Codes say major catastrophe! Why is the CAR WIZARD's 2005 Toyota RAV4 lying to him? What's the fix? 

There was no such thing as "I don't like this car" when I was growing up. It was whatever I could afford.

It’s amazing how small those early Rav 4’s look compared to the new ones.

As a very long time Toyota MDT, I absolutely know about Toyotas conservative engine controls, at Toyota school, we were told that those earlier vehicles with traction control, were all tied into the engine ECU. So many little faults (especially evap issues) would turn off other things (ABS and TRAC) and flood the dash with warning lights. Many folks would be worried about huge bills, and many were just loose gas caps! Secondly, the evap system in them are difficult to diagnose, but we all learned the shortcuts to get them done. Since the daughter hates the RAV4, Have you found her a G Wagen yet? She has to keep up with Mrs Wizards Maserati!

Your daughter is lucky to have a dad who is a mechanic with access to different cars. If I would have told my dad I didn't like my car, which was a POS old Mazda, well you probably know what I would have been told lol.

It is neat to see a brief repair now and then. I know from being a long time subscriber of your channel, the idea isn’t a “repair channel” and you’ve mentioned that before. It’s kinda cool though to watch an occasional video like this. I think it inspires creativity and or excitement to do repairs 😊❤️ your channel Car Wizard!

Hallelujah! The Wizard is back to working on car problems! No walkaround checking for chips, dents or rust. No interior review. Just show cars with problems and how to fix them.

It’s amazing to watch you work with some pliers and a drill. If you watch closely, you can see the experience in the way he uses each tool and knows how to disconnect each fitting by the way it’s biting. So cool. Thanks Weeeeeeezard

Sometimes topping up your tank will ruin your canister. From what I have heard, Toyotas are prone to that. Fill your tank until it automatically stops, then pull the nozzle out and put it back on the pump. Dont squeeze a few more pennies into your tank.

I remember when the check engine light came on in my '05 Subaru Legacy, the dash lit up like a Christmas tree. After thinking about it for a while, I realized that the lights represented unrelated systems, so it had to be some kind of "dummy proofing," you're more likely to get the car checked out if your cruise control, ABS, etc. aren't availible or you think you have a major system failure.

Wife's 07 RAV 4 had a bunch of lights come on. Took it to a local mechanic here and he told me the truth! I was so impressed. Thought I would be replacing the center diff but it was just the knock sensor. I was able to fix it myself, but I will go back if I have a bigger issue. He didn't even charge me for the diagnosis, I offered but he said no.

Those RAV4’s are hard to beat. As long as rust dosent eat them up.

My girlfriend drives a 2002 RAV4, I love that little thing. A little underpowered at times but it's under 3000lbs and around town it's great.

Toyota...those engineers are wicked funny! My sister has a 2011 Toyota RAV4...and I know you can tell where this is going, but it wasn't the charcoal canister...as her "Christmas tree of lights" as she called it, came on in the middle of a vacation trip. A little research online, and a call to her dealer (was still under warranty) and the dealer service manager said "It's ok to drive, you'll have no issues, just get it in here as soon as you're back" We were 200+ miles from home. He was right, the RAV4 was perfect on that ride home. Next day in the shop, they replaced 2 oxygen sensors, which the Toyota 2.5L 4 cyl is known to need a lot of. Now when the "Christmas tree lights" come on, she laughs, checks the codes to confirm, and then gets the car fixed when she can. I've told her if the check engine light ever starts flashing...then she needs to pull over safely and call AAA for a tow home. Other than that, just keep driving until you're home. She's got 135k miles now on that 2011 RAV4....easily on her way to over 200k for sure. Being in New England, the car might rust away before it stops running. Oh yeah, me....my daily driver is a 2015 Lexus RX350. I'm no dummy...I like my car to be reliable. haha.

