2002 Rav4 electronic control module malfunctions and causes vehicles not to be able to shift gears. My car wouldn't accelerate past 20 mph in a heavy traffic area. Toyota has not reached out to Rav4 owners to notify them of this problem.

- Ellsworth , ME, USA

For a long time the check engine light kept turning on in my 2002 Rav4. I went to a dealer immediately. He said that this only happened because I didn't screw the gas cap tightly enough. He manually turned off the light and I went on my way. The light kept coming on and I kept going back to the dealership who said they couldn't find anything wrong with the car. Then suddenly, in may of 2009, the car started jerking and shaking while I drove. At times it would stall almost to a stop and nothing I did, even applying the gas did much more than rev the engine. I ended up having to fork over more than $3K to get it fixed, but that wasn't the end of it. My check engine light up again. I took it to a different shop, as I had moved across the country at the time. They ended up having to replace my 02 sensors, all 4 of them. That cost me another $500. I only found out later from a friend that Toyota had sent out a recall on the ECU and transmissions for vehicles with less than 80K miles on it. Mine was already over 100K and did not help me one bit. Needless to say, I no longer have any confidence in this company. My family bought Toyota for years. I recently got a note explaining that they would pay for my repairs... now I'm scrambling to find the receipts and hope they will honor their promise. They cannot undo the potential danger their mistakes could have cost me and my passengers. There is not one note of apology in the recall either. I felt the need to file a complaint despite the recall because Toyota should be made to fully reimburse their customers who have had to go through not only the headache of dealing with the mechanical problems, but also because of the other people and families this negligence may have physically hurt, or god forbid, killed. The fear and danger of driving this road hazard is also motivation enough to make sure as many complaints are heard and addressed.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

The contact owns a 2002 Toyota Rav4. While attempting to accelerate from a stopped position, the contact noticed that the vehicle would hesitate to gain speed and would suddenly jerk forward when driving over 30 mph. The vehicle had not been inspected at the time of the complaint. The current and failure mileages were approximately 87,000.

- Cheasepeake, VA, USA

2002 Toyota Rav4 with unintended acceleration. The consumer stated his daughter was driving the vehicle, and had difficulty stopping the vehicle, because the accelerator became stuck. The incident only occurred once to date. In August 2008 the vehicle was serviced for a harsh shifting within the transmission. A rebuilt transmission was installed. The consumer continued to experience problems with the transmission. The consumer stated he was given a copy of a tsb that had been issued regarding the transmission which stated if the harsh shifting persists after the ECM replacement, the automatic transaxle assembly may also require replacement. Updated 04/29/10. The consumer stated the computer in the vehicle was defective and eventually replaced. However the consumer believed the new computer is also defective in light of the recent Toyota recalls. Updated 05/04/10.

- Islip Terrace, NY, USA

I have a 2002 Toyota rave 4, I have even complained to the dealership where I bought the vehicle. I complained about it speeding out of control when I used the cruise control and it still does and I can reproduce it every time on the same road. I also had complained about steping on the breakes and the car not wanting to stop. Dealership told me "it was in my head, and that they couldn't find anything wrong with it." I was actually in a car accident on my way into the dealership to have them check the same problem again. I reported it several times to them an I have had the car since 2005.

- Paris, OH, USA

The contact owns a 2002 Toyota Rav4. While sitting idle, he depressed the accelerator pedal when there was an atypical sudden increase in engine rpms of up to 4,000. The vehicle then attempted to stall without warning, however suddenly the vehicle shifted gears and abnormally accelerated. The contact continued to depress the brake pedal in an attempt to decrease vehicle speed. He was able to stop the vehicle and the vehicle was taken to the dealer where they verified the electronic control module (ECM) was the cause of the unintended acceleration. The contact advised this was not the first time he encountered unintended acceleration in this vehicle. There were no repairs made to the vehicle. The failure mileage was 86,900 and the current was 87,000.

- Lowell, MA, USA

In the fall of 2008, the factory installed cruise control on my 2002 Toyota rav 4 functions intermittently. It will work for a short period on any long trip then will cause vehicle to decelerate. Sometimes cannot get it to work again. Light will flash on and off on the dashboard. Have taken it in to local Toyota dealership who cannot get it to duplicate. The mechanic states everything is fine. Due to semi-functional cruise, the mileage on a long distance trip has decreased from 30-32 mpg to 24-26mpg.reported this to Toyota in 2009 and given a case # which I have misplaced. They did not appear to be concerned or admit they had a problem. Extended warranty (to 100,000 miles) will not cover the repair. There is indeed an electrical issue going on, but no one seems to solve the problem or care. In searching I have found other people who have posted comments regarding the same issue without resolution.

- Evans, GA, USA

The contact owns a 2002 Toyota Rav4. While driving 25 mph on a local road the vehicle suddenly accelerated from 25 mph to 85 mph. She quickly made a left turn to avoid a collision and crashed into an island and a cement retaining wall. The insurance company didn't give her a report on what could have caused the failure to occur. The vehicle was destroyed. She broke her right ankle, and her lower back was injured. One of the passengers sustained a broken left hand and injuries to the neck. The other passenger received injuries to the neck. The police report information was not available. The VIN was unavailable. The failure and the current mileages were 60,000.

- Wodurn, MA, USA

The contact owns a 2002 Toyota Rav4. While shifting the vehicle in drive the vehicle would not accelerate past 4 mph. Then without warning the vehicle began to rapidly accelerate. Eventually he was able to gain control of the vehicle. The vehicle was then taken to the Toyota dealer and the technician stated that the computer was overriding the transmission. A new computer was installed in the vehicle. All the repairs have been done under the owners expense. The failure has been reported to the office of consumers affairs and to Toyota. The failure mileage was 111000. The current mileage was 111400. Updated 02/18/10. Updated 03/04/10.

- Auburn, CA, USA

At 84,000 miles the car started surging for no reason, stalling while moving on the highway, and stalling while approaching intersections. Happened two to three times daily, causing a number near miss accidents, rear ends. Took it to the dealer who replaced the computer. This was very dangerous and easily could have caused an accident. The consumer stated he experienced sudden acceleration. Updated 07/26/10.

- West Orange, NJ, USA

The contact owns a 2002 Toyota Rav4. While driving 2 mph in reverse and with the brake pedal depressed, the vehicle accelerated. The contact applied more pressure to the brake pedal, but the vehicle did not stop. The vehicle crashed into a parked vehicle and was then towed to the dealer. A police report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed. The road conditions were dry. The current and failure mileages were 70,000. Updated 3/5/08

- Bakersfield, CA, USA

When the brake was applied, the vehicle surged foward due to fuel throttle leakage. Dealer notified.

- Crystal, MN, USA

Vehicle accelerates on its own without pressing accelerater. Vehicle was involved in two collisions because of this problem.....

- Chicago, IL, USA

Re: fuel throttle linkage failure: High idle speed; unpredictable idle speed oscillation / surges, unpredictable acceleration / deceleration (particularly when engine is cold). Car will sometimes fail to decelerate after taking foot off gas when at low speeds (10-25 mph), for example, when turning a corner or driving down a residential street. This manual transmission car will sometimes drive/lurch forward on its own without pressing on the gas pedal when in 2nd or 3rd gear, once rpms drop to about 1500. Told by the dealer and Toyota that this is the result of a new emissions control computer, and that the car is operating as designed. Re: structure - roof rack: Piece of the covering to the roof rack fell off when driving down the freeway. Could have been dangerous if there would have been a car driving behind me at the time.

- Columbus, OH, USA