I bought the car in fall of 2009. It had 25,000 miles on it. Only had car 6 months when the oil light would come on between oil changes when I came to an abrupt stop or turning a corner. I added 1 1/2 quarts. I keep regular oil changes. Went online and read that excessive oil use was a problem with this make model and year. In this article there was an explanation why this was happening. It went onto say that Toyota was doing nothing to fix the problem. I still have my car because I love everything else about it and even though it goes through a lot of oil, it still has a lot of pick up and power. Coming up is the 20,000 mile checkup. I am going to see what they recommend then. It is not dripping any oil on the ground and neither do I see any oil on the engine or anywhere else.

My RAV4 was ready for an oil change. Before taking it in on 7/26/18, I checked the oil only to find no oil on the dipstick. Took in in to my dealership and they said there is nothing they can help me with because the last day for them to assist with oil consumption issues on the model was the prior day. Can you believe it, one day!

I do not recall Toyota ever sending me a notice that 7/25/18 was the last day they would cover this issue. This same issue happened 4-5 years ago at around 40,000 miles and until I pushed the issue, my dealer did cover the repair. Although I had the best extended warranty, the dealership tried to get me to sign away my rights by saying that if, when doing the repair they were to find additional issues in the engine, I would be responsible for the additional repairs. I refused to sign and pointed out to them in the warranty where it said the most I would be responsible for would be belts and lights bulbs.

They finally backed down and added to the work order "Customer will be responsible for $0 on this repair." How can a car manufacturer charge so much for their cars and leave you on your own after something major happens, especially when they were aware of this engine defect? Going forward, I will be a General Motors customer!

Never received notice from Toyota about this problem. Have had vehile since new. Several months before Feb. 2018 had engine oil light flash now and then. Checked oil level, 3 quarts low. Added oil, started checking on line about loss of oil. We change oil regularly, and have taken vehicle in for any recall notice we have received - no notice sent to us about excessive oil consumption. Contacted dealer as vehicle was close to the 10 year limit. Ours is a low milage so shouldn't have made any difference.

They changed oil and "sealed" engine, but won't show me the oil level before sealing. This is Toyota's oil consumption test. Looked on line a found several instances of dealers over filling engine to help make sure engine would pass test (less than 1 qt oil in 1100-1300 miles). What a surprise, when returned engine had only used 3/4 qt oil (1221 miles), so "no problem" according to Toyota. Started checking oil and after 1164 miles oil level is down 1 qt! Went back to dealer for "free" top off and requested a receipt showing mileage and the amount of oil added. Got push back from them for a receipt, but insisted and they reluctantly gave me what I asked for.

618 miles more and am down another 1/2 qt of oil. Strange that I am not allowed to see oil level for their "test", and "all is good", but if I monitor consumption "all is not good". They say vehicle is now past the ten year limit and it passed their test, so any repair cost is solely on us. Toyota admits there is an issue with their engine design, and has corrected on new engines, but "too bad" if you have the earlier version.

Very disappointed in Toyota, owned a 2000 Camry, 360,000 miles on original engine and not a drop of oil consumption, as a matter of fact very little problems beyond the normal maintenance. Sold that to buy this RAV4 and did not come here first to do my research because of Toyota's reputation for quality and their Genchi Genbutsu problem solving techniques, not to mention the awesome experience I had with the Camry.

To bad now that I have researched this problem and how they did-not really take care of their customers I am finding out they they are now no better than their American counterparts for quality and standing behind their product, and maybe worse- would have never guessed it

The excessive oil consumption came to light approximately one year ago (94,000 miles). I then began to notice the oil light on much sooner than the recommended time to change the oil. I began checking the oil myself every two weeks and noted it was down between 1/2 - 1 quart. The car currently has 100,300 miles.

Unfortunately, prior to purchasing this car I owned a 1998 Camry. At 75,000 miles that car (mind you with a full oil tank) blew a rod/piston through the engine. That car was replaced by the RAV 4. I was told by the dealer- "that sometimes happens, sorry."

I did some research and learned the RAV 4 has a history of excessive oil consumption and the cost to repair was close to the value of the car.

I purchased both my Toyota's based on the reputation of the brand. I will never purchase another Toyota and will discourage anyone else from doing so. I recently purchased a Honda CR-V.

I would put it as follows: Toyota Sucks ... Oil.

5 Quarts of oil per 1,500 kms is absurd. And I don't know how he burns it because smoke isn't coming from the exhaust. Leakages aren't found, nothing. So this car has no spare wheel, which I already find bizarre, but on top of that it is thirsty as a mad man. The car drives absolutely fantastic, I love this 2008 RAV4. But the oil thirst is killing. I pay US$300,- per month only on oil. I can have a landfill made out of yellow Penzoil cans.

My advice, sell the car if the oil thirst annoys you, because the problem is not to be solved.

