2002 Toyota RAV4

I EXPERIENCED SPUTTERING AND HESITATION WHILE DRIVING MY 2002 TOYOTA RAV4 A FEW WEEKS AGO, THE FRIDAY BEFORE MEMORIAL DAY. THE CAR HAS AROUND 72,800 MILES ON IT. OVER THE MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND THE CAR WAS FINE. THE NEXT WEEK I EXPERIENCED THE SAME PROBLEM. ONCE I STOPPED THE CAR AT A LIGHT AND THEN ACCELERATED, THE CAR WOULD LURCH AND SPUTTER. I FEARED THE CAR WOULD SHUT OFF IN TRAFFIC OR I WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO KEEP UP WITH THE FLOW OF TRAFFIC. I STOPPED DRIVING IT. TWO DIFFERENT MECHANICS (NON-TOYOTA) HAVE TOLD ME I NEED A NEW TRANSMISSION. I THEN TOOK IT TO A TOYOTA DEALER AFTER CALLING THE NATIONAL CUSTOMER SERVICE NUMBER, MENTIONED IN A NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE FROM AUGUST 2009. THERE WAS A RECALL ON THE ECM WHICH THE DEALER WHO I BOUGHT THE CAR FROM WAS UNCOOPERATIVE IN REPLACING. SO FAR THE CAR IS STILL AT A DIFFERENT TOYOTA DEALERSHIP UNDERGOING "DIAGNOSIS". *TR

SEVERAL MONTHS AGO MY TRANSMISSION BEGAN TO SLIP AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. SUBSEQUENTLY AS I DROVE THE CAR, IT BEGAN TO LURCH AND I LOST CONTROL OF IT SEVERAL TIMES. I TOOK THE CAR TO TOYOTA DEALER THEN AND THEY COULD NOT IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM BUT SUGGESTED REPLACING THE ECM UNIT AS A "POSSIBLE FIX." THEY SUGGESTED THAT PERHAPS THE WHOLE TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. I WANTED A SECOND OPINION AND TOOK THE CAR TO A SPECIALIST. HE COULD NOT FIND A PROBLEM EITHER. AFTER A SEARCH ON THE INTERNET, I FOUND THAT NOT ONLY WAS THIS IMMINENT PROBLEM WELL-DOCUMENTED, BUT TOYOTA DEALERS HAD BEEN MADE AWARE OF IT IN 2006! T WHEN I TOOK THE CAR BACK TO TOYOTA LAST WEEK, THEY ADMITTED THAT THEY HAD BEEN INFORMED, BUT COULD NOT REPAIR THE CAR FREE OF CHARGE AS I HAVE 180+K MILES ON IT. HAD TOYOTA NOTIFIED ME ABOUT THE ISSUE IN 2006, I WOULD HAVE REPLACED THE MODULE THEN. NOW THE CAR IS COMPLETELY UNDRIVABLE AND CANNOT EVEN BE SOLD. *TR

2002 TOYOTA RAV4. STARTED A MONTH AGO HARSH SHIFTING FROM LOWEST GEAR TO THE NEXT, HESITATION THEN ABRUPT SHIFTING OR NO SHIFTING AT ALL BY TRANSMISSION, EITHER WITH OR WITHOUT OVERDRIVE APPLIED. REPLACED OXYGEN SENSORS AND ECM, OKAY FOR A WEEK BUT BACK AGAIN. REPEATS THE SAME PROBLEM FROM COMPLETE STOP THEN SLOW ACCELERATION, GEAR SHIFTING IS NOT TIMELY AND SUDDEN UNEXPECTEDLY CREATING A JERKY MOTION. *TR

MY TOYOTA RAV4, 2002, BEGAN SHIFTING HARD, CLUNKING INTO GEAR, AND ACCELERATING PRIOR TO SHIFTING ON ITS OWN. I TOOK THE CAR TO A TOYOTA DEALER WHO HAS TOLD ME THAT THIS ISSUE IS NOT COVERED FOR ALL VIN NUMBERS OF RAV4'S SOLD. WE SHALL SEE IF HE IS CORRECT AS I TOLD HIM THAT THE ARTICLE FROM THE NY TIMES SURE LOOKS LIKE IT COVERS ALL RAV4'S BETWEEN 2001 AND 2003. *TR

THE TRANSMISSION OF MY 2002 TOYOTA RAV4 WAS DAMAGED DUE TO A FAILURE OF THE ELETRONIC CONTROL MODULE. THE ISSUE WAS FIRST DISCOVERED NOT BY A CHECK ENGINE INDICATOR LIGHT, BUT BY NEARING BEING SMASHED BY ON COMING TRAFFIC WHEN THE CAR FAILED TO SHIFT AS I WAS CROSSING AN INTERSECTION. THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE. THE FAILURE IN THE TRANSMISSION IS SUDDEN AND I WAS EXTREMELY FORTUNATE THAT IT DID NOT RESULT IN AN ACCIDENT. THROUGH RESEARCH, I'VE COME TO LEARN THAT TOYOTA HAS BEEN AWARE OF THE ISSUE SINCE MARCH 2006. I HAVE NOT BEEN INFORMED OF SITUATION BY TOYOTA TO DATE. I REALLY FEEL A RECALL IS IN ORDER. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS DEFECT. *LN

I WAS CLIMBING A STEEP HILL WHEN MY TOYOTA RAV4 JUST SEEMED TO JUMP OUT OF GEAR. I HAD TO UNDERTAKE SPECIAL MEASURES TO TURN AROUND WITHOUT ENGINE POWER AND COAST DOWN THE HILL. IT WAS TOWED TO A TOYOTA DEALER WHO TOLD ME THE ECU HAD DAMAGED THE TRANSMISSION. THEY ADVISED ME IT WAS OUT OF WARRANTY AND WOULD COST $4500 TO REPAIR. I HAD IT TOWED BACK HOME. I SINCE FOUND THAT MANY ARE EXPERIENCING THIS PROBLEM WITH THE TOYOTA RAV4. SOMEONE NEEDS TO MAKE TOYOTA ACCOUNTABLE FOR THIS OBVIOUS DEFECT. SO MUCH FOR BEING A LOYAL TOYOTA CUSTOMER. HELP! PLEASE. ITS PARKED IN MY DRIVEWAY. *TR

DURING A SNOW STORM, MY VEHICLE'S TRANSMISSION STARTED REVVING UP TO 5000 RPMS WITHOUT SHIFTING INTO 3RD GEAR. I THOUGHT MY TIRES WERE SLIPPING BECAUSE OF THE WEATHER, BUT OVER THE NEXT 2 DAYS AS MY CAR WOULD HEAT UP, IT WOULD CONTINUE. I HAD A REPAIR SHOP LOOK AT IT AND THEY ADVISED ME TO REPAIR OR REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION. TOYOTA SUGGESTED I BRING IT TO A DEALER. THE DEALER SAID THAT I NEED TO HAVE MY TRANSMISSION FLUSHED AND TO REPLACE THE ECM/ECU - WHICH COSTS $900 AND THERE'S NO GUARANTEE IT'LL FIX MY PROBLEM. I'M NOT RECEIVING ANY ASSISTANCE FROM TOYOTA HQ OR THE DEALERSHIP AS FAR AS RECEIVING A GUARANTEE THAT THIS WILL FIX MY ISSUE, AND THEY WON'T PROVIDE INFORMATION ON WHAT TO DO IF THE ISSUE STILL PERSISTS. *TR