2006 Toyota RAV4 consumer reviews

Nice little truck, should have a bigger gas tank, and consumes too much gas. But it's powerful!!! Toyota kicks butt....

Bought this car new in 2005. Was happy with it for first 4 years. Lots of power, very zoom-zoom, easy to park, good cargo space, decent millage. More road noise then I would like. Just after 5 years, the universal stirring shaft had to be replaced for almost $700 and, at 100,000 miles transfer case went and tranny had to be rebuild. A whopping $6,000 job after 5.5 years of driving the car!!! They don't make them to last anymore, look elsewhere!

Wonderful vehicle. Very reliable, stable on the highway, responsive and easy to control. Luxurious interior, superb value for what it's worth.

Purchased for the 4wd, fuel economy, looks, and versatility. We narrowed our search to two vehicles. The other being the Chevy equinox. Ultimately the rav4 won out.

noticed vehicle consumes oil. Contacted Toyota and were told to contact dealer to undergo ?oil consumption? test. Made 1st appointment in July 2011. After checking oil level it was found 1 quart low after driving 1000 mi. Dealer added 1 quart of oil and was told to come back in 1000 mi. When came back 1000 mi later 0.2 quart low, added needed amount. Was told to come back again. Today 10/19/2011 came back again 1 quart low, also was told that Toyota changed their guidelines to 1200mi, and in order to start the already started ?oil consumption ? I would need to change oil and start same test from the beginning (only driven 2000mi since the last oil change, and we use synthetic oil they do not even recommend conventional oil to be changed before 5000mi) So I paid additional money did that oil change. Now I am expecting to go back at 1200 mi and they probably will change the guideline to 1500 mi, by the time these test are done warranty will expire and Toyota will ?Wash their hands? Was reading Toyota RAV 4 owners forums, apparently that is a common problem Toyota knows all about it and tells their customers that 1 quart of oil in 1000 mi is a normal consumption. Imagine that! Now that we described the problems and the hassles that we are encountering with this car, let us describe the disappointment of Toyota ownership. Unfortunately the latest developments of Toyotas problems did not occur at the time of our purchase of this car, knowing now all the unfair practices of the company, poor quality of your cars, we would never consider Toyota vehicle. P.S. members of my family already bought new vehicle, 2 of my coworkers also bought vehicles, thanks for my recommendations those vehicles were not Toyotas. I will continue to write and tell people of Toyota ?Infamous quality? as much as I can and will make sure people looking for new vehicles will never buy Toyota products again.

A long time Camry LE lover, I got an '06 RAV4 10 wks. ago, to replace my '95 Camry, that is still running, but w/someone else now. ;) I wanted an SUV to serve me better w/work & wanted to stick w/Toyota, b/c I love them! Bought this one privately & no regrets w/that. Car was well maintained & serviced from the start. Got the 5 yr/100,000 warranty good till Sring, & all records/paperwork/carfax. I get decent gas mileage (4cyl) & good performance & pick up. Ride is definitely harder & seats less comfy than my Camry was, so that takes some getting used to. Back seats very uncomfortable, but thankfully, my dog is the only one feeling that, most of the time. I even put a long cushion there for her! Do love the ease of putting them down for larger cargo space, & that they adjust like the front seats, however. Driver sits a bit high & wish the steering wheel tilted, for better arm extension & feel when driving. But you get used to it. Love the daytime running lights @ the dash. Big difference w/ease of seeing everything there. Love the tinted windows too. Still getting used to the gear changer not being in a straight line, however. Wish rear door opened from right to left instead of toward curb, for better ease w/loading. You have to walk around the door too much & spare tire should be modified somehow, so you can roll down back window for loading too. Don't need the wiper there. Rather have full use of the window. Sound system leaves a lot to be desired compared to my 16 YO Camry. Eats the CD, so I need to keep it out when not playing it. Way too much base & can't control it to make it less, altho it indicates that it is. Distorts sound & can give you a headache. That is an issue, b/c I spend a lot of time in my car & am big on music. Very disappointed w/the stereo system in there. No front/rear control either, so the front is very loud & BASE heavy. :( No choice but to live w/it now. Sometimes I have no control over the volume at all, so I just have to shut it off, if it's too loud & hope when I turn it back on, it will work OK again. I guess I'm stuck w/it like that. :( Overall, good car & glad to have it. Hope to get a long life out of it. Maybe not as long as my old Camry, but wouldn't that be nice!? 66,500 & counting now. I would recommend this SUV overall. I'm sure the newer models are better in some areas w/improvements, or I would hope so.

If you want to buy SUV, you should buy RAV4. I bought it a year ago. It is great car. I drive everywhere. I always go to the country and our roads are not so good, i can even say that they are very bad. But this car helps me to go everywhere i want. I also drive it in winter. It was snowing very hard about 30cm. It is cool in snow too. Next time i'll buy new RAV4.

rattle bump and grind, super lousy fuel economy, cruse is worthless..constantly down shift and up-shifts..just an all around lousy car...my 2006 with 39750 miles on it... on a trip I babied it along 60 mph and got 22 mpg with a little 4 cyl and fwd

I was not looking to put up a review my car today, but someone hit me and I was checking out some parts and came across some reviews that complain about the side opening rear hatch. That is one of the reasons I bought this car. I needed lots of cargo room for my job as contracted mail carrier for the USPS and I like to have my bike handy. I put a bike rack on the tire and keep my bike on the car for almost six months a year and I can still access the back of the Rav for work, camping etc. It's perfect! My only complaint about this car would be that buttons and controls are easy to bump on. Like the windshield wipers and hazard lights, but this car has been great and I have driven across country in it twice. I've car camped in it by using the front seats and cargo net to hold our gear and laying out pads with our feet under the cargo net. Two of us were very comfortable and we didn't have to hassle with putting up a tent when we drove late into the night.

We needed a car for winter driving, long trips, and occasional light hauling. We'd narrowed down to the RAV4, Santa Fe, Xterra, or CR-V. After we rented a RAV4 Limited V6 4WD for a long weekend test drive, we decided we liked the Toyota, and the extra power and traction of the V6 with 4WD. The first year for the V6 was 2006, so to keep our price down we chose that year. We've found the steering to be firm and positive, suspension somewhat tight, a little rougher than our Camry sedan, but great for hauling and severe weather driving. The controls are fairly intuitive, but some of the SUV-related features - VSC, DAC, 4WD Lock, Hill Start Assist - left us a little confused. The power window controls on the drivers side are a little awkward to reach around the armrest handhold. Power-adjustable driver's seat makes for great long trip comfort, and seat heaters are a blessing when the temps are below freezing. The interior is fairly quiet on the highway, but not as quiet as our Camry. But our first trip in the RAV4 proved the 4WD's worthiness and ability, as we drove 800 miles, then spent a week driving on snow-packed roads, and never had a problem, driving only with all-season passenger tires. Hiway mileage is still fairly impressive at 25 mpg or so, city is 19-21 mpg. We're expecting this SUV to last us a good long time, based on Toyota's overall reputation for reliability.