Toyota RAV4 transmission problems

I WAS DRIVING MY 2003 RAV4 ABOUT 2 WEEKS AGO WHEN IT REFUSED TO ACCELERATE FROM A STOP AT A RED LIGHT, I WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE INTERSECTION(COASTING BASICALLY) WITH A LINE OF UNHAPPY TRAFFIC BEHIND ME BEFORE IT SLAMMED VIOLENTLY INTO HIGH GEAR AND ALMOST CAUSED ME TO CRASH INTO THE OVERPASS WALLS. IT HAS SINCE THEN BEEN INTERMITTENT, BEING FINE FOR A DAY OR SO THEN DOING THE SAME THING, IN VARYING DEGREES OF SEVERITY. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WENT ON, AND I MADE AN APPOINTMENT TO BRING IT IN TO TOYOTA FOR DIAGNOSTICS. THEY QUOTED ME $6800 TO REPLACE THE ECM COMPUTER AND THE TRANSMISSION. THIS VEHICLE HAS BEEN REGULARLY MAINTAINED AND ONLY HAS 119,000 MILES. I HAVE SINCE FOUND OUT THAT THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS AND COMMON PROBLEM WITH THIS YEAR OF TOYOTA THAT THEY HAVE KNOWN ABOUT FOR A WHILE NOW. I CAN'T DRIVE THE CAR AT ALL UNTIL THE COMPUTER IS REPLACED, AND THEN IT WILL NEED A TRANSMISSION SHORTLY AFTERWARD ACCORDING TO BOTH TOYOTA AND THE OTHER RAV4 OWNERS IN THIS SITUATION. IF THE COMPUTER HAD BEEN REPLACED PRIOR TO THE PROBLEM DEMONSTRATING ITSELF IN THE SHIFTING DIFFICULTIES, THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN NO DAMAGE TO THE TRANSMISSION AT ALL. I THINK THAT TOYOTA IS TO BLAME FOR NOT ADVISING RAV4 DRIVERS OF THIS DANGEROUS DEFECT AND THE RELATIVELY CHEAP REPAIR THAT COULD HAVE SAVED ME MUCH TIME AND MONEY. I NEED A CAR TO WORK, SO I EITHER PAY TOYOTA $6800 OR BUY A NEW CAR, AND IN THIS ECONOMY I DON'T KNOW IF I'LL BE ABLE TO GET THE FINANCING TO DO EITHER. *TR

THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION IN MY 2002 TOYOTA RAV 4 FAILED SUDDENLY AND UNEXPECTEDLY. ENGINE POWER WAS LOST AS THE VEHICLE'S SHIFTING BECAME ERRATIC; STARTING FROM STOP IN 3RD GEAR, THEN DOWNSHIFTING TO SECOND. MERGING WITH TRAFFIC DIFFICULT AND DANGEROUS AT BEST. I TOOK THE CAR TO A TRANSMISSION SHOP. THEY DIAGNOSED THAT THE ECM CAUSED THE TRANSMISSION TO FAIL. THEIR ESTIMATE TO REPLACE THE COMPUTER AND REPAIR THE TRANSMISSION WAS OVER $4000. I HAVE SINCE FOUND NUMEROUS SIMILAR COMPLAINTS ONLINE FROM OTHER TOYOTA RAV OWNERS. AND I FOUND THAT TOYOTA KNEW ABOUT THIS DESIGN FLAW OVER 7 YEARS AGO, WHICH I BELIEVE IS A SAFETY ISSUE AS WELL AS A MAJOR CONSUMER PRODUCT ISSUE. NOW OUT OF WARRANTY (97K MILES) THE COSTS TO REPAIR MY CAR ARE ALMOST EQUAL TO ITS VALUE. I DON'T KNOW AT THIS DATE IF I WILL FIX IT AS LOAN PAYMENTS REMAIN. CONSIDERING THE NUMBER OF SIMILAR COMPLAINTS OVER TOYOTA RAV 4 TRANSMISSION FAILURES I WHOLEHEARTEDLY REQUEST YOUR AGENCY REVIEW THIS SITUATION CLOSELY. I DON'T KNOW WHERE ELSE TO GO FOR HELP. *TR

