I was advised by many people when I decided to purchase a car rather than lease to go with Toyota. Now my transmission is hesitating, not wanting to go into gear and lunging forward. I never received ANY information from Toyota. I am the original owner and have taken excellent care of the vehicle.

If Toyota will not assist in fixing this problem I am not going to be a Toyota customer ever again.

All comments when I tell people is "I am surprised since its Toyota", but after reading the recall/problems, this transmission problem was significant.

I have RAV 4 2004 and started experiencing "harsh shifting" problem mentioned in Toyota Service bulletin when my car was 8.5 years old and at 80,500 miles! That's really frustrating because the warranty expired at 8 years or 80K miles... However, there are lots of the same complaints in the internet and some people mention that Toyota has extended the warranty to 10 years or 100K miles, but I can't find an official Toyota statement on this. I called two Toyota dealers, one of them said it was extended to 8 years and 100K miles (which won't work for me), the other one said it is extended only for 2003 RAV4s. Can anyone in the world tell me what is really going on with this problem and where can I get the official Toyota statement on that?

We had a RAV4 2002 Model, and early this year, problem presented itself as a transmission issue with hard shift into reverse; starting off in 2d or 3d gear. Engine was bogging down dropping in and out of gear. Several times, it was bucking violently (scared the crap outa me!) with a large truck bearing down on me. The check engine light never came on which made me wonder if it was really just the transmission. I brought it to the local Toyota dealership and was told the next day that the transmission and the ECU need to be replaced, and cost estimated about $5000. Too expensive to afford. I knew the car in it's present state was unsafe to drive. I decided to check out this site to see if anyone else had similar problems. What a revelation! I was able to get a local mechanic to pull my ECM out. I sent it to Check Engine ETC in Brooklyn N.Y..They rebuilt my ECU and my car is now running smoothly. I asked him to drain the transmission fluid and check for metal filings. Thanks to this site and Check Engine ETC I saved myself some huge money.

However, after a couple of months, we got a letter from toyota motor sales USA, inc., telling us that certain 2001 to 2003 rav4 vehicles with transmission problems and had repair before could have the expenses reimbursed. I sent all my documents and expenses receipts to Toyota, but was denied to reimburse to me, because I had my ECU rebuilt/repair, but not replaced. What a stupid policy. We are not happy with this decision and will never buy Toyota anymore.

The following is the letter we sent to Toyota customer service early this month.

November 06, 2010

THIS LETTER IS FOR THE MANAGER/SUPERVISOR OF THE TOYOTA CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE DEPT. IF YOU ARE NOT THE MANAGER, PLEASE FORWARD IT TO THE MANAGER. THANK YOU.

Dear Toyota Customer Experience Manager:

On October 13, 2010, we mailed you a letter, briefly described the situation on the bad experience of harsh shift of the automatic transmission of our 2002 RAV4 vehicle, together with copies of repair invoices. (see attached document).

Unfortunately, today we got a letter from your company, declined our request for reimbursement. We do not understand why.

As a loyal Toyota customer, we have purchased three Toyota vehicles in past ten years. They are 2001 Corrola, 2002 RAV4, and 2008 Tundra.

The RAV4 ran well until early this year, we experienced harsh shift when the vehicle reached the speed about 20 to 30 miles/hour. At this moment, you have to pump the accelerate pedal several times to "gear in", after the vehicle reach over 35 miles/hour, it ran OK. Several times on the local roads, the car behind our vehicle almost hit our rear bumper due to the sudden slow down of the vehicle because of the harsh shifting. It was horrifying.

On May 11, 2010, we took the vehicle to the local Toyota dealer, Star Toyota in League City, Texas, after diagnostic, we were told that the transmission was broke and we need to replace the transmission and the ECU. The estimated cost would be $4835.40. We thought it was too expensive to afford, therefore, we paid $98.00 for the diagnostic fee to Star Toyota and took our vehicle home, trying to find a less expensive place to repair our car.

