2003 Toyota RAV4

THIS CAR HAS BEEN MAINTAINED AND PRESERVED AND ONLY 84000 MILES ON IT. AND THE CAR WONT SHIFT. IT JOLTS ME OR REVS EXTREMELY HIGH AND ALSO ALMOST CAUSED ME AN ACCIDENT AS IT ALMOST SHUT DOWN ON POWER WHILE MAKING A LEFT TURN IN INTERSECTION. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON AND OFF. IT'S ONLY WHILE GOING FROM 2ND TO 3RD OR SHIFTING DOWN FROM 2 TO 1ST. I HAD MY MECHANIC LOOK AT IT AND HE SAID IT'S A COMMON ISSUE WITH THE ECU TO TAKE IT TO DEALERSHIP TO REPLACE FOR FREE AND THEY WANT TO CHARGE ME 150 JUST TO EXAMINE IT.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 TOYOTA RAV4. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 30 MPH, THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY DECELERATED WHEN THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED. THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT ATTEMPTED TO ACCELERATE AGAIN AND THE VEHICLE RESPONDED VERY SLOWLY TO APPROXIMATELY 15 MPH. THE VEHICLE WAS DRIVEN TO THE CONTACT'S RESIDENCE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE ENGINE CONTROL UNIT FAILED OR THERE WAS POSSIBLE TRANSMISSION FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 74,650.

MY VEHICLE BEGAN TO "BUCK" AND THEN SHORTLY THEREAFTER THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. I INITIALLY TOOK IT TO THE CLOSEST MECHANIC AND WAS TOLD I NEEDED A NEW TRANSMISSION AND THAT THEY COULDN'T REPLACE IT. TOLD THEM TO TAKE IT TO KRAUSE TOYOTA. WAS THEN TOLD BY KRAUSE IT NEEDED A NEW ECM BUT THEY WERE TOO BUSY AND COULDN'T LOOK AT THE VEHICLE FOR 2 WEEKS SINCE I WASN'T A "REGULAR" CUSTOMER. I THEN TOOK THE CAR TO BENNETT TOYOTA - CLASS OUTFIT. THEY REPLACED THE ECM IMMEDIATELY - WHICH WASN'T CHEAP. COST ME $1200. I HAVE SINCE HEARD THAT THERE WAS A RECALL ON THE ECM ON MY YEAR RAV4 WHICH I WASN'T EVER NOTIFIED OF. I FEEL TOYOTA SHOULD PICK UP THIS TAB. I HAVE LOW MILEAGE FOR A 2003 CAR, AND HAVE ALWAYS MAINTAINED IT PROPERLY.

I PURCHASED A 2003 TOYOTA RAV4 FROM THE TOYOTA DEALERSHIP THAT ONLY HAD 13 MILES ON IT IN AUGUST 2003. IN AUGUST OF 2014, I STARTED HAVING TROUBLE WITH THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION SHIFTING HARSH WHEN CHANGING. THE CAR WOULD STRAIN TO CHANGE GEARS, THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN IT WOULD JERK INTO GEAR. NO LIGHTS CAME ON AT ALL. I TOOK IT TO THE TOYOTA DEALERSHIP TO HAVE THE PROBLEM INSPECTED AND THEY TOLD ME ABOUT AN EXTENDED WARRANTY OF 10 YEARS OR 150,000 MILES. THIS WAS THE FIRST THAT I HAD HEARD ABOUT THIS WARRANTY. TOYOTA NEVER CONTACTED ME TO LET ME KNOW ABOUT THE WARRANTY. AFTER INSPECTING MY RAV4, THEY TOLD ME THAT I NEEDED TO REPLACE THE ECM AND IF THAT DIDN'T SOLVE THE PROBLEM, I WOULD NEED A TRANSMISSION. I FEEL LIKE TOYOTA SHOULD HAVE INFORMED ME OF THE PROBLEM SOONER. (BEFORE ALL THAT TIME HAD GONE BY.) I WAS VERY DISAPPOINTED WITH THE OUTCOME. I SEE FROM THIS WEBSITE THAT I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE WITH THIS SAME PROBLEM AND FEEL THAT TOYOTA SHOULD BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR THE REPAIR. *TR

