2002 Toyota RAV4

I HAVE A 2002 TOYOTA RAV 4 THAT IS HAVING ACCELERATION SHIFTING PROBLEMS. READING ONLINE IT IS FROM A FAULTY ECU IN THE CAR WHICH IS CAUSING THE CAR TO SHIFT AT IMPROPER TIMES WHICH IS RUINING THE TRANSMISSION. THE PROBLEM COMES AND GOES- WHEN I BRING IT TO TOYOTA THEY CLAIM NOTHING IS WRONG WITH THE CAR. ALSO LOOKING ON LINE THERE ARE MANY MORE PEOPLE THAT HAVE THE SAME TYPE OF ISSUE WITH THEIR RAV 4'S AS WELL. *TR

PULLING AWAY FROM A STOP, THE TRANSMISSION ACTED LIKE IT WAS SLIPPING AND WOULD NOT SPEED UP. I DROVE THE VEHICLE 1 MILE HOME, WITH SIMILAR SLIP/SHIFT ISSUES. IN ADDITION, WHEN I SHIFTED BETWEEN DRIVE AND REVERSE IN MY DRIVEWAY, THE TRANSMISSION HAS A HARD CLUNK. I HAD THE ECM REFURBISHED AT MY OWN EXPENSE, AND THE PROBLEM APPEARS TO BE MOSTLY GONE. I AM STILL CONCERNED ABOUT SLIGHTLY ERRATIC SHIFTING BETWEEN SECOND AND THIRD, AND AM CONCERNED THAT THE TRANSMISSION MAY HAVE BEEN DAMAGED. IF THIS PROBLEM WOULD HAVE OCCURRED AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS, WHICH I DRIVE ROUTINELY, THERE WOULD BE A SAFETY ISSUE AT THE 75MPH SPEEDS THAT ARE NORMAL ON I15. *TR

AN INVESTIGATION SHOULD BE CONDUCTED INTO THE TRANSMISSION SLIPPAGE PROBLEM OF THE TOYOTA RAV4 2002 AND LATER MODELS. MINE RAV4 HAD A PROBLEM WITH THIS ISSUE AND I REPORTED TO TOYOTA COMPANY ABOUT THE ISSUE, BUT NO RECALL HAS TAKEN. I HAD DONE SOME RESEARCH AND FOUND OUT THAT MANY OWNERS OF THIS TYPE OF VEHICLES HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM. AS I HAVE EXPERIENCED, THE SLIPPAGE CAN CREATE A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION WHILE TRAVELING ON THE ROAD. I STRONGLY RECOMMEND THE NHTSA TO LOOK INTO THIS PROBLEM AS WELL. *TR

HAVE A 2002 TOYOTA RAV4 THAT HAD TRANSMISSION FAILURE IN LATE NOVEMBER/EARLY DECEMBER 2009. ODOMETER AT 91,304 MILES. IN TRAFFIC, CAR STARTED BUCKING (LURCHING) FORWARD WITHOUT PRESSURE ON THE GAS PEDAL. TOOK CAR FOR REPAIR WHERE IT NEEDED TO HAVE NEW COMPUTER INSTALLED AND VALVE BODY TRANSMISSION COMPONENT REPLACED AT COST OF APPROXIMATELY $2000. *TR

PROBLEMS WITH SHIFTING WAS DOING IT SEVERAL TIMES A WEEK - JERKED REAL HARD WHEN SHIFTING & WAS SLIPPING - WAS INITIALLY TOLD IT WAS THE TRANSMISSION AND/OR THE ECM NOW THEY TELL ME THE PROBLEM IS SUPPOSEDLY THE ECM. I HAVE BEEN WITHOUT CAR NOW FOR SEVERAL MONTHS. INITIALLY AS I WAS TOLD THE TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED & I DON'T HAVE THAT KIND OF MONEY. FOUND ANOTHER MECHANIC & HAVE HAD SEVERAL OPINIONS. MY MECHANIC HAS SENT THE ECM TO A PLACE IN TEXAS THAT CAN REBUILD THE ECM FOR ABOUT HALF THE COST OF A NEW ONE HOWEVER NOW, THEY CAN'T GET PARTS FOR THE LAST MONTH TO REPAIR THE ECM BECAUSE OF THE RECALLS. THIS SHOULD ALSO BE A RECALL AS THERE ARE OVER 200 COMPLAINTS ON MY YEAR, MAKE & MODEL FOR THE SAME PROBLEMS THAT I HAVE EXPERIENCED ON JUST ONE WEBSITE. I AM SO FRUSTRATED - WHERE CAN I GO TO GET HELP FROM TOYOTA??? CAN YOU PLEASE LOOK INTO THE ECM & TRANSMISSION ON THE 2002 TOYOTA RAV4? THANK YOU FOR ANY HELP YOU CAN GIVE. *TR

