2002 Toyota RAV4

I HAVE A '02 TOYOTA RAV 4 WHOSE K- FRAME, WHICH SUPPORTS THE FRONT WHEELS AND STEERING MECHANISM, RUSTED COMPLETELY IN HALF, WHICH CAUSED ME TO RUN OFF THE ROAD WHEN I BRAKED SUDDENLY AND IT CRACKED. THE VEHICLE HAS 150K AND I HAVE ALWAYS KEPT UP THE MAINTENANCE AND HAD NO IDEA THE RUST WAS THAT BAD. TOYOTA HAS NOT RESPONDED TO MY COMPLAINTS, EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE COVERING EVEN OLDER TACOMAS AND TUNDRAS BECAUSE OF THEIR RUSTING FRAMES. I AM VERY FRUSTRATED AND DISCONCERTED IN TOYOTA PRODUCTS ,ESPECIALLY SINCE THEIR LATEST AD CAMPAIGN TOUTS THEIR LONGEVITY AND DEPENDABILITY. THANK YOU FOR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER, I'M SURE THAT I'M NOT THE ONLY RAV4 OWNER WITH THIS COMPLAINT. *TR

APPROXIMATELY 3 WEEKS AGO I BEGAN NOTICING HESITATION, JERKING, AND SLIPPING COMING FROM WHAT I THOUGHT WAS THE TRANSMISSION. WHEN THE PROBLEM CONTINUED, I TOOK IT TO A LOCAL BIG TEN TIRES TO SEE WHAT THEY THOUGHT. THEY THOUGHT IT WAS A DEFECTIVE ENGINE MOUNT. THAT DID NOT REMEDY THE PROBLEM. I REALIZED THEN IT WAS A TRANSMISSION PROBLEM. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER THAT SOLD ME THE VEHICLE,AND THEY CONFIRMED THAT IT WAS A TRANSMISSION PROBLEM, BUT THEY TOLD ME TO LIVE WITH IT BECAUSE IT WAS INTERMITTENT! THEY DID NOT TELL ME IT WAS THE SAME PROBLEM THAT AT LEAST HUNDREDS IF NOT THOUSANDS OF 2001-2003 RAV 4 OWNERS ARE HAVING AS WE SPEAK, NAMELY, A DEFECTIVE ENGINE CONTROL MODULE (SEE NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE DATED 8/26/09). THE DEFECTIVELY DESIGNED ECM IS SENDING THE WRONG MESSAGES TO THE TRANSMISSION. THIS CAUSES THE TRANSMISSION TO MALFUNCTION. THIS PRESENTS TWO PROBLEMS: OVER TIME IT DESTROYS THE TRANSMISSION AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, IT IS A SAFETY HAZARD. ON TWO OCCASIONS I PULLED OUT IN TRAFFIC AND THE TRANSMISSION SUDDENLY (WITHOUT WARNING) REFUSED TO SHIFT FROM FIRST TO SECOND. THIS HESITATION ALMOST CAUSED OTHER VEHICLES TO HIT ME. IT FINALLY "JERKED" INTO GEAR AND I WAS ABLE TO AVOID THE COLLISIONS. HAD IT NOT DONE SO, I COULD HAVE BEEN SERIOUSLY INJURED. IT IS AN ABSOLUTE DISGRACE THAT TOYOTA HAS KNOWN ABOUT THIS PROBLEM SINCE AT LEAST AS EARLY AS 2006 WHEN IT ISSUED A TSB TO IT DEALERS PERTAINING TO THIS EXACT PROBLEM. I AM GOING TO BE HONEST. I ALSO THINK IT IS A TRAVESTY THAT TOYOTA HAS NOT BEEN FORCED TO MAKE A RECALL. TO CONCLUDE THAT THIS IS NOT A SAFETY ISSUE IS FLAT OUT WRONG. JUST BECAUSE IT DOES NOT OCCUR ON THE "OPEN HIGHWAY" IS, WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, LUDICROUS. I CAN BE JUST AS SERIOUSLY INJURED IF MY CAR IS HIT BY SOMEONE GOING 40 MPH BECAUSE I CAN'T GET OUT OF THEIR WAY. NO PARTS HAVE BEEN REPLACED. PLEASE DO THE RIGHT THING AND MAKE TOYOTA FIX THIS PROBLEM DO NOT LET THIS BECOME ANOTHER PINTO GAS TANK CASE. THANK YOU. *TR

