviser gave me a cockamamie story about my CV boot leaking lubricant and the timing chain cover having a serious oil leak. Funny, there are zero oil spots on my driveway, and I crawled under the thing and couldn't find any fresh grease anywhere around the boots. I hope I never have another recall to deal with, because I never want to go back to the local dealerships... don't trust 'em one bit.

I do get a bit of noise in the unibody from the trailer towing... mostly an occasional loud clank! at highway speeds, which seems to be the flexing of underbody sheet metal. Somewhat unnerving, but I can't see any deleterious effects underneath so I just keep on truckin'. For now. Would like to buy something else soon, though....

Del Gue, my Highlander has 270 HP and 240 lb-ft torque. It has towed a 17' Burro in the Rockies as well as a 16' KZ Escape E14RB which was nearly identical floor plan to that Idea trailer. The Highlander had no problem towing the Burro up the long grades at high altitude. But it did struggle sometimes with the KZ. The extra wind resistance of a squared-off, conventional build 'stickie' trailer is very noticeable. I got 14 mpg towing the Burro, but 12 mpg towing the KZ.

I would like to go with more horses under the hood with my next vehicle, so I agree with your thinking... get "more than enough" and never have to worry. The Ford 5L V8 is a nice engine. So is the 5.7L Hemi in the Ram, Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango. Even if you changed your mind and someday bought a trailer in the 20'-25' range, these would still do the job. Or you could go turbo with the Ford 3.5L Ecoboost or the Ram/Jeep 3L Ecodiesel; the turbo has less engine braking, true, but it will hardly lose any power in thinner mountain air (a normally aspirated engine loses about 2% of HP per 1000' of altitude, I've heard). Any of these will tow a Scamp like a bat out of... the bat-cave.

If you want to buy stuff for long term use, I'd recommend the Scamp and one of the Ram/GC/Durango family. Here's why. The stick built TTs are built to last a short while; the sun's UV rays and low-hanging branches take their toll on the seams, and the beating the TT takes on the roads will work to loosen up everything that is attached with fasteners (which is pretty much everything!). But the Scamp's body is like having a one piece unit which includes the interior cabinet bodies and stuff. It's all molded and FG-bonded together. Lots less to maintain, much more durable, and loads better resale value. As for why to get a Chrysler product for long term, I say that because you can buy a lifetime max care extended service contract from Chrysler that will cover just about everything but the obvious wear items, for as long as you own it or until the repair costs more than the vehicle's value (at which time they pay you the vehicle's value, and they're done). This is not available on the diesel vehicles, regrettably, but you can get it on just about any other new vehicle they make. Unless you enjoy doing all of your own repairs, this deal could save you a ton.

[VicCT]

Hi y'all, just checking back in so you know I am still around and reading. I love how conversations on here ping and pong all over. Wayne, if I were you I would get the V8. While I do plan on driving around out west in the mountains a couple/few times in my truck, if I lived there I would want more truck. And since you don't know the trailer you will be getting, makes most sense to make sure you are covered. Like you, I don't like to push the tow capacity, which I why I bought a Frontier to tow a little 13' front bunk scamp.

We had quite the snowstorm in CT today, so I did not hear from my dealer re: delivery date. Spent a significant amount of time on the inter webs trying to figure out things like which tonneau cover/which roof rack/will new leather void my warranty or interfere with side air bags/which side rails have brackets that won't rust in the northeast. Basically, with all of the add ons I will have to buy to get my rig ready, well, let's not think about it.

Thanks for all of your input on accessories. Right now, leaning toward the BAKflipG2 tonneau cover (don't want to climb around inside a shell with my bad back). That's about the only decision I have kind of almost made. But I am going to drive the truck for awhile first and see how I am using it before I decide.

Regarding the Toyota issue, I don't want to post about it before I have finished the deal. Should be picking up my truck Wednesday or Thursday. Will provide details after that. Suffice to say, not happy at all with Toyota.

[VicCT]

forgot to thank Carol for the brake controller removal instructions. Done! Re: side mirrors, I will cross that bridge when Spring approaches, but those are some serious mirrors! Re: leather, I was quoted $1100 for the whole thing, and these are sewn on. But I just read some stuff about Nissan not wanting anyone to reupholster or put on seat covers because it interferes with the side airbags. Have to check on that.

