2001 Toyota RAV4

1. TRANSMISSION FAILED DESPITE TOYOTA DEALER HAVING REPLACED THE ECM ON THE 2001 RAV4. 2. CAR NOT SHIFTING CORRECTLY BETWEEN 1ST AND 2ND GEARS WITH NEW TRANSMISSION AND REPLACED (IN 2007) ECM. COULD BE DANGEROUS IN CERTAIN SITUATIONS. 3. TOYOTA REPLACED THE PART IN 2007, BUT THE PROBLEM WAS NOT FIXED. HAVE SINCE DISCOVERED THAT THEY RETOOLED THIS PART 3 TIMES SINCE 2007, WHICH TELLS ME THAT THE NEW PART WAS JUST AS FAULTY AS THE ORIGINAL. TOYOTA WILL NOT REPLACE THE PART FOR FREE BECAUSE IT WAS REPLACED ONCE ALREADY AND THE NEW PART ONLY HAD A 12 MONTH WARRANTY. *TR

EXPERIENCING TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS (JERKING & SLIPPING) WITH MY 2001 TOYOTA RAV4. TOOK IT THE NORTHWAY TOYOTA DEALERSHIP IN LATHAM, NY. WAS TOLD THAT ECM NEEDS TO BE REPLACED ($1300) AND POTENTIALLY A TRANSMISSION ($3400). TAXES AND LABOR ARE TO BE ADDED. GOOGLED DCT (ERROR CODE) P0755 OBTAINED DURING THE CHECKUP AND FOUND TOYOTA'S TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN TC002-06 FROM MARCH 3RD, 2006 DESCRIBING THIS PROBLEM AND INDICATING THE NEED TO REPLACE ECM. THIS REPAIR WOULD HAVE BEEN COVERED UNDER TOYOTA FEDERAL EMISSIONS WARRANTY (96 MONTHS OR 80,000 MILES). WHY TOYOTA DID NOT CONTACTED ME TO LET ME KNOW ABOUT THIS PROBLEM IN ALMOST 4 YEARS MAKING ME TO PAY ALMOST $5000 FOR THEIR MISTAKE? *TR

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

THE ECM ON MY 2001 TOYOTA RAV4 STOPPED WORKING AT 76K MILES AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. I DID NOT EXPERIENCE AN INCIDENT BECAUSE I STOPPED DRIVING IT AND GOT IT FIXED QUICKLY WITHIN A FEW WEEKS OF THE FAILED TRANSMISSION SYMPTOMS - LURCHING AND JERKING AND LACK OF POWER IN THE ENGINE. I HAVE DONE THE RESEARCH AND REALIZE THIS IS A SIGNIFICANT PROBLEM WITH THIS MAKE, MODEL AND YEAR AND AM HOPING IF ENOUGH PEOPLE COMPLAIN, TOYOTA WILL OWN UP TO THE PROBLEM OF A MAJOR DEFECTIVE PART. TOYOTA CLAIMS THIS IS NOT AN ISSUE AND, SINCE THE WARRANTY ON MY ECM EXPIRED AS OF MARCH THIS YEAR, THEY ALSO CLAIM IT IS NOT THEIR PROBLEM. *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

I HAVE A 2001 TOYOTA RAV4 AND HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THE TRANSMISSION. THE CAR LOST ITS ABILITY TO DRIVE BECAUSE THE ECM FOR THE TRANSMISSION BROKE. IT COST ABOUT 1,000 DOLLARS TO FIX AND THE CAR STILL DOESN'T SOUND OR DRIVE LIKE IT USED TO. I AM AFRAID THE TRANSMISSION WILL FAIL IN BAD WEATHER OR ON A HILL AND I WILL HURT PEOPLE. THE MECHANIC TOLD ME THAT OTHER CARS WITH THIS ECM PROBLEM LATER DO HAVE TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS AND CALLS TO TOYOTA ARE NOT FRUITFUL. THERE IS APPROXIMATELY 69,000 MILES ON THIS CAR AND I AM THE ORIGINAL OWNER OF THIS CAR. THE POWER TRAIN SHOULD NOT BE A PROBLEM TO A RELATIVELY YOUNG CAR LIKE THIS IT SHOULD BE UNDER WARRANTY TO 100,000 MILES NOT 60,000 MILES. THIS CAR AND THE OTHER TOYOTAS I AM READING ABOUT SHOULD BE RECALLED THEY ARE DANGEROUS. *TR