We stacked the vehicle for over a month in our garage, then we tried a local repair shop, Morrow's Transmission on June 21, 2010. They diagnosed that fault code 0755, solenoid "B" shifting malfunction. They cleaned the solenoid and tested other solenoids, and charged us $195.00. but the harsh shift problems still existed.

On June 28, 2010, we learned there was company called Check Engine, Etc. in Brooklyn, New York, they repair the ECU. We then shipped our ECU to this company and had it repaired. After we put it back on, the vehicle ran OK.

Not long after that, we received your letter of ZTL- Certain 2001 through 2003 Model Year RAV4 vehicles Customer Support Program. It tells very clearly on what to do if we previously paid for the repair of the vehicle due to the harsh shift problem. We then prepared the documents and mail to you, anticipating to receive a refund check. But to our astonishment, we got a decline letter.

We are totally puzzled that our vehicle "does not meet the criteria for reimbursement under CSP )1-03my Rav4 Transaxle Ecm Warranty Enhancement" as your decline letter stated. We need to know WHY??? We need a satisfactory explanation.

It is quite clear that every expense we submitted for reimbursement is directly related to the repair of the harsh shift problem.

Think it this way, if we had our vehicle replaced the transmission and the ECU on the first hand when we took our vehicle to Star Toyota dealer, we would have our refund check by now. That is $4835.40. almost five thousand dollars.

However, we only submitted a total expenses only $717.04 last time, but, you refused to refund. TELL US WHY??? We need a satisfied reply.

Do you really want to pay $5000, rather than $700???

Regards,

DO NOT BUY TOYOTA. THE QUALITY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE ARE NO LONGER AS GOOD.

We incurred the same transmissions and ECU problem in Canada. Earlier, when the vehicle was new (within few month, in the winter months), it took forever for the vehicle shift from 1st to passing gear. I thought it was due to cold weather. However, the same problem occurred in the next spring/summer. At our next scheduled maintenance appointment at the dealer, I mentioned my concerns and they said that there wasn't anything unusual, everything was fine..... As a devoted car aficionado, I knew that it wasn't ok and was not normal.

Move forward to 2006, had the vehicle service for ECU recall, (ended up that I paid for it and never got a penny back from Toyota Canada because their internal issue between dealer and Toyota Canada). Now, the end result, need new transmission and ECU at approx $5,000 when all along should have been addressed by their warranty. We are NOT happy and very disappointed with Toyota! Why? because they knew all this time and wasn't doing anything about their customers concerns. We were proud owners of Toyota products for many years, but since they can't take ownership of their issues (major recalls in US and these kind of issues) and cannot address their customers concerns properly, why would anyone buy their products or even take that chance. After reviewing the New York Times article, "Toyota Extends Warranty on Troubled 2001-3 RAV4" by CHRISTOPHER JENSEN on July 13, 2010, 5:04 pm, I was happy that Toyota USA is moving up to the plate and extended its warranty. Only wish Toyota Canada would do the same. I intend to make a complaint to Transport Canada because I would hate getting hurt because their lack of compassion, reliability and integrity.

Problem presented itself as a transmission issue with hard shift into reverse; starting off in 2d or 3d gear. Engine was bogging down dropping in and out of gear. At one point it was bucking violently (scared the crap outa me!) with a large truck bearing down on me. The check engine light never came on which made me wonder if it was really just the transmission. I brought it to the local Toyota dealership and was told (after a 2 1/2 hr. wait) that they couldn't find a problem with the car. No error codes at all and everything was fine. I even went out for a test drive with the mechanic and we couldn't reproduce the way the car had been running earlier in the day. Needless to say, I knew the car in it's present state was unsafe to drive. I decided to check out this site to see if anyone else had similar problems. What a revelation! I was able to get a local mechanic to pull my ECM out. I sent it along with a money order for $250.00(I insured the whole deal for $1,500.00 as a new ECM is about $1,200.00) to Check Engine ETC in Brooklyn N.Y.. Well it happened just like they said it would; my mechanic received it back in 2 days he installed it back in for me and my car is now running great. I asked him to drain the transmission fluid and check for metal filings. He told me I probably saved the tranny by not trying to drive it. Thanks to this site and Check Engine ETC I saved myself some huge money.

