Toyota RAV4 transmission problems

2001 TOYOTA RAV4. WHILE DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE VEHICLE SUDDENLY LURCHED AND JERKED, COASTED THEN LURCHED AGAIN, SUDDENLY LOSING SPEED, THEN STALLED. ENGINE REVVED AND TRANSMISSION KEPT JERKING, WOULD NOT ENGAGE FULLY. TRAFFIC WAS HEAVY AND WAS NEARLY RUN OVER BY TRUCK. EXTREMELY DANGEROUS! MANAGED TO PULL OVER TO SHOULDER. EVENTUALLY, MANAGED TO DRIVE HOME AT REDUCED SPEED ON BACK ROADS. DEALER REPLACED COMPUTER CHIP, $1,000 BILL. TOYOTA NOTIFIED DEALERS IN 2006 OF FAULTY CHIP, NOT ME. NOW, 12-11-09, TRANSMISSION WILL NOT GO INTO GEAR AT ALL. BEGAN HESITATING IN TRAFFIC, AS IF CUTTING OUT. *TR

CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ALL OF SUDDEN WHILE DRIVING VEHICLE REGULAR TO WORK, WHEN CHECKED, THE TRANSMISSION SENSOR BAD ERROR CAME UP, THEN DROVE VEHICLE BACK HOME.WHILE DRIVING BACK GEAR STARTED SLIPPING, COULD NOT ABLE TO PICK UP SPEED. LATER CHECK ENGINE LIGHT GONE AND VEHICLE STARTED WORKING FINE. NEXT DAY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WAS AGAIN ON. WHEN TOOK THE VEHICLE TO MECHANIC, TRANSMISSION BAD DIAGNOSTIC CAME. COSTING MORE THAN 3500. IT WAS HAZARDOUS DRIVE WHILE COMING BACK HOME AT A SUCH LOW MILES. *TR

I HAVE A 2002 TOYOTA RAV4 WITH 110,000 MILES ON IT. THE TRANSMISSION HAS JUST FAILED. WHAT A DANGEROUS SITUATION, DOESN'T WANT TO GO, SO YOU TAKE OFF FROM A STOP SIGN & YOU'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF TRAFFIC & THERE YOU SIT TRYING TO GET THE CAR TO MOVE. TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM THE TRANSMISSION NEEDS TO BE REPLACED & I DON'T HAVE $5000 TO REPAIR THIS. IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT TOYOTA WAS AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM AND HAS DONE NOTHING ABOUT IT. NICE *TR

IN MARCH 2006, TOYOTA SENT DEALERS A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN 002-06WARNING THEM THAT SOME CONSUMERS MIGHT COMPLAIN ABOUT HARSH SHIFTING. IT SAID IMPROVEMENTS WERE MADE TO THE COMPUTER ?MANUFACTURING PROCESS TO REDUCE THE POSSIBILITY OF THIS CONDITION OCCURRING.? IT THEN TOLD THE DEALERS TO REPLACE THE MODULE AND IF THAT DID NOT WORK TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION. BUT CONSUMERS OWNING THE VEHICLES WERE NEVER NOTIFIED ABOUT THE PROBLEM. THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT MY CAR IS DOING, I WAS NEVER INFORMED OF THIS DEFECT WHEN I BOUGHT MY 2002 TOYOTA RAV4 USED IN NOV 2007 FROM TOYOTA OF BUTTE MT. AND OF COURSE IT ISN'T COVERED UNDER ANY WARRANTY OR RECALL NOW - ONLY UP TO 80,000 MILES BEFORE THE ECM STARTS TO MALFUNCTION. I WAS QUOTED THE FIX TO BE AROUND $900.00 AND THAT'S IF IT HASN'T CAUSED DAMAGE TO MY TRANSMISSION BY NOW. I'M A SINGLE WORKING MOM OF 3 KIDS ON A VERY LIMITED INCOME - I CAN'T AFFORD TO HAVE THIS FIXED AND NOW I'M WITHOUT THE ONLY CAR MY FAMILY HAS BECAUSE DRIVING IT IS AN EXTREME SAFETY HAZARD WITH IT'S CURRENT PROBLEMS. AS I PULL OUT INTO TRAFFIC THE CAR DECIDES TO NOT SHIFT (AS IF IT WERE IN NEUTRAL) RIGHT IN THE PATH OF ONCOMING TRAFFIC - NICE JOB TOYOTA. I THINK THAT THIS SHOULD BE A COVERED RECALL ON THESE VEHICLES BEFORE SOMEONE IS KILLED!!!!!!!! *TR