I'M THE OWNER OF A 2003 RAV4, PURCHASED FROM A TOYOTA DEALER IN 2011. LAST WEEK, I EXPERIENCED A TIME LAPSE OF MY CAR SHIFTING INTO FIRST GEAR, IN MY OPINION, A SAFETY HAZARD. THIS MORNING I TOOK THE CAR TO A MECHANIC AND BEGAN SEARCHING THE WEB FOR ANY RECALLS FOR A 2003 RAV4, THERE ARE NONE. HOWEVER, ON THIS SITE, I DISCOVERED THAT I AM ONE OF MANY WHO HAVE THIS COMPLAINT, AND THAT WE ,THE CONSUMER, ALL SHARE THE SAME RESULTS FROM TOYOTA. YOU MISSED THE DEADLINE. IT WAS ON THIS NHTSA.GOV WEBSITE THAT I LEARNED OF A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT ABOUT THE ECM DEFECT WITH MY RAV4 (SEE WWW.RV4ECMSETTLEMENT.COM), THE LETTER WAS SUPPOSEDLY SENT TO ALL WHO OWN A 2003 RAV4. I NEVER RECEIVED THIS LETTER. NOR DID I RECEIVE ANY TYPE OF NOTIFICATION FROM TOYOTA RE: AN EXTENDED WARRANTY,OR FOR THAT MATTER ANY TYPE OF TIME SENSITIVE DATES TO CAPTURE ANY TYPE OF RECOVERY FROM TOYOTA. TOYOTA CLAIMS THEY WORK WITH A COMPANY WHO GATHERS OWNERS INFORMATION FROM THE DMV. TOYOTA CALLS THIS ISSUE WITH THE TRANSMISSION NOT SHIFTING PROPERLY INTO GEAR, A "CUSTOMER MALFUNCTION SUPPORT PROGRAM"...AND THE CATCH IS THAT YOU ONLY HAVE 10 YEARS FROM THE DATE OF FIRST USE TO NOTIFY THEM OF YOUR "MALFUNCTION"...MY CAR MISSED THE DEADLINE BY 6 MONTHS AND AGAIN, LET ME REITERATE THAT I WAS NEVER NOTIFIED BY ANYONE ABOUT THIS ISSUE, NOR IS THIS ISSUE TERMED A RECALL ITEM. MY QUESTION IS WHY NOT? WHY IS THIS NOT A RECALL, WHEN THIS SITUATION IS CLEARLY A SAFETY ISSUE. IF YOU ARE IN A CAR THAT WILL NOT MOVE INTO FIRST GEAR, AND THEN THE CAR UNEXPECTEDLY JERKS INTO ACCELERATION, IS THAT NOT A SAFETY CONCERN?? TOYOTA'S TERM "HARSH SHIFT OF AUTO TRANS AXLE" " MY COMPLAINT AND OPINION IS THAT TOYOTA HAS BEEN DECEPTIVE WITH THEIR CONSUMERS. AND THESE ATTORNEYS? WHY DID I NOT HEAR FROM THEM?? AND FURTHERMORE, WILL I HEAR BACK FROM THE NHTSA ??? HOW CAN THE CONSUMER MAKE A DEADLINE, IF THEY ARE NOT NOTIFIED???

