2002 Toyota RAV4

2002 RAV4 FAULTY ECM DAMAGED MY TRANSMISSION. I BOUGHT THIS CAR FOR MY DAUGHTER FOR COLLEGE AND IT RAN FINE FOR 3 YEARS UNTIL NOW. THE CAR STARTED JERKING (PULLING) WHEN ACCELERATING THE CAR. I DID MY RESEARCH ON THE INTERNET AND FOUND OUT ABOUT THE PROBLEM WITH THE ECM. I FOUND HUNDREDS OF COMPLAINTS FROM OTHER RAV4 WITH THE SAME PROBLEM. I DECIDED TO CALL TOYOTA AND OPENED A CASE NUMBER. A WEEK LATER I CALLED THEM BACK AND THEY TOLD ME THAT THE WARRANTY NO LONGER COVER THIS. I ALSO FOUND OUT THAT TOYOTA NEVER NOTIFIED CUSTOMERS ABOUT THIS PROBLEM REPORTED ON BULLETIN TC002-06 DATED 3/3/06. I RECEIVED A RECALL FOR "CHECK ENGINE LIGHT" BUT NEVER RECEIVED A RECALL TO REPLACE THE ECM. I TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALER AND THEY SAID I HAVE TO REPLACE BOTH THE ECM AND THE TRANSMISSION AND IT WILL COST ME ABOUT $3000, WHICH I THINK THIS COULD HAVE BEEN PREVENTED IF TOYOTA WOULD HAVE REPLACED THE ECM EARLIER. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 TOYOTA RAV4. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE ECU BOARD FAILED ON THE VEHICLE AND THAT THE DEALER SAID THAT THEY WERE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE ECU BOARD NORMALLY FAILED AT 75 MILES ON HIS YEAR, MAKE AND MODEL VEHICLE. AFTER THE ECU FAILED THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO LUNGE FORWARD WHEN IT SHIFTED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 82,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 105,000. UPDATED 05/10/10 *BF UPDATED 05/11/10. *JB

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

AFTER HAVING AN OXYGEN SENSOR REPLACED IN THE EXHAUST SYSTEM OF MY 2002 TOYOTA RAV4 ON 02/02/10, I NOTICED THAT MY CAR BEGAN ACCELERATING SLUGGISHLY. APPROXIMATELY 50 MILES AFTER THE SERVICE WAS PERFORMED, I NOTICED MY CAR JERKED WHEN SHIFTING THROUGH GEARS 1-3 AND THE TACHOMETER WOULD REV TO 3000 RPMS. THE CAR THEN RAN FINE FOR APP. 4 DAYS WITH NO GEAR SLIPPAGE. A WEEK LATER THE GEARS STARTED SLIPPING AGAIN WITHOUT WARNING AND THE CAR SEEMED TO HAVE NO POWER WHEN THE GAS PEDAL WAS FULLY ENGAGED DURING A RIGHT HAND TURN TO MERGE WITH ONCOMING TRAFFIC. THE CAR THEN BUCKED VIOLENTLY. THIS RESULTED WITH MY PASSENGER AND I BECOMING ANXIOUS/SCARED BECAUSE WE DIDN'T KNOW IF THE TRAFFIC COMING TOWARD US WOULD HAVE HIT US IF WE SUDDENLY LOST POWER. I IMMEDIATELY DROVE MY CAR HOME WHERE IT HAS REMAINED PARKED AND SET AN APPOINTMENT WITH A TOYOTA DEALER EXPLAINING THE PROBLEMS. ACCORDING TO SIMILAR STORIES FROM FELLOW RAV4 OWNERS, THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE ELECTRONIC CONTROL MODULE CAUSING IRREVERSIBLE DAMAGE TO THE TRANSMISSION. I AM TAKING THE CAR TO THE DEALER TO HAVE IT 'OFFICIALLY' DIAGNOSED ALTHOUGH IT ONLY CODES TO HAVE THE O2 SENSOR REPLACED, WHICH I DID. *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