2002 Toyota RAV4

WE HAVE A 2002 TOYOTA RAV4 . THE TRANSMISSION STARTED ACTING UP DUE TO THE ECM VALVE NOT ALLOWING GEARS TO CHANGE . SLIPPING GEARS & NO POWER AT TAKE OFF FROM STOPS. IT HAS 103000 MILES ON IT.WE BOUGHT THIS CAR USED AT A TOYOTA DEALERSHIP IN 2004. WE HAVE NOT REPAIRED IT YET. IT IS TO COSTLY AND THE CAR ISN'T PAID OFF YET. SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE. CAR HAS BEEN PARKED WE ARE AFRAID TO LET OUR DAUGHTER DRIVE IT. *TR

I HAVE A 2002 RAV 4 WITH 139K MILES ON IT. LATELY MY CAR HAS BEEN HAVING TROUBLE SHIFTING FROM FIRST GEAR TO SECOND GEAR. I NOTICED IT WITHIN THE LAST TWO WEEKS OF FEBRUARY. BUT THERE WOULD BE DAYS WHEN IT WOULD ACT NORMAL AND IT WAS FINE AND SOME DAYS IT HAD ITS PROBLEMS. WITHIN THIS PAST WEEK IT HAS BECOME WORSE. NOW WHEN MY CAR COMES TO A COMPLETE STOP AND TRIES TO SHIFT IT WOULD HESITATE, JERK, SHIFT AGAIN AND BECOME ALMOST IDOL AND THEN GO. THIS WOULD MAKE ME NOT WANT TO STOP AT ALL WHEN DRIVING BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW IF IT WILL JUST DIE ON ME. I WOULD GET REALLY AFRAID IF I WOULD GET REAR ENDED FOR MY CAR HAVING TROUBLE SHIFTING. THE PROBLEM IS THE TRANSMISSION AND THE ECM. IN ORDER TO FIX THE PROBLEM I HAVE TO GET THE TRANSMISSION FIXED WHICH COSTS OVER $1,000 DOLLARS. I DID SOME RESEARCH AND NOTICED I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE WITH THIS PROBLEM. I THINK THAT TOYOTA SHOULD RECALL ALL 2002 RAV 4 BECAUSE OF ITS FAULTY TRANSMISSION AND I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO PAY SO MUCH. I COULD'VE CAUSED AN ACCIDENT WITH MY CAR BUT THAT'S NOT MY FAULT AND TOYOTA ALREADY KNOWS IT'S A PROBLEM BUT IS NOT DOING ANYTHING ABOUT IT. *TR

THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION IN MY 2002 TOYOTA RAV 4 FAILED SUDDENLY AND UNEXPECTEDLY. ENGINE POWER WAS LOST AS THE VEHICLE'S SHIFTING BECAME ERRATIC; STARTING FROM STOP IN 3RD GEAR, THEN DOWNSHIFTING TO SECOND. MERGING WITH TRAFFIC DIFFICULT AND DANGEROUS AT BEST. I TOOK THE CAR TO A TRANSMISSION SHOP. THEY DIAGNOSED THAT THE ECM CAUSED THE TRANSMISSION TO FAIL. THEIR ESTIMATE TO REPLACE THE COMPUTER AND REPAIR THE TRANSMISSION WAS OVER $4000. I HAVE SINCE FOUND NUMEROUS SIMILAR COMPLAINTS ONLINE FROM OTHER TOYOTA RAV OWNERS. AND I FOUND THAT TOYOTA KNEW ABOUT THIS DESIGN FLAW OVER 7 YEARS AGO, WHICH I BELIEVE IS A SAFETY ISSUE AS WELL AS A MAJOR CONSUMER PRODUCT ISSUE. NOW OUT OF WARRANTY (97K MILES) THE COSTS TO REPAIR MY CAR ARE ALMOST EQUAL TO ITS VALUE. I DON'T KNOW AT THIS DATE IF I WILL FIX IT AS LOAN PAYMENTS REMAIN. CONSIDERING THE NUMBER OF SIMILAR COMPLAINTS OVER TOYOTA RAV 4 TRANSMISSION FAILURES I WHOLEHEARTEDLY REQUEST YOUR AGENCY REVIEW THIS SITUATION CLOSELY. I DON'T KNOW WHERE ELSE TO GO FOR HELP. *TR

