TOYOTA STEP UP AND DO WHATS RIGHT!!!!!!!!!

My daughter purchased a 2003 Rav4 in 2005, it became mine in 2014 when she leased her "MINI". While I was driving the Rav4 February 2016 it started shifting rather harsh, then was sluggish, then almost stopped. I was in traffic and it was terrifying. I felt I was in danger driving the RAV4 the way it was acting. I pulled over, had my son meet me, and we took it directly to my mechanic. The mechanic came to the conclusion that it was a transmission issue. (Very Costly) I happen to check online to see if anyone else had had issues like this. I was SHOCKED how many complaints there were about 2003 Rav4 WITH THE SAME ISSUE!!! Further more I WAS SHOCKED THAT TOYOTA had not fixed every Rav4 they screwed up, just merely issued an extended warranty. Toyota you brag how safe your cars are, yet you let us drive our Rav4 knowing we have faulty ECM that will lead to transmission problems. Toyota obviously the issues are still happening years and miles later. You are Toyota - you back your product - you care about your customers - DON'T LET ME DOWN!!!

Yet another owner who has had the dreaded ECM/Transmission problem. It began shifting rough into 2nd and 3rd and then would rev before shifting. I took it to a Toyota dealership with the extended warranty letter I'd received to see if they would do the right thing and fix it even though I was past the 10 year window. They of course would not and quoted me $1,600 to replace the ECM and if that didn't work $3,200 to replace the transmission.

In doing my research years before I knew there were sellers on eBay who you could send the ECM to and they would basically reprogram or put in a new one to fix the problem. One of those sellers is located in Van Nuys so I went to them to see if that would fix it. So far it is back to normal with the occasional delay in shifting. Cost me $250. If the problem comes back then the transmission will need to be replaced. Debating now whether its worth it or to just be done with Toyota for good and get another car.

Really disappointed that Toyota knows this is a major problem for so many owners and yet they refuse to issue a recall on it for anyone who still owns the vehicle. But its good to know that Toyota will be a brand to avoid in the future as you can't rely on them to correct their mistakes unless it's a cheap fix.

My 2003 RAV4 has been an outstanding car until the ECM went out. I have driven Toyota's for around 27 years and after this experience I will never buy another Toyota. I discovered after I took my car in to be fixed that this sort of issue happens with 2001-2003 RAV4's with the transmission/ECM. After doing some online research, I found that Toyota did not let any of their customers know of this issue nor issue a recall.

Finally, a disgruntled customer took them to court resulting in reimbursement for the problem, if your car was 10 years old or 150,000 miles, whichever came first. My car is now 12 years old so I am completely screwed and very unhappy.

In 2009 there was a class action lawsuit initiated against Toyota for installing faulty ECM components into new RAV4's built between 2001 and 2003. The settlement required Toyota to extend the warranty on these vehiles from 8 yrs/60k miles to 10 yrs/150k miles.

April 2013 with 94000 miles, my RAV4 started to 'hard shift' between first and second gear. I called Toyota after discovering the information on the internet about the lawsuit and was informed that my 10 year warranty was up 26 days ago.

Toyota has offered NO HELP. They have lost a loyal customer and my faith in their brand. I would not recommend or buy another Toyota product. They don't stand behind what they build.

I WILL NEVER OWN ANOTHER TOYOTA, AND I HAVE INFORMED MY FOUR SONS HOW TOYOTA TREATS THEIR CUSTOMERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love my Toyota RAV4 2003. I bought it from St Croix, because St Thomas did not have a dealer back then. Well, I received a letter from Toyota stateside main office , around 2010, (not sure about that date) saying to bring my car in to the local dealer for them to fix the "harsh shift, and specific malfunction light "ON". Well, I do have a harsh shift, so I called my local St Thomas dealer (I think they came here in 2005) and asked to set up appointment. I told them I bought my car from the St Croix, Toyota. She said, When was your car here last? I said it was June 2005, for a oxygen sensor heater circuit bank, 1 sensor 2 & bank 2, sensor 2 replaced. Also in Jan 2005 oxygen sens short to ground & thread in manifold worn re-thread manifold. She said that since I didn't have the car there at least one year ago they WILL NOT give me an appointment.

I called St Croix Toyota and told them this information. They were shocked that St Thomas Toyota refused to even look at my car.

Is this how Toyota dealers treat their customers?? Is that a nationwide policy???

I'll never go back to Ford, cause when I had one, it took the dealer here on the island 3 months to fix it!

In 2009 there was a class action lawsuit initiated against Toyota for installing faulty ECM components into new RAV4's built between 2001 and 2003. The settlement required Toyota to extend the warranty on these vehiles from 8 yrs/60k miles to 10 yrs/150k miles.

