2002 Toyota RAV4

THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION OF MY RV4 FAILED AT 111,649 MILEAGE. HOWEVER, THE MILEAGE IS THE PROBLEM, AAMCO TECHNICIAN REPORTED THAT THE FOLLOWING VEHICLES ; LEXUS EX 300, LEXUS RX300, RV4, TOYOTA CAMRY AND TOYOTA HIGHLANDER ARE ALL EQUIPPED WITH BAD TRANSMISSIONS U140F AND U140E. THOSE TRANSMISSIONS ARE MADE FOR FAILURE. TOYOTA COMPANY IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM BUT REFUSED TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY TO EITHER REPAIR IT OR REIMBURSE CUSTOMERS. IT COST ME 2,760.58 DOLLARS TO HAVE MY TRANSMISSION REBUILT. ALSO WITHIN TWO MONTHS, THE COMPUTER ENGINE FAILED AND WAS REPLACED FOR 1,403.53 DOLLARS. ONCE AGAIN, THAT WAS ANOTHER MATTER TOYOTA HAD TO BE ACCOUNTABLE. THE SAME MODEL HAD A RECALL IN MARCH 2007 AND NOTHING WAS DONE. *TR

VEHICLE WOULD HESITATE FROM A STOP CREATING A POTENTIAL HAZARD. BROUGHT CAR TO DEALER WHO CLAIMED NOTHING WAS WRONG WITH CAR, CHANGED TRANSMISSION OIL AS PART OF 75,000 MAINTENANCE. NEXT DAY CAR BROKE DOWN COMPLETELY WITH MY SIX YEAR OLD GRANDSON IN CAR. DEALER SAID I NEEDED A NEW TRANSMISSION FOR $4000. IT WAS NOT UNTIL I STARTED READING ON-LINE COMPLAINTS THAT I LEARNED THAT IT IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH 2002 RAV-4 AND CAN BE FIXED WITH A NEW ECM FOR $$1,200. THEY DO HOWEVER HAVE A TECHNICAL BULLETIN THAT ADDRESSED THE TRANSMISSION HESITATION TO THE FAULTY ECM? *TR

I HAVE A 2002 TOYOTA RAV4, I HAD TO HAVE THE TRANSMISSION REBUILT BECAUSE FROM WHAT I HAVE READ TOYOTA FOUND THERE WAS A PROBLEM WITH THE ECM. BUT THERE WAS NEVER A RECALL FOR THIS PROBLEM AND THE WARRANTY WAS FOR 80,000 MINE WHEN AT 88,000. I HAD THE TRANSMISSION REBUILT BUT THE VEHICLE IS EXHIBITING THE SAME PROBLEM. I HAVE SINCE LEARNED THAT THE ECM NEEDS TO BE REPLACED AND CAN DAMAGE A NEW TRANSMISSION IF NOT DONE. NO NOTICE FROM TOYOTA ABOUT THIS I HAD TO FIND THIS OUT ON THE WEB. I ALSO LEARNED THAT THE ECM COST $1200 AND TOYOTA IS NOT OFFERING ANY DISCOUNTS EVEN THOUGH THEY KNEW OF THE POTENTIAL PROBLEM AND DAMAGES THAT MAY OCCUR. *TR

VEHICLE WOULD HESITATE FROM A STOP CREATING A POTENTIAL HAZARD. INDEPENDENT GARAGE TOLD US THAT IT WAS A TRANSMISSION ISSUE. TRANSMISSION WAS COVERED UNDER OUR EXTENDED WARRANTY SO WE TOOK VEHICLE TO TOYOTA DEALER. THEY ADVISED US THAT ISSUE WAS ECM (ELECTRONIC CONTROL MODULE) ISSUE AND NOT COVERED BY THE EXTENDED WARRANTY. WHEN I ASKED IF TOYOTA WOULD COVER I WAS ADVISED THAT THEY WOULD NOT AS THIS ISSUE WAS NOT SUBJECT TO ANY RECALL? THEY DID HOWEVER HAVE A TECHNICAL BULLETIN THAT ADDRESSED THE TRANSMISSION HESITATION TO THE FAULTY ECM? I REPLACED THE ECM ($1612) AND IT APPEARS THAT IT CORRECTED THE PROBLEM. MY RESEARCH HAS SHOWN THAT THIS PROBLEM IS VERY COMMON TO THE 2002 RAV4 MODEL ONLY IN THE TOYOTA FAMILY OF SUVS. IS THIS A DESIGN DEFECT? *TR

CAR STARTED TO HESITATE AND JERK INTO 2ND GEAR WHEN ACCELERATING. THIS CREATED DANGEROUS SITUATIONS AT INTERSECTIONS , GOING AROUND CORNERS AND TRYING TO MERGE INTO TRAFFIC. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. DEALER SAID NEEDED TO REPLACE AN ECM MODULE IN THE TRANSMISSION HOPING THIS WILL FIX IT (COST 1350) IF IT DOESN'T I WILL NEED A TRANSMISSION (3500). FOUND 38 SIMILAR COMPLAINTS ON EXACT SAME THING ON INTERNET. WHY AREN'T WE MADE AWARE AND WHY NOT A RECALL BEFORE SOMEONE GETS KILLED. *TR

