Problems with 2002 Toyota RAV4 POWER TRAIN

Hard shift prob from 2/3rd gear with toyota 2002 rav4 took car to dealer on 9-17-2007. recall for emission problem caused the engine light to come on. i described problem to the dealer and asked them to look at this problem. dealer said any other problems should show on computer. picked car up asked about shift prob. they said nothing came up on the computer diagnostic ( i later learned that they test drove the car and could not duplicate problem) and it sounded like it could be a transmission problem. they said to make an appointment to have the transmission looked at. i asked for cost and they said they had no idea it would depend on how long it took to find problem. i took car to transmission shop. they hooked car up to computer and said internal transmission failure and need transmission rebuilt. i had this repar done at cost of 2,639.81. called me after transmission was rebuilt there is a problem. they researched database and found that there was a bulletin put out by toyota on march 3, 2006. powertrain control module that causes a shift problem in 2001-2003 toyota rav4's. it explains the diagnostic and repair for this problem in detail and states that the ecm may need to be replaced. i am informed that in order for my transmission to work need to have ecm replaced. toyota knew about this problem when i took my car to them they could have fixed the problem then and saved me $2,639.81. i paid dealer to have the ecm replaced for $1003.81. part to me for a wholesale price. the car is now finally running fine. i was told that they do not search for bulletins on cars that are in for service. they said there are just too many of them for them to keep up with. i saw time it took for the tech to look up the bulletin on laptop info came up immediately. my research shows that other 2002 rav4's have same problem. i have failed ecm that was removed from car. *tr

Automatic transmission damaged because the ecm toyota installed in 2002 rav 4 had programming logic issues. *tr

I started to have intermittent issues with my toyota 2002 rav4 transmission; concerning hard shifting and lose of power during acceleration. i have been informed by the dealer that i require a new transmission. after searching the internet (www.carcomplaints.com, www.tundrasolutions.com, & rav4world.com) i was able to find quite a few instances of people having the same issues with their 2002 rav4. each story ends up with the individuals paying an average of $4500 to have the transmission replaced then having to go back and have the ecu replaced ($1000). after all was said and done, the problems still existed. after speaking with toyota they feel there is no issue and do not plan on investigating the issue to determine if a recall is required. i just had my transmission replaced and the issue is still there. i am in the process with my local amoco transmission co. to resolve the problem. the problem can occur at anytime without notice during acceleration from a stopped condition or during normal driving causing the car abruptly slow down in traffic, which could put the driver in a life or death situation. *tr

2002 toyota rav4 transmission not shifting or shifting inappropriately nearly causing crashes as drivers pull into traffic or drive in traffic.

Ecm/transmission failure on my 2002 rav 4. i ended up cleaning out my savings over this car. after recent bulletin from toyota, i submitted necessary paper work for some reimbursement. i was told that i was not eligible because the car was made in puerto rico, not us!!!!!! i bought it used from a toyota dealer in va. why did toyota send me the notice????? *tr

Vehicle was plugged in to a charger, charging normally. driver returned to the car, and neglected to remove the charging cable. driver turned the key, and shifted from park to reverse. vehicle rolled away from the charging station and damaged the cable and the charging station, disabling the charging station until it could be repaired (at a cost of $1200 to $1500). vehicle should not be able to shift out of park when connected to a charging station. (date is approximate.) *nm

I had a toyota rv4 2002, that was giving me transmission problems, the car star shaking in the middle of the freeway in various occasion, that really scared me, and my child, i had to paid 3462.52 dollars to have the transmission replaced, but that didn't fix the problem, and toyota replaced the ecm, another 1, 200 dollars. i'm very unhappy because later i found out, that toyota knew of this problem, but they didn't not notified the customer, i'm a single mother, and for me that was a lot of money to paid with my credit cards... *tr

2002 toyota rav4 - while driving on the freeway, my car may automatically go from 60 to 40 mpr in matter of seconds. or my car will get stuck on 60mpr & violently jerk. twice have i taken it in for an ecm recall. my engine light has been on ever since 60,000 miles and now it's at 150,000. the extended warranty has been issued but my car is over the limit (154,000 miles). this extended warranty should have been issued "years ago" now it's too late. my car has had problems ever since my check engine light has turned on at 60k. *tr