I talked to toyota , they said to me that a bullitin went out in dec 2006 called a 60I to all dealers to reprogram ecm- so on my car it was never done so i have to call Toyota back and tell them it was never done... there in a meeting now lol i have to call later. But all of u should call them and tell them what happen... 1-800-331-4331 they do listen and help and good of all is they issue case numbers. so ill let u all know later what happens with Toyota.

i spent 3500 for my new transmission and ( part was a new computer because it does not reconize the new transmission $1,500)

Asked about not shifting to third when it was a cold start same week I bought it (NEW)! was told it was safety feature to not shift till fluids were warm. It has been a great car otherwise and accepted that answer. Now it almost got me killed by an 18 wheeler. When I pulled out it quit moving and the engine revved high then it banged into gear. Scared the crap out of me! went to the dealer, tranny flush,161.00. Left and it was still doing it. Called the 800 number and complained. They want me to take it to another dealer. Doing that Monday. Now I found this sight and they have known it all along?????!!! Always planned on another RAV, this is my second one. Now I'm scared!

I am a toyota cars family for over 33 year, since 1998 up to this point I realized that toyota plants are more worry about their production quantities rather then their qualities. I am currently have a 2002 toyota rav4 having problem with transmission shifting 1st and 2nd. gear, jerk when shift or when shift catches then it jump . It is very dangerous to follow someone close, I took to a Toyata dealer repair shop they told me that it is a COMMON problem for this type of vehicle. That meant they knew these problem along and toyota just wanted to neglect it until someone gets kill before they do something. It is a bad business part by toyota for not correct their problems.

I am not considering purchase another toyota in the near future and I wanted the world to act the same due to a poor responses by toyota. their mechanics even push the button about the problems with the transmission. By the way I also have a 2002 Sienna along with my brother, both vans having Oil sludge problems that causes the engines to blown up. There is a recall and I took my van to the dealer and was not honor. Both vans are in scrapes metal and travel halfway to Japan to manufacture another bad product on floor again. This is the reason why I am not satisfy for toyota not standing behind products.

I brought my Rav4 to the dealer within 100 miles of buying it for the Transmission. I always felt like it was slipping and not shifting right. They told me I had "Special Transmission fluid and it's very expensive to replace and it would be on me to pay for it". They said it would be about $200.00 to change it. I said no thanks. The damned thing was within a week of having it and under 100 miles....WTF! Every time I brought it back for scheduled oil changes, I'd tell them about it, they told me I could pay and they'd fix it. I started taking it elsewhere for oil changes. I now have 172k miles and the transmission sticks from 1st to 2nd, especially when it's cold. It takes about 1/4 ile before it shifts. I had to put an engine in it this past June(09) and spent about 7k on the engine and other stuff like battery, wiper blades....that kind of stuff. If the transmission goes out, I'll take out the remanufactured Jasper engine I had put in and junk the rest. I spent 28k to buy this car 8 years ago. Not a very good investment. Hubby told me "Get a Toyota, you can't kill them" Boy was he wrong. Let's see....28k + 7k= 35k. I could have bought a Cadillac for that amount....... 35k/8 years=$4375.00 per year or $364.58 a MONTH! Wow looking at it that way, I realize they RIPPED ME OFF! DAMN...........

Walser Toyota in Minnesota claims there was never a public recall TC002-06, that I should never have seen that bulletin because it was in-house and intended only for the dealerships. As such, they're charging me 1/2 cost of a new transmission job. Outside of warranty (allegedly) at 81,000 miles, but Toyota repair receipts twice documented my concerns at 54,000 miles in '06 and '07. Neither time could they duplicate the transmission problem. Now they also claim my ECM 428421? didn't qualify for replacement, only re-flashing, because it's a new ECM number, meaning I've always had the latest ECM. What do I do? They're fixing the car today after I've been fighting them all week. And with the Toyota accelerator recall flooding phone lines, they will not deal with me. They've just simply said, "You're welcome to seek your own alternatives, but we just want to make you happy."

