2001 Toyota RAV4 Power Train

I GAVE THE RAV 4 GAS THE ENGINE WAS REVVING UP BUT THE CAR DID NOT MOVE. I PUT IT IN NEUTRAL AND THEN DRIVE TO NO AVAIL. I HAD TO BE PUSHED OFF THE ROAD SINCE THE CAR DID NOT MOVE . I HAD TO HAVE THE TRANSMISSION REBUILT AT A COST OF $3700. *TR

MY 2001 TOYOTA RAV 4 STARTED EXPERIENCING HARD SHIFTING LATE LAST YEAR. THE SHIFTS BECAME HARDER EARLY THIS YEAR PARTICULARLY BETWEEN 2ND AND 3RD GEAR. I'VE NEVER HAD ANY SERIOUS PROBLEMS WITH MY VEHICLE AND AT THAT TIME I HAD PROBABLY 78000 MILES. WHEN THE HARD SHIFTING OCCURRED, MY VEHICLE WOULD ALMOST STALL COMPLETELY WHILE DRIVING. I STARTED DOING SOME RESEARCH AND DISCOVERED A KNOWN TRANSMISSION TROUBLE "SUPPOSEDLY" SOLVED BY REPROGRAMMING MY ECM CARD(WHICH I HAD DONE). THIS HOWEVER DID NOT SOLVE MY PROBLEM. ACCORDING TO OTHER'S WHO HAD THE SAME THING DONE, THE TRANSMISSION WILL HAVE TO BE REPLACED BECAUSE THE FAULTY PROGRAMMING HAS ALREADY DAMAGED MY EXISTING TRANSMISSION. I AM STILL DRIVING MY RAV4 WAITING FOR IT TO COMPLETELY FAIL. TOYOTA SHOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR REPLACING THE TRANSMISSION. I BOUGHT A TOYOTA AT A HIGHER PRICE POINT, FOR IT'S RELIABILITY! THE 1ST MAJOR REPAIR MADE ON MY VEHICLE SHOULD NOT BE THE TRANSMISSION. *TR

THE ECU COMPUTER ON A 2001 TOYOTA RAV4 CAUSED THE AUTOMATIC TRANS TO NOT SHIFT LIKE IT SHOULD. IT GOT SO BAD THAT IT FELT LIKE IT WENT INTO PARK COMING TO A RED LIGHT. COMPUTER ECU HAD TO BE REPAIRED AND THE TRANS REBUILT AND THE TRANS SHOP THAT DID THE WORK WAS NOT SO GOOD. TOYOTA WANTS $4200 TO FIX. *TR

2001 TOYOTA RAV4 STALLS AT STOP LIGHTS, DOES NOT WANT TO SHIFT INTO FIRST OR SECOND GEAR, VERY DANGEROUS FOR OUR DRIVER AT COLLEGE IN ST. LOUIS. IN RESEARCH, HAVE FOUND NUMEROUS SIMILAR COMPLAINTS RE 2002 RAV4S AND IT APPEARS IT IS FAULTY ENGINEERING. DIAGNOSTICS INDICATED INTERNAL TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS. *TR

2001 TOYOTA RAV4 HAS A DEFECTIVE TRANSMISSION CONTROL MODULE WHICH CAUSES THE CAR TO SLOW DOWN RAPIDLY IN TRAFFIC CAUSING SERIOUS HEALTH RISKS TO ALL PERSONS NEARBY. TOYOTA ISSUED A BULLETIN TO ALL SERVICE INSTRUCTING THEM TO REPLACE THE TCM TO PREVENT THIS PROBLEM FROM TAKING PLACE. TOYOTA DOES NOT WARN THEIR CUSTOMERS ABOUT THIS PROBLEM AND SIMPLY WAITS FOR THE PROBLEM TO HAPPEN AND BY THEN THE TCM CAUSES DAMAGE TO THE TRANSMISSION AND THE VEHICLE IS OUT OF WARRANTY. THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF CONSUMERS EXPERIENCING THIS PROBLEMS AND TOYOTA WILL NOT REPAIR THE VEHICLES UNDER WARRANTY. I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT A COMPANY LIKE TOYOTA WOULD OPERATE THIS WAY AFTER BUILDING A REPUTATION OF BEING A QUALITY AUTO MAKER. I HAVE BEEN QUOTED A DISCOUNTED RATE OF $ 3500.00 TO REPAIR MY CAR BY THE DEALERSHIP. THIS IS ROBBERY. *TR

