Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | |||||
| 00207 | 04/26/2007 | 10022143 | Techstream ecu flash reprogramming procedure. *kb | 07/06/2007 | |
| 04004 | 02/27/2004 | 10006563 | Owner renotification of non-completed special service campaigns and limited service campaigns. *mr | 05/06/2004 | |
| EG01002 | 04/12/2002 | EG008 | 634045 | Subject regarding engine control module (ecm) calibration update - malfunction indicator light on with diagnostic trouble codes p0420 or p0430 and enhanced engine performance. *tt | 09/26/2002 |
| SS00301 | 08/30/2002 | SS00301 | 634014 | Special service tools - the new immobilizer reset feature that allows the registration of a new master key even if all original master keys are lost. *tt | 09/26/2002 |
| EG00802 | 03/22/2002 | 630838 | Vehicle may exhibit malfunction indicator lamp on with diagnostic troulbe code p0442. *yh | 04/24/2002 | |
| NV01301 | 12/07/2001 | 628678 | Information on noise from top of dash. *tt | 03/19/2002 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | |||
| 11/14/2012 | 89727 | ||
| Returned car to dealer due to experiencing handling difficulty a few days after dealer performed four wheel alignment. i was informed that rear wheels were once again out of alignment due to being frozen with rust and both rear lower control arms and cam kit/plate needed replacement . my dealer tells me that since mine is an earlier model, it is not covered under a safety recall of later models experiencing the identical problem. the service person did say that they had recently performed this repair on a number of pre-2006 rav4 models. since this is a potentially dangerous condition, it seems to me that the rear lower suspension arm recall notice ought to be extended to include earlier year models. | |||
| 11/01/2012 | 165000 | ||
| Out of the blue while in rush hour traffic, my car started shaking, jerking, slamming into gear, not accelerating, and at times it felt like the break was being applied when i stepped the gas. when i first took it to the dealership a day after this happened the first time, they could not find anyting because they could not duplicate the issue during a test drive. literally minutes after picking my car up and driving off the dealership lot, it started happening again in stop-and-go traffic. this time it was much worse and i was afraid as the person behind me almost rear-ended me. i took it back to the dealership and they tell me i either need a new ecm or a new transmission. but after researching this on the internet, it is a huge issue that is happening to a lot of 2002 toyota rav4 owners. and we as the owners are at the mercy of the unknown - this happens out of no where and is horribly unsafe and yet toyota takes no responsibility. | |||
| 04/18/2012 | |||
| Front subframe rusted and rotted through. called toyota and filed a claim but no real help, as i was the only one to register with them. i find this hard to believe given the trouble they had with the tacoma frames. thought i would get at least another 10 years out of this car. currently at 191,000 miles and running strong no rust anywhere visable. | |||
| 09/21/2011 | 133000 | ||
| Harsh shifting and jerking, particularily 1st & 2nd gear slow to accelerate launching and bucking hard engagement when put in reverse revs up from 2 to 3 - 4 rpms | |||
| 08/01/2011 | 121000 | ||
| Toyota 2002 rav4, automatic transmission problem when switching into first / second gear, car will hiccup, and or not accelerate as expected. aamco transmission specialists confirmed defective ecm module failure, and require a full transmission rebuilt. toyota apparanty knows about this problem, and has issued service advisory, but no recall. problem can resurface any anytime, very high potential for accidents as car will fail to accelerate or just stall when entering intersections and or freeways. | |||
| 06/21/2011 | 100000 | ||
| While on an onramp, going into thick, fast traffic on the highway (95) our rav4 had what i guess is called a harsh shift and stalled in newton, ma. we think this is due to a faulty ecm or transmission (we already had the ecm replaced once, in pasadena, ca at the end of 2008, and it was like pulling teeth to get toyota to do it!) i can't believe the vehicle is experiencing the same problem, again!! someone could have been seriously injured! a quick search of the message boards (carcomplaints.com has 3 pages of complaints regarding this issue!) and a lovely new york times article written on july 13, 2010 by christopher jensen about toyota extending the warranty on the obviously faulty ecm's tells me this is a problem that needs to be addressed, sooner rather than later. | |||
| 05/24/2011 | 158250 | ||
| The ecm failed and caused damaged to the transmission (2nd gear specially). on the highway, the vehicle had decreased power; gears were slipping and the car were jerk from gear to gear. toyota apparently was aware of the malfunction because they extended their warranty to 10 years/150k miles. because of my mileage, i am not covered. if they knew there was a fault, why didn't they do recall and fix the problem? | |||
| 05/27/2011 | 72750 | ||