Update from Jul 14, 2010: Walser Toyota, Bloomington, MN, allegedly acting on directive of Chicago regional manager Joe (last name their secret), representing Toyota USA, charged me 1/2 of transmission, then refused to acknowledge ECM as cause. Inver Grove Heights Toyota then replaced ECM at no cost. I took Walser to Hennepin County Court to recover my half of transmission job, and lost. One week later, yesterday, July 13, in the NYTimes Wheels blog, written by Christopher Jensen, I see this,

http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/13/toyota-extends-warranty-on-troubled-2001-3-rav4/?src=mv

and I now hope to recover my money. There's no way to recover court costs or pay me back for anxiety of driving a Rav4 that slips out of gear in the middle of intersections or on-ramps to freeways, with a brand-new transmission, but I'm hoping to recover my money stolen by their corporate piracy.

I was told several times to buy a Toyota, that they are very reliable and practically bullet proof; however, I am seriously disappointed and going broke. My Rav4 started to give me problems with the transmission shifting poorly around 80,000 miles. I am a single mother, work two jobs and drive a lot. When the problem began, I took it to a friend of mine who is a Toyota Certified mechanic. He read the code and replaced the solenoid ($400.00). The problem still wasn't corrected. I then took the car to another mechanic who told me that the code was reading wrong and that I needed to take it to a Toyota dealership to have it diagnosed correctly. Toyota told me my engine computer needed to be replaced but I was now out of warranty. Luckily, I knew somebody and had it replaced without a charge, still same problem and getting worse.

During Christmas break, I decided to take the car to a transmission shop as the dealership told me that the transmission needed to be replaced. The transmission shop owner told me he could have it fixed in a couple days. He took the transmission apart and said it was chewed up. Many parts in the transmission were damaged and it would have to be completely replaced in order for him to warranty it. He found me a used transmission with 70,000 miles on it for $1675.00. I had to pre-pay for it and wait a week. I am now out $275.00 in rental car fees and borrowing cars to get around. He finally installed the transmission and told me to send it back to Toyota to have the computer re-flashed. The Toyota technician reported that the computer was fine but the transmission he installed was faulty and needed to be sent back. Now the transmission shop is blaming Toyota and Toyota is saying the transmission is bad AND I have had no car for 3 weeks. I am at my wits end. I am out $1675.00 and still have no vehicle. We are at a stand still. Any suggestions?

It seems that the used transmission I bought is a victim of the same computer problem that ruined my transmission. After reading all the other complaints, it would seem that this car could be considered a lemon. Not sure how all this works but any help would be greatly appreciated.

Update from Feb 4, 2010: I have posted to this blog about a month ago and here is my update: After 5 weeks in the shop and going back and forth to a Toyota dealership in the area, I finally have a running car. However, the engine light came on about 3 days after getting it back. I hesitate to take it back after what I hear now on the media about all the other recalls. Despite the car running fine now, I am hesitant to take it back to see why the engine light is back on. Could it be that Toyota has some serious electronic ( software) problems stemming back for years as a report on the a news talk radio show which quoted Steve Wozniak, founder of Apple Computers, stating that he believes that Toyota has a problem with their software system not a mechanical problem. How long has this gone on without action until now? Who knows what the real problem is--could it be the biggest auto seller in the world has been lacks in there engineering? Hopefully, they can remedy their problem. Otherwise, it's open game for another auto maker to come in and take their place. Integrity people.

I helped my niece purchase this vehicle new in 2002. She started experiencing problems with shifting in 2008. She spent $1,086.23 at Cottman Transmissions in Charlotte NC. The replace Valve Body and solenoids to correct the shifting problem If problem recured they recommended and overhaul and also said that the ECM may need to be replaced. That did not solve the problem. It has been checked by Firestone, May 2008 (check engine light on shift solenoid malfunction and fluid dark /burnt code (P0750) in Charlotte NC . She was frustrated that what she spent did not solve her problem.

