Rav4 Clutch

Yes, the Rav4 clutch self-adjusts. How do you defeat the synchromesh when changing gears? Are you hearing or feeling grinding when shifting? Is it more prevalent when downshifting? In all the gears or just 1 or 2?

Is the transmission fluid the original factory fill or has it been replaced?

Its noticeable when changing from 1st to second, & third to 4th. I feel a resistance / grinding, its not audible. If I wait in neutral before moving to the new gear for a second, or two its better, but not perfect Also when moving from 1st to second there's a sort of cyclical whining noise - "Whee Whee Whee"

As to the fluid, I've not changed it, so I guess its whatever Toyota put in. The gearbox is quite noisy on this car (at 6000Km) in gears 1-4 - 5&6 are OK tho.

I asked about the clutch because 1) you have to depress it flat to the floor to get it to disengage & 2) the syncro thing

I've never had a RAV before, so I don't know what to expect.- should I be able to defeat the Syncro ? I thought not.

I would take it back to the dealer for evaluation. It is possible that the hydraulic clutch is not working properly or may need adjustment.

I'm guessing you must be out of the US. I wish I could tell you but my 2006 RAV4 wasn't available with a manual trans so I'm driving an automatic :-(