We purchased an 07 RAV4 from an old lady that barely drove the car, I believe it had under 8k miles when we purchased it. One issue we had (this was around 42-48k miles) was the transmission started acting up sometimes. I was about ready to take the RAV to a transmission shop and see what they thought was wrong with how it was shifting gears, or hesitating before shifting to the next gear. Right before I was about to have it looked at we hit a deer with the car and insurance deemed it "totaled" so we never investigated what the shifting problem was.

Whoever gets that vehicle next or decides to fix it is going to be in for rude awakening when they start driving it!

I have just gotten home from an exhausting ordeal at the Checkered Flag Toyota Dealership in Virginia Beach, VA. I drive a 2007 RAV4 with about 127K miles on it. I have been having issues with my engine consuming oil (it isn't leaking oil because I do not have oil spots on my driveway), as well as dealing with transmission issues. The engine is sluggish and is overheating without the proper amount of oil. I diligently check the oil level, and am spending about $10 a week to top off my oil.

What my immediate concern is my transmission. I'm afraid to drive my car. When I'm on the interstate, the RPMs will just drop for no reason; when coming to a stop and touching the gas to go, it hesitates like it's trying to find the right gear; and there is a loss of pickup and power in general. The servicewoman quoted me a new transmission at a cost of almost $8,000 for a refurbished transmission—again, REFURBISHED.

When I mentioned that the overheating engine could possibly have affected the transmission (due to Toyota's oil consumption problem), they acted like the engine system and transmission system don't have anything to with each other. I find that hard to believe since the transmission is connected to the engine and they work together to make the car go. Also when I first complained about the oil consumption they wanted to charge me over 2000 to have the seals replace in the engine, i went to have the second opinion done and of course told there were no leaks in the engine. When i asked today why they told me i needed to replace the seals in my engine a year ago if there was no oil leak servicewomen told me it must have been a mistake in paperwork.

I'm at my wits end. When I asked "What are my options?" at the dealership, they told me to call Toyota Corporate since they couldn't do anything for me at the dealership level. They wouldn't stand behind the vehicle that I have always maintained at the dealership and have diligently kept up with the recommended service. I asked them if there was anything that I did to cause the transmission issue, and they said no. I also asked if I could have done anything to prevent this transmission problem, and again, they said no. I asked how often have they have a 2007 Rav 4 come in the shop with need for a new transmission, they said never. I asked the women and the mechanic what could cause the transmission to go bad and the women said to me “well its like having a computer some times they don’t work". I said well computers don’t cost 30 thousand dollars to buy and cost 8 thousand to repair. I spoke with 5 different people at my dealership and 2 at Toyota corporate these are the solutions they offered me: -rent a car at MY cost ( non reimbursable) for 6-8 month until the oil consumption can be repaired. -Have a friend or family member drive me around until the car can be repaired -let the car sit in my driveway until i can afford repairs

I was also informed that my car no longer has value for a trade in. I told them that 8000 dollar for a rebuilt transmission was unacceptable and that i could buy a new car for the price of the repair and the service manager shrugged. So i cannot sell my car, repair my car, or drive my car

I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place with no way out.

Right before Christmas in 2012 Rav 4 Transmission start shifting very rough. Twice the vehicle tried to take off when I was not pushing the accelerator. Finally the vehicle went into "Limp" mode during rush hour traffic. I was able to get the vehicle to a dealer. The dealer wanted $4,800 to put a new transmission into the vehicle. Because of the mileage on the car and the face that it is a Toyota Rav 4 the vehicle is only worth roughly $5,800 per blue book. I still owe 5,200 on the car. The dealer provided a number to call Toyota and I was told that there were NO reported problems with Rav 4 transmissions, despite the face that the internet is full of them. With a bad transmission the Rav was worth less the $3,000 so purchasing a new car was not feasible. I was forced to rebuild the transmission for 2,200. The individual rebuilding the transmission stated his shop is full ot Toyota built after 2005. This model Rav has already had 3 recalls against it. We received two new ones just yesterday (15). I have felt heat from the driver's side window console several times and with this last recall I can see why. This is our second Toyota. I also own a 2000 Tacoma which has NEVER given any problems. The vehicle is well on its way to 300,000 mile.

Toyota build after 2005 are ROLLING DEATH TRAPS. Toyota cars are KILLING AMERICANS. These vehicles should be taken off the road.

Anytime that i was driving on the highway with speeds of 50 or above i had no problem. When driving especially in bamper to bamper traffic this problem was terrifying because I was expecting someone to hit me.

Anytime i had to slow down or stop and attempted to accelarate, the car would not accelarate as it should. Infact regardless of how much gas I put to the pedal, the indicator did not go above 2000 RPM. If i tried to put too much gas it jerked when attempting to shift to the next gear. To me it seemed that it has a hard time engaging into 2nd gear, my husband says it's the third gear that has the problem. My car is automatic but that is the best way i can explain the problem. I took it to the toyota dealership in Round Rock texas because to me it seemed that my car had the same issue as the 2002 Rav 4. ( this is based on recall and customer complaint).

The dealership said that the transmission cooler was leaking into the engine. The transmission fluid was low and causing the shifting problem. they kept the car for two days to fix the leak, drained and flushed the transmission and engine. $975 later the problem was still there. The trasmission was shifting harder. The dealership was clueless about what was going on. Their solution was to replace the transmission for $5000. They would not consider adding some or all of the cost we had incurred. They maintained that the issue we were having was not the same as the 2002 Rav 4 and wouls not be covered by the manufacturer. My husband has great knowledge of engins and what the dealership was saying did not make sense.