[Mary F]

Several posts have been removed from Vicki's thread about RAV4 problems, and sent to a topic of their own:

Vehicle for Mountains.

A couple of the posts have been duplicated so they could be in both places.

I hope this helps!

[Mike Magee]

Great job, Mary!

Vicki, pretty soon you get to change your forum profile to include your snazzy new Frontier. How exciting!

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by VicCT

forgot to thank Carol for the brake controller removal instructions. Done! Re: side mirrors, I will cross that bridge when Spring approaches, but those are some serious mirrors! Re: leather, I was quoted $1100 for the whole thing, and these are sewn on. But I just read some stuff about Nissan not wanting anyone to reupholster or put on seat covers because it interferes with the side airbags. Have to check on that.

When I bought a set of seat covers for my new 2014 truck the auto supply shop checked to make sure that the seat covers I purchased would not interfere with the operation of the air bags in my vehicle . Many of the seat cover boxes listed that the enclosed seat covers should not be used with certain vehicles because they would not allow the air bags to properly deploy. Nissan may have good reason for not wanting the seat covers to be modified or changed

[War Eagle]

Originally Posted by Mary F

Several posts have been removed from Vicki's thread about RAV4 problems, and sent to a topic of their own

Mary, I bet you love creating a new topic thread only to see the discussion in that new thread take off in yet another whole different direction! I guess that's why they pay forum administrators and moderators the big big bucks!!

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

There is another court case coming up against Toyota . One of the litigants is a St Paul Minnesota man who was convicted of vehicular manslaughter and spent 2 years in prison. He contended that his Toyota suddenly accelerated causing the accident. Toyota testified that they had no knowledge of any problems with sudden acceleration ,which was an out right lie . The gentleman is now free from prison and awaiting his day in court against Toyota. I hope Toyota pays dearly for the two years this man lost out of his life

The St Paul man who was wrongly accused & convicted of vehicular manslaughter won his court case yesterday against Toyota and was awarded $1,000,000 .The family of the young girl who died in the accident was awarded $4,000,000 . Plus Toyota was ordered to pay some additional monies totaling $11,000,000 but no explanation was given . The awards seem rather small for the pain & suffering that occurred

[War Eagle]

Originally Posted by VicCT

Update: spent all day at dealer, test drove a variety of tvs, ended up with Nissan Frontier SV, brand new.

Hey Vicki, How are you getting along with that new Frontier? I hope it's turning out to be everything you needed/wanted and more. Regarding a bed covering, another on this forum sometime back offered the following advice for those towing with a pickup. Stow everything needed inside the camper for camping inside the camper for towing. And stow everything needed outside the camper for camping in the pickup. So knowing how much stuff you want outside the camper while camping will give you an idea of the capacity of the camper shell you need to stow everything in the bed of the pickup. Or something like that. Kind of makes sense.... Dale

[Borden]

We had the same problem but the dealer fixed it on a recall for the same problem; some at first 'the dealer' just wanted to blame the drivers (us) then the recall.

Our car has worked out well for us. It is too bad your experience did not have a happy ending like ours.

[War Eagle]

Originally Posted by VicCT

We had quite the snowstorm in CT today, so I did not hear from my dealer re: delivery date.

Hey Vicki, It's been about a month since your above post. I assume you've received your new Frontier by now. On a "Happy" scale of 1-10, how are you liking your new ride/tow vehicle so far? How is it getting along in all that snow you've been getting up there this winter? Curious minds want to know! Dale

[VicCT]

Hi all, sorry I have not responded in so long. We had a series of unfortunate incidents, including the unexpected loss of a dear friend and a skiing accident for my son (he is ok now), that have kept us off our game for since right after I took delivery of the truck. Reaffirmation that we should not put off for tomorrow what we can enjoy today, and tell the people you love that you love them.