FAULTY ENGINE CONTROL MODULE. IT HAS FAILED AND CAUSED TRANSMISSION TO FAIL AS WELL. AFTER $4K REPLACEMENT TRANSMISSION IS SHOT AGAIN. TRANSMISSION MISSES GEARS AND HAS STALLED IN THE MIDDLE OF INTERSECTION. NOTHING WAS DONE TO CORRECT. DEALERSHIP IS STATING TO REPLACE TRANSMISSION FIRST THEN COME BACK TO FIX COMPUTER. FOR OTHER COMPLAINTS OF SIMILAR NATURE SEE: WWW.CARCOMPLAINTS.COM/TOYOTA/RAV4/2002/TRANSMISSION/PROBLEMS_SHIFITING.SHTML *TR

HARD SHIFT PROB FROM 2/3RD GEAR WITH TOYOTA 2002 RAV4 TOOK CAR TO DEALER ON 9-17-2007. RECALL FOR EMISSION PROBLEM CAUSED THE ENGINE LIGHT TO COME ON. I DESCRIBED PROBLEM TO THE DEALER AND ASKED THEM TO LOOK AT THIS PROBLEM. DEALER SAID ANY OTHER PROBLEMS SHOULD SHOW ON COMPUTER. PICKED CAR UP ASKED ABOUT SHIFT PROB. THEY SAID NOTHING CAME UP ON THE COMPUTER DIAGNOSTIC ( I LATER LEARNED THAT THEY TEST DROVE THE CAR AND COULD NOT DUPLICATE PROBLEM) AND IT SOUNDED LIKE IT COULD BE A TRANSMISSION PROBLEM. THEY SAID TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT TO HAVE THE TRANSMISSION LOOKED AT. I ASKED FOR COST AND THEY SAID THEY HAD NO IDEA IT WOULD DEPEND ON HOW LONG IT TOOK TO FIND PROBLEM. I TOOK CAR TO TRANSMISSION SHOP. THEY HOOKED CAR UP TO COMPUTER AND SAID INTERNAL TRANSMISSION FAILURE AND NEED TRANSMISSION REBUILT. I HAD THIS REPAR DONE AT COST OF 2,639.81. CALLED ME AFTER TRANSMISSION WAS REBUILT THERE IS A PROBLEM. THEY RESEARCHED DATABASE AND FOUND THAT THERE WAS A BULLETIN PUT OUT BY TOYOTA ON MARCH 3, 2006. POWERTRAIN CONTROL MODULE THAT CAUSES A SHIFT PROBLEM IN 2001-2003 TOYOTA RAV4'S. IT EXPLAINS THE DIAGNOSTIC AND REPAIR FOR THIS PROBLEM IN DETAIL AND STATES THAT THE ECM MAY NEED TO BE REPLACED. I AM INFORMED THAT IN ORDER FOR MY TRANSMISSION TO WORK NEED TO HAVE ECM REPLACED. TOYOTA KNEW ABOUT THIS PROBLEM WHEN I TOOK MY CAR TO THEM THEY COULD HAVE FIXED THE PROBLEM THEN AND SAVED ME $2,639.81. I PAID DEALER TO HAVE THE ECM REPLACED FOR $1003.81. PART TO ME FOR A WHOLESALE PRICE. THE CAR IS NOW FINALLY RUNNING FINE. I WAS TOLD THAT THEY DO NOT SEARCH FOR BULLETINS ON CARS THAT ARE IN FOR SERVICE. THEY SAID THERE ARE JUST TOO MANY OF THEM FOR THEM TO KEEP UP WITH. I SAW TIME IT TOOK FOR THE TECH TO LOOK UP THE BULLETIN ON LAPTOP INFO CAME UP IMMEDIATELY. MY RESEARCH SHOWS THAT OTHER 2002 RAV4'S HAVE SAME PROBLEM. I HAVE FAILED ECM THAT WAS REMOVED FROM CAR. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 TOYOTA RAV4. WHILE STOPPED AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT, THE CONTACT DEPRESSED THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL AND THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT MOVE. A FEW SECONDS LATER, THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO MOVE. THE VEHICLE SHIFTED COMPLETELY OUT OF GEAR AND THEN WENT SHIFTED BACK ON ITS OWN. THE FAILURE CONTINUED DURING THE DRIVE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER AND THEY STATED THAT THERE WAS A RECALL ON THE ECM AND IT WAS REPROGRAMMED. THE FAILURE RECURRED THE FOLLOWING DAY WHILE DRIVING 30 MPH. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN BACK TO THE DEALER AND THEY RECHECKED THE ECM. THEY STATED THAT THE TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC AND HE STATED THAT THE ECM WAS FAULTY, WHICH CAUSED THE TRANSMISSION TO FAIL. THE VEHICLE EXPERIENCED THE SAME FAILURE WHEN THE CONTACT RETRIEVED IT FROM THE MECHANIC. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN BACK TO THE DEALER AND THEY DISCOVERED THAT THE ECM WAS FAULTY AND MADE THE REPLACEMENT. THERE IS A TSB FOR THE ECM. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 61,800 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 61,059. UPDATED 02-13-08 *BF UPDATED 02/13/08 *TR