1999 Toyota RAV4 2.0L Petrol · T537 JEC

The vehicle currently fails the roadworthiness standard. The February 2025 test at 126,530 miles recorded a failure driven by severe structural corrosion: the front sub-frame was seriously weakened, both rear inner sill mounting areas were excessively corroded, and general underbody corrosion was noted alongside worn front brake discs and a minor exhaust gas leak. The maintenance trend is clearly worsening. Where the March 2024 pass at 124,591 miles flagged heavy underside corrosion and edge-worn rear tyres as advisories, the subsequent test escalated those same corrosion issues into outright failures within eleven months. Recorded mileage shows light use for a 1999 vehicle. The odometer rose from 121,466 miles at the March 2022 failure to 126,530 miles by February 2025, an average of roughly 1,700 miles per year across that span. Low annual accumulation of around 4,700 miles lifetime suggests prolonged standing periods rather than regular road use, which accelerates surface and structural rust on a vehicle of this age. The sparse but consistent entries confirm corrosion rather than wear from high mileage as the dominant degradation path. A buyer must treat the structural integrity as the primary risk. The tester flagged excessive inner sill corrosion and a seriously weakened front sub-frame in 2025, repeating rear sill failures first seen in March 2022. Coil spring corrosion on both front corners appeared in 2022 and persisted to 2025. Front brake discs scored and pitted across every test from 2022 onward, and a corroded offside front brake pipe emerged in the last failure. In person, inspect the sub-frame, sills, and all underbody mountings on a lift for perforation and weld separation. Verify the front brake discs, pipes, and calipers for pitting and binding. Confirm the exhaust manifold and centre section seal, as the 2025 minor gas leak indicates ageing joints. The windscreen damage noted at every test since 2022 also warrants replacement before purchase.