Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE | |||||
| TSB-0064-10 | 02/04/2010 | 10034284 | Toyota: techstream ecu flash reprogramming procedure. flash reprogramming allows the ecu software to be updated without replacing the ecu. flash calibration updates for specific vehicle models/ecus are released as field-fix procedures de | 11/01/2010 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE | |||
| 10/03/2012 | 112700 | ||
| Tl- the owns a 2003 toyota rav 4. the contact stated that while driving the vehicle, the check engine light illuminated on the instrument panel. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the air filter needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure who did not offer any assistance since the vehicle had surpassed the statue of limitations. the failure mileage was 112,700. pmb | |||
| 03/13/2012 | 210000 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2003 toyota rav4. the contact stated that the vehicle did not shift properly. the contact also stated that there was an increams in the engine rpms and the vehicle would hesitate before accelerating. the contact spoke with a dealer and was informed that the engine control unit was failing and would cause the transmission to fail. the failure mileage was 210,000 and the current mileage was 215,000. | |||
| 03/13/2012 | 210000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2003 toyota rav4. the contact stated that the vehicle did not shift properly. the contact also stated that there was an increams in the engine rpms and the vehicle would hesitate before accelerating. the contact spoke with a dealer and was informed that the engine control unit was failing and would cause the transmission to fail. the failure mileage was 210,000 and the current mileage was 215,000. sm. | |||
| 05/07/2012 | 89000 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2003 toyota rav4. the contact stated that while driving 40 mph, she noticed that the engine was overheating. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis. the dealer stated that the head bolts would need replacing. the vehicle was repaired and the manufacturer was contacted who stated that there was nothing they could do to assist with the defect. the failure mileage was 89,000 and the current mileage was 89,500. the vin was not available. | |||
| 05/07/2012 | 89000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2003 toyota rav4. the contact stated that while driving 40 mph, she noticed that the engine was overheating. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis. the dealer stated that the head bolts would need replacing. the vehicle was repaired and the manufacturer was contacted who stated that there was nothing they could do to assist with the defect. the failure mileage was 89,000 and the current mileage was 89,500. the vin was not available. kmj | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | |||
| 04/21/2009 | |||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2003 toyota rav4. the contact stated the accelerator pedal became stuck intermittently while driving. the contact took the vehicle to the dealer and was told that all toyota vehicles accelerator pedals were sticking. the contact was also advised that accelerator pedal, engine control module and throttle body were defective. the failure mileage was unknown, but the current mileage was 165,000. rvk | |||
| 04/21/2009 | |||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2003 toyota rav4. the contact stated the accelerator pedal gets stuck on the vehicle. the contact stated the failure happens randomly. the contact took the vehicle to the dealer and was told all toyota | |||
| 01/24/2010 | 94000 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2003 toyota rav 4. the contact stated that the check engine light had illuminated on the instrument panel and when accelerating, the vehicle would hesitate to increase in speed. the vehicle was taken to a local repair shop where the independent mechanic replaced the engine control module sensors. the failure persisted. the dealer advised there was a technical service bulletin addressing the failure but were no recall for the failure and repairs would be at the owners expense. the failure mileage was approximately 94,000 and the current mileage was 96,400. | |||
| 08/21/2009 | 102134 | ||
| In 2009, without notice my 2003 toyota rav 4 was jerking and going. then it would barely move once stopped. then when it would move, it woul drag. in august of 2009, the transmission was replaced by palmer's toyota superstore. this cost $1,721.93. | |||
| 12/18/2009 | 123000 | 1 | |
| Toyota issued a technical alert in 2006 for a defective engine control module in their 2201-2003 rav4's. the alert was only sent to the dealerships, not to the consumers. this defect slowly destroys the transmission and without warning your car stalls like your running out of gas. a recall should have been issued but toyota refuses. i never had the opportunity to fix the engine control module that costs $1300 now i have to replace that and my transmission for a total cost of $4400. please hold them accountable. *tr | |||
