Ask an expert

I am led to believe that vehicles with permanent 4WD, such as the Toypta RAV4 are prone to transmission problems due to the heavy load on the central differential gearing.
Is this correct, and if so what can be done to minimise risk?

The RAV4 does not have a permanent 4WD system as far as I am aware.

The most common brand with AWD is Subaru and apart from excessive fuel consumption in the early models they don’t seem to give a lot of trouble.

There are so many types of 4WD systems. You would be better to sit down with a 4WD specialist and let them explain the different systems and pitfalls.