I HAVE A TOYOTA RAV4 2002. I AM NOW EXPERIENCING A NIGHTMARE. A FEW WEEKS AGO, MY CAR STARTED SHIFTING GEARS, SHAKING, AND THE ENGINE LIGHT WENT ON. I BROUGHT IT TO HYANNIS TOYOTA. THE CSR TOLD ME IT WAS A DEFECTIVE COMPUTER. THE CAR WAS UNDER WARRANTY AND THEY WOULD REPLACE IT. APPROX. 3 WEEKS LATER, MY CAR STARTED WITH THE SAME PROBLEM. SHAKING, MOVING INTO A DIFFERENT GEAR AND THE ENGINE LIGHT WENT ON. I BROUGHT IT BACK TO HYANNIS TOYOTA AND WAS TOLD, "THIS IS NOT THE SAME PROBLEM." YOU NEED A NEW COIL. IT WILL COST YOU $250.00. ALSO, I HAD TO RENT A CAR. OF COURSE AT MY OWN EXPENSE. NOW, I DO NOT KNOW HOW TO DEAL WITH THIS COMPANY. IF THE COMPUTER WAS DEFECTIVE, AND WAS REPLACED. WHY AM I STILL EXPERIENCING THE SAME PROBLEMS? *TR

SAME TRANSMISSION PROBLEM AS EVERYONE ELSE. TRANSMISSION STARTED TO SLIP, STOPPED DRIVING IMMEDIATELY AND TOLD THE COMPUTER NEEDED TO BE REPLACE. FURIOUS AT THE FACT THAT THIS IS NOT A RECALL. THERE IS NO MAINTENANCE WHICH AS THE OWNER I FAILED TO DO. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND I HAVE SOLD MY TOYOTA WITH COMPLETE DISSATISFACTION AT TOYOTA'S LACK OF RESPONSE TO THIS. IF I DID NOT STOP DRIVING IMMEDIATELY I'M TOLD I WOULD HAVE RUINED THE TRANSMISSION AND IT WOULD HAVE COST $4,00 INSTEAD OF THE $1,600. SLIPPING GEARS WHILE DRIVING IS A SAFETY HAZARD. DOES SOMEONE NEED TO GET HURT BEFORE TOYOTA DOES SOMETHING? *TR

IN 2004 WE PURCHASED A 2002 RAV4 TOYOTA AFTER CHECKING WITH CONSUMER REPORTS. THE CAR HAS NOT TURNED OVER 100,000 MILES AND THE TRANSMISSION AND THE COMPUTER WENT OUT. THE CHARGE FOR REPLACING BOTH WAS $3708. RESEARCH SHOWS THAT THE COMPUTER/TRANSMISSION PROBLEM FOR 2001 TO 2003 TOYOTAS IS GROWING. WE ARE RETIRED LIVING ON SOCIAL SECURITY AND DID NOT HAVE THIS KIND OF MONEY FOR THIS PROBLEM. THERE SHOULD HAVE BEEN A RECALL OR SOME TYPE OF ADJUSTMENT BY TOYOTA FOR THE COMPUTER/TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS. *TR

MY 2002 TOYOTA RAV4 HAD ISSUES WITH THE ECU (COMPUTER) WHICH CONTROLS THE GEAR SHIFTING. THE SYMPTOMS ARE STALLING/PAUSING BETWEEN 1ST AND 2ND AND/OR 2ND AND 3RD GEAR. WHEN IT HAPPENS, PRESSING ON THE GAS HAS NO EFFECT - CAR DOES NOT ACCELERATE. OCCURS QUITE FREQUENTLY AFTER THE PROBLEM SURFACES. ON 10/8, AS I WAS TAKING A LEFT TURN ONTO A MAIN ROAD, I HAD A STALL AND COULD NOT ACCELERATE. THERE WAS AN ONCOMING CAR THAT HAD ENOUGH TIME TO STOP AND DID NOT HIT ME. I HAD MY MOTHER AND 14 MONTH OLD DAUGHTER IN THE BACK. I RESEARCHED THE ISSUE ONLINE AND FOUND THIS SAME COMPLAINT FOR HUNDREDS OF RAV4 OWNERS. THE ECU (COMPUTER) FAILS AFTER SIGNIFICANT MILEAGE (I'M AT 135K), CAUSING THE TRANSMISSION TO BE AFFECTED. IF THE ECU REPAIR DOES NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM, THE TRANSMISSION NEEDS TO BE REBUILT. I HAD THE ECU RE-BUILT FOR $1,413 ($1200 FOR THE PART ALONE) AND IT SEEMS TO HAVE FIXED MY ISSUE. *TR

