2002 Toyota RAV4

MY 2002 TOYOTA RAV4 W/5 SPEED STANDARD TRANSMISSION POPS OUT OF 5TH GEAR AT HIGHWAY SPEED CAUSING SUDDEN DECELERATION AND ENGINE REVVING IF USING CRUISE CONTROL. IF I AM IN HEAVY TRAFFIC THE CAR BEHIND ME COMES CLOSE TO REAR-ENDING ME BECAUSE MY BRAKE LIGHTS DON'T COME ON. THIS FIRST HAPPENED IN FEBRUARY 2006 WITH 60757 MILES ON THE CAR. AT 757 MILES PAST THE 60,000 MILE WARRANTY, OUR LOCAL TOYOTA DEALER REFUSED TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION. BUT WE WERE ABLE TO TALK THEM INTO REPAIRING IT FOR FREE. IN JULY 2010 AT 123965 MILES THE SAME THING HAS HAPPENED AGAIN. AT 65 MPH ON CRUISE CONTROL IT POPPED OUT 5TH GEAR AND REFUSED TO GO BACK IN. AGAIN I SUDDENLY LOST SPEED BUT LUCKILY WAS ALMOST BY MYSELF ON THE HIGHWAY. *TR

ABOUT THREE WEEKS AGO MY 2002 TOYOTA RAV 4 TRANSMISSION/SHIFTING BETWEEN 1ST AND 2ND GEARS ACTED UP. IT WASN'T A SMALL, NAGGING ISSUE THAT BUILT UP, IT WAS PRETTY SUDDEN. ONE WEEK IT WAS FINE AND THEN I HAD 2 SMALL SHIFTING INCIDENTS (SHAKING) IN A 2 WEEK PERIOD, AND THEN THE NEXT WEEK, AFTER ABOUT 5-8 DAYS OF MORE LOCAL 'STOP AND GO' DRIVING, MY LOWER GEAR'S SHIFTING WOULD NOT WORK PROPERLY - EVERY SHIFT FROM 1ST TO 2ND WAS DELAYED AND HARSH. MY 2002 RAV4 HAS 98K ON IT. I MAY NEED TO GET A NEW TRANSMISSION AND/OR ECM AND I DON'T THINK TOYOTA WILL COVER ANY OF THE COSTS OF EITHER. I HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT TRADING IT IN SO I WOULDN'T HAVE TO DEAL WITH THESE ISSUES, BUT I DO LIKE MY RAV 4. I AM HOPING (AFTER DOING ALL THE ONLINE RESEARCH AND MAKING SOME OFFICIAL COMPLAINTS TO CR, BBB AND OTHER SAFETY GROUPS) THAT MAYBE TOYOTA WILL PROVIDE (OR BE FORCED TO PROVIDE) PAYMENTS OR COVERAGE IN SOME WAY FOR THIS SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE (ESSENTIALLY "STALLING" IN THE MIDDLE OF INTERSECTIONS, WHEN NEEDING THE ACCELERATION FROM A STOPPED POSITION.) WHEN SPEAKING WITH TOYOTA SERVICE AND HAVING HAD THEM PERFORM THEIR $100 COMPUTER DIAGNOSTICS (BEFORE THE 'CHECK ENGINE' LIGHT CAME ON - THE LIGHT HAS SINCE COME ON AND REMAINS ON- OBVIOUSLY I HAVEN'T DRIVEN IT FOR A FEW WEEKS NOW) I WAS TOLD THAT THE TRANSMISSION WOULD "MOST LIKELY' NEED TO BE REPLACED. I HAD ONLY DRIVEN IT FOR 3 WEEKS AFTER FIRST NOTICING THE PROBLEM AND REALLY ONLY 1 SINCE THE TROUBLE WAS CONTINUOUS AND THE ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. I HOPE TO FIX THE PROBLEM BY EITHER HAVING THE ECM REBUILT ($500) OR PURCHASING A NEW ONE ($1000). HOPEFULLY, L DIDN'T DRIVE IT TOO MUCH BEFORE THE ECM RUINED MY TRANSMISSION ($5000). SINCE THE CAR IS ONLY WORTH ABOUT $6000 TOTAL ANYWAY. *TR

