Faults:

Bought the car at the Toyota dealership only a year ago. Paid $19000 plus tax for it. Put less than 20K on it and the head gasket started leaking coolant at 77K. Warranty expired 3 months ago. Too bad we did not buy an extended warranty, but that's because we always trusted Toyota reliability. Dealer quoted $3700 for the repair, because they have to pull out the engine to do the job. Unbelievable! Put less than 20K on it, and now we have to spend $3700 for the repair on a car that was made in Japan and has only 77K on it. Did not expect that from a TOYOTA.

Also, there are two recalls on this car.

The paint work is really thin; scratches and chips off easily.

Interior plastic looks cheap and rattles sometimes.

MP3 CD does not play home-made MP3s.

Suspension is really stiff on our Sport model.

The antenna attached to the front fender makes it inconvenient to clear the snow off the windshield. Especially for short people.

Back door opens to the side, which is also uncomfortable.

Pillars on both sides of the windshield are thick and create blind spots.

The only good thing I like about this car is the powerful engine, but what good is it, if I have to add coolant to it every week or pay a pile of money to fix the problem.

We still have our old 99 4 cylinder Camry. Bought it used with 205K on it. Now it's got 306K and still goes without serious problems. It even has the original starter and alternator.

Faults:

Oil consumption between changes; was told this is normal.

Noisy timing chain tensioner.

Washer spritzers failed.

Run flat tires replaced with a different model, due to excessive road noise.

All repairs serviced under warranty.

General Comments:

Recalled for load capacity label.

Recalled for floor mat.

Recalled for accelerator pedal.

Recalled for air bag sensors.

Recalled for a faulty window switch, that could lead to a fire.

Recalled for rear tie rod ends.

In my mind I thought at first that this would be a great car, and it really could be if a little more effort was put into the build quality.

Gas mileage is great, seating is comfy, but not on long trips, but the dash layout and interior materials could be a little better.

The outside appearance is quite attractive, and the handling is very crisp.

I like the fact that mine is one of the few that doesn't have the spare tire on the back tailgate.

I don't like the fact that I was told that the oil burning is normal; I did some research, and found that this is a common problem that is annoying many other owners, even on different Toyota models.

I will never buy a RAV4 again.

Oh - did I mention the recalls?

Faults:

Steering rack had to be replaced due to leakage at around 22000 miles. Shortly after that, the high pressure power steering hose blew fluid everywhere.

Also a lot of road noise; changed the tires and that was no help. This makes the interior cabin space very noisy as well.

General Comments:

I like the looks and smooth power. But that is not enough for me to be satisfied. A four year old SUV like this should not have the problems it does, from a brand name that is supposed to be so good.