| I experienced sputtering and hesitation while driving my 2002 toyota rav4 a few weeks ago, the friday before memorial day. the car has around 72,800 miles on it. over the memorial day weekend the car was fine. the next week i experienced the same problem. once i stopped the car at a light and then accelerated, the car would lurch and sputter. i feared the car would shut off in traffic or i would not be able to keep up with the flow of traffic. i stopped driving it. two different mechanics (non-toyota) have told me i need a new transmission. i then took it to a toyota dealer after calling the national customer service number, mentioned in a new york times article from august 2009. there was a recall on the ecm which the dealer who i bought the car from was uncooperative in replacing. so far the car is still at a different toyota dealership undergoing diagnosis. | |||
| 06/01/2011 | 104000 | ||
| My toyota 2002 rav 4 suddenly would not accelerate when more gas is given thereby being more dangerous on highway for possibly being hit by traffic behind. such a sudden change in shifting possibly transmission mal-functioning happens also while driving at a higher speed. | |||
| 02/18/2011 | 62500 | ||
| My toyota rav4, 2002, began shifting hard, clunking into gear, and accellerating prior to shifting on its own. i took the car to a toyota dealer who has told me that this issue is not covered for all vin numbers of rav4's sold. we shall see if he is correct as i told him that the article from the ny times sure looks like it covers all rav4's between 2001 and 2003. | |||
| 09/08/2010 | 172000 | ||
| I was climbing a steep hill when my toyota rav4 just seemed to jump out of gear. i had to undertake special measures to turn around without engine power and coast down the hill. it was towed to a toyota dealer who told me the ecu had damaged the transmission. they advised me it was out of warranty and would cost $4500 to repair. i had it towed back home. i since found that many are experiencing this problem with the toyota rav4. someone needs to make toyota accountable for this obvious defect. so much for being a loyal toyota customer. help! please. its parked in my driveway. | |||
| 05/08/2009 | 110029 | ||
| 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 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 toyotas 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. | |||
| 06/13/2010 | 95000 | ||
| I have a 2002 toyota rav 4 and am experiencing transmission problems. i understand that there are numerous toyota customers with the same problem. i also understand that toyota will do nothing to fix the problem and that writing you would be my best bet.the problem is caused by a faulty ecm (engine control module) and costs about $1200 to replace. driving the vehicle as is also hurts the transmission which can lead to an additional $4000 to fix. please let me know what or if anything can be done. thanks. awb405@aol.com (andy butler) | |||
| 06/11/2010 | 0 | ||
| 2002 toyota rav 4 electronic control unit has a maunfacturer's defect that cause the car's automatiic transmission to disintegrate with little or no warning | |||
| 06/04/2010 | 96000 | ||
| Transmission slipping and slamming into gear. vehicle shudders like it was going to stop running, then rpm's jumped up to about 4,000 and slammo! slams into gear. almost got hit by a large truck behind me. check engine light doesn't come on . took it to dealership and they say without error codes they cannot diagnose the problem. had a recall on ecm a couple of yrs. ago. had it done(re-flashed) at dealership. no help from toyota. | |||
| 04/22/2010 | 61500 | ||
| I purchase my vehicle a 2002 rav4, automatic, new. the vehicle has been well maintaned. approximately in march of 2010 my vehicle starting jerking, i look at my gas gauge and thought i must be lower on gas then the gauge is showing. i got gas and the problem stopped. about 2 weeks later the same problem. i got gas and the situation stopped. sporadically, in the 2 week time frame my vehicle seemed to lose power. i did take my car into my mechanic and he had the car and did test drives with no problems. again, in april the problem arose again and the car when to my mechanic and again they could find no problem. on april 22, 2010 upon leaving work i started my vehicle and there was a horrible jerking, shaking and at times seemed to have no power i finally was able to make it home (1 mile away) with the tires barely rolling down the road. immediately, the next day i took it to my mechanic and as we were doing a test drive the vehicle began the jerking, shaking and lost power, the car was not operable any longer. the diagosis: transmission burnt and new emc (my third in this vehicle). the vehicles engine check light never came on or any other sensors in the vehicle. when the emc was tested it did not display any codes or problems with the vehicle. i contacted the dealership and expalined thesituation and was advised i needed to bring it in for them to look at it. i explained to them it does not run and not going anywhere and would these (i would have had the vehicle towed with an expense of anywhere from $250 to $300.00, a hours drive away) expenses be covered. response warranty expired 60 days ago. after many days of an agonizing decision, i advised my mechanic to go ahead and fix the car at the tune of $3500.00, replacing the emc and transmission. the vehicle is still being repaired and i will have it back next week | |||
| 05/09/2010 | 95000 | ||