I'VE HAD MY '02 TOYOTA RAV4 SINCE 2003 AND A FEW DAYS AGO MY CAR STARTED HESITATING AND JERKING OUT OF THE BLUE. AFTER STOPPING AT LIGHTS, I NOTICED THAT AT FIRST I HAD TROUBLE ACCELERATING, CAR WOULD HESITATE, THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN IT WOULD LURCH FORWARD JUMPING TO 3000-4000 RPMS. I WAS AFRAID THAT I WOULD GET REAR-ENDED AND THEN I ALMOST SLAMMED INTO THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME. I AM AFRAID TO TAKE MY CAR ON THE HIGHWAY WITH THE SLOW ACCELERATING AND THEN SUDDEN JERKING AND SPEED. I'M TAKING MY CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP TOMORROW TO GET THE ECM AND TRANSMISSION CHECKED OUT GIVEN THE TOYOTA TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN THAT ISSUED IN 2006 INVOLVING FAULTY ECMS (TC002-06). ALTHOUGH MY CAR IS JUST EXPERIENCING THE EARLY STAGES OF THIS MALFUNCTION, THIS IS VERY UNSAFE AND DANGEROUS. TOYOTA KNOWS ABOUT IT AND SHOULD ISSUE A RECALL. *TR

I HAVE HAD MY 2002 TOYOTA RAV4 SINCE WE PURCHASED IT FROM THE DEALER BACK IN 2002. AT ABOUT 90,000 MILES MY TRANSMISSION HAD TO BE REPLACED. NOW AT 202,000. MILES MY TRANSMISSION NEEDS TO BE WORKED ON AGAIN. I FEEL THAT THIS PROBLEM NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED AS ITS VERY DANGEROUS TO DRIVE IN THE FREEWAY AND BE EXPOSED TO YOUR TIRES LOCKING UP. AND/OR YOUR CAR NOT GO IN GEAR AT A LIGHT EXPOSING YOURSELF AND YOUR CHILDREN TO AN ACCIDENT. *TR

2002 TOYOTA RAV4 STARTED JERKING AND SHAKING,, THEN SLOWING DOWN AT 111K MILES AT IN THE MIDDLE OF TRAFFIC CONCERNED FOR SAFETY, HAD TO PULL OVER AND CALL FOR A TOW TRUCK TO TOW CAR HOME. I TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP, BUT THEY SAID THAT IT COULD BE ECM, WHICH IS $1500, BUT NO GUARANTEES IT WOULD WORK. RESEARCHED ISSUE, AND FOUND OUT THAT THIS IS KNOWN ISSUE SINCE 2006, BUT TOYOTA DIDN'T NOTIFY OWNERS. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 TOYOTA RAV4. WHILE THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 55 MPH, THE TRANSMISSION BEGAN TO HESITATE WITH AN EXTREMELY SLOW DELAY IN THE POWER RESPONSE. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO CONTINUE DRIVING WITH CAUTION. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER FOR AN APPOINTMENT WHICH WAS SCHEDULED PRIOR TO THE FAILURE. THE SCHEDULED REPAIRS WERE PERFORMED, THAT WERE NOT ASSOCIATED WITH THE TRANSMISSION FAILURE. THE TRANSMISSION FAILURE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED AND THE TECHNICIAN ADVISED THE CONTACT TO CONTINUE DRIVING THE VEHICLE UNTIL THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE CONTACT WAS DISPLEASED WITH THE RESPONSE FROM THE TECHNICIAN AND WAS CONCERNED ABOUT THE POTENTIAL SAFETY HAZARD. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 75,000.

