2002 Toyota RAV4

STARTING THE END OF APRIL 2010 MY 2002 TOYOTA RAV4 STARTING GIVING ME PROBLEMS WITH SHIFTING GEARS AND WHEN I PRESSED THE ACCELERATOR IT DIDN'T WANT TO MOVE AND REALLY SLUGGISH AND WOULD JERK. I WAS AFRAID THAT SOMEONE WOULD REAR END ME. I KEPT UP ALL MY MAINTENANCE ON THE VEHICLE. I HAD A TRANSMISSION SERVICE DONE MARCH 2008. THE DEALER SAID I NEEDED A NEW TRANSMISSION. MY CAR HAS 90,000 MILES. I HAD ANOTHER TRANSMISSION SERVICE DONE, BUT IT JUST GOT WORSE. I TOOK IT TO ANOTHER REPAIR SHOP AND THEY SAID THERE WAS A COMPUTER DEFECT AND THE TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. MY CAR IS IN THE SHOP FOR REPAIRS. *TR

I HAVE A 2002 TOYOTA RAVE 4, I HAVE EVEN COMPLAINED TO THE DEALERSHIP WHERE I BOUGHT THE VEHICLE. I COMPLAINED ABOUT IT SPEEDING OUT OF CONTROL WHEN I USED THE CRUISE CONTROL AND IT STILL DOES AND I CAN REPRODUCE IT EVERY TIME ON THE SAME ROAD. I ALSO HAD COMPLAINED ABOUT STEPING ON THE BREAKES AND THE CAR NOT WANTING TO STOP. DEALERSHIP TOLD ME "IT WAS IN MY HEAD, AND THAT THEY COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH IT." I WAS ACTUALLY IN A CAR ACCIDENT ON MY WAY INTO THE DEALERSHIP TO HAVE THEM CHECK THE SAME PROBLEM AGAIN. I REPORTED IT SEVERAL TIMES TO THEM AN I HAVE HAD THE CAR SINCE 2005.

IN THE FALL OF 2008, THE FACTORY INSTALLED CRUISE CONTROL ON MY 2002 TOYOTA RAV 4 FUNCTIONS INTERMITTENTLY. IT WILL WORK FOR A SHORT PERIOD ON ANY LONG TRIP THEN WILL CAUSE VEHICLE TO DECELERATE. SOMETIMES CANNOT GET IT TO WORK AGAIN. LIGHT WILL FLASH ON AND OFF ON THE DASHBOARD. HAVE TAKEN IT IN TO LOCAL TOYOTA DEALERSHIP WHO CANNOT GET IT TO DUPLICATE. THE MECHANIC STATES EVERYTHING IS FINE. DUE TO SEMI-FUNCTIONAL CRUISE, THE MILEAGE ON A LONG DISTANCE TRIP HAS DECREASED FROM 30-32 MPG TO 24-26MPG.REPORTED THIS TO TOYOTA IN 2009 AND GIVEN A CASE # WHICH I HAVE MISPLACED. THEY DID NOT APPEAR TO BE CONCERNED OR ADMIT THEY HAD A PROBLEM. EXTENDED WARRANTY (TO 100,000 MILES) WILL NOT COVER THE REPAIR. THERE IS INDEED AN ELECTRICAL ISSUE GOING ON, BUT NO ONE SEEMS TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM OR CARE. IN SEARCHING I HAVE FOUND OTHER PEOPLE WHO HAVE POSTED COMMENTS REGARDING THE SAME ISSUE WITHOUT RESOLUTION. *TR

INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) I PURCHASED MY 2002 TOYOTA RAV4 FROM MY DEALER, RICH TOYOTA OF HUNTINGTON, WV IN SPRING 2002'IT WAS HIS DEMO CAR, VIN#[XXX] ; MODEL #4416A. AT 107,00 MILES, OUT OF THE CLEAR-BLUE, THE RAV4 CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON FOR ABOUT TWO HOURS, THEN WENT OUT, BUT THEN SHIFTING BECAME ERRATIC. I HAVE SERVICED THIS VEHICLE FAITHFULLY SINCE I PURCHASED IT AND EXPECTED TO GET ANOTHER 100,000 MORE MILES, BUT, MY DEALERSHIP, WHERE IT HAS BEEN SERVICED SINCE PURCHASE, SAID IT WAS GOING TO COST OVER $1,200 FOR THE ECC/ECM (ENGINE CONTROL COMPUTER/ENGINE CONTROL MODULE), AND EVEN IF I REPLACE JUST THE ECC/ECM, IT STILL MAY NOT WORK WITH THE OLD TRANSMISSION, SO IT WAS RECOMMENDED THAT I REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION TOO FOR ANOTHER $3,500 BECAUSE THE DEFECTIVE ECC MAY HAVE DESTROYED THE TRANSMISSION. THEY ALSO SUGGESTED REPLACEMENT OF THE AIR-FUEL SENSOR FOR A TOTAL OF $5,189.00 IN REPAIRS BEFORE TAXES. I HAD NEVER REALIZED THAT THERE WERE EVER ANY SERIOUS PROBLEMS LIKE THIS WITH THE TOYOTA PRODUCT LINE UNTIL I WENT ONLINE TO RESEARCH THIS TRANSMISSION PROBLEM. WHAT AN EYE-OPENER!!! THERE WERE MANY, MANY PROBLEMS DOCUMENTED WITH MANY OF TOYOTA'S PRODUCTS! CONSIDERING THAT THIS RAV4 WAS A $22,000 VEHICLE WHEN I PURCHASED IT, DOESN'T IT SEEM STRANGE THAT AFTER JUST 6 YEARS IT IS INOPERABLE AND EVEN DANGEROUS! AFTER E-MAILING AND SENDING A LETTER TO TOYOTA USA IN TORRENCE CALIFORNIA ABOUT THIS ISSUE, I CALLED THE TOYOTA CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE CENTER AT 1-800-331-4331 AND TALKED WITH A REAL PERSON. PLUS, I HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED A CASE NUMBER, WHICH GOES INTO THEIR DATABASE AND LOGS THE ISSUE SHOULD THEY HAVE ENOUGH COMPLAINTS TO WARRANT A RECALL OR OTHER REMEDY. I HAVE SINCE REPLACED THE TRANSMISSION AND DEFECTIVE ECU AT A COST OF ABOUT $4,500. AFTER RESEARCHING YOUR COMPLAINT FILES ON THIS RAV4 ISSUE, WHY HASN'T NHTSA DONE SOMETHING ABOUT IT WITH TOYOTA!!!!???? *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 TOYOTA RAV4. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE ECU BOARD FAILED ON THE VEHICLE AND THAT THE DEALER SAID THAT THEY WERE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE ECU BOARD NORMALLY FAILED AT 75 MILES ON HIS YEAR, MAKE AND MODEL VEHICLE. AFTER THE ECU FAILED THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO LUNGE FORWARD WHEN IT SHIFTED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 82,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 105,000. UPDATED 05/10/10 *BF UPDATED 05/11/10. *JB

AFTER HAVING AN OXYGEN SENSOR REPLACED IN THE EXHAUST SYSTEM OF MY 2002 TOYOTA RAV4 ON 02/02/10, I NOTICED THAT MY CAR BEGAN ACCELERATING SLUGGISHLY. APPROXIMATELY 50 MILES AFTER THE SERVICE WAS PERFORMED, I NOTICED MY CAR JERKED WHEN SHIFTING THROUGH GEARS 1-3 AND THE TACHOMETER WOULD REV TO 3000 RPMS. THE CAR THEN RAN FINE FOR APP. 4 DAYS WITH NO GEAR SLIPPAGE. A WEEK LATER THE GEARS STARTED SLIPPING AGAIN WITHOUT WARNING AND THE CAR SEEMED TO HAVE NO POWER WHEN THE GAS PEDAL WAS FULLY ENGAGED DURING A RIGHT HAND TURN TO MERGE WITH ONCOMING TRAFFIC. THE CAR THEN BUCKED VIOLENTLY. THIS RESULTED WITH MY PASSENGER AND I BECOMING ANXIOUS/SCARED BECAUSE WE DIDN'T KNOW IF THE TRAFFIC COMING TOWARD US WOULD HAVE HIT US IF WE SUDDENLY LOST POWER. I IMMEDIATELY DROVE MY CAR HOME WHERE IT HAS REMAINED PARKED AND SET AN APPOINTMENT WITH A TOYOTA DEALER EXPLAINING THE PROBLEMS. ACCORDING TO SIMILAR STORIES FROM FELLOW RAV4 OWNERS, THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE ELECTRONIC CONTROL MODULE CAUSING IRREVERSIBLE DAMAGE TO THE TRANSMISSION. I AM TAKING THE CAR TO THE DEALER TO HAVE IT 'OFFICIALLY' DIAGNOSED ALTHOUGH IT ONLY CODES TO HAVE THE O2 SENSOR REPLACED, WHICH I DID. *TR

TOYOTA ISSUED A SECRET BULLETIN ON 3/3/2006 (TC006-02), BUT FAILED TO NOTIFY OWNERS OF 2001-2003 RAV4 VEHICLES REGARDING THEIR HARD SHIFTING, ECM PROBLEMS, AND TRANSMISSION FAILURES. DESPITE MY REPORTING THIS PROBLEM WITHIN WARRANTY PERIOD AT 54,000 MILES IN 2006, AND AGAIN IN 2007, TOYOTA CLAIMED UNABLE TO DUPLICATE PROBLEM. THEY ARE NOW CHARGING ME 1/2 THE COST OF A NEW TRANSMISSION AT APPROXIMATELY $2,000 INCLUDING THE COST OF FLUSHING THE OLD ONE AND DIAGNOSING THE PROBLEM. *TR

PURCHASED 2002 TOYOTA RAV4 NEW FROM TOYOTA DEALER IN OCTOBER 2001. EXPERIENCED HARD SHIFTING SEVERAL YEARS AGO WHEN TRAVELING UPHILL AND A HIGHWAY SPEEDS. TOLD THAT THE CAR WAS SHIFTING FINE. NOW THE ENGINE CONTROL MODULE NEEDS TO BE REPLACED AND POSSIBLY THE COMPLETE TRANSMISSION. TOYOTA ISSUED A TSB IN 2008 BUT I WAS NEVER INFORMED. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION SINCE THE CAR CAN STOP AT ANY TIME. *TR