CarComplaints.com Notes: If you're looking for a vehicle with one of the most complained about transmission on the road, look no further than the 2001-2003 Toyota RAV4.
In 2001 Toyota completely redesigned the popular SUV. While some enjoyed the new look, they did not enjoy the harsh shifting, jumping from gear-to-gear and eventual transmission failure that cost owners well over $3,000 to fix. The problem stems from a malfunctioning Electronic Control Module (ECM).
Consumer outrage coupled with pressure from different agencies led Toyota to extend the warranty nationwide back in 2010. The previous power train warranty only covered 5 years/60,000 miles, while the extended warranty now covers the transmission and ECM for 10 years/150,000 miles. Toyota also pledged to reimburse any owners who had previously paid for repairs, if they had "proper proof". Good luck collecting on that one.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
7 / 0
Average Mileage:
79,649 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
Out of the blue while in rush hour traffic, my car started shaking, jerking, slamming into gear, not accelerating, and at times it felt like the brake was being applied when I stepped the gas. When I first took it to the dealership a day after this happened the first time, they could not find anything because they could not duplicate the issue during a test drive. Literally minutes after picking my car up and driving off the dealership lot, it started happening again in stop-and-go traffic. This time it was much worse and I was afraid as the person behind me almost rear-ended me. I took it back to the dealership and they tell me I either need a new ECM or a new transmission. But after researching this on the internet, it is a huge issue that is happening to a lot of 2002 Toyota Rav4 owners. And we as the owners are at the mercy of the unknown - this happens out of no where and is horribly unsafe and yet Toyota takes no responsibility.
We had just left a parking lot in our 2002 rav 4 and as we came up to speed the transmission began to jerk and try to shift into different gears. I all of a sudden had no power and a truck coming down the road almost hit us. As I depressed the accelerator the car revved up and all of a sudden engaged and spun out. Very scary and we were lucky!.
- Pinole, CA, USA
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A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Lakewood, CO, USA