2001 Toyota RAV4

I HAVE A 2001 TOYOTA RAV4 WITH A DEFECTIVE ELECTRONIC CONTROL MODULE. I CALLED TOYOTA WHO TOLD ME THAT I HAD THIS PART REPLACED IN 2007 UNDER A RECALL AND ONLY ONE TO A CUSTOMER. I ALSO HAD MISSED THE 10 YEARS TIME LIMIT, (FROM ORIGINAL USE DATE), BY A FEW MONTHS. IT SEEMS TO ME THAT IF TOYOTA KNOW THIS PART IS DEFECTIVE THAT THE COMPANY SHOULDN'T HAVE REPLACED MY ECM WITH ANOTHER DEFECTIVE PART. I DON'T UNDERSTAND THE LIMIT OF ONE ECM. ESPECIALLY SINCE THE REPLACED ECM WAS ONLY 4 YEARS OLD. I'M HAVING TO SPEND ABOUT $1100 FOR A PART THAT TOYOTA KNOWS IS DEFECTIVE. *TR

I AM WRITING BECAUSE I OWN A 2001 TOYOTA RAV 4 THAT STARTED ACTING UP A FEW WEEKS AGO. IT STARTED HAVING PROBLEMS WHEN ACCELERATING IT WOULD MAKE A STRANGE SOUND AND INSTEAD OF MOVING IT SEEMED TO SLOW DOWN AND THEN IT WOULD ALL OF A SUDDEN START JERKING. I GOT SCARED A FEW TIMES BECAUSE WHEN I NEEDED TO ACCELERATE FOR EXAMPLE: WHEN ENTERING THE HIGHWAY, IT WOULD NOT MOVE DUE TO THIS SHIFTING PROBLEM I ALMOST HAD AN ACCIDENT WITH MY 6 & 8 YEAR OLD DAUGHTERS IN THE CAR WITH ME!! I TOOK THE CAR TO A TOYOTA DEALER 2 YEARS AGO BECAUSE I RECEIVED RECALL NOTICE FROM THEM DUE TO THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT THAT HAD BEEN TURNED ON FOR A WHILE AND INSTEAD OF FIXING THE PROBLEM FREE OF CHARGE AS STATED ON RECALL NOTICE, THEY TOLD ME I SHOULD PAY TO HAVE SPARK PLUGS AND COIL REPAIRED. I TOLD THEM THAT I WAS THERE FOR THEM TO FIX THE PROBLEM THAT WAS CAUSING THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT BUT THEY NEVER DID!! I DIDN'T GO BACK BECAUSE I FELT THAT THEY WERE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF ME BECAUSE INSTEAD OF FIXING THE PROBLEM WHICH TOYOTA SENT RECALLS FOR, THEY DIDN'T. NOW 2 YEARS LATER, I TOOK IT BACK TO THEM AND I FIND OUT THAT THIS PROBLEM MY CAR IS HAVING IS DUE TO NEEDING A NEW ECM/ECU. THE TOYOTA GUY SAID THAT I WOULD HAVE TO PAY OVER $1,000 JUST FOR THIS PART! AND IF THAT DIDN'T WORK THEN THEY WOULD HAVE TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION. HERE'S THE THING: TOYOTA HAS KNOWN THAT THERE IS A DEFECT WITH THE ECU FOR A LONG TIME AND THEY KNOW THAT DUE TO A DEFECTIVE ECU THE TRANSMISSION WILL EVENTUALLY BE DAMAGED. WHY DIDN'T THEY DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT 2 YEARS AGO? THEY PURPOSELY DON'T SAY ANYTHING SO THAT BY THE TIME YOUR CAR DOES HAVE PROBLEMS, THEY USE THE "YOU'RE OUT OF WARRANTY" EXCUSE TO MAKE YOU PAY THEM FOR SOMETHING THAT THEY SHOULD'VE FIXED TO BEGIN WITH. NOW MY TRANSMISSION IS DAMAGED AND I HAD TO TAKE IT TO SOMEONE ELSE SINCE I DON'T TRUST TOYOTA DUE TO THEIR DISHONESTY. SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE! WHAT IF I WOULD'VE HAD AN ACCIDENT WITH MY DAUGHTERS DUE TO THEM NOT CORRECTING THIS? *TR

