Heavy oil consumption, more than what is listed in the manual as normal. After checking the oil randomly, a few months after an oil change, back in January 2012, I found that even after adding 1 1/2 litres, it still did not register on the dip stick. Looking inside the engine from the oil cap, everything was, and still is, covered with a thick dark brown film, that looks like baked on oil. At this point I started doing my own oil changes, and now, every 500 KM's I'm adding 500ml to the engine. It doesn't leave a spot on the driveway, and doesn't change the colour of the exhaust. I'm perplexed with where it is going. Toyota dealership said it is normal, but this is crazy. By the time I get to 5000 KM which is where an oil change is due, I've already replaced all the oil. I'm a die hard for Toyota, and still fairly confident that this is just a lemon. What I want is Toyota to step up to the plate and acknowledge the problem. Maybe make a severely discounted offer on a newer vehicle.

I have am generally religious about changing oil every 3k mile and never thought to compare the volume out vs what goes in. This last change was closer to 5k as I got sidetracked and had not had a chance to change the wiffs oil.

That said, the check engine oil light just started coming on but only under a "hard" brake as I guess the oil would get pushed to the front of the oil pan and the sensor would say hey - low oil. But under an idle or normal travelling - no light.

So here it is - I went to change the oil - I was very shocked to see barely 1.2 qts of oil drain out into my bucket!. It takes 4.5 qts! How can the engine be down 75% in oil and NO engine oil light come on!. I am concerned I may have toasted the engine running it on such low oil. Thank you Toyota! Quality is Job 7?

Seems this year and engine likes to "consume mass quanities", ok I just dated myself....I am not from France but am very worried the engine is going to blow! What kind of damage has been done running it so low on oil without knowing it. Stay away from this vehicle. Toyota TSB states if it consumes 1qt/1200 miles - its normal. Nice, why should I change the oil if I have to add more every month!

http://www.rav4world.com/tsb/2011/T-SB-0094-11.pdf

On 11-03-10 I took my RAV4 in for a routine maintenance at New City Nissan. There I was informed that the oil level was down only 1 quart. Nissan topped it off with 5 quarts of oil. They suggested that I take it in to Toyota for the problem may be related to the power train drive and it was still covered by the warranty. That day I made an appointment and took my RAV4 in to Windward Toyota. The gentleman at Toyota told me it would be a hassle to take the engine apart to locate the leak, and if they could not find the problem then I would have to pay between $300-350 out of pocket. I informed the gentleman that over at Nissan they had told me that Toyota would have me drive my car for a 1k miles and return to check the level of oil. He said I could do that. On 11-10-10 the check engine light came on as I was driving home. So I made another appointment with Windward Toyota to check the cause for that. This time he got a hand held meter to check the fuses. When I inquired what he found, he stated "Yes there was some kind of glitch but it worked its out." On 11-19-10 I made an appointment at Leeward Toyota. I had hoped that their mechanics maybe able to diagnosis the problem of why my RAV4 was loosing oil so quickly. 11-21-10 at 10:30am I took my vehicle in for its scheduled appointment. Since none of their loaners were available I rented a car from Alamo (this is another story all its own). I thought it would only take them 24 hours to diagnosis the problem. When I called them to inquire about the status of my vehicle I was told that they still had not gotten to it because it was on "stand by" and they would not be able to get to it till possibly Friday.Thank God I had called Leeward Toyota around 9:00a.m. Between 10:30-11am Aaron returns my call and informs that my car is on standby to be serviced. I informed him that no one had told me when I made the reservation that it would be on standby. And besides, if they find that the problem is covered by the warranty then they will be responsible for reimbursing me for the car rental that I was using. He told me that he will call me back around 3:30 to let me know what they find. I got the call at 2:30. Can you guess what they found?