| 12/17/2009 | 129000 | 1 | |
| 2003 toyota rav was stop instead of accelerating on highway starting 12/17, brought to dealership on 12/22/09 and they changed spark plugs; brought back 12/29 they changed water pump and then test drove and called me to tell me it could be transmission but to replace the ecm first since they knew it could cause transmission problems. *tr | |||
| 11/25/2009 | 80000 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2003 toyota rav 4. while entering a highway between 25-30 mph the transmission down-shifted and would not accelerate. the vehicle was taken to a local repair facility. a mechanic was in the process of repairing the ecm. the current and failure mileages were 80,000. | |||
| 10/16/2009 | 49000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 toyota rav4. while driving 30 mph the engine warning light will illuminated on the instrument control panel, and the vehicle stalled. the vehicle was taken to a local repair facility. the diagnostic test revealed code po755s (solenoid b fault). the mechanic could not interpret the error code. a technician from the dealer stated that the vehicle would have to be re-inspected in order to determine the cause of the failure. the current and failure mileages were 49,998. | |||
| 12/01/2008 | 50000 | 1 | |
| Car does not proceed into drive after being at a stop. slow to turn corners - slow to move forward -nearly causing accidents. *tr | |||
| 06/01/2006 | 1 | ||
| Sludge in toyota engine. *tr | |||
| 04/05/2008 | 86000 | 1 | |
| While driving my 2003 rav 4 the check oil engine light came on then engine started to make a clunking sound and stopped. the car has 86,000 miles it was towed to the shop where the mechanic says the engine is blown and it will cost about 8,000 dollars to replace. the engine would not start after this happened. *tr | |||
| 09/29/2006 | 38995 | 1 | 07/05/2003 |
| I have a 2003 rava4. i use synthetic oil in it when i get my regular oil change. last week i was driving to the store and my check engine light and the oil light came on. i got an oil change around two months ago. i became very alarmed. i went back to my home and put more oil in the engine. i then went to the store now i am hearing a sound that sounds like the car is a bomb. i took it to the dealer. the mechanics says i have sludge. i can not understand this because i use synthetic oil. toyota dealer want me to purchase a new engine with labor it will cost me 8,000.00. i have 39,000 miles. should the dealer fix this for me because my engine is still under warranty? *jb | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE | |||
| 11/01/2010 | 115000 | ||
| While driving, my 2003 toyota rav4's engine light starts flickering. the car starts hesitating, even with applying more gas. the car then loses power and cuts out. the car will then restart, but continue to hesitat and cut out the issue has occured 3 times over the past month. the dealer could not isolate the problem and simply recommended replacing the spark plugs. my wife happened to be driving the car on the interstate during rush hour yesterday with my two todlers in the car when it cut out again. | |||
| 10/25/2010 | 115000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2003 toyota rav 4. while attempting to accelerate from a stop the contact noticed that the vehicle would not respond. the vehicle was taken to a local mechanic where the contact was informed that the vehicles computer needed to be replaced. there were no prior warnings and the vehicle had not been repaired. the current and failure mileages were 115000. bml | |||
| 05/07/2010 | 65000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2003 toyota rav4. while driving at 25 mph the the vehicle would not shift pass 25mph as she depressed the accelerator pedal, this continued for about twenty second on that speed. the vehicle was taken to the dealer and she was told it was a broken electrical ground connection from the engine block to the body. the failure was repaired by the dealer at no charge. after the vehicle was repaired the vehicle was behaving the same way it was before, they were advised the transmission failed and needed to be replaced at a cost of $4000.00 at their expense. they took vehicle to an independent mechanic and got the transmission rebuilt. the manufacturer was contacted and stated after the vehicle was already repaired there was nothing else to be done. a claim was file#1006100344. the failure mileage was 65,000 and the current mileage 68,000....dwh | |||
| 03/15/2005 | 70000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 toyota rav 4. while driving 10 mph and making a left turn the vehicle would not accelerate when the pedal was engaged. the contact was unable to shift gears which caused a vehicle to crash into the rear end of the contacts vehicle. the dealer confirmed that they have had problems with the ecm on this year, make and model vehicle and that they will not help her with the repairs. they estimated repair cost was approximately $1227. there were no injuries. the failure has occurred and was reported to the dealer on two occasions. the failure mileage was 70000 and current mileage was 90,000. | |||
