2002 Toyota RAV4

MY 2002 TOYOTA RAV4 HAS BEEN INTERMITTENTLY NOT SHIFTING INTO GEAR. IT BALKS AND CLUNKS, AND EVENTUALLY SHIFTS. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE WHEN ENTERING TRAFFIC, BECAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW IF THE CAR WILL BE ABLE TO ACCELERATE TO THE SPEED OF TRAFFIC OR NOT. IT IS ALSO A SAFETY ISSUE AT STOP LIGHTS, BECAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW IF YOU WILL BE ABLE TO MAKE IT ACROSS THE INTERSECTION BEFORE THE LIGHT CHANGES OR NOT. THIS STARTED IN JANUARY 2009, BUT WAS NOT CONSISTENT. IN JULY, IT FINALLY CREATED A "CHECK ENGINE" CONDITION. I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO A REPUTABLE MECHANIC, AND HE CHANGED THE TRANSMISSION FLUID AND REPLACED SOLENOIDS, WHICH THE ENGINE CODE SUGGESTED. I THEN TOOK IT TO A TOYOTA DEALER, AND THEY REPLACED THE ECM, AT A COST OF $1500. THAT DID NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM, AND THEY SAY I NEED TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION FOR $3500. TOYOTA HAS KNOWN ABOUT THIS PROBLEM SINCE 2006, AND AT THAT TIME ISSUED A BULLETIN. HOWEVER, I FEEL THEY SHOULD HAVE ISSUED A RECALL DUE TO THE SAFETY ISSUES AND THE COST INVOLVED. *TR

AFTER 30 MINS OF HWY/PKWY DRIVING, THE CAR SHUT OFF WITHOUT WARNING WHILE TRAVELING APPROX 45 MPH. NO WARNING LIGHTS BEFORE INCIDENT AND NO PREVIOUS ISSUE AT ALL. STEERING AND BRAKES BECAME SLUGGISH, AND WE LACKED BASIC ACCIDENT AVOIDANCE MEASURES. HAD WE BEEN TRAVELING FASTER AND/OR IN DENSER TRAFFIC THE CAR WOULD HAVE PRESENTED A MAJOR OBSTACLE TO ONCOMING VEHICLES, PLACING BOTH US AND OTHER DRIVERS ETC. IN DANGER. THE DEALER COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM AND SO MADE NO REPAIR. THE CAR SHUT OFF AGAIN IN STOP-AND-GO TRAFFIC 2 WEEKS LATER. THE DEALER EVENTUALLY REPLACED A TRANSMISSION CHIP. THE CAR THEN RAN WITH HESITATIONS AND SOME DELAY IN SHIFTING FOR SOME WEEKS. FINALLY, AT 60 MPH IN HIGHWAY TRAFFIC THE CAR STARTED TO JERK, FAIL, AND BUCK. AGAIN THE DEALER COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM AND REFUSED TO ADDRESS IT. WE DISCOVERED THROUGH RESEARCH ON LINE THAT THIS MODEL TOYOTA RAV4 2002 HAS A PROBLEM WITH ITS ONBOARD COMPUTER OR ECM, FOR WHICH TOYOTA EXTENDED ITS WARRANTY. OUR CAR IS WITHIN THE WARRANTY LIMITS BOTH AS TO YEARS AND MILEAGE. TOYOTA IS SUPPOSED TO REPLACE THE ECM IN THIS MODEL UNDER THIS WARRANTY. OUR DEALER HAS REFUSED TO DO SO AND HAS SENT US BACK OUT ON THE ROAD WITHOUT ANY SECURITY AGAINST ANOTHER FULL ENGINE STOP IN HIGHWAY TRAFFIC. *TR

I BEGAN NOTICING THAT MY AUTOMATIC 2002 RAV 4 WAS JERKING WHEN SHIFTING, WOULD REV AT HIGH RPMS BEFORE SHIFTING AND AT TIMES FELT LIKE IT WOULD NOT SHIFT AT ALL. LIKE OTHERS, I DID AN INTERNET SEARCH AND FOUND THAT IT IS A PROBLEM WITH THE ECM THAT MANY OTHERS HAVE EXPERIENCED. MY CAR HAS 119K MILES ON IT AND IS OUT OF WARRANTY SO I AM EVALUATING MY OPTIONS ON HOW TO DEAL WITH THIS PROBLEM. THE CAR IS UNDRIVABLE, AS IT IS A SAFETY RISK WHEN THE CAR IS UNABLE TO ACCELERATE NORMALLY IN STOP AND GO TRAFFIC. IT LOOKS LIKE THIS PROBLEM WILL COST ABOUT A THOUSAND TO GET A NEW ECM, AND MUCH MORE IF THE DAMAGE IT HAS DONE TO THE TRANSMISSION NOW REQUIRES A TRANSMISSION REBUILD. *TR

