Toyota RAV4 transmission problems

2003 TOYOTA RAV WAS STOP INSTEAD OF ACCELERATING ON HIGHWAY STARTING 12/17, BROUGHT TO DEALERSHIP ON 12/22/09 AND THEY CHANGED SPARK PLUGS; BROUGHT BACK 12/29 THEY CHANGED WATER PUMP AND THEN TEST DROVE AND CALLED ME TO TELL ME IT COULD BE TRANSMISSION BUT TO REPLACE THE ECM FIRST SINCE THEY KNEW IT COULD CAUSE TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS. *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

ON THE EVENING OF DECEMBER 21, 2009, I WAS DRIVING OUR 2002 TOYOTA RAV4, EXITING A MAJOR SHOPPING CENTER, IN A LONG LINE OF VEHICLES AT A SLOW SPEED. SUDDENLY THE ENGINE STALLED (SOMETHING THAT NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE). I RESTARTED THE ENGINE AND MOVED A FEW CAR LENGTHS, STILL IN A LONG LINE OF SLOW MOVING VEHICLES AND THE ENGINE STALLED AGAIN. I RESTARTED THE ENGINE AND WAS ABLE TO PROCEED HOME (ABOUT 10 MILES) WITHOUT FURTHER DIFFICULTY. THE NEXT DAY, DECEMBER 22, 2009, MY WIFE USED THE VEHICLE TO DO SOME SHOPPING. DURING HER TRIP SHE MADE 4 UNEVENTFUL STOPS AND RESTARTS. AT HER 5TH STOP, AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT AT AN INTERSECTION (ON A VERY BUSY HIGHWAY) SHE STOPPED FOR A RED LIGHT. SHE THEN PROCEEDED FROM THE RED LIGHT - BUT THE ENGINE STALLED AGAIN. MY WIFE WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE ENGINE, BUT AS SOON AS THE GEAR SHIFT WAS PUT INTO DRIVE, THE ENGINE STALLED AGAIN. REPEATED ATTEMPTS TO RESTART THE ENGINE AND MOVE THE CAR WERE UNSUCCESSFUL. MY WIFE WAS STUCK IN THE MIDDLE OF AN INTERSECTION WITH TRUCKS AND CARS PASSING AROUND HER WITH HORNS BLOWING. A PASSING MOTORIST ULTIMATELY CAME TO HER ASSISTANCE AND PUSHED THE VEHICLE OUT OF THE INTERSECTION TO THE SHOULDER OF THE HIGHWAY OUT OF POTENTIAL DANGER. WHEN I ARRIVED AT THE LOCATION, I ALSO COULD NOT DRIVE THE VEHICLE. THE ENGINE WOULD START, BUT ENGAGING ANY DRIVE POSITION (D, 2, 1, R) WOULD CAUSE THE ENGINE TO SHUT DOWN. THE VEHICLE(WITH 88,000 MILES) WAS TOWED TO MY REPAIR SHOP. THE SHOP DIAGNOSED AN ECM/TRANSMISSION PROBLEM - AND THEN TRANSFERRED THE VEHICLE TO A TRANSMISSION SHOP FOR FURTHER DIAGNOSIS AND REPAIR ON DECEMBER 23, 2009. *TR

I HAVE A 2003 TOYOTA RAV4 THAT I BOUGHT USED AND LUCKILY HAVE NOT HAD ANY PROBLEMS WITH UNTIL NOW. 2 DAYS BEFORE CHRISTMAS I WAS IN TOWN RUNNING ERRANDS AND HAD STOPPED AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT. WHEN THE LIGHT CHANGED AND I PRESSED ON THE GAS, THE VEHICLES ENGINE REVVED UP BUT THE TRUCK HARDLY MOVED. THEN IT JERKED AS IF SOMEONE HAD REAR ENDED ME. I THOUGHT IT WAS WEIRD BUT WENT ON. STOPPED AT ANOTHER LIGHT AND SAME THING. ONLY THIS TIME I WAS ALMOST REAR ENDED TWICE BEFORE I COULD GET THE VEHICLE TO MOVE. SO I DROVE STRAIGHT HOME AND CALLED THE DEALERSHIP. I TOOK IT IN ON CHRISTMAS EVE (ALMOST GETTING REAR ENDED AT EVERY INTERSECTION I WENT THROUGH BETWEEN MY HOUSE AND THE DEALER SHIP 32 MILES AWAY) ONLY TO BE TOLD IT WAS THE ENGINE CONTROL UNIT AND WOULD COST ME $1350.00 TO REPAIR. SINCE THEN I HAVE GONE ONLINE AND REALIZED THAT THERE ARE NUMEROUS OTHERS WITH THE SAME COMPLAINT. HOW CAN THERE BE A QUESTION AS TO WHETHER THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE OR NOT. ANY VEHICLE THAT STALLS IN THE MIDDLE OF AN INTERSECTION IS A SAFETY HAZARD. MY VEHICLE IS READILY AVAILABLE FOR NHTSA TO TEST AND DETERMINE THIS IS A SAFETY HAZARD. *TR