I have owned 3 other Toyota's in the past and had great service with them except for my 2002 2wd pickup that also had a transmission problem at around 117,000 miles. I thought that she would get great service from this vehicle. It is now my problem since I purchased the Rav4 from her last year. I have driven it about 500 miles and in that time the check engine light came on, code (P0750). Problem started when driving up short upgrade, jerking, slow take off, not shifting into passing gear, skipping past or starting in higher gear but then shifting into passing gear. Check engine light did go off before skipping gears and came on before the problem of not shifting into the passing gear. I will repair it but can't afford it right now.

Eddie

I purchased my Toyota Rav4 in 2002 new from the dealership. My husband noticed a slight slip in the transmission in 2005 and it was mentioned to the toyota service center, however the service tech said he did not notice any slippage at that time. Now four years later and 40k past the recall mileage, the Rav4 is acting up with the transmission jumping and jerking with a ecm diagnosed problem which will cost in the neighborhood of $1287.00 to repair. Not only is this an inconvenience but should not be coming out of our pocket. Toyota knew there was a problem and set limits on their recall. Mileage or age should have nothing to do with it. The problem exists, therefore they should fix it.

I have replaced my engine computer ONLY.(The Toyota Dealer did not cover this cost $1,300.00). But something told me this is the problem. Well after 13,000 miles. See My comment below Mar31 2007. I have NOT had shifting or any transmission bucking problems since. Oh by the way This part number is 89661-42820 Toyota Engine Control. And Thank You Toyota for a refund check in the mail for this failed Part. I hope I have helped all of you out there that have this problem. Sincerely, John F of Perkiomenville Pa. P. S. I had to use my visa card to pay for this computer. I could not afford to pay cash. SEE MAR31 2007 for my story.

A few weeks ago the Rav started shifting hard and jerking. That evening I drove the car home and parked it. I started my internet research and found out that this is a common issue and Toyota has issued a bulletin on it (TC002-06). The next morning the wife and I had it towed to the local Toyota dealer just to see what they would say/diagnose. I also gave them a copy of Toyota's Bulletin on the issue which they were very aware of already.

In the meantime I contacted a shop in Brooklyn, NY which specializes in this particular trouble (Check Engine Etc.) ( www.rav4ecm.net). The guys there explained very clearly, what to look for and what to expect when the Diagnostics come back. Well, the next day Toyota called us with their diagnosis. They said the diagnostic which came up was P0755 (shift solenoid valve B) and that the transmission would have to be replaced!! $5400 is what they would charge!! OUCH!!

This code (P0755) is one of the false codes which may or may not show up during diagnostics, as explained the day prior, by the guys at the shop in Brooklyn.

I asked Toyota why do they not think the ECM is defective and the code false? They explained that my ECM part # is the replacement ECM from the factory (part# 89661-42821) as shown on the bulletin. Huh? I explained that the ECM has never been replaced, and had Toyota pull the history just to verify this. Toyota dealer said that maybe it came off the assembly line with the good ECM. HUH? I couldn't believe it so I decided to have it towed back home for further contemplation and check the ECM part # myself. Was the dealership full of "you know what"? Well, upon extracting the ECM it turns out that it was in fact the so called "Good ECM part". Now what?

I again contacted Check Engine Etc. and explained what Toyota had told me. The Tech assured me that the diagnostic code was false and that the Part I had (89661-42821) was indeed still defective. I decided to take a chance on the guys in NY and overnight the ECM to see if their fix works.

I recieved the the ECM about a week ago from the shop in NY and it works like a champ! As a matter of fact, the vehicle shifts better than before the issue! BOOO on Pueblo Toyota,( Pueblo, CO ) for wanting to charge me $5400 on a fix that wouldn't have solved anything!!

I have to thank, and give a plug to Sergei and the guys at Check Engine Etc. (Rav4ecm.net). Nice work!