I BOUGHT A BRANDNEW 2003 RAV4 6 YEARS AGO AND ALREADY HAVE 95,000 MILES ON IT. THE TRANSMISSION STARTS TO SLIPPED AND DRAG A COUPLE OF DAYS AGO. IT ALMOST CAUSED AN ACCIDENT ON MY WAY HOME BECAUSE THE TRANSMISSION SLOWLY SHIFTS GEAR ON 2ND AND 3RD WITH A HIGH IDLING. I HAVE READ SOME FORUMS ABOUT THE RAV4 2001-2003 ECM ISSUES. I WOULD LIKE TO COMPLAINT THAT TOYOTA WOULD NOT DO A RECALL TO THE FAULTY PART THAT CAN CAUSE DEATH AND SERIOUS ACCIDENT WHILE DRIVING A RAV4 (2001-2003) MODEL WITH A DEFECTIVE ECM. THERE ARE OVER 488 COMPLAINTS THAT I'VE READ IN ONE FORUM ALONE. I HOPE YOU WILL FIND A WAY TO HAVE TOYOTA ACCOUNTABLE FOR THIS ECM FAILURE TO MY 2003 RAV4 AND HOPE TO HAVE THEM REPLACE ALL THE RAV4 (2001-2003) ECM MODULE FREE OF CHARGE. *TR

TOYOTA 2002 RAV4 PROBLEM WITH AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION HESITATING AND JERKING IN LOW GEARS. PROBLEM STARTED IN JULY 2009 AND WITHIN ONE WEEK WAS OCCURRING ALL THE TIME. RAV4 WAS WELL PAST ITS WARRANTY OF 50K OR 5 YEARS. OURISMAN CHANTILLY VIRGINIA TOYOTA DEALER SAID IT NEEDED NEW TRANSAXLE FOR $5,500. MILLER TOYOTA OF MANASSAS VIRGINIA REPLACED ECM MODULE WHICH WAS STILL UNDER EMISSIONS WARRANTY OF 80K OR 8 YEARS. THIS HAS CORRECTED THE PROBLEMS SO FAR. *TR

WHILE STARTING UP FROM A RED LIGHT, I FELT THE TRANS SLIP, THEN BANG INTO 2ND GEAR. IT WOULD CONTINUE TO BUCK AND SLIP, THAN WOULD CATCH AND RUN SMOOTH. I THOUGHT SOMETHING HAD HAPPENED TO THE TRANS, ALTHOUGH I ONLY HAVE APPROX 48,000 MILES ON THE CAR. TURNED OUT TO BE A FAULTY ECM WHICH TOYOTA IS APPARENTLY AWARE OF AND WAS REPLACED UNDER WARRANTY. I FELL THIS COULD HAVE POTENTIALLY BEEN DANGEROUS AND I VERY EASILY COULD HAVE BEEN IN AN ACCIDENT, BUT DID NOT REALLY DRIVE THE CAR AFTER THE INITIAL INCIDENT. *TR

AS I TRIED TO ACCELERATE THROUGH AN INTERSECTION WHERE THE CROSS TRAFFIC DID NOT STOP, MY CAR WOULD NOT ACCELERATE BEYOND 25MPH AND MY FAMILY AND I CAME DANGEROUSLY CLOSE TO A PRETTY SERIOUS ACCIDENT. UNFORTUNATELY, I CANNOT AFFORD TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION RIGHT NOW, WHICH IS WHAT IS NEEDED, SO I DO HAVE TO CONTINUE TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE. I HAVE TO UTILIZE LITTLE USED ROADS AND HOPE THAT I CAN GET A LITTLE MORE LIFE OUT OF MY CURRENT TRANSMISSION! *TR

GOING AT BELOW 40MPH CAR ON THE EXPRESSWAY IN RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC TO TAKE MY SON TO SCHOOL MY 2001 TOYOTA RAV4 BEGAN TO JERK REPEATEDLY UNDER ACCELERATION. THIS WAS EXTREMELY FRIGHTENING AS I FELT THE CAR WOULD LUNGE FORWARD OUT OF MY CONTROL AND HIT THE CARS IN FRONT OF ME! IT WOULD STOP IF OVER 40 COULD BE MAINTAINED. A FEW DAYS PRIOR I EXPERIENCED THIS 2 SINGLE JERKS WHILE DRIVING THROUGH A PARKING LOT. THE CAR WAS TAKEN IN TO A NEARBY DEALER FOR DIAGNOSIS. I AM BEING TOLD THAT I NEED TO REPLACE THE CAR'S COMPUTER AND MAY POSSIBLY NEED TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION. TOYOTA HAS ISSUED A SERVICE BULLETIN ON THIS SOME YEARS AGO BUT I WAS NEVER NOTIFIED. THE JERKING REPRESENTS A VERY SERIOUS SAFETY AND CONSUMER LIABILITY AND THERE SHOULD BE SOME RECOURSE FOR PREVENTION. *TR