I AM THE ORIGINAL OWNER OF A 2002 RAV4 AND HAVE BEEN TAKING IT TO TOYOTA FOR SERVICE. AS I WAS LEAVING WORK AT 5PM ONE FRIDAY, MY CAR WOULD HARD-SHIFT INTO FIRST AND STRUGGLE EVEN MORE TO GET TO SECOND, ETC. I DROVE IT STRAIGHT TO TOYOTA CARLSBAD. THEY CONTACTED ME THE FOLLOWING DAY AFTER CHANGING THE TRANSMISSION FLUID. THEY SAID I NEEDED A NEW TRANSMISSION AND COMPUTER. COME TO FIND OUT THERE HAD BEEN A SERVICE BULLETIN IN 2006 THAT ONLY TOYOTA KNEW ABOUT THAT RECOGNIZED THE POTENTIAL FOR TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS. I WAS NOT INFORMED OF THIS WHEN I HAD THE TRANSMISSION SERVICED BY TOYOTA IN 2007. THE TOTAL COST TO ME WOULD BE $4800 WITHOUT TAX, WHICH I COULD NOT AFFORD. SINCE I NEEDED MY CAR FOR WORK AND I TAKE CARE OF MY ELDERLY MOTHER, I SCROUNGED TOGETHER THE NEARLY $2000 FOR THE COMPUTER REPLACEMENT AS WELL AS THE THERMOSTAT REPLACEMENT (THE IDIOT LIGHT CODE SAID IT HAD A LOOSE WIRE, AND NOT TOTAL REPLACEMENT!). I WAS TOLD THE TRANSMISSION WOULD DEFINITELY NEED TO BE REPLACED IN A VERY SHORT TIME, AND THEY SUGGESTED I PURCHASE ANOTHER CAR VERY SOON. THE SERVICE BULLETIN SHOULD HAVE BEEN SHARED WITH ME, THE CLIENT. THEY KNEW ABOUT AND KEPT THE POTENTIAL PROBLEM FROM ME AND NOW THE PROBLEM IS A COSTLY ONE TO REPAIR. I WOULD LIKE TOYOTA TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION FOR FREE AND REIMBURSE ME FOR MY COSTS TO REPLACE THE COMPUTER. AFTER RESEARCHING THIS RAV4 PROBLEM, I HAVE LEARNED THAT THIS HAS BEEN A BIG AND CONTINUING PROBLEM FOR 2002 RAV4 OWNERS AND SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED. I BELIEVE THAT THE COMPUTER (OR ECM) WAS THE CAUSE OF THIS PROBLEM. I AM HOPING THE TRANSMISSION WILL NOT HAVE TO BE REPLACED. I PURCHASED THIS EXPENSIVE (FOR ME) TOYOTA BECAUSE IT WAS SAID TO LAST LONGER THAN OTHER VEHICLES. I TRULY THINK THIS PROBLEM NEEDS TO BE BROUGHT TO THE LIGHT AND INCLUDED IN THE FEDERAL INVESTIGATION OF TOYOTA. *TR

