2003 Toyota RAV4

TAKATA RECALL" I WAS DRIVING ON A CITY STREET ON MY WAY HOME LATE AFTERNOON...AUTO STARTED TO JERK AND FELT LIKE SOMETHING WAS PULLING AT IT...IT SLOWED UP THEN JERKED AGAIN...IT CONTINUED ON...I WAS DRIVING AT 45 SPEED LIMIT...AS I WAS TURNING THE SHIFTING WAS SOUNDING LIKE IT WAS STICKING...I PARKED IT AT HOME AND NEXT MORNING I HAD IT CHECKED AND DIAGNOSED AS SOLENOID PROBLEM CAUSING TRANSMISSION BURNOUT...ALSO TOYOTA REVEALED PROBLEMS WITH THE ECM AND TRANSMISSION FAILURE

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 TOYOTA RAV4. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, IT BECAME DIFFICULT TO SHIFT GEARS AND THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE TRANSMISSION FAILED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE DEALER AND MANUFACTURER WERE NOT NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 187,000.

MY RAV4 HAS BEEN SHIFTING HARD MAKING ME FEEL UNSAFE AS WELL AS PUTTING ME IN DANGEROUS SITUATIONS ON HIGHWAYS AND FREEWAYS AND IN TOWN. NOW HAS BEEN IN THE SHOP FOR PAST 3WKS NOW LEAVING ME STRANDED WHILE THEY REPLACED THE ECM AND AND REPLACED TRANSMISSION WITH REFURBISHED ONE AND THEY HAVE BEEN DEALING WITH SHA INGS IN TRANSMISSION AMONG OTHER THINGS AND IT'S GUNNA COST OVER $5700.00 POSSIBLY MORE THAT I CAN'T AFFORD. IT'S STILL NOT FIXED YET AND STILL. I DON'T HAVE EXTENDED WARRANTY CUZ I CAN'T AFFORD IT.. AND ALSO MY SEAT BELT HAS BEEN FRAYING AWAY TO WHERE I DON'T FEEL SAFE WITH THAT NEITHER.

LONG STORY SHORT, BOUGHT THE CAR "AS IS" FROM A TOYOTA DEALERSHIP IN OCTOBER 2017, DID NOT KNOW OF THE TRANSMISSION/ECM PROBLEM UNTIL NOVEMBER 2017 (YES THAT FAST). GOT A DIAGNOSTIC TEST, THE CODE SAID THE TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. WE ARE NOW IN JANUARY 2018, I GOT THE TRANSMISSION REPLACED FOR 2,714 RIGHT? OKAY, TODAY JANUARY 16TH 2018, I PICKED UP MY CAR, DROVE IT AROUND, BROUGHT IT RIGHT BACK WITHIN 45 MINUTES. MY CAR WAS STILL DOING A HARD SHIFT. I GOT IN THE CAR WITH THE MECHANIC TO DRIVE UP THE HIGHWAY, HE FELT THE SHIFT IMMEDIATELY AND INFORMED ME HE WAS THE ONE THAT PUT THE PART IN. OKAY, AT THIS POINT WE HAD TO LEAVE BECAUSE ALL THE MANAGERS WERE IN A MEETING. I GET A CALL AROUND 3:30PM SAYING THAT THE ECM IS NOT A PROBLEM AND THEY QUOTED ME A PRICE! I JUST SPENT 5,000 SO FAR BUYING THE CAR AND 2,700 DOLLARS TO FIX THE CAR. SHE TOLD ME THAT AN ECM WOULD COST FROM 1,500 DOLLARS TO 2,000 TO REPLACE, ARE YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW? OF COURSE THE WARRANTY THAT TOYOTA "EXTENDED" IS NO LONGER IN AFFECT, SO ALL OF THIS MONEY HAS TO COME OUT OF POCKET. TO SAY I HAVEN'T HAD MY CAR OR DRIVEN MY CAR FOR LONG AT ALL I HAVE EXPERIENCED A NIGHTMARE. I AM A SENIOR IN COLLEGE NOW, I ONLY BOUGHT THIS CAR BECAUSE MY OTHER VEHICLE WAS TOTALED BY A DRIVER WHO RAN A STOP SIGN AND STATE FARM AWARDED ME ONLY 2,800 FOR MY PREVIOUS CAR. THIS IS A NIGHTMARE, NO ONE BUT GOD WILL HELP YOU IN THE END THIS IS SAD AND RIDICULOUS. IT'S NOT RIGHT TO GET OVER ON PEOPLE IN THIS WAY.

MARCH THE VEHICLE STARTED JERKING AND WAS NO PULLING OUT CORRECTLY AT STOP SIGN AND RED LIGHTS. THE TRANSMISSION WOULDN'T DOWN SHIFT SO YOU WERE TRYING TO PULL OUT IN 3RD OR 4TH GEAR. IT FELT LIKE YOU WERE PULLING A HOUSE. I WAS PULLING OUT ONTO A HIGHWAY AND THE VEHICLE WOULD HARDLY GO... IT CAUSED THREE VEHICLES TO BOW UP AND STOP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HIGHWAY BECAUSE MY VEHICLE WAS OUT IN THE ROADWAY MOVING AT LESS THAN 1 MILE PER HOUR. I NEVER PULLED OUT ON TO THE HIGHWAY AFTER THAT. I ALWAYS PULL OUT ONTO THE SHOULD OF THE ROAD IN CASE THE VEHICLE DONE THAT AGAIN. SO THE TRANSMISSION WAS REBUILT MARCH 2017. AFTER ABOUT 36 MILES WAS DRIVEN ON IT STARTED ACTING UP AGAIN. I PULED OUT FINE ON THE SHOULDER OF THE HIGHWAY AS EASED OVER INTO THE SOUTH BOUND LANE WHEN THE VEHICLE CHANGED TO FIRST IT FELT LIKE SOMEONE HIT ME IN THE REAR-END OF THE VEHICLE. I LOOKED TO MAKE SURER. THEN IT SWITCHED TO 2ND GEAR AND JERKED ME DO HARD THAT I PULLED OVER TURNING THE VEHICLE OFF AND HAVING IT TOWED TO THE TRANSMISSION SHOP. SO, BACK TO GET THE TRANSMISSION LOOKED AT I HAVE A ONE YEAR WARRANTY ON THE TRANSMISSION. THEY TOOK IT APART AND LOOKED AT IT AGAIN. THEY SAID THERE WASN'T ANYTHING WRONG WITH THE TRANSMISSION IT WAS THE EC MODULE. SO IT STAYED PARKED UNTIL I COULD SAVE SOME MONEY TO GET THAT FIXED. TOOK IT TO TOYOTA JUNE 7TH 2017 THEY REPLACED THE EC MODULE AND I TOOK IT HOME THE FOLLOWING WEDNESDAY. IT DROVE FINE ALL THE WAY HOME. THE NEXT DAY IT STARTED DOING THE EXACT SAME THING AGAIN. SO I TOOK IT BACK TO THE TOYOTA DEALERSHIP THAT REPAIRED THE EC MODULE. NO THEY TELL ME THAT THE TRANSMISSION IS BAD AND I NEED A NEW ONE. $2958.00 PLUS TAX. TOYOTA CORPORATION WILL NOT HELP YOU OUT ON THE FIX. DUE TO THE RECALL BEING 10 YEARS OR 150,000 MILE. MY VEHICLE WAS A LOW MILEAGE VEHICLE WITH 105,894 ON IT AND I MISS THE RECALL BECAUSE OF THE MILEAGE.