2001 Toyota RAV4

I DROVE MY CAR TO WORK AND IT WAS DRIVING AND SHIFTING JUST FINE (AUTOMATIC). I PARKED, TURNED THE CAR OFF, AND WENT INSIDE TO PUNCH IN. NOT 10 MINUTES LATER I RETURNED TO START THE VEHICLE AND IT IMMEDIATELY SHIFTED HARD OUT OF PARK INTO REVERSE. WHEN IT SHIFTED INTO FIRST GEAR I COULD TELL THERE WAS A PROBLEM, THE CAR BASICALLY SPUTTERED INTO THE GEAR AND COULD BARELY SHIFT OUT OF IT INTO SECOND. ONCE IT DID THE CAR JERKED FORWARD AND I FELT LIKE I DID NOT HAVE GOOD CONTROL OF IT DUE TO THE WAY IT WAS JERKING IN AND OUT OF GEAR. DURING THIS TIME THE RPMS WOULD GO WAY UP AND SUDDENLY DOWN AGAIN, AND IT SEEMED LIKE EVERY TIME I APPLIED THE GAS (AND THUS ENGAGED THE TRANSMISSION) THE VEHICLE STARTED REACTING IN AN UNPREDICTABLE MANNER. THERE DIDN'T SEEM TO BE ANY RHYME OR REASON FOR WHEN THIS HAPPENED, SOMETIMES IT WAS OK BUT IN GENERAL THE CAR HAD A GREAT DEAL OF TROUBLE SHIFTING OUT OF 1ST AND 2ND GEAR. ONCE I WAS GOING OVER ROUGHLY 30MPH THE CAR WAS GENERALLY OK, BUT WOULD OCCASIONALLY SPUTTER. AS FAR AS EVENTS LEADING UP TO THE FAILURE, THE ENGINE CONTROL MODULE HAS BEEN RECALLED I BELIEVE TWICE ON THIS PARTICULAR VEHICLE AND IT HAS ALWAYS HAD CHECK ENGINE LIGHT PROBLEMS. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT HAD BEEN ON FOR ROUGHLY 12K MILES PREVIOUS TO THIS HAPPENING WITH NO INCIDENT; THE DIAGNOSTIC READ THAT I NEEDED A NEW CATALYTIC CONVERTER BUT 1) THE COMPUTER, IN MY OPINION, ISN'T RELIABLE BECAUSE IT'S BEEN RECALLED/REPROGRAMMED AND CLEARLY HAS A DEFECT AND 2) THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER DYING SHOULD BE A SLOW DEATH WITH A GRADUAL DECREASE IN GAS MILEAGE AND EVENTUAL "CHOKING" OF THE ENGINE AT UP TO 40K MILES AFTER THE DIAGNOSIS. THIS HAPPENED IMMEDIATELY AND FROM ONE ENGINE START TO THE NEXT.

TOYOTA 2001 RAV4: CHECK ENGINE LIGHT HAS BEEN ON SINCE AT LEAST AUGUST, 2004 (DOCUMENTED). TOYOTA CLAIMED TO FIX PER A RECALL NOTICE. FROM FEBRUARY 2002 TO DATE, THERE HAS BEEN INTERMITTENT GROANING BENEATH CAR, WHINING IN FIRST GEAR, AND WHAT FELT LIKE CLUNKING. COULD NOT PASS SMOG TESTS BECAUSE OF CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CODE. IN OCTOBER, 2009, CAR DIED. COULD NOT RESTART, HAD TO WAIT FOR TOW (MIDNIGHT ON A DARK ROAD). HAD WORK DONE IN OCT, 2009, AND I REQUESTED THE PARTS. THEY REPLACED MY COILS, PLUGS AND AIR FILTER FOR $1,330. I HAVE HAD BRAKES REPLACED , FLUIDS CHANGED, O2 SENSORS REPLACED ( SINCE THEN, THE CAR IS MIS-SHIFTING, CLUNKING OR GROANING, ROUGH ENGINE. ON 3/25/2010, I TOOK IT IN AND TOYOTA SERVICE RECOMMENDED THAT I "LET IT GO" AND BUY ANOTHER CAR. THEY TOLD ME TO JUST COME AND GET THE CAR WITHOUT ANY WORK DONE, BECAUSE IT WOULD COST ME BETWEEN $6,000-$7,000 FOR REPAIRS. I WAS NEVER TOLD THAT I HAD ECM AND TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS THROUGHOUT ALL OF THESE VISITS TO TOYOTA SERVICE. I BELIEVE THAT TOYOTA "WAITED ME OUT" SO THAT THEY COULD JUST SELL ME ANOTHER CAR INSTEAD OF REVEALING THE TRUE CAUSE OF MY PROBLEMS. THE ECM AND TRANSMISSION FOR THIS CAR IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE AS A NEW ITEM, SO I WOULD HAVE TO GET A REBUILT TRANSMISSION, WHICH THE DEFECTIVE ECM WOULD END UP DESTROYING. I AM AFRAID TO DRIVE THE CAR BECAUSE OF THE POSSIBILITY THAT THE TRANSMISSION WILL FAIL. *CN