This week, my RAV4 started to 'hard shift' between first and second gear. The check engine light came on. I called Toyota after discovering the information on the internet about the lawsuit and was informed that my 10 year warranty was up 45 days ago.

Toyota has offered NO HELP. They have lost a loyal customer and my faith in their brand. I would not recommend or buy another Toyota product. They don't stand behind what they build.

I received notice of a class action law suit against Toyota for the 2003 Rav4 transmission / ECM problems. Coincidentally, about a week after receiving this notice, my car started exhibiting exactly these types of problems (bucking forward when changing gears, starting off very slow with no acceleration-- felt like it was starting in third gear almost, etc.).

I took my car into the local Toyota (Capital Toyota in Chattanooga), where I received the worst auto service of my life. I went in, and after explaining the issues & showing them the class action paperwork (which also described the warranty program), they told me that this wasn't valid & "just some lawyers trying to make money." They didn't even look at my car the first time.

I went home, and I did some online research in which I found the actual Toyota sponsored warranty program online. I also made sure to call the Toyota customer hotline which verified that my VIN number was covered under this warranty program.

I went in again (which, by the way was very difficult to do with a full time job, seeing as Capital Toyota is only open M-F during business hours, with very very reduced hours on Saturday 9am-noon or so). After providing Toyota WITH THEIR OWN WARRANTY MATERIALS & arguing with them for about 30 minutes about fixing my car (which had the correct check engine code and symptoms of this ECM / Transmission issue), they finally agreed to fix my car for free. However, if I hadn't totally documented this problem and given them their own documentation, I would have been forced to pay over $1100 for a new ECM.

In addition to the hostile and very unprofessional attitude, Toyota REFUSED to give me a loaner or rental car for this issue. Their rationale (according to the warranty program) was that the repairs should only take 2 hours to complete. Obviously, if this was the case, I would have no problem with waiting at the dealership. However, they had to order the new ECM part, which takes about a week to come in. I felt actually unsafe while driving this vehicle. There were 2 instances during this time when I was almost "t-boned" because my car would not accelerate when turning left across traffic. I explained all of this to Toyota, but still, no loaner car. Apparently they don't care too much about their customer's safety...

Prior to moving to Chattanooga, I had always used the Knoxville Toyota, and they were always very helpful and professional with issues like this. NOT SO with Capital Toyota in Chattanooga. This whole situation was absolutely ridiculous & handled so poorly.

I just took my 2003 Toyota RAV4 to the dealer because of an issue with the engine light and a harsh shift condition. Last night I was informed by the dealer of a bulletin #0156-10 that was advising the public of an issue with the electronic control module and a harsh shift condition. My car was diagnosed with both problems, unfortunately because of my ignorance of not knowing about this bulletin I just missed the deadline.

The bulletin said that Toyota extended the warranty up to 10 years or 150,000 miles, my car was purchased on 11/2002 and has 87,000 miles, just missed the deadline for 2 months. I made several calls to the Toyota Headquarters but they had denied my warranty claim. This policy had left me very upset and I'm facing a bill that could total $8,500.00 or more.

Very ironic that my car has both issues from the bulletin and I'm not covered, perhaps Toyota should look into this issue and reconsider to extend the warranty, clearly is showing that more cars are coming up with these issues.

I have lost trust in the Toyota Family.

I'm a huge Toyota fan, have driven them for decades, and have loved my RAV4 until now. I started experiencing a random jerky shift problem, always in the lower gears, usually early on after starting out on the road. It's very scary. I looked up the problem and found myself here. Thank goodness, I learned of the extended warranty, called Toyota USA to verify, and was directed to go to my nearest Toyota dealership. Diagnostic and repair - replaced the ECU assembly - all cost was handled by Toyota. I was freaked out the day it was repaired by the battery light flashing on a couple times and the car feeling like it was losing power. Drove back to the dealer the next day and was told it was simply calibrating. Took a 700 mile trip the next day and all was well. I thought. I am still experiencing the shift issue, so will go back to the shop this week. Will keep you posted! I will not buy another RAV I'll tell you that. When I paid $23,000+ 10 years ago, I expected it to go forever. High expectation I know .....

Thanks to the people who posted here. You help my potential car repair of $3,000 cost me literally nothing! I had delays in shifting and sluggish starting and jerking when excellerating. All were inconsistent and I could find zero pattern. I was trying to decide if the repair bill was worth it, since I love my car -- when I read a post here to contact my dealership. As I read off my VIN number and they told me I was covered, I felt as if I won the lottery!!! $3,000 dollars of repairs plus a rental all for free. Now my car works great again.

Thanks!