Recently I was driving my 2010 RAV-4 2-wheel drive Sport down a Colorado mountain highway at about 7,000 feet elevation with temperature about 10-20 degrees F. when the electrical power began to diminish and warning lights began to come on. The radio went out, the cruise control stopped working, and the steering became more difficult, and the battery light came on. After about ten miles the engine stopped. I had it taken to a shop in Denver and they determined that the compression was gone in some pistons and weak in others. Why would this have come on so suddenly? It had a strong, new battery, so I assumed that the alternator went bad, but they said it was a compression problem. The car has the 4-cylinder engine with 245,000 miles on it. No engine problems before this ever. Always changed oil on time. They are saying it's $11,000 to rebuild the engine. So should I just scrap the car?
Get a second opinion.
The car has the 4-cylinder engine with 245,000 miles on it.
There's your answer. A lot can happen to an engine in 245,000 miles especially if it is not properly maintained early on or if it's burning oil and the level gets too low. (Those 2AZ-FE 2.4L engines are known for oil burning.)
I'd get another opinion if you don't know for sure the shop is trustworthy but it's definitely not worth putting $11K into a 13-yearold RAV4.
I had it taken to a shop in Denver and they determined that the compression was gone in some pistons and weak in others.
Go test it in another shop, this does not explain the electrical issues.
They are saying it's $11,000 to rebuild the engine
Overpriced, probably a terrible shop.
With such an old car, even IF your engines goes out (which might not be the case) - you just put in a junkyard unit for at most a few grand (a lot of junkyards will include warranty on both parts and labour for 3-6).
BUT FIRST, check in another shop!
But first check that it is cracking well in the compression test, or go for a dry/wet compression test.
should I just scrap the car?
Go to a different shop and have them check it out.
If the other shop can prove an engine failure (UNLIKELY) consider finding an inexpensive junkyard engine.
1) Get a second opinion like everyone else has said. The problem, fix, and price seems off.
2) Any chance you noticed if the oil light went on first prior to all the other lights coming on?
This is just a guess. My guess is that the oil may have been low for sometime in the car. (Perhaps by oil burning, perhaps by neglect.). And it got especially low going on an incline because the oil sloshes around to the lowest point of the pan on an incline. Which isn’t where the oil pick up is located. Low to no oil, will starve the engine of oil.
3) Get a second opinion. But just tell them what happened. Don’t tell them any of the diagnosis from the previous mechanic, or diagnosis from here. See what they come up with as the problem and the fix.
have you owned the vehicle since new?