STARTED HAVING PROBLEMS WITH MY 2001 TOYOTA RAV4. IT SEEMS TO HAPPEN MOSTLY AFTER I HAVE COME TO COMPLETE STOP AND TRY TO ACCELERATE. IT WILL START TO MOVE AND THEN AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION WILL NOT SHIFT AND IT STOPS ACCELERATING. I HAVE ALMOST BEEN HIT FROM BEHIND SEVERAL TIMES. ALSO CHECK ENGINE LIGHT HAS BEEN ON FOR TWO YEARS. DEALERSHIP TOLD ME IT WAS DUE TO NEEDING NEW CATALYTIC CONVERTER, WHICH I FOUND OUT LATER HAD ALREADY BEEN REPLACED ONCE IN 2005. AFTER SEARCHING FOR INFO ONLINE I FOUND OUT ABOUT SAFETY RECALL FOR THE ENGINE CONTROL MODULE (ECM), THIS HAS BEEN REPLACED, AND ENGINE LIGHT IS NOW OFF, BUT TRANSMISSION IS BAD. AND TOYOTA IS NOT TAKING ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR RUINED TRANSMISSION. *TR

2001 TOYOTA RAV4 ECM AND TRANSMISSION REPLACED IN MAY OF 2009. PAID OUT OF POCKET. REPLACEMENT WAS A REBUILT TRANSMISSION INSTALLED BY DEALER (VICTORY TOYOTA IN CANTON, MI) SECOND TRANSMISSION FAILED AFTER 17,000 MILES. PAID OUT OF POCKET AGAIN. NO HELP FROM DEALER OR TOYOTA CORPORATE. FOUND OUT THAT DEALER JUST SWAPPED TRANS, DID NOT ACTUALLY REBUILD TRANS. TOOK IT TO AN INDEPENDENT TRANS SHOP. INDEPENDENT DISCOVERED A WASHER MISSING THAT CAUSED THIRD GEAR TO STRIP (DEFECT IN SECOND TRANS). TRANS REPAIRED, BUT THEN GOT A HARD DOWNSHIFT INTO FIRST GEAR WHEN STOPPING, CHECK ENGINE LIGHT AND P0420 P0430 CODES. INDEPENDENT TRANS SHOP CLEARED CODES, AND TOLD ME THAT IF IT HAPPENED AGAIN TO HAVE DEALER RE-FLASH ECM. WORKED OK FOR ABOUT FIVE DAYS, THEN GOT THE HARD DOWNSHIFT INTO 1ST GEAR AGAIN. TOOK IT TO DEALER. NOW THEY SAY THE CHARCOAL CANNISTER NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. I WILL SUBMIT FOR RE-IMBURSEMENT UNDER EXTENDED WARRANTY, BUT AM SEEKING REIMBURSEMENT FOR SECOND TRANSMISSION WHICH WAS A DIRECT RESULT OF THE FIRST ECM AND TRANS FAILING. *TR

ECM FAILED ON MY 2001 RAV4 AND TOYOTA REFUSED TO PAY FOR REPAIRS. WHEN IT FAILED IT PUT ME IN AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS SITUATION. THIS WAS AFTER A RECALL ON THE ECM. SO I HAD ALREADY BROUGHT MY CAR INTO THE DEALER AND HAD THE ECM REPROGRAMMED. IF I HAD DIED IN AN ACCIDENT WOULD ANYONE HAVE CHECKED THE ECM TO SEE IT WAS NOT WORKING? I DEFINITELY COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED AND PEOPLE SHOULD NOT BE ON THE ROAD DRIVING THESE CARS THAT COULD AT ANY MINUTE START ACTING ERRATICALLY. *TR