It seems a bit unscrupulous for a company to throw a bunch of random error codes at you for a simple problem. A garage without your ethics behind it could have a field day with this! Thanks for the education, and thanks for the rare and elusive fix-it episode, Mr. and Mrs. Wizard! ✌️❤️🙂🇨🇦

Hi Wizard, I need to thank you for a previous video that saved me a lot of money/stress. We were away for a couple of weeks and came back and our little 2019 i30 N-Line was throwing warning codes everywhere. Because of your videos I knew it was probably just a low battery and oversensitive monitoring systems. A short trickle charge and all was good. So a huge thankyou

I have a 2002 Sequoia with 340,000 miles on it. The only things I've done on it are things that have worn out and change fluids. Over 4 years of ownership, the only things that have broken are the rear hatch stuff and a fuse went out disabling the traction control.

What the Wizard forgot to mention, is that this charcoal canister for a 05 Rav 4 is about $500 for a Dorman and even more for OEM, plus an hour of diagnostic labor plus another hour of labor for install so that "easy" fix is still costing well over $700-$800. So while nothing "catastrophic" took place with the traction control or ABS, it still cost a pretty penny to fix.

Hey Wizard & Mrs Wizard, the Toyota RAV 4 is a great little car. My sister has a RAV 4 Limited & loves it, she's had it for several years & all she's done to it is oil changes & tires!!! Thanks for sharing another fun video!!! 👍👍🙂

Yes! Thank you... I have all Toyota's 2003 Sequoia, 2011 Camry, 2004 Rav4...Your really good with cars and straight to the point. Thats what I like to see.. God Bless You..

That happens because other car makers have in the past gotten fines from the EPA for suppressing an OBD fault code light when technicians do a service check. Toyota decided not to let the Federal Regulations slide, hence all the codes. Evaporative emission controls were first required on cars sold in California in 1970. It's a great system, IMHO. With no Evap in place, 80% of all hydrocarbon emissions happens on gas tank filling. The rest has been taken care of by what is now "relatively simple other smog" gear.

If you torque bolts to spec without a torque wrench you need to say "click" yourself as you reach the correct torque!

I own a 2011 Toyota Avalon which is pretty much a large Camry. Hands down, it’s the greatest car I’ve ever owned.

We bought our oldest daughter a used basic Stanza. It had A/C and auto, but no power windows or power locks. Five or six later we bought second daughter a used Camry with PW and PL. First daughter pouted and fussed until we bought her a used Maxima that was fully loaded. The Camry lasted many many more years after the Maxima was long gone.

I had a 2001 Rav4 that looked similar to this and LOVED IT! But the transmission started going bad and ultimately failed. It would sometimes shift and sometimes would not. I heard it is a somewhat common problem with the 2001-2003 model years. I heard the ECM is to blame. But I looked at repair records and it was replaced in 2006. I ended up selling it but I loved that car!

Thanks for the video! Have to say, I love my Toyota 4Runner. It's amazing... but yes, much more expensive than the Equinox, Enclave, and GMC Acadia. So glad I didn't fall for getting one of those. Great advice from the Wizard and Scotty ;) For S&G's I looked the part (used in this video) up on Rock Auto. Price is around $250-$300 depending on the 3 available (at this time in 2022). Having the scanner is an absolute must in today's vehicle market. I love the fact that I can scan my vehicle. It's issues like this that the average person can fix/replace on their own. I used a scanner on both used vehicles (2011 F150 and 2008 Ford 500) after driving both vehicles for 30 minutes on the test, no lights/codes came up. 2 years later, both of these vehicles have been good runners. The Ford 500 does have lights come on every once-in-a-while, and mostly the electronics are super easy and cheap for me to replace on my own.

On my '05 4Runner one of the o2 sensors was going bad and throwing a code, and much like this Rav4, the traction control, vehicle stability control, and ABS warning lights all came on. Got the sensors replaced and it's been happy ever since. I love my 4runner and wouldn't trade it for anything other than a newer one, but it's crazy how something seemingly so minor they go and disable a bunch of safety stuff (especially living in Canada and it happens in the winter with snow everywhere) Love the videos Mr. and Mrs. Car Wizard!