So yes, been driving the Frontier and aside from difficulties parking in tight spaces, I love having a pickup. I do wish I had gotten the longer bed as my bikes won't fit without removing a tire, but lesson learned there. I installed an Extang Solid Fold tonneau cover, which has worked very well to keep the snow out. I will probably leave it off when camping, especially if bringing bikes. And I just installed a Thule traverse roof rack, which clamps onto the cab roof through the door jam, and fairing to reduce wind resistance. It is a very solid fit, and my Yakima kayak mounts will work with it.

The leather interior came out perfect, looks like factory or better. The truck rides great. Have not towed with it yet but I suspect it will be no problem. Oh, and she drove fabulously in the snow, no problems at all.

I will post photos after I manage to take some. 😊 Will need to wait for some sunshine, which could be a while around here.

[War Eagle]

Originally Posted by VicCT

I will post photos after I manage to take some. Will need to wait for some sunshine, which could be a while around here.

Hey Vicki, It's been a couple months since you posted the above. Still no sunshine up there in Connecticut for those photos you promised us? I hope you're still happy with that new Frontier for your tow vehicle. Let us know how it's going. Curious minds want to know. Others on this forum are considering a new Frontier and will benefit from your recent experience and insight... Dale

[VicCT]

Hi all, and thanks Dale for the callback. Sorry I have not been good about posting photos of my Frontier doing fun things. That is mostly due to the fact that we have not had the Frontier out doing fun things. I have had a couple of injuries that led to a slow start to the camping season, and I am having shoulder surgery next week that will seriously curtail the rest of my camping season. But we are planning on sneaking away this weekend to the Otis Reservoir nearby in Massachusetts, our first and only trip until late August, so I will get some towing photos then.

Generally speaking I have been very happy with the Frontier as a daily driver. Not sure on mpg, I don't usually bother measuring. Not great of course. But we knew that. It is a very comfy vehicle, I think mostly because I added the aftermarket leather and an aftermarket inflatable lumbar support. Love those. Highly recommended, since the dealer package with leather is ridiculously expensive and includes lots of other stuff that you might not need.

We have solved the problem of bikes not fitting in the bed by draping a $5 walmart rubber mat over the tailgate and hanging the front wheel over the tailgate. The rest of the bike sits in the bed. Just turn the handlebars and wheel to the side. Doing that, we can fit a bike on either side of the bed and plenty of stuff in between. We use a separate rubber mat for each bike, so the backup camera isn't blocked. Works great. Thule and Yakima sell $100 plus wraps for your tailgate, but they would block the camera and, well, they are ridiculously expensive. A flexible rubber mat works great.

A kayak has already been dropped on the hood (not by me!), so it has been "Christened." Having the body shop look to see if they can buff the scratches out this week.

The only problem I have had is that when we pulled the Scamp out of storage two weeks ago, the running lights didn't work when towing. Brake and blinker lights work fine. Towed the scamp in to our trailer place and they said it was the truck. Brought it in last weekend and they agree it's the truck, and are spending today tracing the wiring to figure it out. It's under warrantee, of course.

Trying to think what else to share. Oh, my prodigy brake controller needed a wiring harness as an adapter to the plug under the dash. Very simple to install, but I had our trailer guy do it.

If anyone has any questions about purchasing a Frontier, feel free to ask me. Not on here much this year because of extenuating circumstances, but if you post in this thread or send me a pm I will get a notification.

Happy trails all!

Vicki

[VicCT]

One more thing - - a ball mount with a four inch drop leveled out the trailer perfectly for us. That's with the Frontier SE (others have different tire sizes) and with an empty bed, mostly empty trailer, one full propane tank and a battery on the tongue. Once we load up the bed and put some weight in the front of the trailer I expect the nose will dip a little forward, which is fine.

[Mike Magee]

I wouldn't be too concerned about scratches. Trucks were made to do work and to get bumps and dings.

[VicCT]

Oh I'm really not concerned. If it can't be easily buffed out it's fine. It's pretty extensive, though -- light scratching covering a large area of the hood, as the kayak slid all the way down the hood. Someone was afraid to come home and tell me. 😉

[VicCT]

Just got back from camping with the new set up. Here are some photos.

[VicCT]

Having some trouble with photos.