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Old 03-31-2015, 05:02 PM   #41
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Asking me? Pix without and with WDH.
looks so much better with WDH, I think my rav would have handled so much better with one.
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Old 03-31-2015, 05:47 PM   #42
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Handles and rides much better.
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Old 03-31-2015, 07:57 PM   #43
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Since she states the problem occurs hooked or unhooked, I don't see how it can be called a "towing problem". First, get the vehicle fixed, then look to solving any towing problems that still exist...
AGREED!!
All this talk about possible problems towing are mute
till the vehicle drives proper not towing.
This is most likely a tire or suspension problem on the Rav
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Old 03-31-2015, 08:50 PM   #44
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I agree also! We know she has an issue with the Rav even when she is not towing. BTW....the vehicle IS certified, so she has a warranty for normally up to 100,000 miles! Take advantage of that before blowing money on another vehicle.
Lastly, those V6 Ravs are hard to find today and if you do find one in good shape they are asking a lot for them, keep that in mind should you trade. Toyota made a mistake when they stopped making the V6 in the Rav4. MHO.
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Old 03-31-2015, 10:24 PM   #45
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I sold Toyota for 5 years, I was the "truck champion" (highly trained and helped launch the first "BIG" Tundra in 2008"' I had a fellow employee that sold as well but he and his wife drive Rav 4's he is now in service (17 yrs with Toyota) call him his name is Joe Upton at Yokem Toyota Shreveport, La 318-798-3773 New Toyota & Used Car Dealers in Shreveport Louisiana | Yokem Toyota | Serving Marshall TX, Texarkana, Monroe LA tell him Mel Jordan sent ya!
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Old 04-02-2015, 08:28 AM   #46
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Steve, thanks for the suggestion on how to find an indy alginment shop. It's always scarry to just drive by some place and hope they know what they are doing. And for the add'l ideas that could be causing this situation. All very much fixable. I do have a warranty through Toyota for 125K miles with a $50 deductable as well. In fact it was just used to replace the rear wheel bearings.


Mel, I will definately do that if I cant get anywhere locally. In fact, I have a trip to TX planned this summer so if worse comes to worse I can take the darn thing to La.


Linda, ya, I thought trade in/resale would have been higher but from what I'm seeing in Auto Trader etc the rest of the world hasnt really caught on to the fact these babies are no longer available. Mine is fully loaded in perfect condition inside and out other than this handleing issue. Kindof like when Ford stopped makign the Ranger and prices are crazy now.


Thanks again guys! I'm printing out these wonderful suggestions!
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Old 04-02-2015, 10:17 AM   #47
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Warranty

Oh it's is still under warranty!

Like said many times here a good independent shop is a good idea but it will cost you $$'s.

Suggest going back to your Toy dealer and get the service manager to take it for a highway drive with you in the car too. Get him to acknowledge there is a handling issue. If he says there is nothing wrong then suggest to him you feel the car is not safe and will go to another Toy dealer. This might light a fire under his butt, give it another check over, and will cost you nothing. Generally speaking Toy dealers are top rated as far as customer services goes and will want to make you happy.

This latest Readers Digest reported that Toy dealers have the highest customer service rating of all car makers.......
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Old 04-02-2015, 10:32 AM   #48
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Where in the car is it most noticeable, check all four corners. Do you feel it in the steering wheel
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Old 04-02-2015, 10:53 AM   #49
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I think I would let him know that I will seek a second opinion if he does not find something, B 4 you go on the ride. I think that just might sharpen his abilities to find something.
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Old 04-02-2015, 12:40 PM   #50
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[QUOTE=MC1;513504]Oh it's is still under warranty!

Like said many times here a good independent shop is a good idea but it will cost you $$'s.


Ferget going to more than one dealer. Everything the first dealer finds, both good and bad, will go into the Toyota computer and all dealers have access to that based on your VIN. They will read that before doing anything.

If the dealer can't find and fix a problem, immediately contact the Toyota Regional Office and tell them that you have a SAFETY RELATED problem and get them involved.

Following past problems with certain models, Toyota is ultra sensitive to safety related issues..



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Old 04-02-2015, 01:04 PM   #51
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I only feel it in the steering wheel. It's like steering on ice. Towing makes it 100 times worse.

I will let Toyota know it's a safety issue and hopefully that gets their attention. I've told my service dept about it ever since I got the vehicle (25K miles ago) and they do their full inspection and come back with nothing. Since 95% of my driving is town and not more than 45 mph I've lived with it for 2 yrs but the rare instances I am on the highway I hate it and of course anytime I tow. I'm gonna aske them to take it on the highway this time even though it's about 15 miles away to get to it.

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Where in the car is it most noticeable, check all four corners. Do you feel it in the steering wheel
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Old 04-02-2015, 01:09 PM   #52
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[QUOTE=Bob Miller;513540]
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Originally Posted by MC1 View Post
Oh it's is still under warranty!

Like said many times here a good independent shop is a good idea but it will cost you $$'s.


