Rav4 mystery oil leak 96 rav 112k miles, timing belt went while I was going fast, it quit and a bunch of coolant came pouring out. Within a week after this was fixed, it was completely out of oil. I filled it up and I admit it was cold as **** and I didn't stay on top of the oil situation. Drove it quite a while, probably without oil, til the light came on. Took it to mechanic, replace valve cover gasket. Empty a week later. Replaced oil pan gasket. Still leaking oil, (though not on the floor of my garage, it simply disappears!) and now blowing humongous clouds of blue white smoke, I took it back and they rebuilt the top end for $2300. Three days now and 120 miles later it is again out of oil. Has not smoked since we very first started it at the garage to bring it home, a little bit, but as I say the oil does not register on the dipstick.

Timing belts should be replaced every so many miles OR time. What ever comes first. Check your owners manual. The common mileage is 60,000 miles. Time should be 4 years. If there is a fluid leaking into the belt then it should be replaced immediately and the leak repaired.

there is no oil in a knock sensor , are you sure you are not looking at the oil pressure sender unit , usually fitted at or near the oil filter.

well lets try inspecting your coolant temp sensor for the ecu, not for your gage it is green whit two wires going into it, if any corrosion replace sensor and pigtail, your ecu may be dumping lots of fuel thinking eng still cold when is hot, this also wahs off your rings and by adding oil bumps compression and starts, hope this helps.

same here on my rav4 1996,i just put in oil stop leak been ok for 8 months :) you will always get hatters of oil stop leaks,but they work ok,though i find don't like them have never used them

Hello tdxflygirl: My name is Roger and I will give you some helpful information. All these things may be wrong but repair as you money allows. The main leak I would be worried about is the leak behind the timing belt cover. Your timing belt does not work well with oil. Oil will break down the composition of the belt. You did not say which motor you have in your vehicle so I assume it is a 1.6l. engine. As for the valve cover they usually seep more than out right leak. There is no pressure on them like the camshaft and crankshaft seals. The distributor seal does have oil pressure on it but should be inexpensive to repair.The ripped intake boot I am not quite sure which one you are talking about. This could be a grommet or a boot. If this is boot it could create a vacuum leak and cause the check engine light to come on. The housing you are talking about I am not sure of. As I can not find a good picture of any housing in the repair manual. As for the plug wires They will become oil soaked over a period of time. This will short them out and cause a misfire in the engine. I would recommend getting a second opinion before spending a lot of money an repairs. Also have them prioritize the repairs as to what should be done first and do them a little at a time. Shops are like everyone else. Times are not all that great. They would love to do this all at once. But a small job here and there add up also. Should you nee further help please just ask. Please rate the answer as this way I know it helped. Thank You for using Fix Ya Roger

I see you have a four cylinder since it only holds 4.5 quarts.
2006 manual confirms your oil consumption is within allowances. Just check oil every time you buy gas like the manual reccomends. Do not over rev engine or accelerate from stops at max capacity of car as these can increase oil consumption.

JR

I belive they didn't reset the oil light timer. I belive the sequence is 1. key on (not acc with engine off)
2. step on the brake pedal 5 times within 10 seconds. 3. key off. 4. start car. 5. check if the light went out. you may have to try it a few times to get it.

All Ravs are made in Japan. There is no such thing as a timing belt sensor. 230 is high for an auto engine.

Zero tolerance means the valves may have hit the piston when the timing belt broke. I would suggest doing a cylinder leakage test to see if the valves are bent or not. If the valves are not bent then you can replace the belt and everything will be ok. If there are bent valves then the cylinder heads will need to be removed and repaired.