MARCH 2009 VEHICLE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND I TOOK VEHICLE TO AUTOZONE FOR A DIAGNOSTIC CHECK. CHECK INDICATED THAT THE SHIFT SOLENOID WAS BAD. I TOOK VEHICLE TO TOYOTA OF BEDFORD AND WAS TOLD I HAD TO GET ANOTHER DIAGNOSTIC BECAUSE THEY DON'T TAKE DIAGNOSTIC FROM OTHER PLACES, SO THAT COST ME $100. AFTER THEIR DIAGNOSTIC CHECK WAS PERFORMED, THEY CLAIMED IT WAS JUST THE GAS CAP AND TURNED THE LIGHT OFF. WITHIN A COUPLE OF WEEKS THE LIGHT CAN BACK ON WHILE I WAS DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY. IN JUNE 2009, THE CAR STARTED HAVING SHIFTING DIFFICULTY, GETTING STUCK IN A GEAR THEN JERKING OUT OF IT. I TOOK IT TO A FOREIGN CAR SPECIALIST SHOP AND THEY CHANGED THE TRANSMISSION FLUID, I DROVE IT FOR A FEW WEEKS AGAIN, THEN IT SHIFTED HARD WHILE DRIVING AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AGAIN. I HAVE TO GET OFF THE FREEWAY SOMETIMES WHEN THE CAR GETS STUCK IN A GEAR AND WON'T ACCELERATE!!! I READ COMPLAINTS EXACTLY LIKE MINE WITH THE 2001 TOYOTA RAV 4 AND CAN'T BELIEVE NOTHING IS BEING DONE. THIS IS DANGEROUS AND NOT A DRIVER ERROR, THIS IS CLEARLY A MANUFACTURER ERROR. WHY DO YOU HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL SOMEONE GETS KILLED BEFORE A RECALL CAN BE ORDERED. THIS A PART THAT SHOULD NEVER BE DEFECTIVE AND IF IT IS IT SHOULD BE FIXED WITHOUT QUESTION. *TR

TOYOTA RAV4 2001 - COMPUTER PROBLEMS & TOTAL TRANSMISSION PROBLEM MY RAV4, 2001 MODEL INITIALLY STARTED GIVING "CHECK ENGINE LIGHT" AND HAVING HARD TIME ACCELERATING FROM STOP SIGNAL. THE BBB APPROVED SERVICE CENTER CHECKED IT AND FOUND OUT THE ERROR CODE AS P0750 AND ADVISED THE REPLACEMENT/REBUILDING THE TRANSMISSION TO FIX THE PROBLEM. THEY CHARGED ME APPROX $3000 FOR THIS TRANSMISSION REBUILD WORK/FIXING THE ERROR CODE ISSUE. TWO DAYS AFTER, I GOT THE SAME PROBLEM AGAIN AND WHEN I TOOK IT TO THE SAME SERVICE CENTER, I WAS TOLD THAT THE COMPUTER SYSTEM IS THE CULPRIT FOR CAUSING THE PROBLEM. NOW, BASED ON THE DETAILS AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET (HTTP://WWW.CARCOMPLAINTS.COM/TOYOTA/RAV4/2002/TRANSMISSION/MAIN_COMPUTER_AND_TRANSMISSION_FAILURE.SHTML), I UNDERSTOOD THAT THIS IS THE COMMON PROBLEM OF TOYOTA RAV4 CARS. WHEN I SPOKE TO TOYOTA CUSTOMER SERVICE ON 800-331-4331 (CASE # 1006150572), THEY SAID THEY ARE HELPLESS. I AM INTERESTED TO FILE A COMPLAINT WITH CARSAFETY TO TAKE THIS UP WITH TOYOTA AS TO WHY THIS COMMON PROBLEM OF RAV4 IS NOT BEING ADDRESSED/RECALLED, THOUGH THERE ARE CUSTOMERS FACING SERIOUS SAFETY PROBLEMS WITH THE CAR. THE PROBLEM CAN EVEN LEAD TO ACCIDENTS RESULTING IN THE LOSS OF THE LIVES. AS AN EXAMPLE, ON FREEWAY, WHILE GOING AT 60MPH, THE SPEED SUDDENLY FALLS DOWN TO 30 OR EVEN 20MPH AND CONTINUES LIKE THAT FOR FEW MINUTES BEFORE IT GOES AUTOMATICALLY TO HIGHER SPEED. THIS FAILURE OCCURS EVERY 10-15 MINUTES IF NOT EARLIER.. THE WHOLE TRANSMISSION WAS REBUILD (INCLUDING THE SOLENOIDS, GEARTRAIN COMPONENTS, TORQUE CONVERTER ETC), THE COMPUTER WAS REPLACED WITH A TOTAL OF APPROX $4500, THOUGH THERE WERE NO DEATHS/INJURIES YET. THIS PROBLEM NEEDS TO BE TAKEN UP SERIOUSLY WITH TOYOTA AND NEEDS A QUICKER RESOLUTION. THANKS IN ADVANCE. *TR