Toyota RAV4 transmission problems

MY 2001 TOYOTA RAV 4 STARTED EXPERIENCING HARD SHIFTING LATE LAST YEAR. THE SHIFTS BECAME HARDER EARLY THIS YEAR PARTICULARLY BETWEEN 2ND AND 3RD GEAR. I'VE NEVER HAD ANY SERIOUS PROBLEMS WITH MY VEHICLE AND AT THAT TIME I HAD PROBABLY 78000 MILES. WHEN THE HARD SHIFTING OCCURRED, MY VEHICLE WOULD ALMOST STALL COMPLETELY WHILE DRIVING. I STARTED DOING SOME RESEARCH AND DISCOVERED A KNOWN TRANSMISSION TROUBLE "SUPPOSEDLY" SOLVED BY REPROGRAMMING MY ECM CARD(WHICH I HAD DONE). THIS HOWEVER DID NOT SOLVE MY PROBLEM. ACCORDING TO OTHER'S WHO HAD THE SAME THING DONE, THE TRANSMISSION WILL HAVE TO BE REPLACED BECAUSE THE FAULTY PROGRAMMING HAS ALREADY DAMAGED MY EXISTING TRANSMISSION. I AM STILL DRIVING MY RAV4 WAITING FOR IT TO COMPLETELY FAIL. TOYOTA SHOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR REPLACING THE TRANSMISSION. I BOUGHT A TOYOTA AT A HIGHER PRICE POINT, FOR IT'S RELIABILITY! THE 1ST MAJOR REPAIR MADE ON MY VEHICLE SHOULD NOT BE THE TRANSMISSION. *TR

1. TOYOTA 2002 RAV 4 STARTING JERKING UNCONTROLLABLY AT 80,300 MILES WHILE DRIVING ON HIGHWAY AT AROUND 60 MPH. 2. TOOK IT IN THE NEXT DAY AND TOYOTA DEALER STATED THAT IT WAS AN ENGINE CONTROL MODULE FAILURE WHICH WAS MAKING THE TRANSMISSION JERK. 3. THEY REPLACED THE ENGINE CONTROL MODULE AND STUCK US WITH THE BILL SINCE OUR CAR WAS 300 MILES OVER WARRANTY ALTHOUGH WE HAD BROUGHT IT IN 4 TIMES PRIOR FOR ENGINE CONTROL MODULE PROBLEMS. *TR

PURCHASED VEHICLE FROM DAUGHTER. HAD IT FOR 2 YEARS AND ONCE IT HIT 90,000 MILES, STARTED SHIFTING INTO 3RD GEAR FROM STOP POSITION. AFTER TOWING TO TOYOTA DEALERSHIP, WAS TOLD NEED NEW TRANNY $3290.27 AND ECM $1211.13 . TOYOTA HAS MONOPOLY ON ECM/PROGRAMMING AND IT MUST BE CHANGED WITH REBUILT/NEW TRANNY. WENT TO WEBSITE AND IT SEEMS THAT THIS IS STANDARD FOR 2002 RAV4'S. MANUFACTURER SAYS NOT THEIR PROBLEM, DEALERSHIP DOESN'T CARE AND WON'T HELP IN ANY WAY! *TR

CHECK ENGINE LIGHT KEPT COMING ON; I WOULD CARRY IT TO TOYOTA DEALERSHIP AND THEY WOULD RE-SET. THIS HAPPENED MORE THAN TWICE. FINALLY, WHAT I THOUGHT AND WAS TOLD THAT THE TRANSMISSION BLEW, BUT FOUND OUT LATER THAT IS JUST SOUNDED AND REACTED AS IF THE TRANSMISSION WAS GONE. BUT WAS THE ENGINE CONTROL MODULE WHICH HAD FAILED. OF COURSE THE WARRANTY WAS OFF AND AFTER CONTACTING TOYOTA I GET NO ASSISTANCE. THIS IS SOME OF THE INFORMATION I FOUND OUT: ) THAT TOYOTA HQ HAS BEEN AWARE FOR AT LEAST A FEW (2,3?) YEARS THAT THERE WAS A DEFECT IN THE DESIGN OF THE ECM INSTALLED IN 2001/2002 TOYOTA RAV4?S > > 2) THAT THE DEFECT CAUSES PROBLEMS WITH TRANSMISSION OR GEAR-CHANGING MECHANISM > > 3) THAT THE RESULTING TRANSMISSION OR GEAR-CHANGING PROBLEMS ARE NOT DUE TO ?NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR? OF THE VEHICLES. THEY ARE CAUSED DIRECTLY BY THE DEFECT IN THE ECM. > > 4) THAT THE RESULTING TRANSMISSION OR GEAR-CHANGING PROBLEMS HAVE CAUSED TOYOTA RAV4 OWNERS TO SPEND SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF MONEY. (A CASUAL READ OF OWNER COMPLAINTS SUGGESTS MANY OF THEM HAVE SPENT ANYWHERE BETWEEN $3000 AND $5000). > > 5) THAT TOYOTA HAS FAILED TO COMPENSATE OWNERS FOR COSTS OF FIXING THE PROBLEMS CAUSED BY A DEFECT THEY WERE AWARE OF. I HAVE HAD TO REPLACE A TRANSMISSION AND A ENGINE IN THIS CAR. *TR