Vehicle has had regular (3000-4000 mile) oil changes for as long as I have had the car (since Sep 2010). About 1 year ago, oil consumption became very noticeable. Oil use increased to 1 qt (high mileage oil) every thousand miles. Valve cover gaskets were replaced in Jan 2017. Oil was checked every 1000 miles and oil was added each time. Within the last 2 months, oil use has increased (again) to about 1 1/2 qts. every 800 miles. There is no sign of an oil leak in carport, the engine does not smoke (exhaust), and there is no oil residue in air filter box. I now have to check the oil every 500 miles just to make sure it is at correct level.

Update from Feb 12, 2018: Now Oil is added - 1- 1 1/2 qt every 600 miles.

I have been carrying oil in my car for over a year now, tracking how often I add it and how much I add. I am afraid to drive anywhere without it. I put about 300 miles a week on my car and so have to be very careful to check read the dipstick about every other week.

Toyota initially resealed my lower oil pan in May of 2017 at 156,663 miles for $353.00 in an attempt to fix a supposed oil leak. I showed them my records of how often I am adding how much oil in October of 2017 at 161,555 miles and they did a complete engine flush among other things that totaled $621.00 and then suggested I spend $3800.00 for engine diagnostic/repair.

I had a local trustworthy mechanic change my oil last week and he is the one who pointed out to me that there is a consumption issue with my Toyota engine. I was livid and disappointed that the dealer never mentioned that on any of the very expensive occasions they serviced me car. I don't know what to do. I am a 62 year old working female who spends a fair amount of time on the highway each week traveling alone. I was hoping to drive this car another 3 years before replacing it.

Even if I was to buy a new car now, I don't trust owning another Toyota and I would feel guilty to sell this problem vehicle to someone else. It has been expensive to maintain. This oil consumption issue is just the latest problem.

I bought the RAV4 new in 2008 (my first new car, after 40 years of driving), and have been very pleased with it. It has been very reliable, but last week my wife was driving home from work and the oil light came on every time she braked, which was strange because there was still 2,000 miles to go to our next oil change (we have always maintained the car regularly and had the oil changed every 5,000 miles).

I checked the oil and was amazed to find that there was very little oil left in the engine. In all, it took 5 quarts of oil to fill. I took the car in the next day to have it checked over, and they replaced the oil filter and put in a new PCV valve. Then they checked over the car but could not find anything wrong - so they looked to see if a Service Bulletin had been issued - it had: T-TCI-4320. Basically this states that the 'fix' is to completely replace the piston assembly - we were told this would cost in the range of $4,000 to $5,000!

Looking online, I see that this is a common problem with the RAV4 manufactured between 2006 and 2008 - and obviously Toyota are aware of it (and I believe are also aware it is due to their poor design). From what I have found so far, however, we are not covered for the repairs.

How can that be? Once again, another story of the ordinary people being muscled over by big corporations!

I have a Toyota Rav 4 (2008), which I love. It has been a wonderful car. No real problems to speak of. But at around 146,000 miles I was surprised to see my oil light come on 1/4 of the way through my regular maintenance schedule. I added oil and made a mental note to bring it up to my mechanic. Another 1/4 of the way the oil light comes back on. I had to add more oil. My car has 149,000 miles on it now. I have had my car in for maintenance every 5,000 miles since I bought it new. It is now burning about 1 quart every 1200 miles. This just happens to be the amount that Toyota calls a problem and excessive, but my car is out of warranty. I was hoping to keep my car for several more years. This is very disappointing, especially since people have always said “Get a Toyota, they last forever”.

I bought this brand new RAV4 in 2008. Around at 50000 miles, the engine oil light turns on when brake or sharp turn. Take it to Toyota dealer, they do the excessive oil consumption test and passed. I thought it is OK now. but before next oil change, the lights turned on again. and I took it to dealer again, they did the test again and said it is pass again. Now there are still 2000 miles away from the next oil change. the lights turns on again.

The dealer don't do anything for me and ask me to open another test ticket from Toyota, but never success.

I just need the Toyota take the responsibility and get this problem fix completely.

I have a 2008 Toyota RAV4. Oil consumption started to become a problem a while ago, but I really started paying attention and tracking it in the last six months. I go through a quart of oil a week, and I put anywhere from 300-600 miles on the car in that period. I complained about it to my dad, who is the family auto mechanic, and he told me that is ridiculous (which even I could figure out - a quart of oil a week is not right!). He drilled the importance of checking the oil into me since I could drive, and I'd say I've been really good (especially lately) about staying on top of it, but it is frustrating to a) go through that much oil and b) worry about what might happen if I miss a week or put off checking it for too long. We bought this car certified pre-owned from a Toyota dealership in 2013, and we've been really good about keeping up on the general maintenance, etc. Understandably, I'm concerned about the outcome of this problem. I like my Toyota and would like to continue driving it, but I'm worried about will become of my car (and my family, when the worst happens while we're driving it). I understand that constantly adding oil isn't going to fix the problem.