Re: 2002 rav4 suv transmission ecm/atm repairs. dear sir: i am sending you this letter to explain what my situation is. i just found out that toyota motor sales usa is having a recall on 2001, 2002 and 2003 toyota rav4 suv?s for transmission problems. i have tried for years to get toyota to fix my transmission. however, toyota has totally ignored me. i had to pay for a used transmission out of my pocket because toyota told me that they do not manufacture any defective automobiles. i just sent the below letter to the toyota motor sales usa asking that they reimburse me for the cost of the bad transmission and the labor costs and i received a letter this week stating that they are not going to do anything about reimbursing me anything. they are totally ignoring their own recall notice at my expense. when i first purchased my 2002 rav4 new from the bert wolfe toyota dealership in charleston, west virginia, i have had nothing but trouble with the rav4. the first month that i owned the rav4 suv i almost wrecked because the drive belt was chewed up and of course this affected my steering capability and i almost went over an embankment. ever since i purchased my 2002 rav4 suv i have felt that there were several things wrong with the new 2002 rav4 because sometimes when i would try to speed up or to attempt to get on an interstate my transmission would not shift. if it would shift then it would make a grinding noise and make my rav4 suv. shake. a lot of times, i would have to just pull off of the road because i could not go anywhere and if i had not gotten off the road then i would have caused a wreck or maybe killed someone. *tr

I purchased a 2002 toyota rav4. suv. and within the first six months of owning it, my drive belt broke and almost caused me to wreck and hit three other vehicles. i had my new car towed back to the dealership where i had purchased the vehicle and they told me that the drive belt was not covered under my warranty.a few months later i noticed that my transmission was making a weird grinding sound and was hard to shift. sometimes the car would not shift and it would come to a complete stop and this almost caused me to wreck via hitting other vehicles or other vehicles hitting me. i took it to my dealership and told them that they had sold me a lemon and i wanted to know if they would give me another rav4, that is dependable. they told me no. i let the rav 4 sit in my garage for two years and my brother-in-law said that if he could find a used transmission from a wrecked vehicle then he would install it in my rav 4. he found a transmission and i had to pay in cash $1,300.00 for the transmission and i gave him $400.00 to install the transmission. recently i found out that toyota has recalled 2001, 2002 and 2003 toyota rav4 suv's for transmission problems. i contacted the toyota sales usa about their recalls of my vehicle and they told me that they were not going to do anything for me. i feel that toyota should reimburse me for the cost of buying a used transmission and for paying to have the transmission put in my rav4suv. please advise. *js

On february 19, 2004, i took my 2002 toyota rav4 to the dealership for a problem that involved the vehicle unexpectedly surging forward. and failing to shift gears. i was told that the speed sensor was replaced and the vehicle was released to me. the problem continued that day and i returned the vehicle to the dealership on february 20, 2004. i was told that a part had to be ordered and that they would call me when the part was in. i was told that in the meantime, the vehicle was safe to drive. on february 23, 2004, my husband drove the vehicle and was stopped at an intersection when the vehicle surged forward into the intersection. we immediately phoned toyota, telling them that vehicle was not safe to drive and requested that they tow the vehicle to the dealership. the vehicle was towed and has been at the dealership since february 23, 2004. principle complaint: my vehicle suddenly and unexpectedly surges or accelerates and fails to shift gears. *ak

When driving up a hill vehicle began to stall. *ak

I purchased my 2002 toyota rav4 suv in august of 2002. ever since i bought the rav4 something has been wrong with it. the first 3-months that i had the rav4 the drive belt was chewed up and almost caused me to wreck. the transmission started making funny noises like a grinding sound and the transmission would not shift. sometimes i would just have to pull off of the road because the rav4 transmission would not shift. i called and talked with the dealership and they said that nothing was wrong with my rav4. i finally just parked it because my wife would not drive it and i would not drive it. toyota would not fix my vehicle nor would the dealership. my brother-in-law said that he would try to find a used transmission and put it in my new rav4 suv. the used transmission was purchased at a car parts and salvage place for $1,700.00 and my brother-in-law put the used transmission into my new toyota rav4 suv. i have contacted toyota motor corporation several times and they said that they are not going to do anything about paying me for the used transmission that i had to purchase. can you see if toyota will listen to you about my complaint? than k you. *tr