| 07/09/2006 | 68000 | 2 | 02/10/2003 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 toyota rav4. while driving 60 mph, the oil indicator light illuminated and the engine stalled. the vehicle would not restart and was towed to the dealer. the dealer stated that the engine failed and needed to be replaced. the failure was due to the lack of oil in the engine, although oil had been placed in the vehicle a week before. the engine was previously replaced in july of 2006 due to the same failure. the vin, engine size, and number of cylinders were unknown. the failure mileage was 68,000 and current mileage was 92,000. | |||
| 01/21/2006 | 97000 | 0 | 04/24/2003 |
| On tuesday, january 24, 2006 while driving from rhode island, the oil light came on - immediately i pulled over to the next exit to a gas station. i put one quart of oil in the engine because that is all it stated it needed. at which time the oil light went off. i continued to drive for approximately five minutes and the oil light came on - then the engine light came on. after a few minutes a clicking sound started - so immediately pulled over to the side of the road and turned the engine off. i tried to start the engine again - however it would not turn over. i immediately contacted aaa to have the car towed. the car was towed from rhode island to north cary auto. the mechanic tried started the car and immediately stated that the engine was no good. i asked him to check the car over to make sure this was the case. he stated that after checking the car - he didn't understand why the oil light came on because the car had plenty of oil. i immediately contacted ira toyota and the toyota corporate office at which time they informed me that the car needed to be brought in to a toyota dealer to take a look at it. on february 2 at approximately 3:45 p.m. i received a call from charlene to inform me that it would take $10,000 to repair the car because the engine was gone. she stated that a rod broke and went up into engine which caused it to shut down. i asked to speak to her manager, cathy kitik, who also informed me that there was gunk in the engine. at which time i informed her that it was sludge and it is known that toyota has had a problem with the v4 and v6 engines. she stated that it never occurred in the toyota rav 4. at which time i asked her is it a toyota engine and she confirmed that it was. she also confirmed that a rod broke and went into the engine which caused it to shut down. i informed her that i had receipts which showed the oil was changed appropriately. *nm | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE - BELTS AND ASSOCIATED PULLEYS | |||
| 11/26/2004 | 22000 | 7 | |
| While driving to san antonio on 11-26 2004 my toyota rav4 just lost power and shut off while in heavy traffic on i-37 i pulled over and it started right up.i've taken the vehicle in on three other occasions and have been told that nothing wrong could be found with the vehicle.on 11-28-04 about two blocks from my home on the return trip from san antonio it did it again once again i pulled over and it started right up. i feel that this could be very dangerous and life threatening and i don't think that the toyota company is taking this problem seriously.*ak | |||
| 07/07/2003 | 1 | ||
| Toyota rav 4 drive belt pulleys were not installed correctly.*mr. while driving, the battery discharger light came on, and the vehicle lost all steering capability. it was discovered the belt tensioner and belt housing broke.*ts *jb | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - EXHAUST SYSTEM - EMISSION CONTROL | |||
| 11/01/2004 | 4 | 11/17/2003 | |
| Owner of 2003 toyota rav4s, purchased as a new vehicle november 2003. in the past several months owner has experienced increasing medical problems ( respiratory, gastrointestinal, neurologic, etc.) and has received extensive and expensive medical testing without clear diagnosis. test have also been performed in the home which fail to suggest environmental cause within the house. owner has progressively associated issues of illness with driving this vehicle, even for short distances and short durations. although having only 17, 500 miles driven, the vehicle is basically now not useable. an independent evaluator has suggested that an odor is definitely being discharged from the heating and aari conditioning system, although they were not able to say what it might be. an authorized toyota dealer service department ran a few tests, indicated that they were unable to discern a problem, and has basically washed their hands of the problem. no specific incident date would be applicable, as the symptoms have accelerrated over time. other details to be provided as needed.*ak | |||