Ah, an old friend of mine. The bright orange check engine light... I knew what was coming by now. The emissions stuff that has not been a big deal for me. Unless you live in California or some other state that requires emissions testing, you will be fine when your check engine light is on, as long as it's not red or flashing. In fact, there are plenty of engine issues that could happen and the check engine light wouldn't even come on.

Classic wizard video this is what I subbed for I enjoy the close up explanation it helps me understand general mechanic theory

Great video. Currently having a similar long-standing issue with one of the Wiz's favorite cars - (2001 LeSabre 3800) "Traction, Brake , ABS lights are all on". Apparently when a the ABS sensor goes bad, one must replace the entire bearing and hub... Working on it. GM made a great engine with thee models, but dang...these little dash lights all coming on are a real pain to eliminate.

I think you know most people won’t heed your advice about buying a Toyota. They look at the immediate cost of a Toyota and then they think to themselves, “I can get a Chevy Equinox or Buick Enclave for thousands less.” They don’t realize all that money saved upfront will be lost (and then some) in repair bills, not to mention the depreciation.

When my coil pack failed on my 2008 ES350, the check engine light, traction control light, VSC monitor, and the brake light all came on. You're right, I definitely assumed it was a MUCH LARGER PROBLEM. Once I got it scanned, misfire on cylinder 4. One coil pack later, all was ok. 🤣

It's good to see an impartial comment in regards to Toyotas. They are also known here in Australia as a very reliable car, though I still love my 5.4 litre quad overhead cam Ford falcon XR8 V8.

You know I'm not really a big car guy at all hut your videos are so informative and your vibe and presentation is awesome! Keep it comming

It's good to know that more lights come on than just the check engine light when evap problems arise, because I doubt very many people take that light seriously. My stepdad told me he knows people that have had their check engine light on for ten years and they continue to drive the car regardless.

i wish you had made this video 5 years ago. i had the same car same year with 180k miles. i had the same codes and no dealer or third party could figure it out. I ended up selling the car when there was nothing wrong except the EVAP codes. Great video for any RAV4 owners that might face the same issue

Don't overfill your gas tank. Don't add that extra click after the nozzle has stopped. The tank would send the excessive gas into the canister, causing premature failure of the canister.

I own a 2005 RAV with 245K miles. It extremely reliable. Just make sure you check the oil every other week. The 2AZ-FE is known to consume oil due to a faulty piston design.

Good video and thank you, I still drive my 2003 RAV4 and start every time, all I do was regular oil change and brake pad change, very good car.

I have a 2010 Rav4, great car. I had a similar problem with the traction control and ABS lights coming on, as well as the check engine. The car would start driving strangely, with low power. I did some research and replaced the upper and lower oxygen sensors with OEM Denso and the problem was corrected. Apparently the Rav4 computer is very reliant on readings from the oxygen sensors for determining fuel mix in the engine. Still going strong now at 170K miles.

I remember a long time ago I asked one of the RI's about the fuel canister and he told me that it was a feature intended to make repairs easier. Reason is that if you have all the purge valves and sensors in one place you just have to replace one thing instead of looking for the actual faulty part. GM is a good example of this because you often have to throw parts at it till you actually fix it.

A Wizard repair video!?! This was great! I couldn't find Wizard Ft. Lbs. in the repair manual but I'm pretty sure my elbow is pre-calibrated too ;)

The evap canister on Toyota products is not specific only to the RAV, I have had the same issue with my 05 Scion, and a previous sienna. If three vehicles in Toyotas line up do this I would imagine they all do. This goes for you to Lexus owners! Great video wizard!

You can typically get away with just changing the purge valve on these. Sometimes not.. but I’d say 7/10 times it just needs the purge. Will save you a lot of money, too- in comparison to the entire canister. Spiders really love the older Toyota purge valves. They build webs in them and screws them up.

Met a guy just on Friday here in Northern Ireland who had an original green MK1 3dr RAV4 from 1995. He owned it from new and it was still immaculate. He bought it on his 50th birthday and it had nearly 100k miles on it. My wife has had two of the Mk2 models (as above) and absolutely loved them.