MY 2001 RAV4 DEVELOPED A SHIFTING ISSUE, AND EVENTUALLY PRODUCED A CHECK ENGINE CODE, WHICH INDICATED AN ISSUE WITH THE TRANSMISSION SOLENOID. THE TRANSMISSION SHOP TELLS ME THAT I NEED A NEW TRANSMISSION AT THE COST OF $3200. THEY ALSO TELL ME THAT THIS IS A COMMON ISSUE WITH THE 2001-2003 RAV4S, AND THAT TOYOTA IS AWARE OF IT. A TECHINICAL SERVICE BULLETIN WAS ISSUED IN 2006, INDICATING THAT THERE WAS AN ISSUE WITH SOME RAV4S, AND THAT THE ECM SHOULD BE REPLACED - IF NOT THE TRANSMISSION MAY BE RUINED. I WAS NEVER INFORMED OF ANY POSSIBLE ISSUE, AND NOW MY VEHICLE IS RUINED. IT IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS TO DRIVE, AND WOULD NOT SHIFT INTO GEAR CORRECTLY. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE IN THAT I WAS UNAWARE THAT THERE WAS ANY ISSUE, AND UNTIL THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, I WAS UNAWARE THAT MY CAR MAY NOT SHIFT CORRECTLY AT ANY GIVEN MOMENT. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 TOYOTA RAV4. THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT SHIFT FROM FIRST TO SECOND GEAR. ALSO WHEN THE ENGINE WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT CONTROL PANEL, THE VEHICLE WOULD LURCH FORWARD. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER, BUT THEY COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE FAILURE. HOWEVER A MECHANIC DISCOVERED THAT THE ELECTRONIC CONTROL MODULE WAS SENDING THE WRONG MESSAGE TO THE TRANSMISSION. THE COMPUTER MONITOR WAS REPAIRED .HOWEVER BECAUSE OF COLLATERAL DAMAGE THE TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 60,500 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 60,700.

CAR HAD CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMING ON; MECHANIC RAN DIAGNOSTICS ON SYSTEM- CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WENT OFF. RADIATOR NEEDED REPLACEMENT. AFTER CAR PICKUP, CAR GRADUALLY STARTED SHIFTING ABNORMALLY BETWEEN 2ND AND 3RD GEAR- 2001 TOYOTA RAV4. *TR

MY 2001 TOYOTA RAV4 IS A VICTIM OF THE ECM FAILURE THAT CAUSES TRANSMISSION ISSUES. THIS IS A WELL KNOWN ISSUE WITH 2001 AND 2002 RAV4'S THAT TOYOTA REFUSES TO ACKNOWLEDGE. THE ECM UNIT FAILS, AND DESTROYS THE TRANSMISSION IN THE PROCESS. *TR

2001 RAV4 TRANSMISSION JUST FAILED TODAY. READ ANYTIMES ARTICLE ABOUT ECM PROBLEM. WHEN I CALLED TOYOTA, I WAS TOLD THAT NOTHING COULD BE DONE EVEN THOUGH THEY KNEW THAT ECM PROBLEM WOULD CAUSE TRANSMISSION TO FAIL. THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN RECALLED OR AT THE VERY LEAST NOTIFY OWNERS SO THAT WE COULD HAVE THE PROBLEM FIXED BEFORE TRULY EXPENSIVE REPAIRS NEED TO BE MADE. THIS IS NOT THE FIRST ISSUE I HAVE HAD WITH MY CAR THAT TOYOTA FAILED TO NOTIFY ME OF IN TIME TO CORRECT. *TR