| The automatic transmission was shifting very hard from gear to gear and had problems starting in first gear from a stop. it looks like it is very common on 2001-2004 rav4's per complaints online. a service bulletin was put out by toyota in march of 2006 about the problem. the dealer is recommending replacement of the ecu. the bulletin proves toyota knew about the defective ecu. many people are being forced to buy a transmission also after the faulty ecu destroys theirs. this is a safety issue, such as driving onto a freeway and the transmission stalling when merging with traffic. | |||
| 01/01/1901 | 1 | ||
| S10 appropriate handling re toyota vehicles sudden unintended acceleration fwd fm owner of a 2002 rav4, 2002 corolla and a 2007 toyota prius *tgw the consumer was informed that none of the 2002 vehicles were included in the recall. the consumer stated her other two vehicles, which are much newer were not recalled either and could potentially accelerate and cause injury or death. the consumer also addressed questions in her complaint. *jb updated 05/24/10 | |||
| 03/25/2010 | 85000 | ||
| My 2002 toyota rav4 had tc002-06 performed on it in january 2007. the recall was to address issues with the ecm and transmission shifting issues. my vehicle is out of warranty and has 85,000. i contacted toyota and they informed me that a logic update was performed to resolve this issue. from what i have read online, the ecm should have been replaced and not updated. i also found that the ecm carries an 80,000 mile warranty. the problem i am having is now the transmission has failed and i was informed that the problem was due to the ecm not being replaced. all major service work on this vehicle has been performed at a toyota dealership. the independent service agent has informed me that the transmission needs to be rebuilt and the ecm replaced at a total cost of over $4200. i contacted a toyota dealership and a rough estiamte for this repair is $5000-$6000. when i contacted toyota and asked about this tsb, they informed me that it is simply a manual addendum and nothing else. they refuse to help with this issue at all. it is serious because the vehicle begin to fail and would not accerlerate when i was trying to drive onto a major road from being stopped at a red light. i have researched this issue on the internet and i have found that many people have had this same issue around the same mileage with this model year vehicle. please help! | |||
| 02/28/2010 | 63000 | ||
| I drive a 2002 toyota rav4 with 63k i bought it used 4 years ago with warranty i now have problems shifting from 1 to 2 gear took it to toyota dealer to have a diagnose, i had previosly took my car to a transmission specialist i was told to take to the dealer were it was purchased because the ecm had to be replaced/reset anyway i did a research and found that there was a extended warranty on the ecm for 96 months or 80k which ever comes first my extended warranty expired because warranty starts from original owner(date first use) to replace the ecm is going to cost me $1300 i think i shouldn't have to pay this amount due to toyota rav4 ecm problem back in 2006 i should still be eligible for ecm warranty since i purchased my car in feb. 2006. i hope the next step is not replacing the transmission. i am not satisfied with toyota cars or there services . | |||
| 03/18/2010 | 111000 | ||
| My 2002 toyota rav4 automatic is having serious transmission problems. it intermittently does not find the second gear, and when it does, lurches forward if the accelerator is applied. this is very dangerous, because prior to it slipping out of gear, it starts out slow, and you must apply the accelerator more than usual to get moving. it has also lost the gear while at high speeds, a potential nightmare for someone that doesn't know how to react properly. after researching my issue, (and having the transmission flushed and filters replaced) i feel like i have no recourse. toyota initiated a recall to re-flash the control module in 2007, which i had done. they never informed me that there was an actual error in the performance of the module, just something about it eliminate a problem of the check engine light coming on around 60k. my module tests out fine today, yet it apparently ruined my transmission, and now i have learned some individuals have replaced the control module, and some the entire transmission, only to be revisited by the same problems. my car currently has 111,000 miles on it, and the repairs will cost more than the value of the auto. how can i sell this vehicle with a clear conscience knowing all of this? please consider this for recall, toyota withheld information from its customers when initiating this recall in 2007 (the flash reset), and caused many of us danger and great expense as a result. thank you very much, brenda king | |||
| 03/20/2010 | 88000 | ||
| Harsh shifting from 1st - 3rd gear in automatic transmission | |||
| 08/04/2008 | 50300 | 1 | |
| My toyota rav4 2002, has only 50,000 miles on it. needs a new transmission. this has to be a defect !!! toyota refuses to recall, even though it's a huge problem. *tr | |||
| 03/25/2008 | 116000 | 1 | |
| My car started acting up in march 2008. i had my transmission rebuilt in april and got the car back still acting up! i am trying to go by the dealership who sold it to me and get their mechanic to look at it and he is too busy when it is messing up. it only does it sometimes now but it seems to get more frequent. the tsb i read mentioned the ecm and the transmission going bad so is that my next costly expense? *tr | |||