2002 Toyota RAV4

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 TOYOTA RAV4. WHILE DRIVING BETWEEN 45-50 MPH THE TRANSMISSION EXHIBITED GEAR SHIFTING FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER FOR INSPECTION. THE TECHNICIAN CONCLUDED THAT THE TRANSMISSION HAD SLIPPED GEARS,THEREFORE THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. AFTER THE REPAIR THE FAILURE RESURFACED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN BACK TO THE DEALER AND REPAIRED. HOWEVER NONE OF THE REPAIRS HAVE REMEDIED THE FAILURES. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 82,000. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 83,000.

TRANSMISSION/ECM FAILURE. TRANSMISSION WOULD "FLARE" WHILE ACCELERATING. WHEN SHIFTING WHILE ACCELERATING, TRANSMISSION WOULD NOT ENGAGE AND POWER WAS NOT TRANSMITTED TO WHEELS. ENGINE WOULD REV UP FOR 5-10 SECONDS UNTIL TRANSMISSION WOULD VIOLENTLY ENGAGE IN NEXT GEAR. THIS WAS PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS WHILE ATTEMPTING TO CROSS OR MERGE WITH TRAFFIC, AS THE VEHICLE HAD NO ABILITY TO ACCELERATE DURING THE EVENT. SYMPTOMS QUICKLY BECAME VERY REGULAR/REPEATABLE. VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED AND THE PROBLEM WAS IDENTIFIED AS A FAULTY ECM MODULE AND DAMAGED TRANSMISSION. *TR

IN THE MIDDLE OF A TRIP, AFTER STOPPING, THE TRANSMISSION STARTED JERKING WHEN SWITCHING GEARS. SINCE THEN IT HAS BEEN AN INTERMITTENT PROBLEM. SOMETIMES IT DOWNSHIFTS FOR NO REASON, SOMETIMES IT DOESN'T FULLY ENGAGE INTO FIRST GEAR. SOMETIMES IT WORKS FINE. SOMETIMES IT HAS TROUBLE ACCELERATING GOING UPHILL, IT WILL DOWNSHIFT AND REV TO REDLINE AND WON'T SHIFT TO THE NEXT GEAR. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER, AND THEY SAID THAT THEY COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING WRONG, THAT IT WORKED FOR THEM. BUT THEN THEY ALSO OFFERED TO REPLACE MY TRANSMISSION. *TR

I HAVE A 2002 RAV4 ALL WHEEL DRIVE AUTOMATIC, AND THE TRANSMISSION STARTED ACTING UP AT 98,000 MILES. THE CAR WOULD SHUDDER AT STOPS, SOMETIMES LUNGING FORWARD. I WOULD HOLD UP TRAFFIC AS IT CONTINUED SHUDDERING UNTIL IT WOULD FINALLY GO INTO SECOND. SOMETIMES ON THE FREEWAY IT WOULD SLIP OUT OF GEAR AND SHUDDER AS WELL. I WOULD HAVE TO REDUCE SPEED UNTIL IT WOULD GO INTO SECOND. SOMETIMES AT INTERSECTIONS I WOULD CRAWL ACROSS THE STREET AS I HOPED THAT IT WOULD GO INTO SECOND BEFORE THE LIGHT TURNED RED! I TOOK IT INTO TOYOTA OXNARD CA. AT 110,000 MILES. THE SERVICE MANAGER TOLD ME THAT THIS MODEL "IS NOTORIOUS FOR TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS." I THEN SAID, "AND YOU SOLD ME THIS CAR KNOWING THIS?!" I PURCHASED THE USED CAR FROM THE SAME LOT IN APRIL 2004. SO THE CAR WAS LOOKED AT, AND THE DIAGNOSIS WAS THAT IT NEEDED A NEW TRANSMISSION. NO MENTION OF THE COMPUTER PROBLEM. I WAS QUOTED $3800 TO FIX IT. I TOOK IT TO ANOTHER TRANSMISSION SHOP FOR A SECOND OPINION, AS I COULD NOT AFFORD $3800 TO FIX IT. I WAS TOLD THAT IF I "BABY" IT THAT IT MAY LAST AWHILE LONGER. AT 203,000 MILES IT GAVE OUT. THE CAR WOULD NO LONGER GO INTO 2ND GEAR. I TOOK IT BACK TO THE TRANSMISSION SHOP WHERE I WAS TOLD THAT THE COMPUTER WAS ALSO AN ISSUE, AND HE SUGGESTED TO REPLACE BOTH. IT IS NOW FIXED...$4800 LATER. I AM CURRENTLY UNEMPLOYED AND HAD TO USE ALL OF MY STUDENT LOAN MONEY TO PAY FOR MY CAR. *TR

OUR ECM, ENGINE CONTROL MODULE, IS FAULTY AND HAS BEEN SENDING OUR TRANSMISSION THE WRONG SIGNALS AND TELLING THE TRANSMISSION TO SHIFT AT THE WRONG INTERVALS. THIS CAUSED OUR TRANSMISSION TO HARD SHIFT AND MIS-SHIFT BETWEEN 1 AND 2, AND 2 AND 3. AS A RESULT, MY WIFE AND I ALMOST GOT INTO A ACCIDENT BECAUSE OUR SUV WOULD NOT MOVE UNTIL IT FINALLY WENT INTO GEAR. *TR

PROBLEM WITH MY TOYOTA RAV4'S ELECTRONICALLY CONTROLLED TRANSMISSION. THE COMPUTER WAS RECALLED IN 2007 FOR REPROGRAMMING. NOW IT HAS FAILED, AND THE TRANSMISSION POTENTIALLY ALONG WITH IT. TOYOTA CLAIMS NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR IT, EVEN THOUGH IT WAS RECALLED AND I HAD THE REPROGRAMMING DONE, BECAUSE I AM NOT UNDER WARRANTY. SCARY TO BE DRIVING AND HAVE THE CAR SHIFT AUTOMATICALLY DOWN TO FIRST GEAR AND NOT SHIFT BACK. I'M A SINGLE MOTHER DRIVING TWO SMALL CHILDREN AROUND - SERIOUSLY SCARY. *TR

ERRATIC TRANSMISSION OPERATION, E.G. SEVERE SLIPPING AND IMPROPER DOWNSHIFTING WHICH CAUSES RAPID DECELERATION OF THE VEHICLE WITH NO WARNING OR INDICATION TO FOLLOWING DRIVERS. ACCORDING TO THE DEALER, THE TRANSMISSION FAILURE RESULTED FROM FAILURE OF THE ENGINE CONTROL UNIT (ECU). THIS CAR'S ECU WAS RECENTLY REPROGRAMMED BY TOYOTA IN ACCORDANCE WITH TSB EG010-02. THIS TSB ADDRESSES SPURIOUS CATALYTIC CONVERTER ERROR CODES. *TR