2002 Toyota RAV4

2002 TOYOTA RAV4. STARTED A MONTH AGO HARSH SHIFTING FROM LOWEST GEAR TO THE NEXT, HESITATION THEN ABRUPT SHIFTING OR NO SHIFTING AT ALL BY TRANSMISSION, EITHER WITH OR WITHOUT OVERDRIVE APPLIED. REPLACED OXYGEN SENSORS AND ECM, OKAY FOR A WEEK BUT BACK AGAIN. REPEATS THE SAME PROBLEM FROM COMPLETE STOP THEN SLOW ACCELERATION, GEAR SHIFTING IS NOT TIMELY AND SUDDEN UNEXPECTEDLY CREATING A JERKY MOTION. *TR

MY TOYOTA RAV4, 2002, BEGAN SHIFTING HARD, CLUNKING INTO GEAR, AND ACCELERATING PRIOR TO SHIFTING ON ITS OWN. I TOOK THE CAR TO A TOYOTA DEALER WHO HAS TOLD ME THAT THIS ISSUE IS NOT COVERED FOR ALL VIN NUMBERS OF RAV4'S SOLD. WE SHALL SEE IF HE IS CORRECT AS I TOLD HIM THAT THE ARTICLE FROM THE NY TIMES SURE LOOKS LIKE IT COVERS ALL RAV4'S BETWEEN 2001 AND 2003. *TR

THE TRANSMISSION OF MY 2002 TOYOTA RAV4 WAS DAMAGED DUE TO A FAILURE OF THE ELETRONIC CONTROL MODULE. THE ISSUE WAS FIRST DISCOVERED NOT BY A CHECK ENGINE INDICATOR LIGHT, BUT BY NEARING BEING SMASHED BY ON COMING TRAFFIC WHEN THE CAR FAILED TO SHIFT AS I WAS CROSSING AN INTERSECTION. THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE. THE FAILURE IN THE TRANSMISSION IS SUDDEN AND I WAS EXTREMELY FORTUNATE THAT IT DID NOT RESULT IN AN ACCIDENT. THROUGH RESEARCH, I'VE COME TO LEARN THAT TOYOTA HAS BEEN AWARE OF THE ISSUE SINCE MARCH 2006. I HAVE NOT BEEN INFORMED OF SITUATION BY TOYOTA TO DATE. I REALLY FEEL A RECALL IS IN ORDER. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS DEFECT. *LN

I WAS CLIMBING A STEEP HILL WHEN MY TOYOTA RAV4 JUST SEEMED TO JUMP OUT OF GEAR. I HAD TO UNDERTAKE SPECIAL MEASURES TO TURN AROUND WITHOUT ENGINE POWER AND COAST DOWN THE HILL. IT WAS TOWED TO A TOYOTA DEALER WHO TOLD ME THE ECU HAD DAMAGED THE TRANSMISSION. THEY ADVISED ME IT WAS OUT OF WARRANTY AND WOULD COST $4500 TO REPAIR. I HAD IT TOWED BACK HOME. I SINCE FOUND THAT MANY ARE EXPERIENCING THIS PROBLEM WITH THE TOYOTA RAV4. SOMEONE NEEDS TO MAKE TOYOTA ACCOUNTABLE FOR THIS OBVIOUS DEFECT. SO MUCH FOR BEING A LOYAL TOYOTA CUSTOMER. HELP! PLEASE. ITS PARKED IN MY DRIVEWAY. *TR

DURING A SNOW STORM, MY VEHICLE'S TRANSMISSION STARTED REVVING UP TO 5000 RPMS WITHOUT SHIFTING INTO 3RD GEAR. I THOUGHT MY TIRES WERE SLIPPING BECAUSE OF THE WEATHER, BUT OVER THE NEXT 2 DAYS AS MY CAR WOULD HEAT UP, IT WOULD CONTINUE. I HAD A REPAIR SHOP LOOK AT IT AND THEY ADVISED ME TO REPAIR OR REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION. TOYOTA SUGGESTED I BRING IT TO A DEALER. THE DEALER SAID THAT I NEED TO HAVE MY TRANSMISSION FLUSHED AND TO REPLACE THE ECM/ECU - WHICH COSTS $900 AND THERE'S NO GUARANTEE IT'LL FIX MY PROBLEM. I'M NOT RECEIVING ANY ASSISTANCE FROM TOYOTA HQ OR THE DEALERSHIP AS FAR AS RECEIVING A GUARANTEE THAT THIS WILL FIX MY ISSUE, AND THEY WON'T PROVIDE INFORMATION ON WHAT TO DO IF THE ISSUE STILL PERSISTS. *TR

