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I find it kind of odd that OP never answered questions about his driving habits, whether the RAV has an oil consumption issue, and how the RAV4 was maintained while under his care. It's also odd that OP is not trying to find out what's wrong with the RAV and how much it might cost to fix the problem(s) to weigh it against the cost of buying/leasing another vehicle.
I find it kind of odd that OP never answered questions about his driving habits, whether the RAV has an oil consumption issue, and how the RAV4 was maintained while under his care. It's also odd that OP is not trying to find out what's wrong with the RAV and how much it might cost to fix the problem(s) to weigh it against the cost of buying/leasing another vehicle.
Go through the 7 pages and read my responses. I answered all of these questions. Took it to the mechanic today like I said I was going to do, if you read my responses.
One thing I can suggest is to switch tires to low rolling resistance tires that can boost mpg by 1-2mpg across.
I find the biggest problem people waste gas is using the brakes too often. I've seen people ride the brakes or often brake too early before turns. These increase fuel consumption.
On the highway, they say you get the highest mpg when doing 55-60mph but I find doing 70mph is better because it shortens trip time. So you need to test various tricks to see what works better.
Everyone told me how great Toyotas were so when my wife and I got our RAV4, we had high hopes. It is a 2007 and only gets 16-18 mpg. Why might this be? We have owned it for about 3 months and admittedly have put a lot of miles on it. It's a daily commuter car for me, as right now it makes more sense for us to be a one car family. We had thought about a full size car but once kids car seats were in, and we did one trip in it we found it was uncomfortable for long drive and also lacked the storage we often need. We had borrowed/rented a Chrysler 200 & 300, Toyota Avalon, Nissan Sentra, and also a Nissan Versa Note (small but actually had us wondering if it was a contender). We like having an SUV and can't tell you how many times having an SUV has been a lifesaver/come in handy (especially the model we have, with the spare tire on the trunk door, there is lots of storage in the trunk).
However now that we have put almost 7k miles on the car and have gotten such poor gas mileage we realize that this may not be the SUV for us. We like it for the most part but the poor gas mileage is what has been a deal breaking. I know the mpg goes down with age but I know people with larger, older SUVs that get better mileage. If we had known the mileage was this poor we would've opted for a minivan. My wife wanted a minivan but we went with an SUV because of the alleged better MPG and now we're let down.
So now I'm faced with the choice of keeping this RAV4, and dealing with it having poor MPG. Or I could get a beater car- an older civic or Corolla to use a daily commuter. Or I can trade the RAV4 in for a more economical SUV.
The car market was crazy when we bought and we needed a car ASAP so I do feel we rushed things a bit but I was shocked at how quickly inventory was gone. There was a Lexus RX 400h that I really wanted (especially now in hindsight knowing how it would've given us better gas mileage) but it was gone within a day of being listed. When I test drove cars I was waiting in line, basically competing with other buyers. Apparently the Honda CRV airbag recall had caused a shortage of Honda CRVs, so other SUVs out there started flying off the lots- or at least that's what the sales people told us.
What would you do? I own the RAV4 outright and spent more than I had intended to. I could probably sell it private party for ~9k and that's all I'd have to buy another vehicle. At this point I'm debating if I should bite the bullet and take out a car loan to get a newer, better vehicle that'll give me the gas mileage I need.
My wife says I should keep the RAV4 and buy an older Prius as a commuter car; that way the car payment is low and it will get excellent MPG. I do like that with they option we can keep the RAV4 for when we're all in the car and/or need the trunk space. I do worry about the Prius battery though, and having 2 older cars makes me stressed about the maintenance and repairs ahead of us.
I work 35 miles from home. So reliability and good MPG are key for me. For a second car as a daily commuter I do have my eye on a 2016 Nissan Versa, which would give me peace of mind that it's under manufacturer's warranty and also going to allow em to get a lower interest rate (they're advertising 0%) vs me buying an older civic or Prius and paying the same monthly payment because higher interest rate on older car.
Advice and thoughts?
Something is wrong with the car (unless you drive like a crazy person or go up mountains, or have it weighed down with gear). Check the tire pressure first. An 07 4cyl RAV-4 should be getting 24-30mpg. It's one of the most fuel efficient SUVs from that time frame.
If your tire pressure is fine, have a mechanic do a full inspection.
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