ENGINE CONTROL MODULE (ECM) INCORRECTLY PROGRAMMED BY MANUFACTURER LEADING TO DIFFICULTY SHIFTING BETWEEN 1ST AND 2ND GEARS, HARD SHIFTS, JERKING, MISFIRING, PROBLEMS ACCELERATING. CAN POSE A DEFINITE DANGER TO TRAFFIC DUE TO FAILURE TO ACCELERATE OR SHIFT AS NEEDED WHILE DRIVING. CAN ALSO LEAD TO SEVERE TRANSMISSION DAMAGE AND POSSIBLE FAILURE IF ECM PROBLEM IS NOT CAUGHT AND ECM REPLACED IMMEDIATELY. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT OCCASIONALLY COMES ON AND THEN GOES OFF - REGISTERS A PROBLEM WITH SOLENOID A & B. TOYOTA TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN TC002-06 DETAILS THE PROBLEM AND RECOMMENDED REPAIR, INCLUDING REPLACEMENT OF ECM AND POSSIBLY OF TRANSMISSION. AFTER 3-4 WEEKS OF HARD SHIFTING, PROBLEMS ACCELERATING AND STUTTERING, DIAGNOSTICS IDENTIFIED PROBLEM. VEHICLE IS CURRENTLY WAITING FOR REPLACEMENT ECM AND POSSIBLE TRANSMISSION FLUSH. *TR

SEVERAL YEARS AGO, TOYOTA BECAME AWARE OF AN ISSUE WITH THEIR ENGINE CONTROL MODULE THAT WERE USED IN 2001/2002 RAV4 VEHICLES. A QUICK SEARCH OF THE INTERNET UNCOVERS HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE NOW EXPERIENCING THE RAMIFICATIONS. TOYOTA ISSUED A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN TO THEIR DEALERSHIPS WHILE THESE CARS WERE STILL YOUNG; HOWEVER, FAILED IN ANY WAY TO MAKE THEIR LOYAL CUSTOMERS AWARE. THE FAULTY ENGINE CONTROL MODULE GENERALLY LASTS UNTIL CONSUMERS ARE JUST OUT OF WARRANTY, THUS TOYOTA REFUSES TO TAKE ANY RESPONSIBILITY AT ALL. IN MY CASE (AND AS DOCUMENTED BY MANY OTHERS), MY BAD ECM CAUSED MY CAR TO JERK VIOLENTLY WHEN TRYING TO ACCELERATE. IT WAS ALSO HAZARDOUS THAT OFTEN THE CAR WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO PICK UP ANY SPEED AT ALL AND THEN WHEN IT DID, IT WOULD ONCE AGAIN JERK AND ACCELERATE ALL AT ONCE. IN ESSENCE, THE FAILURE OF THE ECM CAUSES THE TRANSMISSION TO DIE. MY RAV4 FINALLY DIED ON JUNE 26, 2009. THE COST TO REPLACE THE ECM AND THE TRANSMISSION WILL BE ABOUT $3700; HOWEVER, MANY FOLKS OUT ON THE CONSUMER COMPLAINT WEBSITES HAVE PAID UP TO $5000. THIS SAFETY ISSUE IS HUGE, AS TOYOTA KNEW ABOUT IT LONG AGO AND WITH THE HUGE COST OF THE REPAIR, I'M CERTAIN THAT MANY PEOPLE WILL DRIVE THEIR CARS FAR TOO LONG WITH THIS DEFECT. *TR

THERE IS A KNOWN PROBLEM WITH THE ECM IN 2002 TOYOTA RAV4S. THIS CONTROL UNIT CAUSES THE TRANSMISSION TO HAVE PROBLEMS SHIFTING AND CAN ALSO LEAD TO TRANSMISSION FAILURE. I STATE THAT THE PROBLEM IS KNOWN BECAUSE TOYOTA EXTENDED THE WARRANTY PERIOD FOR THE ECM, BUT ANY DAMAGE DONE TO THE TRANSMISSION BY THE MALFUNCTION OF THE ECM IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE OWNER. THIS ISSUE SHOULD BE CONSIDERED FOR RECALL BECAUSE A FAILING TRANSMISSION CAN LEAD TO SERIOUS OR EVEN DEADLY PROBLEMS. *TR