MY 2001 RAV4, WITH JUST OVER 80K ON IT, WENT BELLY-UP. TWO DAYS BEFORE THE EXTENDED WARRANTY EXPIRED (BOUGHT IT CERTIFIED USED), THE TRANSMISSION STARTED SLIPPING, DISABLING THE CAR 2 HOURS FROM HOME. THE DEALER IT WAS TOWED TO SAID THEY COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH IT, PUT IN 3/4 QT OF TRANNY FLUID, CALLED IT GOOD. IN FEBRUARY, AFTER IT WAS OUT OF WARRANTY, IT ONCE AGAIN DIED ON A TRIP, AGAIN 2 HOURS AWAY FROM HOME. THE DEALER I HAD IT TOWED TO THIS TIME SAID IT NEEDED A NEW TRANSMISSION. THE CODE WAS P0770 FOR SOLENOID MALFUNCTION. AFTER LONG NEGOTIATIONS WITH TOYOTA THEY REPLACED THE TRANSMISSION. *TR

ALL OF A SUDDEN OUT OF THE BLUE MY TRANSMISSION STARTED SLIPPING AND HARD SHIFTING. WE DROVE IT HOME TO PARK IT UNTIL WE COULD FIGURE OUT THE PROBLEM. $1000 LATER AND NO THANKS TO TOYOTA IT IS FIXED. IT WAS THE COMPUTER THAT NEEDED REPROGRAMMED. THANKFULLY THE TRANSMISSION WASN'T SHOT B/C WE DIDN'T DRIVE IT AFTER IT STARTED TO HARD SHIFT AND SLIP. TOOK IT TO TOYOTA AND THEY WERE GOING TO CHARGE US $5000 FOR A NEW TRANSMISSION. BUT WE FOUND SOMEONE TO HELP US WITH THE COMPUTER PROBLEM. *TR

I AM ONE OF THE MANY UNLUCKY PEOPLE WHO OWN A 2001 TOYOTA RAV-4 WHICH HAS HAD CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ISSUE FOR YEARS. AFTER BRINING TO TOYOTA MORE THAN ONCE TO HAVE THEM NOT BE ABLE TO TURN OFF I AM NOW FACING A FAILED TRANSMISSION- OVER $2,500 TO FIX. AS I SEE ALL THESE COMPLAINTS REGARDING THE FAULTY ECM AND TOYOTA'S LACK OF ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I AM DISGUSTED. SHAME ON TOYOTA AND AS A ONCE LOYAL OWNER I WILL NEVER BUY A TOYOTA AGAIN AND WOULD NOT RECOMMEND TO ANYONE. *TR

FAULT ECM CAUSES TRANSMISSION SHIFTING PROBLEMS. NO SERVICE BULLETIN ISSUED TO OWNERS. *TR

I WAS DRIVING TO WORK WHEN I STOPPED AT THE RED LIGHT WHEN IT TURNED GREEN I TRIED TOACCELARATE BUT MY WAS STUCK AND THERE WAS A HEAVY TRAFFIC I TOOK THIS CAR TO THE TOYOTA DEALER THEY TOLD ME IT WAS THE TRANSMISSION I TOOK IT TO A TRANSMISSION PLACE I CHANGED IT BUT TWO DAY AFTER IT GAVE ME THE SAME PROBLEM ONLY THIS TIME ON THE HIGHWAY I STARTED LOOKING FOR ANSWER AND FOUND OUT THAT MOST OF THE 2001 RAV 4 ECU CAME OUT WITH A PROBLEM BUT NEVER GOT A RECALL NOW THE TOYOTA COMPANY ARE NOT TAKING ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS IS THERE ANYONE THAT CAN HELP ME WITH THIS PRO THANK YOU THERE IS A WEBSITE WHERE YOU CAN SEE ALL THE PEOPLE COMPLAINING BOUT THE SAME PROBLEM I HAD IT SEEMS THAT TOYOTA HAS KNOWN ABOUT THIS PROBLEM BUT NEVER DID ANYTHING ABOUT ITHTTP://WWW.CARCOMPLAINTS.COM/TOYOTA/RAV4/2001/TRANSMISSION/PROBLEMS_SHIFTING.SHTML. *TR