I agree with ya Wizard. I have an 08 4runner 4.0. It's been in the family since new. It has 55k on it. Only two things other than wear items have been done. The bulb went bad in the center display and the rubber cover over the rear hatch switch rotted. Will probably outlive me.

I’ve seen this scare tactic first hand on a 201_ rav4. At the time, I told the lady the canister was $370 from RA. She waited too long and now it is double.

That Creader CRP123 looks almost exactly like the iCarSoft POR II that I use on my '14 Porsche Cayman S. Makes me wonder if they are built by the same people. Great video!

Thank you for sharing this. I just bought a 2000 RAV four in the last couple months and I don’t have any codes but when I do this is great to keep in mind not to panic lol by the way I love your glasses.🙌🏻😀

They stopped making them in 2003, but the first-gen RAV4-EV's don't exhibit any of these problems. I went 7 years between services, due to neglect, but the car got a clean bill of health after all that. The BEV future will not look like this.

I got CX-7 for my parents, was good for 3-4 years and they loved but started having issues and everything was started to break. Now got them a RAV4 and is way more basic but its will never break.

I was a Ford guy growing up, still a Mustang guy, but I was out shopping for a Full Size SUV a few years back and just kept running into Expeditions with the 5.4L and Suburbans with all kinds of issues. I found an '01 Toyota Sequoia, The only thing I have done to it outside of routine maintainance was to replace the Exhaust and the Throttle body. This thing has the 4.7L V8 with the TRD supercharger and 248k miles and runs like a champ.

It's impossible to find this vintage of RAV4, that thing is a gem!

Thanks for the information! Thanks to you both,nice work.

While you are there, you should check the fuel filler tube. It is located in the left rear wheel well. There is a plastic that covers the tubes. The plastic tends to collect dirt and road grime, causing the tubes to rot.

My wife bought the same car, same color, new, in 2005. Named it Bob! Ok almost same. Ours is 2WD. We still drive it just about every single day. Always reliable, and cheap to fix most anything on it.

The car companies should be banned from doing this.

The Wizard is getting so sarcastic... I love it! It's so wizard.

Ah yes I remember my friend's Rav4 had this issue. Beyond me why they would program it to disable literally everything a rav4 is good at because of a charcoal canister failing...we used a Scion charcoal canister which was exactly the same, you just have to make sure its the exact same year scion canister and transfer the mounting plate from the old canister to the new one.

I have exact same car 2004. Craziest thing: Fusible Link BLock Assembly failure. Failed intermittently. Lost power off and on to controls including icm. Took me a while to diagnose. Gas tank is leaking. Intake manifold noise-baffle crack. 170k miles. Still love it.

10:00 - “…I’m so worried of I don’t torque a rusty old bolt, the whole car my fall apart…” 😂 😆 🤣 👍🏽 👏🏽

That little click from a connector is always so satisfying.

I was driving my 2015 Prius to work and it quit running and all manner of lights came on. I thought the traction battery had gone out. I shut it off and restarted it, drove home and drove my truck to work. When I got home, I hooked up my scan tool. It was the engine water pump. I replaced it in my driveway for about $200. The only non scheduled maintenance on that car for 222,000 miles. Traded it in for another Toyota.

I had a 2002 Highlander and the Knock sensors went bad and it made the transmission shift funny and it went into limp mode. I know a lot of people who were told the transmission was bad but it was just a little sensor a knock sensor

Simple, but one of your most relevant videos for me. I own nothing but Toyotas because I just want to drive them. Thanks for alerting me to one of Toyota's quirks.

I have an 05 rav 4 as well. Another common problem regarding false codes is from water Dripping inside the firewall and onto the electrical relays. The water that runs off the windshield is directed down the frame and out a hole in the bottom, but after they get clogged with leaves, dirt, etc, the water backs up and leaks into the cab right above the electrical relays on the driver and passenger side. Common symptoms are the check engine light, loss of speedometer, and in bad conditions irratic shifting from the automatic transmission. Code reader will often say bad speed sensors. The sensors are still good. The drains are hard to get to but need to get cleaned out. Or simply throw a tea towel over the electrical relays for a quick and temporary fix. Stay away from hitting puddles with this model Rav4.