A NORMAL DRIVING DAY FOR OUR 2002 TOYOTA RAV4, MAYBE 30 MILES OF ERRANDS. THE CAR WAS RUNNING FINE IN THE MORNING BUT WE WERE BARELY ABLE TO LIMP IT HOME BY THAT SAME AFTERNOON. OUR MECHANIC SAID THAT THE TRANSMISSION WAS SHOT, WHICH I FOUND HARD TO BELIEVE, SINCE THE CAR WAS ASYMPTOMATIC THAT MORNING. THE TRANSMISSION SPECIALIST SAID THAT HE HAS SEEN THIS PROBLEM MANY TIME BEFORE AND KNEW EXACTLY WHAT THE ISSUE WAS. THE COMPUTER THAT CONTROLS THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION (PART # 89661-42820) CAN MALFUNCTION WITHOUT WARNING AND IN THE PROCESS DESTROY THE TRANSMISSION. HE HAD RECEIVED TSB# TC002-06 FROM TOYOTA DETAILING THE ISSUE, AND HAS REBUILT SEVERAL TRANSMISSION FOR THE SAME REASON. WE WERE STRONGLY ADVISED TO REPLACE THE ECM, A $1300 PART, OR OUR NEW TRANSMISSION WOULD LAST FOR ABOUT 30-50 MILES BEFORE COMING APART AGAIN. AFTER REBUILDING THE 2ND AND 3RD CLUTCHES AND REPLACING THE ECM, OUR BILL CAME TO ABOUT $3500. I REPORTED ALL OF THIS TO TOYOTA AND AFTER SEVERAL WEEKS TIME AND MUCH NEGOTIATION, THEY OFFERED ME A $1500 CUSTOMER RETENTION INCENTIVE, GOOD IF I BUY A NEW OR CERTIFIED USED TOYOTA IN THE NEXT 2 YEARS. THE ENTIRE PROCESS HAS BEEN DOCUMENTED WITH TOYOTA NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS UNDER FILE #0906113635. *TR

I BOUGHT A 2002 TOYOTA RAV4 IN NOV 2001. SOMETIME IN NOV 2009, I WAS DRIVING ON I-25 SOUTHBOUND WHEN SUDDENLY THE TOYOTA DOWN SHIFTED GEARS AND SLOWED DOWN FROM ABOUT 65 MPHTO 45 MPH. AS I PRESSED ON THE GAS PEDAL, IT BEGAN TO UPSHIFT AND GAIN SPEED. THE TRANSMISSION WAS BEGINNING TO ACT UP AT LOWER SPEEDS ABOUT ONCE A WEEK AT TIMES MORE OFTEN. THE TOYOTA HAD ABOUT 86,000 MILES. AFTER DOING A GOOGLE SEARCH FOR 2002 TOYOTA RAV4 TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS, I DISCOVERED THIS PROBLEM BEGAN ABOUT 35,000 MILES ON SOME TOYOTA. I CALLED THE TOYOTA DEALER SERVICE DEPARTMENT AND THEY WERE AWARE OF THE PROBLEM BUT REPORTED THAT TOYOTA WOULD NOT OWN UP TO IT. GOOGLE SEARCH REPORTS REPORTED THAT THE PROBLEM WAS REPORTED TO NHTSA AND SUGGESTED OTHERS TO REPORT THE PROBLEM. ONE REPORTED THAT HIS WIFE WAS ALMOST KILLED BY THE HIGHWAY INSTANT SPEED REDUCTION. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 TOYOTA RAV4. HE STATED THAT HE TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER FOR THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER TO BE REPAIRED IN DECEMBER OF 2008 AND WHILE DRIVING 45 MPH, THE TRANSMISSION FAILED. A LOCAL MECHANIC REPLACED THE TRANSMISSION BUT HE CONTINUED TO RECEIVE THE FAILURE CODE FOR THE TRANSMISSION. THE DEALER CONFIRMED THAT THE COMPUTER ECM FAILED AND WAS CAUSING THE TRANSMISSION TO DOWN SHIFT AND FAIL. THE DEALER REPLACED THE COMPUTER ECM AND THE TRANSMISSION FAILURE CODE WAS CORRECTED. THE TOTAL REPAIR COST WAS $4,400. HE CONTACTED THE MANUFACTURER AND THEY WOULD NOT OFFER ANY ASSISTANCE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 74,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 117,000.

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