I want to mention this first- If you think your RAV is not shifting properly, even if it seems like a slight problem, do not drive it or you will ruin the transmission.

Like many other people with a 2002 RAV4. We started noticing that our vehicle wasn't shifting properly. I had suspected something was wrong for months. Sometimes it seemed like at the 2nd-3rd shift point there would be a slightly longer engagement than normal. Then in September while I was driving home from a short trip after getting off the hwy and back into town, I noticed a slight slip going from 2-3rd gear after being stopped at a stop light. I knew then that there was definitely a problem. It was just a slight slip with no harsh engagement. I was totally puzzled as to why the transmission would be failing. I know Toyota manufactures great transmissions and I had done proper maintenance. I've successfully rebuilt several automatic transmissions. I did some web searches for rebuild kits, because I knew the trans would soon be toasted. It doesn't take very much slippage to ruin the friction plates. And the friction material clogs the valve body causing more problems. I stumbled upon this website and a huge amount of other info about the ecm causing the trans to operate improperly and ruining the transmission. I found the Toyota TSB(technical service bulletin) TC002-06 that explains the problem. We've had other problems, some out of warranty, which our local Toyota dealership has taken care of at no cost or substantially lower cost than normal. To say the least, they are a very good dealership. So I was optimistic that they would take care of the problem, especially since we were still within the warranty period. We went to the dealership armed with the TSB and printed web pages showing the amount of problems with the ecm. And we were planning on filing a complaint with the IL State Attorney General if they would't agree to replace the ecm. To our relief they agreed to replace the ecm under warranty at no cost even though the RAV was showing no trouble codes, nor could they replicate the problem. The new ecm remedied the problem. We were relieved, because the warranty coverage doesn't include the transmission. It had been shifting improperly for quite awhile, just not bad enough for it to be blatantly obvious. We can tell the difference now, it shifts like new. Even though we had a positive outcome I wanted to post in case it may help in some way. I guess my complaint is that they didn't do a recall. I am mad that Toyota is willing to let this slide. This problem could very well cause someone to get killed. I'm mad that we were driving an unsafe vehicle and didn't have a clue. I know from reading other posts that there have been close calls. And a lot of people have had to shell out thousands of dollars.

If you are out of warranty and your dealership won't help you, print all of these complaints, the TSB, etc...and file a complaint with your State Attorney General. This is definitely a consumer safety issue. I think this becomes a consumer fraud issue too, when Toyota is selling replacement transmissions for thousands of dollars because of a manufacturing defect that they are completely aware of. Just follow the money.

I am the latest victim of the Toyota Rav4 transmission problems. Our car started experiencing problems with shifting gears overnight. The cars gears would not engage in traffic and was outright dangerous. This problem occurred on a car that has been kept in excellent condition and has been driven a total of 47,717 miles. The transmission had to be rebuilt on the Rav4 to the tune of $2,284.56 and Toyota will not reimburse for the repair cost. At the Toyota corporate office, the reply has been, "I am sorry the car is out of the warranty period".

I will never purchase or recommend the purchase of a Toyota product again. I has been loyal to the Toyota brand for over 13 years and have owned 3 different Toyota vehicles. The reason I purchased the 2002 Toytoa Rav4 was because I expected reliability and dependability for a very, very long time. Toyota obviously does not stand for legendary dependability and reliability any longer.

The mechanic that rebuilt my transmission told me the transmission failure was due to a faulty computer that Toyota puts in the Rav4. The computer tells the transmission to shift at the wrong intervals and the parts inside the transmission wear out prematurely. When our Rav4 was taken to the dealership to have the computer re-programmed by the transmission mechanic, Toyota replaced the computer under warranty. But Toyota corporate told me their was noting wrong with the computer and the computer did not make the transmission fail?

We now have a 2 year warranty on our rebuilt transmission but I intend to sell or trade in both of my Toyota cars and choose a brand that will be reliable, dependable and stand behind their product. I am extremely disappointed in the Toyota brand and the response to my complaint.