THERE WERE NO EVENTS LEADING UP TO FAILURE. MY TRANSMISSION ON MY 2002 TOYOTA RAV4 STARTED SLIPPING AND PULLING OUT OF THE BLUE. IT HAD 87,280 MILES AND HAD BEEN REGULARLY SERVICED AND INSPECTED. IT FAILED TO ACCELERATE AT INTERSECTIONS AND ON TAKE OFF , MAKING DRIVING VERY DANGEROUS. I TOOK IT IN AND WAS TOLD BY THE REPAIR SHOP THE ENGINE CONTROL MODULE WAS DEFECTIVE AND HAD CAUSED THE TRANSMISSION TO FAIL , LEAVING ME DRIVING WITH ONLY 3RD GEAR. IT IS BELIEVED THAT THE TOYOTA WAS AWARE OF THE DEFECTIVE ENGINE CONTROL MODULE. MY HUSBAND AND I HAD TO SPEND $3715.30 TO REPAIR THE TRANSMISSION AND REPLACE THE DEFECTIVE ECM. THIS IS A CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER AS THERE IS NO WARNING. FAILURE COULD HAPPEN AT ANY TIME AND ANY PLACE CAUSING BODILY HARM TO THE DRIVER , PASSENGERS, AND OTHER VEHICLES AND OCCUPANTS ON THE ROAD. I FEEL A RECALL IS NEEDED AND REIMBURSEMENT OF ALL REPAIR COSTS SHOULD BE MADE TO VICTIMS OF THIS NEGLIGENCE. *TR

TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS WITH 2002 RAV4: THE "CHECKING" ENGINE LIGHT ON MY CAR WAS ON A WEEK AGO, THEN THE NEXT DAY, I PUT MY CAR TO KOONS TOYOTA AT TYSONS, VIRGINIA FOR CHECKING THE PROBLEM, ALSO I REQUESTED 120,000 MILE SERVICE. AFTER SERVICE WAS COMPLETED BY KOONS, I FOUND THAT MY CAR HAS THE HARSH SHIFTING OCCURS, MEANING THAT, AT THE LOW GEAR, WHEN STEPPED ON THE GAS PEDAL. MY CAR HESITATES TO SHIFT INTO THE SECOND GEAR. AFTER PUSH FURTHER ON THE GAS PEDAL, MY CAR JUMPED HARSHLY INTO THE SECOND GEAR, RATHER THAN SMOOTH DRIVING AS PRIOR TO THE SERVICE. THE NEXT DAY, I BROUGHT MY CAR BACK TO KOONS TO REPORT THE "HARSH SHIFTING" PROBLEM, THEY TEST DROVE MY CAR AND AGREED THAT THERE IS SOME JERKING OCCURS AT LOW GEAR. THEY RECOMMENDED ME TO CONTINUOUSLY DRIVE THE CAR, HOPING THAT THE CAR WILL ADJUST ITSELF TO THE NEW SOFTWARE PROGRAMMING THAT THEY USED. I CONTINUED DRIVE FOR A WEEK WHILE CAREFULLY LISTEN TO MY CAR: THE "HARD SHIFTING" PROBLEM STILL EXIST. THEN LAST NIGHT, THE "CHECK ENGINE" LIGHT WAS ON AGAIN. I IMMEDIATELY BROUGHT MY CAR TO KOONS DEALER AT TYSONS TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM. AFTER CHECKING IT AGAIN, KOONS TOLD ME THAT THE PROBLEM CAUSED BY THE "ENGINE CONTROL MODULE" (E.C.M.) AND RECOMMENDED ME THAT FIRST TO REPLACE THE E.C.M., AND IF THAT DOESN'T SOLVE THE HARD SHIFTING PROBLEM, SECOND IS TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION NEXT. I THINK THIS PROBLEM DEFINITELY NOT CAUSE BY ME, RATHER BY KOONS AND TOYOTA MANUFACTURER. NOW I DO NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO. THANK YOU FOR LISTENING. *TR DANIEL BUI