I OWN A TOYOTA RAV4 2002.....IT HAS BEEN KNOWN BY TOYOTA THAT THIS MODEL HAS HAD PROBLEMS WITH ITS ECU.....WHICH MAKES THE CAR SHIFT AT THE WRONG REVS\TIMES, AT TIMES AT TRAFFIC LIGHTS OR MERGING INTO HIGHWAYS THE CAR COMPLETELY LOOSES POWER, SOMETIMES AT TRAFFIC LIGHTS IT COMPLETELY STALLS LEAVING YOU COMPLETELY VULNERABLE TO OTHER CARS....IT SOMETIMES TO REVS TO OVER 4000 REVS AND THEN SUDDENLY ENGAGES INTO GEAR, WHICH RESULTS IN UNINTENDED ACCELERATION. THIS MIGHT CAUSE SERIOUS PROBLEMS ESPECIALLY IN CONGESTED TRAFFIC. I TOOK THE CAR TO THE TOYOTA DEALER IN ACTON, MA THEY TOLD ME I HAD TO PAY 4500 DOLLARS TO FIX THEIR OWN DESIGN FLAW, WHICH POPESTROUS. THERE ARE SOO MANY BLOGS THAT COMPLAIN ABOUT THIS, TYPE "RAV4 TRANSMISSION PROBLEM" ON GOOGLE. YOU ARE BOUND TO FIND THOUSANDS OF BLOGS COMPLAINING ABOUT THIS. I'D LIKE TO THINK THAT THIS GOVERNMENT DOES INDEED TAKE CARE OF ITS PEOPLE\ LOOKING OUT FOR THEM AND FIGHTING FOR THEM IN BATTLES THEY CAN NOT WIN ALONE. ALL I ASK FOR IS FOR TOYOTA TO BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR OWN FLAWS. THEY HAVE PUT MILLIONS OF PEOPLE IN SERIOUS RISK, THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE OVERLOOKED, ESPECIALLY AFTER DISCOVERY OF THEIR FAULTY ACCELERATION PEDALS. THIS IS WHAT YOU GET FOR TRYING TO CUT COST AND THEN MAKING THE CONSUMERS PAY FOR THIS MISTAKE. ITS HIGH TIME TOYOTA CAME CLEAN ABOUT THEIR SHADY DESIGNS. EVERYONE AND I MEAN EVERYONE SHOULD BOYCOTT TOYOTA PRODUCTS UNTIL THEY ONCE AGAIN BECOME THE TRUSTWORTHY AND RELIABLE COMPANY IT ONCE WAS -DO NOT BUY THE COFFIN CAR. *TR

I AM THE ORIGINAL OWNER OF A 2002 RAV4 AND HAVE BEEN TAKING IT TO TOYOTA FOR SERVICE. AS I WAS LEAVING WORK AT 5PM ONE FRIDAY, MY CAR WOULD HARD-SHIFT INTO FIRST AND STRUGGLE EVEN MORE TO GET TO SECOND, ETC. I DROVE IT STRAIGHT TO TOYOTA CARLSBAD. THEY CONTACTED ME THE FOLLOWING DAY AFTER CHANGING THE TRANSMISSION FLUID. THEY SAID I NEEDED A NEW TRANSMISSION AND COMPUTER. COME TO FIND OUT THERE HAD BEEN A SERVICE BULLETIN IN 2006 THAT ONLY TOYOTA KNEW ABOUT THAT RECOGNIZED THE POTENTIAL FOR TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS. I WAS NOT INFORMED OF THIS WHEN I HAD THE TRANSMISSION SERVICED BY TOYOTA IN 2007. THE TOTAL COST TO ME WOULD BE $4800 WITHOUT TAX, WHICH I COULD NOT AFFORD. SINCE I NEEDED MY CAR FOR WORK AND I TAKE CARE OF MY ELDERLY MOTHER, I SCROUNGED TOGETHER THE NEARLY $2000 FOR THE COMPUTER REPLACEMENT AS WELL AS THE THERMOSTAT REPLACEMENT (THE IDIOT LIGHT CODE SAID IT HAD A LOOSE WIRE, AND NOT TOTAL REPLACEMENT!). I WAS TOLD THE TRANSMISSION WOULD DEFINITELY NEED TO BE REPLACED IN A VERY SHORT TIME, AND THEY SUGGESTED I PURCHASE ANOTHER CAR VERY SOON. THE SERVICE BULLETIN SHOULD HAVE BEEN SHARED WITH ME, THE CLIENT. THEY KNEW ABOUT AND KEPT THE POTENTIAL PROBLEM FROM ME AND NOW THE PROBLEM IS A COSTLY ONE TO REPAIR. I WOULD LIKE TOYOTA TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION FOR FREE AND REIMBURSE ME FOR MY COSTS TO REPLACE THE COMPUTER. AFTER RESEARCHING THIS RAV4 PROBLEM, I HAVE LEARNED THAT THIS HAS BEEN A BIG AND CONTINUING PROBLEM FOR 2002 RAV4 OWNERS AND SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED. I BELIEVE THAT THE COMPUTER (OR ECM) WAS THE CAUSE OF THIS PROBLEM. I AM HOPING THE TRANSMISSION WILL NOT HAVE TO BE REPLACED. I PURCHASED THIS EXPENSIVE (FOR ME) TOYOTA BECAUSE IT WAS SAID TO LAST LONGER THAN OTHER VEHICLES. I TRULY THINK THIS PROBLEM NEEDS TO BE BROUGHT TO THE LIGHT AND INCLUDED IN THE FEDERAL INVESTIGATION OF TOYOTA. *TR