ON DECEMBER 22ND, I EXPERIENCED SLIPPING TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS. I TOOK IT TO OUR LOCAL TOYOTA DEALERSHIP, AND WAS TOLD THAT THERE WAS NO PROBLEM. I THEN TOOK IT TO A INDEPENDENT TRANSMISSION SHOP. I LEARNED THAT THAT MY TRANSMISSION WAS DESTROYED, AND HAD TO BE REPLACED. A REBUILT TRANSMISSION WAS INSTALLED. I STILL HAD PROBLEMS, AND UPON FURTHER INVESTIGATION, THE TORQUE CONVERTER HAD TO BE REPLACED. WITH THE TORQUE CONVERTER REPLACED, I DROVE MY TOYOTA RAV 4, ONLY TO EXPERIENCE MORE PROBLEMS. I PERSONALLY BEGAN INVESGATING THE PROBLEMS WITH TOYOTA RAV'S, AND LEARNED OF ALL OF THE OTHER COMPLAINTS LOGGED AGAINST TOYOTA, DUE TO TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS. IT HAS BEEN 3, ALMOST4 MONTHS, AND MY TOYOTA IS CURRENTLY IN THE SHOP, GETTING A SHIFT SOLENOID. I CALLED TOYOTA, FOR ASSITANCE, AND WAS TOLD THAT IT WAS NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. CURRENTLY, I HAVE OVER $4700 IN REPAIRS TO THIS VEHICLE.

TOYOTA 2001 RAV4 TRANSMISSION SHIFT PROBLEM SINCE MARCH 2009. APPROX MILES TO DATE 95,750. WHEN I FIRST TOOK IT IN, I CHECKED WITH AUTOZONE FOR DIAGNOSTIC CHECK WHICH WAS FREE BECAUSE THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. I THEN TOOK THE READINGS TO TOYOTA WHO TOLD ME THEY WOULDN'T ACCEPT AUTOZONE'S DIAGNOSTIC AND I HAD TO GET ANOTHER ONE FROM THEM WHICH COST $100. THEN THEY TOLD ME IT WAS JUST THE GAS CAP AND TURNED THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT OFF. WITHIN 2 DAYS, AFTER MY E-CHECK, THE LIGHT CAME BACK ON HAS BEEN ON EVER SINCE. I HAVE TAKEN IT BACK SEVERAL TIMES FOR OIL CHANGES AND THEY NEVER SAID THAT THERE WAS A PROBLEM. THE DIAGNOSTIC FROM AUTOZONE STATED THE SHIFT SOLENOID WAS BAD BUT TOYOTA SAID IT WAS THE GAS CAP. I HAVE DONE SOME RESEARCH AND I AM NOW AWARE THAT I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE WITH THIS TYPE OF PROBLEM. THIS IS SHAMEFUL THAT THEY CHOOSE TO IGNORE THIS SERIOUS MALFUNCTION TO GET MAJOR MONEY FROM THE CONSUMERS. I AM MORE UPSET WITH THE FACT THAT I BOUGHT THE CAR IN MAY OF 2006 AND THEY KNEW THEN THAT THERE WAS A PROBLEM. THE WARRANTY IS A JOKE, THAT'S A MAJOR PART THAT THEY WON'T HONOR AND THEY ARE PURPOSELY IGNORING IT SO THAT IT'S NOT COVERED OR THEIR PROBLEM. WHY WAIT UNTIL SOMEONE GETS HURT OR KILLED BECAUSE THEY DON'T WANT TO OWN UP TO THEIR DEFECTIVE PARTS. MY CAR WILL GET STUCK IN FIRST GEAR AND JUMP TO SECOND VERY HARD. I HAVE TAKEN THE CAR TO A FOREIGN CAR REPAIR SHOP LAST SPRING AND THEY DID A QUICK FIX BY TRYING TO SEE IF REPLACING THE TRANSMISSION FLUID TO SEE IF THAT WORKED BUT IT LASTED FOR ONLY A WEEK. DURING MY LAST MAINTENANCE CHECK AT TOYOTA, I WAS TOLD I PROBABLY HAD SIX MONTHS, STILL NEVER ACKNOWLEDGING THAT IT WAS A DEFECT IN THEIR PART OR THAT IT WAS COVERED. IT'S NOT FAIR TO THE CONSUMER TO BE IGNORED AND TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF BY THIS COMPANY. PLEASE DON'T IGNORE OUR COMPLAINTS THEY ARE REAL AND SERIOUS. *TR