I RECENTLY HAD A FAILURE OF THE CONTROL MODULE (ECU), I WAS TOLD BY MY MECHANIC THAT THIS PROBLEM CAME UP FREQUENTLY FOR RAV 4S OF YEARS 2002 AND 2003 AND THAT TOYOTA WAS AWARE OF THIS ISSUE SINCE 2006 ' BUT NEVER RECALLED THE CARS! AFTER SEARCHING ON THE INTERNET I NOTICED THAT THERE WERE HUNDREDS OF COMPLAINTS REGARDING EXACTLY THE SAME ISSUE AND EVEN A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT FOR THE SAME MATTER FILED IN 2009. THE REPLACEMENT COST ME $758.50 TO REPLACE (WITH A REFURBISHED ONE) AND I HAD TO RENT A CAR DURING THE REPLACEMENT PROCESS ' WHICH COST ME $131.32 ' THEREFORE A TOTAL OF $889.82. *TR

WHIPLASH AND CERVICAL DISC HERNIATION DUE TO NEGLIGENCE OF TOYOTA RAV 4 2002 TRANSMISSION AND ECM PROBLEMS. AROUND 4/20/10 I TOOK MY TOYOTA TO THIS DEALERSHIP DUE TO ONGOING JERKING AND FORWARD THRUST WHEN STARTING FROM A STOP POSITION, ALSO THE ENGINE LIGHT WAS ON. THEY KEPT MY TOYOTA FROM 4/19/10 TILL 4/21/10. RESET THE ENGINE STATING THAT IT IS O2 SENSOR PROBLEM AND REPLACED IT. ALSO DIAGNOSED TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS BUT I WAS TOLD BY THE DEALERSHIP PERSONA,L" I DON'T WANT TO STAMP YOUR CAR AS CONDEMNED, TAKE IT BACK AND WHEN PROBLEM GETS WORSE BRING IT BACK" HE DID NOT WARN ME THAT IF I DID NOT GET IT CORRECTED RIGHT AWAY, I CAN BE JEOPARDIZING MY SAFETY AND SAFETY OF PEOPLE ON THE ROAD. IT IS APPARENT FROM THE PAPERWORK THEY HANDED ME THAT THEY HAD DIAGNOSED A SERIOUS PROBLEM AND SHOULD HAVE CORRECTED IT RIGHT AWAY. AROUND MIDDLE OF MAY THE PROBLEMS WITH THE TRANSMISSION GOT WORSE, ON 2 OCCASIONS THE CAR STALLED COMPLETELY WHILE GOING AT 30 MPH AND THEN SEVERELY THRUST FORWARD AGAIN. IN ANOTHER 3-4 DAYS I STARTED EXPERIENCING SEVERE MUSCLE SPASMS AND HEADACHES. SINCE THEN I HAD BEEN TO ER, RECEIVED CT AND MRI SHOWING DISC PROLAPSE AND TEAR OF MY 2 VERTEBRAL DISCS. I HAVE BEEN RECEIVING PHYSICAL THERAPY, CERVICAL TRACTION, PAIN MEDICATION, CERVICAL COLLAR, AND AM SCHEDULED TO RECEIVE AN EPIDURAL INJECTION IN 2 WEEKS. I HAVE SEEN MY PCP TWICE, A NEUROLOGIST, 2 NEURO SURGEONS AND HAVE RECEIVED NUMEROUS MEDICATION, SOME WITH SERIOUS SIDE EFFECTS AND HAVE DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT THESE VISITS. I AM A PHYSICIAN AND DUE TO THIS PROBLEM HAVE MISSED DAYS AT WORK JEOPARDIZING MY CLINICAL CARE. YESTERDAY ALMOST GOT IN AN ACCIDENT WHEN MY CAR SLOWED DOWN INSTEAD OF ACCELERATING AND I ALMOST HIT ANOTHER CAR, THIS INCIDENT MADE ME REALIZE I CAN HURT OTHER PEOPLE IF I CONTINUE TO DRIVE THIS CAR. I TOOK IT IN TO DEALER TODAY AND THEY ARE GOING TO RUN A DIAGNOSIS ON IT AGAIN, AND IT MIGHT COST ME 6,000 DOLLARS. PLEASE HELP.*TR