Car not shifting into gear (slipping) and then banging and jerking into gear at first told by the dealer that I needed a new transmission. Later after I saw the technical service bulletin and with many calls to Toyota corporate they performed further test and determined that it was the ECM they are replacing it but only paying for half of the cost current mileage 89,000 they are saying it is out of warranty by 9,000 miles even though it was reprogrammed last year (April 07) at 72,000 miles I have noticed many complaints on the 2002 rav 4 and truly believe they should be forced to do a recall and pay the total amount.

- Santa Clarita, CA, USA

In the past few years the check engine light kept coming on and my local dealer would fix something that was supposed to be causing the problem twice. The 3rd time Toyota had a recall on the computer and reprogrammed the ECU. Now the 4th time the car would not go when pushing the pedal or it would stop in traffic with the hopes of not getting into a wreck. Barely made it back to the dealer who said it had a bad main computer failure and the "shift solenoid B" was bad. All this with only 83K miles. This seems somewhat very low to be having this kind of a problem. I contacted Toyota, gave them the info and they investigated and said it was way out of warranty so the case is "closed". the total cost of repair was to be $4998 but with the dealer giving me a "one time good will 50% split and a senior citizens discount", it had a final price of $3,725.63.

- Baton Rouge, LA, USA

The contact owns a 2002 Toyota Rav4. While driving approximately 5 mph, the vehicle hesitated and became difficult to shift into first gear. The vehicle jerked and the engine light illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer. The technician stated that the failures were related to the computer failure, which also caused the transmission to fail. The computer and transmission are currently being replaced at the cost of $4,600. The VIN was unknown. The current and failure mileages were 95,000.

- St. Louis, MO, USA

The contact owns a 2002 Toyota Rav4. While idling or driving at very low speeds, the vehicle would consistently fail. The dealer stated that the electronic control module needed to be reprogrammed. Immediately after the repair, the failure recurred. The dealer replaced the ECM at the cost of $1,225.69, without the contact's approval. The repair was not included in her extended warranty. She called the manufacturer, but they referred her back to the dealer. The failure and current mileages were 89,000.

- Hyattsville, MD, USA

ECU or engine computer unit. This computer is bad. When shifting.the automatic transmission in the computer does not know what gear to shift in. This is scary when in traffic. It would start in lets say 2nd gear then bang back to 1st gear. What a jolt for you and the driver behind you.

- Perkiomenville, PA, USA

November 17, 2006 - after being parked in my driveway for approximately 30 minutes the engine caught on fire. The Rav4 engine compartment and entire interior was demolished, tires exploded, glass exploded over at least a 20 foot radius. Two engine trucks and 10 responders later the fire was out. 63,000 miles, no prior problems, 50K maintenance completed by dealer Jan 2006. VIN has zeros and letter O which are indistinguishable. Try both.

- Santa Fe, NM, USA

I have a 2002 Toyota rav 4. I have taken my car to the dealer for the changes of oil and filter. Twice they suggested a wynns system engine cleaning which we paid for. The last one was done on April 2005. Last October 7, 2005 I was driving my car on the expressway and all of a sudden the oil light lit up and the car stopped. The car was towed from the highway to our house and the next day was towed to the dealer adriel Toyota in rio grande, puerto rico. About two hours later they called me and stated that the motor stalled and the warranty was not going to pay since I had not taken the car to them for the last oil change. I reminded them that just nine months earlier a wynns motor engine cleaning had be done by them and that it was impossible for the motor of the car to have sludge if they had done the job correctly. The Toyota company of puerto rico called to tell me the same thing. I made a complaint at the consumers affairs in puerto, I am waiting for a decision. Today I showed the pictures to an automotive expert who states that the motor have not had any oil changes and the worst was that there was no way that the engine had be cleaned. The dealers states that they have not had any motor sludging on any rav 4 in puerto rico but consumer report states that Toyota has this problem most commonly with Camry's. today I found out that rav 4 have the same engine Camry's have. Am I supposed to be punished for whatever problem Toyota engines have?

- Carolina, PR, USA

When driving for more than 15 miles and stopping the vehicle shakes. Took vehicle to dealer and they stated that it was normal for vehicle to shake. Consumer states that the engine is loud, when stopping, it feels like the brakes lock up and when the vehicle is turned off the power windows continue to work and the lights go on and off.

- Long Island City, NY, USA