VEHICLE DRIVEN BY ELDERLY WIDOWED MOTHER (JOSEPHINE BEASLEY, AGE 70) NO MORE THAN 6,200 MILES PER YEAR AND BEGAN EXPERIENCING HARSH SHIFT IN TRANSMISSION IN MARCH 2014. AAMCO INFORMED US THAT A MALFUNCTIONING ELECTRONIC COMPUTER MODULE (ECM) CAUSED THE DAMAGE TO TRANSMISSION. AAMCO TECHNICIAN NOTIFIED US THAT THE ECM REPAIR CLAIMS ARE COVERED UNDER A TOYOTA SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT (WWW.RAV4ECMSETTLEMENT.COM). REPAIR COST FOR TRANSMISSION $2,890 AND ECM PART $1,227.91 PAID FOR OUT OF POCKET. THE RAV4 WAS PURCHASED FROM CARMAX ON APRIL 18, 2009; ELDERLY MOTHER DOES NOT HAVE ACCESS OR UNDERSTANDING OF INTERNET. SHE DID NOT REALIZE THAT SHE HAD TO REGISTER THE VEHICLE WITH TOYOTA IN ORDER TO RECEIVE RECALL NOTICES OR ANY OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION PERTAINING TO HER VEHICLE FROM THE MANUFACTURER. CONTACTED TOYOTA CUSTOMER SERVICE AND THEY REFUSED TO REIMBURSE THE COST OF REPAIR AS THE VEHICLE EXCEEDED THE 10 YEAR IN SERVICE WARRANTY PERIOD EVEN THOUGH IT IS WITHIN 150,000 MILES LIMIT. WHEN SHE DROVE THE VEHICLE OFF THE CARMAX LOT IT HAD 44,213 MILES ON ODOMETER AND ON AUGUST 7, 2014, ODOMETER READING IS 75,374. SAD THAT THE ELDERLY ARE BEING TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF BECAUSE OF THEIR LACK OF TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE. *TR

THE VEHICLE WITH 71,000 MILES AND PERFECT SERVICE RECORD HAD A ENGINE FAILURE, WITHOUT WARNING, WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY. THE OIL PRESSURE LIGHT CAME ON AND BEFORE I HAD TIME TO PULL OVER TO THE SHOULDER TO INSPECT THE ENGINE STARTED KNOCKING BADLY. I BARELY MADE IT TO THE SHOULDER BEFORE THE VEHICLE STALLED. AFTER HAVING IT TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP, THEY CAME OUT WITH THE DIAGNOSE THAT THE "ENGINE THREW A ROD" FOR NO APPARENT REASON. THERE WAS SUFFICIENT ENGINE OIL AND LAST OIL CHANGE WAS DONE 4500 MILES BEFORE. BASICALLY, ENGINE AT THIS POINT IS BEYOND REPAIR AND HAS TO BE REPLACED. BESIDE THE FINANCIAL LOSE, NOW I EXTREMELY CONCERN ABOUT THE SAFETY AND RELIABILITY OF THE VEHICLE AND MORE IMPORTANTLY THE ENGINE OR ANY OTHER PART THAT CAUSED THE ENGINE TO FAIL. THE FACT THAT I HAD 10 YEARS OLD BOY IN THE CAR WITH ME WHO THOUGHT THAT WE WERE GOING TO DIE THAT DAY AND CRYING HYSTERICALLY MAKE IT ALL THE MORE BOTHERSOME. WHEN I CALLED TOYOTA HEADQUARTER TO REPORT THE PROBLEM, THEY BASICALLY DISMISSED ME AS ROUTINE PROBLEM AND NOT TOYOTA'S PROBLEM. THEY SEEM DISINTERESTED TO FIND OUT WHY ENGINE WITH SO FEW MILES GOT BUSTED FOR NO REASON AND PERFECT MAINTENANCE RECORD. I AM CONCERNED ABOUT THE RELIABILITY AND SAFETY OF THE ENGINE IN THE VEHICLE (1AZ-FE). I HOPE GOVT INVESTIGATE THIS CASE AND I AM WILLING TO PARTICIPATE IN WHICHEVER WAY I CAN TO MAKE IT SAFE FOR MY FELLOW RIDERS. *TR