TOYOTA 2001 RAV4 TRANSMISSION SHIFT PROBLEM SINCE MARCH 2009. APPROX MILES TO DATE 95,750. WHEN I FIRST TOOK IT IN, I CHECKED WITH AUTOZONE FOR DIAGNOSTIC CHECK WHICH WAS FREE BECAUSE THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. I THEN TOOK THE READINGS TO TOYOTA WHO TOLD ME THEY WOULDN'T ACCEPT AUTOZONE'S DIAGNOSTIC AND I HAD TO GET ANOTHER ONE FROM THEM WHICH COST $100. THEN THEY TOLD ME IT WAS JUST THE GAS CAP AND TURNED THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT OFF. WITHIN 2 DAYS, AFTER MY E-CHECK, THE LIGHT CAME BACK ON HAS BEEN ON EVER SINCE. I HAVE TAKEN IT BACK SEVERAL TIMES FOR OIL CHANGES AND THEY NEVER SAID THAT THERE WAS A PROBLEM. THE DIAGNOSTIC FROM AUTOZONE STATED THE SHIFT SOLENOID WAS BAD BUT TOYOTA SAID IT WAS THE GAS CAP. I HAVE DONE SOME RESEARCH AND I AM NOW AWARE THAT I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE WITH THIS TYPE OF PROBLEM. THIS IS SHAMEFUL THAT THEY CHOOSE TO IGNORE THIS SERIOUS MALFUNCTION TO GET MAJOR MONEY FROM THE CONSUMERS. I AM MORE UPSET WITH THE FACT THAT I BOUGHT THE CAR IN MAY OF 2006 AND THEY KNEW THEN THAT THERE WAS A PROBLEM. THE WARRANTY IS A JOKE, THAT'S A MAJOR PART THAT THEY WON'T HONOR AND THEY ARE PURPOSELY IGNORING IT SO THAT IT'S NOT COVERED OR THEIR PROBLEM. WHY WAIT UNTIL SOMEONE GETS HURT OR KILLED BECAUSE THEY DON'T WANT TO OWN UP TO THEIR DEFECTIVE PARTS. MY CAR WILL GET STUCK IN FIRST GEAR AND JUMP TO SECOND VERY HARD. I HAVE TAKEN THE CAR TO A FOREIGN CAR REPAIR SHOP LAST SPRING AND THEY DID A QUICK FIX BY TRYING TO SEE IF REPLACING THE TRANSMISSION FLUID TO SEE IF THAT WORKED BUT IT LASTED FOR ONLY A WEEK. DURING MY LAST MAINTENANCE CHECK AT TOYOTA, I WAS TOLD I PROBABLY HAD SIX MONTHS, STILL NEVER ACKNOWLEDGING THAT IT WAS A DEFECT IN THEIR PART OR THAT IT WAS COVERED. IT'S NOT FAIR TO THE CONSUMER TO BE IGNORED AND TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF BY THIS COMPANY. PLEASE DON'T IGNORE OUR COMPLAINTS THEY ARE REAL AND SERIOUS. *TR

INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) I AM WRITING BECAUSE I JUST EXPERIENCED SUDDEN ACCELERATION IN REVERSE IN MY NEW 2010 TOYOTA RAV4, 6 CYLINDER. THIS IS A VEHICLE I WAS TOLD BY THE DEALER WAS NOT AFFECTED BY THE RECALL. HERE ARE THE DETAILS: I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE ABOUT A MONTH AGO FROM IRWIN TOYOTA IN NEW HAMPSHIRE WITH VIN# [XXX] . I HAD CONTACTED THE DEALER BEFORE THE CAR WAS DELIVERED TO SEE WHAT THE RECALL MEANT FOR ME. THEY SAID THAT THE VEHICLE WAS MADE IN JAPAN AND WAS NOT AFFECTED BY THE RECALL. ON FEBRUARY 17TH I PUT THE RAV4 INTO REVERSE TO BACK DOWN MY DRIVEWAY. I WAS CUTTING THE WHEEL TO THE LEFT TO MAKE A REVERSE K-TURN WHEN IT BEGAN ACCELERATING VIGOROUSLY IN REVERSE. I DID NOT HAVE MY FOOT ON THE GAS BECAUSE IT WAS IDLING IN REVERSE DOWN A 7% GRADE. THE ENGINE RACED WAY UP AND IT TOOK ALL MY LEG POWER TO BRING IT TO A STOP. I DID STOP THE CAR JUST BEFORE HITTING A TREE ON THE SIDE OF MY DRIVEWAY. I HAD MY WIFE AND MY INFANT SON IN THE CAR AND THEY WERE BOTH TERRIFIED. WHEN I CALLED THE DEALER THE SERVICE MANAGER SAID HE WOULD BE HAPPY TO LOOK AT IT, BUT THAT IT WAS PROBABLY 'HIGH IDLE'. I HAVE DEGREE IN PHYSICS AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING AND I OWN A COMPANY THAT BUILDS ACCELERATION SENSORS FOR VEHICLES. THIS CAR HAS A SERIOUS, POTENTIALLY DEADLY PROBLEM WITH ONE OF ITS SENSORS OR WITH ELECTRICAL INTERFERENCE CAUSING THE COMPUTER TO MISINTERPRET THE SENSOR DATA. THERE IS NO WAY A DEALER IS GOING TO FIND THIS, LET ALONE FIX IT. WHAT CAN I DO AT THIS POINT? *TR