hi there, have owned a 2011 rav4 i4 automatic transmission almost 3 years, purchased at 65k, now going on 84k. Vehicle was purchased used at dealer after family inspected at dealer under lift (brother is certified Toyota tech). I noticed a faint whine or hum in transmission going from 1-2, decided to check fluid (was not done prior to purchase) and color was very dark. (I described it as black at that time but in retrospect it was more of a dark brown.
I talked to my brother shortly after, who wasn’t concerned, said color would not indicate bad fluid and that trans is working fine. Did a trans service, was told pan looked good. After the service I checked fluid, at this point it was still dark but had some red mixed in.
Long story short, over the 2 years since then I have noticed the faint whine still persists, would not say it is any worse but i am very familiar with the situations where it does it. Also had 3 different mechanics look at fluid and all said fluid is not burnt but is dark. Rear diff and xfer case have not been touched afaik. Also, there is a tsb that refers to a transaxle rattle with a reprogram.
question is - has anyone had this issue? We’re any solutions found for the noise? And also, would it be recommended to drain/fill now, along with diff and transfer case, and then do a full service at the 30k mark again?
thanks!
Transmission noise also occurs a lot in 2nd gear when holding an rpm, especially at 40mph
If the differential and transfer case oils haven't been changed in 11 years, then weird noises are no surprise. When does the maintenance section of your owner's manual say they are supposed to be changed?
The manual says “inspect condition” every 30k. the prior owner had all maintenance done at same dealer at the correct intervals, but I don’t see anywhere they ever did these.
Same w/ tranny fluid - says “maybe” change at 100k if driving in “abnormal” conditions.
I guess I’m just looking for validation to go ahead and have diff and transfer case serviced and drain/fill trans until I do a full pan drop in another 12k miles.
For the longevity of your vehicle, I would ignore the "inspect condition" directions and be extremely skeptical of dealer performed maintenance. I would begin now with a complete change of all lubricants and fluids to include but not limited to coolant, engine oil, filter and pcv valve, transmission fluid and filter, transfer case and differential gear oil, brake fluid and power steering fluids and complete chassis lubrication to include drive shaft grease fittings if they have them. Spark plugs of course. Air filter and fuel filter to be sure . Then, you will know where you stand with the maintenance on this vehicle.