I am the owner of an auto repair shop, and I have had to face a lot of RAV4 owners who wanted to lift their cars.
What do they mainly ask?
Well, when these RAV4 owners decide to lift their cars, the first thing they ask is what benefits they will get from lifting their vehicles.
Then, they ask, how much does it cost to lift a RAV4?
I have a simple answer to their questions. Usually, if you install a lift kit to your RAV4, it can cost you around 650 dollars to 1500 dollars for both buying the lift kit and getting it installed. The added ground clearance, along with the other benefits, make it worth the money.
Today. I will discuss in detail how much it can cost you to lift your RAV4 hybrid and what benefits you will get from doing this.
Cost of Buying and Installing a Lift kit for RAV4
When you want to buy a lift kit for your Toyota RAV4, you might have to spend around 400 dollars to 1000 dollars on a good lift kit.
And to install the lift kit you bought for your RAV4 by a professional, you need to spend around 250 dollars to 500 dollars, depending on the auto repair shop.
So the total cost will be around $650 to $1500!
What’s the cheapest option?
Well, the cheapest option for lifting your Toyota RAV4 is a spacer lift kit. And there are two types of spacer lift kits to choose from.
These spacer lift kits are made out of steel, aluminum, or polyurethane materials that make for a durable lift.
If you want the absolute cheapest option, you can go for a lift kit with strut spacers to add height to your car.
However, I wouldn’t recommend buying a strut spacer lift kit for your Toyota RAV4, as they can do more harm than good.
They can make it harder for you to handle your vehicle and make for a harsher ride by decreasing the ride quality.
The second option?
You can go for a lift kit with coil spring spacers for your Toyota RAV4 if you are on a tight budget and don’t want to spend much on a lift.
These coil spring spacer lift kits can easily add to the ride height of your car and increase its ground clearance.
An even better option?
The best decision regarding lifting your Toyota RAV4 will be to save up your money for a suspension lift kit.
It’s more expensive, but it’s worth spending the extra few hundred dollars!
Why is it better?
Well, installing a lift kit can alter the geometry and the center of your car’s gravity, which can change how you handle your car.
A suspension lift kit comes with components that can adjust the angles and fix the geometry of your car to give you a more comfortable ride.
Here’s the thing!
You can bring down the expense of installing your lift kit by a few hundred bucks if you can install the kit by yourself.
You just need to be able to get your hands dirty and have the capability to follow instructions correctly.
I’ll even give you a guide on installing a lift kit on your Toyota RAV4 yourself in a bit!
How to Install a Lift Kit on Toyota RAV4 Yourself
If you want to install a lift kit on your Toyota RAV4 by yourself, you should follow this step-by-step guide carefully.
Step 1: Gather Your Equipment
These are the tools you need to gather before you can get started on installing the lift kit on your Toyota RAV4:
- Pry bars
- PB Blaster
- Hammer
- Wrench set
- Safety wire
- Vehicle jacks
- Lug wrench
- Safety stands
- Torque wrench
- Screwdrivers
Step 2: Raising Your Toyota RAV4
Firstly, you should ensure that the negative battery terminal of your car is unclamped if you don’t want to get electrocuted accidentally.
Then, without removing the lug nuts completely, you have to loosen them up a bit.
Now you should place a jack on the front of your Toyota RAV4 so you can get underneath your car to easily install the lift kit.
You should also place a few jacks on each of the weight points of your car while keeping the car level. Remember to place safety stands around the weight points as well,
We don’t want any accidents, and it’s risky to rely just on the stands!
Now raise your jack right under the car’s axle to let it hold the axle’s weight for when you remove the car’s suspension components.
Step 3: Taking Out the Tires and Suspension Components
After lifting your car higher from the surface level to be able to get under it for installation, you have to remove the tires and wheels.
Then, you have to take out the coil springs and the shock absorbers from your Toyota RAV4. Also, remove the U-bolts that get in your way.
Keep these components somewhere safe because you will need to reinstall them after installing the lift kit.
Use your hammer when you can’t get the components out, even after taking the bolts out.
Step 4: Installation of the Lift Kit
In some cases, you might have to assemble the coil spring. To do this, you can follow the directions you will find in your lift kit’s instruction manual and tightly screw the bolts on.
Replace your car’s old bolts with the new U-bolts you will get in your lift kit. Just make sure that the alignments of all of the parts are correct after bolting these parts.
Following the instructions of your lift kit, assemble your new shock absorbers and install them right into your car.
You can utilize the torque wrench here to ensure all the bolts are screwed tightly.
Step 5: Finishing Up
Now you can remove your safety stands and lower the front of your car after reinstalling the tires and wheels.
Next up is the rear end. For this, you have to go through the same process you had applied on the front.
You can always fit bigger, new tires and wheels if your lift kit allows for them!
Final Words
How much does it cost to lift a RAV4? Well, the cost of buying and installing a lift kit for a RAV4 can be around $650 to $1500.
However, you can decrease the entire cost of installation if you install the lift kit by yourself.
Whatever you choose to do, just buy a compatible lift kit for your Toyota RAV4 that will make your ride much more comfortable.