2002 TOYOTA RAV4 - ECM/TRANSMISSION FAILURE - AT 125,000 MILES, DRIVING LAST WEEK, AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION STARTED BUCKING. CAR SLOWED WITHOUT CAUSE IN HEAVY TRAFFIC, AND I HAD TO PULL OFF ROAD IN ADVERSE CONDITIONS. DRIVING TO DEALER, THEN DRIVING TO TRANSMISSION SHOP WRECKED TRANSMISSION. AFTER PAYING $2700.00 TO GET TRANSMISSION FIXED, FOUND OUT THE TRANSMISSION PROBLEM IS REALLY A ECM FAILURE PROBLEM. FOUND 1000'S OF COMPLAINTS ONLINE ABOUT THIS. CALLED TOYOTA CUSTOMER SVC., AND TOYOTA IS NOT RECOGNIZING AS A RECALL PROBLEM. I AM UNEMPLOYED AND THIS COST IS OVERWHELMING, AND SHOULD BE A RECALL. *TR

IN THE BEGINNING OF JUNE I NOTICED MY RAV4 WOULD SLIGHTLY PAUSE WHEN I PRES THE GAS PEDAL AND WOULD JERK WHEN IT'S SUPPOSE TO AUTOMATICALLY SHIFT GEARS, MY REGISTRATION IS DUE & OF COURSE I NEED A SMOG CERTIFICATE. THE "TRANSMISSION WOULD SLIP" ONLY SOMETIMES. I'M JUST GUESSING IT'S THE TRANSMISSION. NOT SURE YET... OF COURSE MY "EXTRA CARE" EXPIRED 05/30/08 MILEAGE 100,000 BUT MY MILEAGE IS ONLY 91,000. I FIGURE THIS IS GOING TO COST ME A LOAD OF MONEY THAT I DON'T HAVE AND THIS CAR HELPS ME GET TO WORK. WITH THE ECONOMY BEING SO BAD THIS DOESN'T HELP OUT MUCH AT ALL IT'S ALWAYS ONE THING AFTER ANOTHER ESPECIALLY WHEN I THOUGHT I WAS BUYING A CAR THAT IS ACTUALLY WORTH IT AND I THOUGHT SINCE I WAS BUYING IT BRAND NEW I WAS MAKING A GOOD CHOICE. MY FIANCE AND I WERE DRIVING HOME AND I WAS ON THE HWY 880 SB GOING ABOUT 65 MPH MY RPM SEEM A LITTLE HIGH BUT I WAS ON CRUISE CONTROL SO I THOUGHT IT WAS NORMAL. WHEN ALL OF A SUDDEN MY ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, THAN MY CAR STARTING MAKING A NOISE, THAN MY OIL LIGHT CAME ON, BATTERY LIGHT CAME ON AND SOMETHING FROM UNDERNEATH MY CAR FLEW OFF AND AS I LOOK IN MY REAR MIRROR I SAW PIECES OF AN OBJECT WENT FLYING AND I NOTICE CARS SWERVING TO MOVE FROM THE FLYING OBJECTS THAT WERE BURNING AND I WAS SOOO SCARED AS MY FIANCE SAID TO PULL OVER SLOWLY. I CUT CARS OFF AND I COULDN'T PRESS THE GAS PEDAL NO LONGER THE ENGINE SHUT OFF AND I STOPPED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SLOW LANE I CALLED AAA AND TOWED MY CAR TO MY HOUSE AND UNFORTUNATELY I CAN'T TAKE IT TO THE DEALER/MECHANIC YET B/C I DON'T HAVE THAT KIND OF MONEY. I FIND IT VERY STRANGE THAT I HAD NO WARNING LIGHTS BEFORE HAND OR NO SENSOR. FOR EXAMPLE THE OIL LIGHT COMES ON WHEN I NEED OIL/CHANGE, ETC. WHAT TYPE OF PAPERWORK DO I NEED TO SEND B/C I HAVEN'T TOOK IT TO THE SHOP YET AND MAY I ADD THAT THE LIGHTER DOESN'T WORK. ONCE I FIND OUT WHAT THE ACTUALLY PROBLEM IS THAN I WILL MAIL COPIES.I I TRULY BELIEVE IT'S A MANUFACTURER PROBLEM. *TR