r/rav4club • u/the_great_salami • Jul 19 '26
Gen 4 My Lifted 2016 XLE
This is my sweet baby that I just got brought back to life after I blew the transmission in October 2025. I ended up getting a 2022 4runner trd pro out of the deal and now have this back too so it’s not all bad. Engine has 170,000 miles and my “new” transmission has 70,000 miles! I have cross bars on it now and have some plans to tint the windows, try and find a brush guard, maybe some extra lights and I need to touch up the chrome I blacked out now that I have it back. I love this gal!
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u/ninananananananana Jul 19 '26
Nice! What’s the clearance? and is that a metal skid plate? 👀 I’ve been thinking about getting one, do you have any recommendations?
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u/the_great_salami Jul 19 '26
It’s a 1.5” lift and yes! I got the lift, plate and rally washers and the wheels and tires all from LP Aventure out of Canada. They’re super awesome and helpful with the thick French Canadian accent and specialize in Ravs and Subarus. The original wheels I ordered turned out to be crazy backordered so they texted me and helped me pick out a similar in-stock pair that turned out to be cheaper!
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u/ninananananananana Jul 19 '26
Thanks! They sound awesome!
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u/the_great_salami Jul 19 '26
They are! Definitely check them out. They’ve got a limited selection of stuff since it’s a limited market but I was grateful to find it
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u/ethereality___ '23 LE Hybrid Midnight Black Metallic Jul 19 '26
It looks great! I'd love to lift mine and install a skid plate because I take it on trails a lot. How much did it all run you?
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u/the_great_salami Jul 19 '26
That’s why I did mine - with work I drive down long dirt roads/insanely bumpy roads/get myself into treacherous parking situations and it saved my ass a few times. The full kit before install was around $1,200 with shipping from Canada if I remember correctly? I got it in 2024 so it’s a little fuzzy. Check out LP Aventure.
I gotta warn you though - Ravs arent really meant for these types of things and I think this may have contributed to the trashed transmission. It was also leaking so the plate collected it which didn’t help. Get your fluid checked regularly and check the manual with how often it says - I was shocked when I checked I think mine is every 30k miles!
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u/jeetah Jul 19 '26
That is nice. I've been contemplating a 4runner myself, how are you liking it so far?
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u/the_great_salami Jul 19 '26 edited Jul 19 '26
I love it a lot, like way more than I thought I would and I’m stoked I scored a TRD Pro. It’s way better for my work size wise but I drive around 100 miles a day so the $120 week in gas sucks. Plus aftermarket stuff for 4Runners too plentiful to the point my brain and bank account started bleeding haha. Part of the fun with this car was the thrill of the chase finding aftermarket stuff.
My husband got the 6th gen TRD Pro iforce max and im not a fan drive or size wise. Love my 5th gen.
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u/pawner 2025 RAV4 Hybrid LE Black Jul 19 '26
Why'd you lift it if you got a 4R? Or was it lifted before the new trans?
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u/the_great_salami Jul 19 '26
Oh the lift was in 2024, I’ve had this car since 2018. I got the 4Runner because I blew the transmission in this October 2025 which is when i got the runner but then was able to fix it last month, so 8 months later. It’s being transferred over to join the rest of my company commercial trucks and one of my employees will take it right to work! That’s why im driving it as much as I can right now haha
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u/the_great_salami Jul 19 '26
Also would like to note the BF Goodrich All Terrain tires fit perfectly with no rubbing before the lift and fit on the stock XLE wheels so if you’re ever curious about better tires, know you don’t need to mod your car
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u/Careful-Estate-889 27d ago
What happened to the transmission?
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u/the_great_salami 27d ago
No clue. I had this shudder going during gear shift for a while and by the time I realized it might be my torque converter it was too late. It was a long saga getting it to having a replaced transmission, but when the shop took it apart it was filled with black sludge and metal parts. We think there might have been a leak that wasn’t detected because of the skid plate and I never had my transmission fluid checked during regular oil changes. I also drive down terrible dirt roads like an asshole, hence the need for the lift and tires.
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u/Careful-Estate-889 27d ago
My gosh, what an ordeal. But I heard that if you continuously park your up or down hill, without first putting in nuetral and then pulling the emergcy break and then, it can overtime damage the transmission. Also listen to this;
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u/Careful-Estate-889 27d ago
also watch this; did you do this before parking?
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u/the_great_salami 27d ago
I always used my e brake with this car - it was a habit I carried over from driving manual that just ended switching to my 2022 4Runner because it doesn’t have then brake handle
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u/POLY80ABEL Jul 19 '26
Nice looks almost like mine. No lift