1 & 2. RECENTLY I HAD TO HAVE THE TRANSMISSION REBUILT ON MY 2001 TOYOTA RAV4. THE ENGINE CONTROL MODULE (E.C.M.), WHICH TELLS THE TRANSMISSION WHAT TO DO, APPARENTLY IS FAULTY (A PROBLEM THAT TOYOTA HAS ACKNOWLEDGED BUT FAILED TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT) WHICH CAUSES THE TRANSMISSION TO ESSENTIALLY SELF DESTRUCT. I WAS DRIVING THROUGH AN INTERSECTION WHEN MY ENGINE STARTED REVVING AND MY CAR DRAMATICALLY SLOWED DOWN. AFTER PULLING OVER AND PUTTING IT INTO PARK, I SHIFTED TO DRIVE AND MY CAR LURCHED FORWARD, ALMOST CRASHING INTO ANOTHER CAR. I FEARED FOR MY LIFE IN BOTH SITUATIONS AND FEEL THAT THIS PRODUCT IS EXTREMELY FAULTY. 3. MY TRANSMISSION WILL NEED TO BE REBUILT FOR APPROXIMATELY $3,500, BUT IF TOYOTA HAD NOTIFIED CUSTOMERS ABOUT THIS PROBLEM EARLIER THEN WE WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO RECTIFY THE ECM BEFORE IT CAUSED A TRANSMISSION PROBLEM AND ENDANGERED MY LIFE. *TR

AFTER NOT HAVING PROBLEMS FOR NEARLY 4 YEARS, THE CIL CAME ON AND THE TRANSMISSION BEGAN HARD-SHIFTING FROM 1ST TO 2ND GEAR. THE ECM CODE WAS FOR AN O2 SENSOR HEATER. CHANGED THE SENSOR, LIGHT CAME BACK ON CALLING OUT A GEAR AND THE SHIFTING WAS WORSE. TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP. THEY FLUSHED THE OIL AND FLASHED THE ECM PER TSB. RAN FINE FOR ONE DAY. CIL CAME BACK ON AND HARD SHIFTED HORRIBLY WHILE ON THE FREEWAY ON THE WAY HOME. PULLED OVER AND CHECKED FLUIDS. ALL FLUIDS LOOKED CLEAN AND WERE AT APPROPRIATE LEVELS. HEADED FOR DEALERSHIP AGAIN. GOT ON THE FREEWAY AND LOW GEAR HARD-SHIFT WENT AWAY, BUT SUDDENLY LOST ALL POWER AND NARROWLY AVOIDED AN ACCIDENT AT 60 MPH! CAR REGAINED POWER AND SHIFTED FINE IN LOW GEARS BUT WOULD NOT SHIFT ABOVE 3RD. DROVE REST OF THE WAY TO DEALER AT 35 MPH AND DROPPED IT OFF FOR DIAGNOSTICS. I HAVE SPENT ALMOST $2K IN DIAGNOSES, PARTS, AND LABOR AND THE PROBLEM IS NOT FIXED. NOW, WE NEARLY WERE KILLED ON A MAJOR FREEWAY! THIS IS DANGEROUS! THIS PROBLEM MANIFESTED IN SEPTEMBER AND PEAKED YESTERDAY (11/17/09). WE CANNOT AFFORD TO KEEP PAYING TO REPAIR THIS OBVIOUSLY UNSAFE DEFECT. *TR