On some gen3 Renault, and especially on the diesel engine, when the engine light come, the cluster display "risks of engine failure" with a red stop light.

Hi from Australia. Love the Rav4 currently on our 2nd one, 1st was a 2007 model, our current one is a 2016 model. only reason we traded up was the 07 was a manual, and my knees are stuffed, and needed to change to an auto. Other than that there was nothing wrong with it, would probably still have it if it wasn't for it being a manual

Thought wizard used Milwaukee, but I saw that 14.4v Toggle Screwdriver from Snap-On. ;) That thing is my favorite and legit one of the best tools. There was good reason for outcry when the brushless model wasn't going to have the toggle trigger!

I helped my brother diagnose a bad coil (misfire cyl 4) on his RAV4 and it light the Xmas tree of lights. Replaced the coil, cleared them all and good to go. 🙂. Maybe Toyota decided that folks simply ignore the single SES light and decided to scare folks into getting things serviced.

The biggest/most expensive failure on my 2010 Tacoma 2.7L was a water pump at 100k miles. The pump didn't even fail it was just a little leaky. I've had the truck since 2012 and 66k miles. Now has around 155k and I expect it to go for another 150k minimum.

First time I saw one of your videos, I'm like "Who is this Wizard dude?". Then after I saw you and Tyler on MotorTrend, I'm like "He IS The Wizard." Love watching you two on TV btw. I have a RAV4 from the same gen. Despite it's issues, that SUV is the best grocery-getter ever made. Your kid's loss. Oh, did he ever sell you that Grand Wagoneer?

I don't care for SUV's, but a friend in college had one and I drove it quite a few times. It has great torque which surprised me a lot. Any time I've driven a used Toyota to buy I don't care for them overall. The only one I've been impressed with is the previous Gen tundra. It is a very nice truck! Who knows, maybe there are Toyota models I would like that I haven't driven, but I drive every model I possibly can before buying to keep an open mind. A lot of people I know think 100k miles is too much and they have to get rid of their vehicle just to make payments on a new one. I enjoy keeping a vehicle a long time so I have no debt and I enjoy taking care of them for lots of miles.

Really dig the t-shirt!! Glad to see that you are a fan also!!

I own 2 rav4's just got the 01 recently .2001 5 speed awd it was a 1 owner car before I purchased it.had engine light on paid $4200 then changed both af sensors and both O2 sensors changed catalytic converter (exhaust manifold)4 new tires. runs perfect $5400 in it total. My other rav4 is 2002 automatic 2wd paid $4000 six years ago changed spark plugs and serpentine belt brakes and tires in six years. It never lets us down...

Those old Toyota's are just magic they just don't break anything major like transmission or engine problems and they fixed all the oil burning issues in 2005 for the 1.6 1.8 engine here in Europe it's amazing

Im.actually very impressed with Wizard foot Pounds of tork while installing a plastic charcoal canister. Great job Dave.

We see this all the time with diesel emission problems. One faulty sensor will turn the stop engine light on and limit the truck to 5mph even if the aftertreatment system is still functioning. Even clearing the fault codes after the repair has been made can be a pain.

That's a nice RAV4, I like the color accents and hood. I have a collection of Toyotas at this point, a RWD converted ST204 97 Celica with a turbocharged 1GR V6, a FWD 98 Celica with a turbo 2AZ swap, a first gen manual Scion xB, a second gen auto xB (that my mother drives now and loves), and a 09 second gen Pontiac Vibe GT manual all original (basically a Matrix XRS). Of those that's three 2AZ's that are super reliable (even the turbocharged project), the first gen xB's little 1.5L will go forever with how under stressed it is, and while the 1GR isn't exactly economical compared to original, but it makes for a fun baby Supra with the custom suspension I put together planting the ~340hp and ~360lbft of torque that's at the wheels solidly to the ground.