ONE DAY, OUT OF THE BLUE, MY 2002 TOYOTA RAV4 STARTED HAVING TROUBLE GETTING FULL POWER IN 1ST GEAR, AND OFTEN SLIPPED WHEN GOING FROM 1ST TO 2ND, AND 2ND TO 3RD. SINCE THIS WAS SO SUDDEN, I OFTEN HAD TROUBLE GETTING UP TO SPEED WHEN PULLING INTO TRAFFIC. THERE WERE NO ACCIDENTS, BUT A FEW CLOSE CALLS. I HAD THE ECM (ENGINE CONTROL MODULE) REPLACED THE NEXT DAY BECAUSE MY MECHANIC SAID THAT THIS WAS A FAIRLY COMMON FAILURE FOR THE RAV4, AND TOYOTA HAD PUT OUT A TSB FOR THIS PROBLEM. UNFORTUNATELY, I WAS WELL PAST THE MILEAGE NEEDED TO GET THIS DONE UNDER WARRANTY. *TR

UPON A RECENT TRIP TO TENNESSEE, I STARTED NOTICING THE SLIPPING OF THE TRANSMISSION DURING ACCELERATE . AFTER TAKING THE VEHICLE TO A REPAIR SHOP I WAS INFORMED THAT TOYOTA WAS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM AND HAS NO PLANS TO HELP REMEDY THE SITUATION. WHEN EVER YOU TRY TO ACCELERATE IT DOES NOT WANT TO STAY IN GEAR LEAVING THE DRIVER IN DOUBT OF WEATHER OR NOT THE CAR STAY IN GEAR. IT SEEMS THE ECM MODULE IS DEFECTIVE AND IS NOT UNDER ANY RECALL EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE FULLY AWARE OF IT. *TR

NO PROBLEMS WERE APPARENT UNTIL OVERNIGHT THE TRANSMISSION APPEARED TO BE SLIPPING. INDEPENDENT MECHANIC CITED FAILING TRANSMISSION AS PROBABLE ISSUE. TOYOTA DEALERSHIP STATED THE ECM/ECU WAS FAILING. TURNS OUT ECM WAS DEFECTIVE IN THE MODEL YEAR OF THIS VEHICLE. TOYOTA' RESPONSE WAS TO "REPROGRAM/REFLASH" DEFECTIVE ECM. THIS ONLY POSTPONEDTHE FAILURE OF THE ECM. THE DEFECTIVE ECM WOULD SEND INCORRECT CODES TO THE TRANSMISSION STUTTERING OR HALTING SHIFTS THUS LEAVING THE VEHICLE EFFECTIVELY IN NEUTRAL. THIS STUTTERING/SLIPPING QUICKLY DESTROYS THE TRANSMISSION. THE FAILURE OF THE ECM WOULD NOT ALLOW THE TRANSMISSION TO SHIFT WHICH PUT US IN DANGER OF BEING IN A REAR END COLLISION WHILE TRYING TO GET ONTO BUSY HIGHWAYS OR STALLING IN AN INTERSECTION. THIS OCCURRED MULTIPLE TIMES IN THE TRIP TO THE DEALERSHIP ALONE (THE VEHICLE WENT IN THE NEXT OPEN BUSINESS DAY AFTER THE FIRST OCCURRENCE). THE FAILURE OCCURRED IN THE FIRST THREE GEARS. THIS IS A VERY SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE WHICH WAS GIVEN AN INEFFECTIVE SOLUTION. THE DEALERSHIP REPLACED THE ECM AT A SIGNIFICANT COST TO THE CONSUMER. WHEN ASKED ABOUT THE DEFECTIVE ECM, THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT STATED THE REPLACEMENT OF THE ECM, ALTHOUGH AGREED TO BE DEFECTIVE, WAS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CONSUMER AND NOT TOYOTA. *TR

TOYOTA RAV4 2000 HAS A TRANSMISSION PROBLEM. TRANSMISSION IS MAKING NOISES AND ACTING STRANGE. PROBLEM PRESENTED FIRST IN HIGHWAY 15 IN CONNECTICUT, WITHOUT ANY WARNING. VERY DANGEROUS WITHOUT WARNING INCIDENT. NO ACCIDENT OCCURRED, BUT VERY FRIGHTENING. AFTER INCIDENT TRANSMISSION START SLIPPING AND MAKING STRANGE NOISES. THE CAR IS PARKED AND I DO NOT KNOW WHAT IS THE PROBLEM. I SAW AN ARTICLE IN THE NY TIMES INDICATING THIS SITE FOR RECORDING COMPLAINTS. *TR