EITHER THE ECU OR THE TRANSMISSION IS NOT WORKING RIGHT. THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION CAN USUALLY CHANGE BETWEEN 1ST AND 2ND GEAR BUT IT USUALLY CANNOT CHANGE BETWEEN 2ND AND 3RD. THE ENGINE USUALLY REVS AS THE TRANSMISSION SLIPS. IF WE EASE UP ON THE ACCELERATOR OR SOMETIMES WE TO PUMP IT A LITTLE, THEN THE TRANSMISSION CHANGES GEARS. THERE HAVE BEEN A FEW OCCASIONS WHERE THE ENGINE REVS AND THE TRANSMISSION CATCHES ON ITS OWN BUT THIS IS CAUSES THE CAR TO ACCELERATE WHEN WE DO NOT EXPECT IT TO. THIS JUST STARTED HAPPENING RECENTLY. WE HAD NOTICED FOR THE PAST FEW MONTHS THAT THE TRANSMISSION WOULD CHANGE A LITTLE HARDER THAN NORMAL, BUT NOT THE CAR IS NOT DRIVABLE DUE TO SAFETY REASON. *TR

2002 TOYOTA RAV4. THE TRANSMISSION SLIPS FROM 1ST TO 2ND GEAR UNCONTROLLABLY AND CAUSES A SUDDEN SURGE IN THE VEHICLE THAT MAKES DRIVING IT NOT ONLY DANGEROUS BUT A LIABILITY TO ME. TOYOTA SHOULD BE CONCERNED WITH THIS, CONSIDERING THEIR RECENT PROBLEMS WITH SUDDEN ACCELERATION AND BRAKING. THE CAR WAS BOUGHT THROUGH A TOYOTA DEALERSHIP, WHICH MAKES IT ALL THE WORSE BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT THEY KNOWINGLY PASSED THIS CAR THROUGH THEIR INSPECTION PROCESS AND DID NOT DO A [XXX] THING. TELL TOYOTA TO FIX THIS PROBLEM FOR THE SAFETY OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE ON THE ROAD. *TR INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

MY 2002 RAV 4 CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AT 96,000 MILES; WHEN THE CODE WAS CHECKED IT RELATED IT TO THE CATALYST SYSTEM, BUT I CALLED TOYOTA CUSTOMER SERVICE AND THEY INFORMED ME THAT THE ECM HAD TO BE UPDATED AS PART OF A RECALL FOR MY VEHICLE AND I NEEDED TO TAKE IT TO A TOYOTA DEALER; DOING THIS WOULD CAUSE THE FAULTY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT TO BE RESET. THEY PERFORMED THE SERVICE, AND NOW 3 WEEKS LATER THE VEHICLE SPONTANEOUSLY POPS OUT OF 5TH GEAR, CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO DRAMATICALLY DECREASE UNPREDICTABLY AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. DANGEROUS!!! ALTHOUGH AFTER LOOKING ON THE INTERNET AND DISCOVERING COUNTLESS OTHERS WITH THIS SAME PROBLEM, TOYOTA HAS NOT YET ISSUED A RECALL FOR THE TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS; THEY HAVE DONE NOTHING TO ADDRESS THIS DANGEROUS AND COSTLY-TO-FIX PROBLEM. SUPPOSEDLY IN 2006 TOYOTA REALIZED THERE WAS AN ISSUE WITH THE ECM, (WHICH COULD APPARENTLY DAMAGE THE TRANSMISSION). INSTEAD OF LETTING CONSUMERS KNOW ABOUT THIS ISSUE AS SOON AS THEY REALIZED, THEY SENT A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN TO DEALERSHIPS AND SERVICE AREAS, BUT FAILED TO LET THEIR OWN CUSTOMERS KNOW. ACCORDING TO INTERNET RESEARCH, THIS PROBLEM GENERALLY STARTS AROUND 90,000 MILES. *TR