HELLO, MY WIFE AND I PURCHASED A 2001 TOYOTA RAV 4 IN 2003. IT SERVED US WELL UNTIL ABOUT A MONTH AGO, WHEN AT 93,500 MILES IT BEGAN TO HAVE SHIFTING PROBLEMS. WHEN THE CAR WAS COLD, I WOULD STEP ON THE ACCELERATOR AND THE CAR WOULD CRAWL ALONG; THEN IT WOULD BEGIN TO SLIP, AS IF I HAD HIT A PATCH OF ICE--THE ENGINE WOULD REV BUT THE CAR WOULD NOT GO FORWARD. AND I HEARD A LOUD AND OMINOUS CLANKING NOISE FROM UNDERNEATH THE CAR AS I CRAWLED ALONG. AS THE ENGINE WARMED UP, THE PROBLEM SUBSIDED SO I HEADED HOME. AS I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY THE CAR STALLED MOMENTARILY. THANKFULLY, NO ACCIDENT OCCURRED, THOUGH I COULD HAVE EASILY BEEN REAR-ENDED. AFTER MANY HOURS SPENT WITH MY MECHANIC, OUR SELLING TOYOTA DEALER, AND A LOCAL TRANSMISSION SHOP, WE WERE TOLD THAT THE ECU MODULE IN THE RAV WAS GOING BAD AND THAT IS WHAT WRECKED OUR TRANSMISSION. WE NEEDED A REBUILT TRANSMISSION AND A NEW ECU MODULE. GRAND TOTAL FOR THE WORK: A WHOPPING $4500! I GOOGLED THE PROBLEM AND READ THAT HUNDREDS OF OTHER PEOPLE HAVE EXPERIENCED THE SAME PROBLEM; THAT IN 2006 TOYOTA ISSUED A SERVICE BULLETIN TO ITS DEALERS, ACKNOWLEDGING THAT THERE WAS A PROBLEM WITH ECUS IN RAVS MODEL YEAR 2001-2003. BUT THE OWNERS OF THESE VEHICLES WERE NEVER NOTIFIED, LEADING TO A BURN-OUT OF RAV TRANSMISSIONS ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY. A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT HAS BEEN FILED AGAINST TOYOTA TO GET THEM TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR DEFECTIVE PARTS. I CALLED TOYOTA; THEY POLITELY BUT FIRMLY REFUSED TO PAY FOR ANY OF THE WORK, SIMPLY CLAIMING THE VEHICLE WAS OUT OF WARRANTY. THEN I SPOKE WITH THE GENERAL MANAGER AT THE DEALERSHIP--SAME ANSWER. THIS IS NOT SIMPLY A MATTER OF MONEY AND INCONVENIENCE; THESE VEHICLES ARE DANGEROUS AND I BELIEVE IT IS JUST A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE SOMEONE GETS INTO AN ACCIDENT AS A DIRECT RESULT OF THESE DEFECTIVE PARTS THAT TOYOTA INSTALLED IN ITS VEHICLES. PLEASE PRESSURE TOYOTA TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE PROBLEM IT HAS CREATED! THANK YOU. *TR

MY 2001 TOYOTA RAV-4 BEGAN HAVING GEAR SHIFT PROBLEMS ABOUT JANUARY 10, 2010. IT BUMPED, LURCHED, BURPED GOING INTO 2ND, 3RD AND 4TH GEARS. I TOOK IT TO MY REGULAR SERVICE DEALER AND THEY CHECKED IT OVER, THEY DRAINED AND REPLACED THE FLUID, PAN GASKET & FILTER. WHILE DRIVING IT HOME IT BEGAN THE GEAR PROBLEM AGAIN. I THEN TOOK IT TO A RECOMMENDED TRANSMISSION SHOP. THEY RECONDITIONED THE TRANSMISSION. IT WAS OK FOR A FEW DAYS; TOOK IT BACK; MORE WORK DONE AS PART OF TRANSMISSION WARRANTY. STILL NOT FIXED. BIG PROBLEMS SHIFTING INTO SECOND AND THIRD GEARS MOST OF THE TIME. *TR

MY COMPLAINT IS ABOUT MY 2001 TOYOTA RAV4. ABOUT THREE WEEKS AGO I STARTED HAVING PROBLEMS WITH MY TRANSMISSION. THE TRANSMISSION STARTED TO SHIFT AS IF IT WERE GOING TO STOP. IT STARTED TO JERK, SLOW DOWN SO MUCH UNTIL I THOUGHT THAT I WAS GOING TO GET HIT FROM BEHIND. I HAD TO PUT MY FLASHERS ON SO THE OTHER DRIVERS WOULD SLOW DOWN AND GO AROUND ME. I DO NOT FEEL SAFE IN MY CAR ANYMORE. I HAVE HAD THE TRANSMISSION CHECKED BUT NO ERROR CODE APPEARS. I WAS TOLD WITHOUT A CODE THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT WAS WRONG. THE TRANSMISSION WILL SHIFT O.K. FOR A WHILE AND THEN IT WILL START, JERKING, LOSING POWER, AND FAILING TO ACCELERATE. I AM AFRAID TO GO VERY FAR IN MY CAR FOR FEAR OF BEING STRANDED. I SEE THAT OTHER PEOPLE ARE HAVING THE SAME KIND OF PROBLEM WITH THEIR TOYOTA. PLEASE HELP! THANK YOU *TR