I purchased my toyota rav4 in august, 2002. eleven months later while driving by the state capital i was going to make a left hand turn and when i did, i almost hit three parked cars because the main drive belt had broken. this drive belt controls about everything to do with steering, air conditioning and etc. i had to have my car towed back to the dealership where i had purchased the vehicle. i had to pay for the labor and new belt because i was told by the dealership that my warranty did not cover this. then i started having problems with the rav4 transmission. it started to make a growling sounds and would not shift gears correctly. some times i had to completely stop, because the transmission was not working. this almost caused other cars to hit me or me to hit other cars. i made several attempts to get the dealership to fix my transmission and they would not.i called toyota motors corp. usa and tried to explain my problems with the toyota people. they totally blew me off and they have done nothing to fix my transmission problems. i quit driving the rav4 for three years because it was untrustworthy and toyota would not fix the transmission. my brother-in-law said that he could probably find a used transmission from a vehicle parts place and that he would install it for me at no charge. i ended up paying $1200.00 for a used transmission that was from a wrecked 2005 toyota rav4. after the transmission was put in i have had no problem with the used transmission. i understand that there is a lawsuit against toyota over transmission problems in their 2001, 2002 and 2003 rav4 suv's. i feel that toyota should reimburse me for the out of pocket expenses that i have incurred. *tr

I purchased the 2002 toyota rav4 new from the dealership. one day while i was on my way to work i almost wrecked because the drive belt got hung up on something and it chewed up my drive belt. also, i started noticing every time that i wanted to speed up my rav4 would hesitate and not go in gear. if it did go in gear it made a noise like a grinding type of noise. i called the toyota dealership and they did nothing. i called the toyota motor usa and told them about my problem and i was told that toyota does not manufacture any defective vehicles and they refused to do anything. the i read where there had been a recall on all 2001, 2002 and 2003 rav4 toyota vehicles because of faulty transmissions. i then sent a letter to toyota motor corporation usa and again they refused to do anything. the rav4 has been parked in my garage and it has only 35,000 miles on it and everyone in my family is afraid to drive it. i thought that when a car manufacturer has a recall that the manufacturer has a responsibility to fix the defect. in my case toyota has refused to do anything. can you agency ask toyota why they have never offered to do anything for a legitimate recall which involes the problems that i am having. thank you.

Toyota rav4 my transmission slips and jerks. i was just at a light, and it didn't work properly. i almost got hit. i am now scared to drive it. *tr

Toyota rav4 2002 transmission failure at 88,000 miles with a perfect maintenance. since two days ago a problem with the transmission began. i search in the internet and toyota knew the problem since 2006 without telling the owners, now to fix the transmission could cost around 5,000 and its suppose to be the computer. *tr

Starting the end of april 2010 my 2002 toyota rav4 starting giving me problems with shifting gears and when i pressed the accelerator it didn't want to move and really sluggish and would jerk. i was afraid that someone would rear end me. i kept up all my maintenance on the vehicle. i had a transmission service done march 2008. the dealer said i needed a new transmission. my car has 90,000 miles. i had another transmission service done, but it just got worse. i took it to another repair shop and they said there was a computer defect and the transmission needed to be replaced. my car is in the shop for repairs. *tr

Transmission sticks from 1st to 2nd. has done it since i bought it new in 2002. took to dealer way back then they told me i had "special transmission fluid and i would have to pay to get it fixed". i never had it fixed and it still sticks. takes about 1/4 mile to shift. purchased from kissimmee toyota which is now toyota of orlando(?) adding complaint for engine seize. *tr