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:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
88,579 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.
Car smokes early in the morning, I took car in before warranty expired but was told by dealer that there was nothing wrong with the car. At the beginning car would only smoke early in the mornings and not all the time. Later as the car began to smoke more regularly the dealer refused to repair due to expiration of warranty. The car is now smoking drastically, I was told by the dealer that the smoking is a common situation (defect) with Rav4's of 2002. I was also informed that other cars had been brought it and had been fixed because they were under warranty.
2002 Toyota Rav4. The luggage cover has a rubber stop on each side to hold it up in order for the hooks that are install on the back of the seats to be used. In cold and hot weather, the rubber stops do not hold the cover up. In April 2002, the cover came down and hit me on the bridge of my nose so hard that I was almost knocked out. It was dark and freezing cold. I could have been killed, robber or attacked. If I had a child in my arms, I would have dropped it. Toyota deems that there is no problem with the shield. I am proof that there is and asked them to place a recall on it but they refuse.
A "baffle" is installed into the oil filler cap beginning with the 2002 Toyota's. while driving the "baffle" broke causing the timing chain and consequently the engine to fail.
- Boothbay Harbor, ME, USA
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- La Mesa, CA, USA