MY WIFE WAS DRIVING OUR 2002 RAV4 LAST WEEK, SHE PULLED AWAY FROM A STOP SIGN AND OUR 2002 RAV4 STARTED JERKING AND THEN SLOWED TO A SUDDEN STOP RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE INTERSECTION. AFTER A "SCARY MOMENT", IT STARTED DRIVING NORMALLY AGAIN. WE TOOK THE CAR TO OUR MECHANIC THE NEXT DAY TO HAVE THE TRANSMISSION SERVICED, IT WAS ABOUT DUE . WE WERE TOLD THE TRANSMISSION IS PROBABLY "SHOT". WHILE SHOPPING ON-LINE FOR A REPLACEMENT, I CAME ACROSS NUMEROUS WEB SITES WITH HUNDREDS OF RAV4 CUSTOMERS EXPERIENCING THE SAME TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS! TURNS OUT HE PROBLEMS WERE IDENTIFIED, BY TOYOTA THEMSELVES A FEW YEARS AGO, AS A MALFUNCTIONING ECM (ELECTRONIC CONTROL MODULE) CAUSING THE FAILURES OF THE TRANSMISSIONS WITHIN 50 MILES OF DRIVING. TOYOTA NOTIFIED THEIR SERVICE TECHS, BUT DID NOT NOTIFY IT'S CUSTOMERS OF THIS PROBLEM. WE MAINTAIN OUR VEHICLES ROUTINELY AND HAVE NEVER HAD ANY PROBLEMS WITH THE RAV. BUT THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE. A CAR STALLING IN THE MIDDLE OF AN INTERSECTION IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS IF NOT DEADLY. TOYOTA MOTORS HAS KNOWN ABOUT THIS SAFETY ISSUE FOR YEARS, AND THEY HAVE THE RESPONSIBILITY TO INFORM THEIR CUSTOMERS OF SUCH DANGEROUS SITUATIONS AND TO REPAIR AND/OR REPLACE ANY MALFUNCTIONING PARTS IN THEIR CUSTOMERS CARS THAT COULD CAUSE SUCH A SITUATION. *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

WEEK OF 2/23/10 SNOW DAY DRIVING HOME AND MY VEHICLE STARTED HAVING SHIFTING PROBLEMS WITH OUT WARNING. THE NEXT DAY THE PROBLEM SEEMED TO BE UN NOTICEABLE. WEEK OF 3/1/10 ON MY WAY HOME FROM WORK THE PROBLEM STARTED AGAIN WITH OUT WARNING. THIS TIME IT WAS SEVERE SHIFTING PROBLEMS. I DROVE IT TO A TOYOTA DEALERSHIP AND WAS TOLD I NEEDED A NEW TRANSMISSION. THIS IS TURNING OUT TO BE A SEVERAL THOUSAND DOLLAR PROBLEM. I DID RESEARCH ONLINE AND FOUND THAT HUNDREDS OF TOYOTA CUSTOMERS HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM. I FOUND THAT TOYOTA HAS KNOWN ABOUT THE PROBLEM FOR YEARS BUT ONLY COVERS IT IF FOUND UNDER THE WARRANTY PERIOD IF THE PROBLEM PRESENTS ITSELF. BUT AFTER THAT TOYOTA PLACE THE FINANCIAL BURDEN ON THEIR CUSTOMERS FOR THE KNOWN PROBLEMS FOUND BETWEEN THE ECM AND THE TRANSMISSION. MILEAGE ON DAY OF INCIDENT IS APROX 97,000 MILES. IT SEEMS LIKE TOYOTA'S UNSAID MOTTO IS LETS SELL VEHICLES WITH KNOWN DEFECTS, DON'T TELL OUT CUSTOMERS, AND DO NOTING FOR OUR CUSTOMERS. TOO MANY PEOPLE HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM AROUND THE SAME MILEAGE. I WAS TOLD THAT I WAS BUYING A ROCK SOLID CAR BECAUSE IT WAS TOYOTA. WITH ME HAVING TO BARE THE FINANCIAL BURDEN OF A KNOWN PROBLEM TELLS ME THAT TOYOTA DOES NOT AND WILL NOT BACK THEIR PRODUCTS.. *TR UPDATED IVOQ 11/12/10