We love wizard turning wrenches 🔧 fantastic. Hey you should have a car repair show! 😂

Thanks for the weekend video, looking forward to your videos.

A good preventative for this one is to not top off the fuel at the gas station. Overtime that excess gasoline will destroy the charcoal canister. When the gas pump clicks, just stop and no more fueling.

big thing that trashes evap systems is trying to squeeze more gas in the tank after the first click any time you make gas come up the filler neck and down the vent you flood your evap system with gas and it will kill it eventually

Hello from New Zealand.I've got a 1997 Honda Accord CD5 as you can see in my profile picture.I've owned since 2003.It has a brake light warning light that comes on if the brake light bulb blows.The first time it happened it got me quite worried as not only did the brake light warning light come on but the ABS light and handbrake light came on to.I fixed the easiest thing first being the brake light bulb and all warning lights went off which was a great relief.Just shows that one sensor can set of more than one sensors.

I love the "Wizard Foot Pounds!" I use those specs quite often myself!!

Our Subaru throws an emission code and throws all those lights and the worst thing is that it kills your cruise control. And normally its only on long road trips on vacation. I keep a scanner with me now to clear it out so I can have cruise back

Can't agreed more! Toyota cars are made to last! I have a 2017 Toyota Etios here in Brazil, with 107.000 km and the brakes are the same since new! And it's ceramic pads! All the coils look new!!!

I checked and the retail price for the Vapor Canister assembly from Toyota is $421.67. The discount online OEM place has it for $296.17 plus freight. You're right about the durability and reliability of Toyotas but their replacement parts are as expensive as any other manufacturers parts. It's a good thing you need to buy them so seldom.

Yep all those check engine lights looked familiar. I had an 09 Rav4 with a bad 02 sensor. It disabled the AWD the track and stability control.

i "upgraded" from a 96 to a 03 rav4 2.0 4x4 manual. 2 years ago. i like the room and how it drives.

A coworker of mine owns a Subaru Outback (2017 I think) his dash lit up like a Christmas tree and it scared his wife so much that she had it towed to the dealership, as you said it was emissions related and cost him a large sum for something he could have fixed.

LOVE RAV4s! Had one here in Ireland. I miss it sometimes. Great car :)

Thats funny were actually talking about this in class about the charcoal canster! GREAT VIDEO!

My mom had a Rav4, 2002ish I think it was. It was a great vehicle. Little noisy (tires) but overall a nice ride.

When the rear wheel speed sensor went out on my BMW E90 the dash and message system was like a Christmas tree

It never ceased to amaze me how people would panic when a Cel light came on

I have one with almost 300K miles and starts every time you turn the key. The fan shroud mysteriously broke once,but that is it with repairs. I now have three of them

Subaru does the same thing. My daughter had a 2011 Legacy. Every time I heard "Dad, the check engine light is on AGAIN", I cringed. Not only does the check engine light come on, but the traction light, brake light, ABS light, and the cruise light flashes. This happened 3 times in a row for different things. First, bad valve body, then catalytic converter , then O2 sensor. She finally got rid of it----I bought it. Thankfully, no more codes.

I've got a 2011 Rav4 (V6 variant, the best one). Great little vehicle. Unbelievable amount of space, lots of power. That little thing can tow 3500 pounds. That's small travel trailer territory (lookup the R-Pod). Hasn't given me a bit of trouble. I expect 300k miles out of it at least.

I never understood why they dont put a small lcd alphanumeric display and just say wtf is going on in PLAIN ENGLISH instead of scare the driver with a bunch of lights that makes no sense when there is no major problem, that problem won't destroy the engine , so wtf? Why they do this, I designed telemetry systems in the past , its not expensive to do at scale, they don't do it because they want you to run over to a dealer so they can rip you off

Another nice shirt Wizard👍. Have you considered a Caterpillar PWL5000 Powerloader for the shop?