I BECAME AWARE OF YOUR SITE AFTER A READING A NY TIMES ARTICLE ABOUT RAV4 TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS. HARD SHIFTING AND LURCHING BEGAN IN MY 2003 RAV 4 WHEN IT WAS AT AROUND 93,000 MILES. WHEN I TOOK IT IN FOR SERVICE, MY MECHANIC INFORMED ME THAT THE COMPUTER CODE THAT WAS DIAGNOSED INDICATED SERIOUS TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS. I RESEARCHED IT ON THE WEB AND DISCOVERED THAT THIS WAS A PROBLEM FOR MANY RAV OWNERS. SINCE IT WAS OUT OF WARRANTY, I HAD THE WORK DONE BY A TRANSMISSION SPECIALIST THAT MY MECHANIC RECOMMENDED. I PAID $1100 FOR THE NEW ECU AND $2400 FOR A TRANSMISSION REBUILD. TOYOTA HAS REFUSED TO COMPENSATE ME FOR ANY OF THE REPAIR WORK THAT WAS DONE. *TR

I HAVE A 2002 TOYOTA RAV4 IN WHICH I RECENTLY REPLACED THE COMPUTER FOR THE TRANSMISSION. MY CAR WOULD NOT ACCELERATE FROM A STOPLIGHT, THEN WOULD JERK FROM 1ST INTO 2ND GEAR--A DEFINITE SAFETY ISSUE WHEN ATTEMPTING TO GAIN SPEED ON A HIGHWAY. AFTER I REPLACED THE COMPUTER, THE CAR RAN FINE FOR ABOUT A MONTH, AND NOW THE "CHECK ENGINE" LIGHT WENT BACK ON AND IT IS STARTING TO JERK AGAIN AND NOT ACCELERATE PROPERLY. THE TRANSMISSION SPECIALTY SHOP TO WHICH I TOOK THE VEHICLE INDICATED THAT IF THE COMPUTER REPLACEMENT, AT A COST OF ABOUT $1300, DID NOT FIX THE PROBLEM, THEY MIGHT HAVE TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION AT A COST OF ABOUT $4,000. I DO NOT HAVE $4,000 TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION. I HOPE WITH ENOUGH COMPLAINTS ABOUT SAFETY ISSUES RELATED TO FAULTY TRANSMISSIONS, YOU CAN FORCE TOYOTA TO RECALL THEIR TRANSMISSIONS ON THESE VEHICLES. *TR

2002 TOYOTA RAV4, 4WD,AT TRANSMISSION JERKING AND HASHING, REPORTING CODE P0750, P0755... I CALLED TOYOTA DEALER IN PORTLAND, OR AND SPEAK TO MASTER TECHNICIAN. I'VE BEEN TOLD BY THE MASTER TECH THAT RAV4 2001-02 AND 2003 RAV4 NEEDS A NEW UPDATED ECM FOR ABOUT $800.00 + LABOR. HE WARNED ME THAT WITHOUT REPLACING THE NEW UPDATED ECM, MY RAV4 TRANSMISSION WILL BE DAMAGE AND IT COULD COST ABOUT $5,500.00 PARTS + LABOR. TOYOTA WARRANTY ONLY 8 YRS OR 80K MILES SINCE THIS IS THEIR FLAW SOFTWARE PROGRAMMING AND WHY DON'T THEY DO A RECALL CAMPAIGN TO ELIMINATE THE POSSIBLE SAFETY PROBLEM. INSTEAD THEY ONLY NOTIFY THEIR SERVICE CENTER OF THEIR DEALERSHIP. PLEASE HELP RAV4 OWNERS.... *TR