Ferget going to more than one dealer. Everything the first dealer finds, both good and bad, will go into the Toyota computer and all dealers have access to that based on your VIN. They will read that before doing anything.

.
No two dealerships are the same as far as workmanship goes. The fact they can read what the other dealer did or did not do is not a bad thing. I have on more than one occasion taken a car (of different brands) to a different dealer when one failed to fix or acknowledge an on going issue. Had success with having the issue fixed by dealer #2 more than once.
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Old 04-02-2015, 01:40 PM   #53
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I only feel it in the steering wheel.
I know the feeling well. Years ago my mom had a perfectly good Mercury Comet that only had 24,000 miles on it. One Winter she slid off the road and hit some piled up hard ice. Ever since that she complained about a "loose" steering wheel feel. I drove the car and agreed. Something was wrong. Took it to the local Firestone shop and they replaced the ball joints. That made no difference in the "feel" and didn't fix the problem.

What a bunch of incompetent fools. A year earlier they replaced the ball joints and the car had only gone 3,000miles since then. DOUGH!

I took the car home, crawled under the car, and watched the steering arm motion as my mom turned the steering wheel left and then right. Visibly there was a huge amount of play coming from the obviously damaged hydraulic steering valve assembly. I picked a new one up from the Auto Parts store, installed it, problem solved. Just beware there are some idiot, cash grabbing shops out there.
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Old 05-08-2015, 03:26 PM   #54
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Just some thoughts on getting your dealer to cooperate with you, I'll share my experience.

About 20 years ago (before we could get good answers on the Internet), the transmission went out on my Volvo 240 GLE. This happened when the husband (former) gave a jump to a friend in a big truck with a dead battery. When I tried to drive away I had a reverse but 1st and 2nd were gone.

The dealer blamed us, saying we hadn't had dealer transmission maintenance. But we'd had careful maintenance with our independent guy we trusted implicitly. When I talked to him he knew exactly what I was talking about, saying that for a brief period some bad transmissions came out of Japan, and they were failing. Some of these had been used in Jaguars as well. (I think it was the "Z-f" transmission.)

When I shared this with the dealer, who still had our car parked, he refused to discuss and said the repair would cost us around $4000.

Soooo, back then we didn't have yelp, very few ways of forcing this guy's hand. My tack was to create a flier, sharing all of the information about this transmission. We put it on the windshield of every Volvo of that model and vintage we saw, and the few Jags we encountered.

Within about 3 days the dealer called and offered to fix the tranny if we would pay shipping to get the new one. We agreed, and put the flier distribution on hold. In the meantime we had quite a few phone calls in response, and in one case a letter of thank you from a single mom at the other end of the state who had been in the process of getting a loan to finance her transmission (a friend or cousin sent our flier down to her). When she presented them with this info, they also replaced hers free of charge.

Just saying, networking, outlets like this help a lot.

In the case of your wandering Rav4, using the key words "safety issue" will really help. But if you still don't get cooperation, mention posting honest reviews on Yelp, local Facebook pages, and anywhere else you can think of. They will really think twice about negative publicity when it involves more than just you.

Good luck with this issue!

LP
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Old 05-08-2015, 06:37 PM   #55
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[QUOTE=melissab;
I will let Toyota know it's a safety issue and hopefully that gets their attention. I've told my service dept about it ever since I got the vehicle (25K miles ago) and they do their full inspection and come back with nothing. Since 95% of my driving is town and not more than 45 mph I've lived with it for 2 yrs but the rare instances I am on the highway I hate it and of course anytime I tow. I'm gonna aske them to take it on the highway this time even though it's about 15 miles away to get to it.[/QUOTE]

It's been a while now, any updates for us?
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Old 05-08-2015, 07:20 PM   #56
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She traded in the vehicle.
I don't think we will hear anything more.
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Old 05-08-2015, 07:53 PM   #57
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Thanks Glenn, guess I missed that info. Was interested to know what the problem really ended up being as a number of folks use them for a tug.
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Old 05-08-2015, 09:22 PM   #58
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We will never know is my guess. Nobody is likely to admit driver error, and a dealership isn't likely to admit they sold a defective vehicle.
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Old 05-09-2015, 07:12 AM   #59
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That's how lemons get passed around. Many don't have the resources- money, knowledge, and/or time- to fight a large corporation, so it's often easier to trade and move on.

That's exactly what I did 30 years ago with a brand new Ford Ranger that used a quart of oil every 800-1000 miles. "Within normal limits," they told me. Went down the street and traded it for a Toyota and never looked back.

Unfortunately someone else bought it and I saw it 3 years later blowing blue smoke around town. I was glad it wasn't me, but felt bad for the person that had bought it. Should I have fought? Maybe, but I worked full time, lived 50 miles from the dealer, and had no other transportation.
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Old 05-19-2015, 10:36 AM   #60
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Well I had Toyota take another look as well as more research and the general consensus is its a combo of the softer suspension found only on the limited in conjunction with torque steer from the V6. The Sport model and the 4 cyl. Don't seem to have these issues. So looks like I will be looking for another tow
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