FALL '08 2001 TOYOTA RAV4 BEGAN STALLING UNEXPECTEDLY WHILE CHANGING GEARS BETWEEN 2 AND 3 RPMS. SUDDEN JERKS AND HALTS OCCUR AFTER COMING TO COMPLETE STOPS AND ATTEMPTING TO ACCELERATE TO GO. DIAGNOSTIC TEST CLAIMS SOLENOIDS BUT TOYOTA DEALERSHIP SUGGESTS REPLACING ECM AND/OR TRANSMISSION. AN EXPENSE OF ABOUT $4500 WITHOUT GUARANTEE OF FIXING THE PROBLEM. EXTREMELY DANGEROUS WHEN DRIVING IN HIGHWAY, KEEPING UP WITH TRAFFIC PACE SUDDENLY HALTS AND LOOSES POWER. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 TOYOTA RAV4. WHEN ATTEMPTING TO ACCELERATE, HE EXPERIENCED GEAR FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER AND THE TRANSMISSION MODULE WAS REPLACED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 85000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 97335.

CIRCUIT BOARD FOR TRANSMISSION FAILED AND VALVE. *TR

OUR 2001 TOYOTA RAV4 RECENTLY STARTED SHIFTING VERY HARD AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. I TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALER AND STARTED TO DO SOME RESEARCH. THE CAR WAS VERY DANGEROUS TO DRIVE AS THERE WERE LARGE HESITATIONS BEFORE THE NEXT GEAR WOULD CATCH. I FOUND OUT THAT TOYOTA PUT OUT TSB TC002-06 IN REGARDS TO A DEFECTIVE ECM COMPUTER THAT CONTROLS THE TRANSMISSION. OUR ECM DID NEED TO BE REPLACED, BUT TOYOTA NEEDS TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE. THEY SHOULD BE REPLACING THIS PART FOR FREE. TOYOTA HAS ADMITTED THE PART IS DEFECTIVE, YET WILL NOT STAND BEHIND THEIR PRODUCT. THE DAMAGES TO OUR CAR DUE TO THIS COMPUTER COULD HAVE COST IN EXCESS OF $5,000 TO REPAIR. *TR

I HAVE NOT BEEN INJURED, BUT BELIEVE THE ISSUE WITH MY TRANSMISSION IS NOT ONLY A MANUFACTURER'S DEFECT, BUT POSES A SAFETY ISSUE DEPENDING ON THE SEVERITY. THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF OTHERS EXPERIENCING THIS SAME ISSUE WITH THEIR TOYOTA RAV4S THAT WERE PRODUCED BETWEEN THE YEARS 2001-2003. A DEFECTIVE COMPUTER PART IS CAUSING DAMAGE TO THE TRANSMISSION, ULTIMATELY DESTROYING THEM IF NOT CAUGHT EARLY AND REPLACED AT A COST OF $1200! IN MANY CASES, THE TRANSMISSION STILL NEEDS TO BE REPLACED AT AN ADDITIONAL COST OF AROUND $3500 OR MORE. IT IS SICKENING THAT A COMPANY SUCH AS TOYOTA WOULD NOT RECALL THIS PART AND COVER THE COST OF MALFUNCTIONS! IT IS A SAFETY ISSUE, AS YOU NEVER KNOW HOW SEVERE THE LURCHING AND SKIPPING OF THE TRANSMISSION WILL BE. IT CAN COME OUT OF NOWHERE AND THAT CERTAINLY CREATES THE POTENTIAL FOR ACCIDENTS. I THINK THIS ISSUE IS ON THE RISE BECAUSE IT TENDS TO HAPPEN WITH HIGHER MILE VEHICLES. I TRULY HOPE MORE CONSUMERS WILL FILE COMPLAINTS SO THAT TOYOTA WILL BE FORCED TO STAND BEHIND THEIR PRODUCT. I AM GLAD THAT I HAVE HEARD OF NO REPORTED INJURIES AT THIS POINT-I HOPE THAT REMAINS THE CASE. *TR

ACCELERATION FREQUENTLY HESITATES CAUSING DRIVER TO PULL OUT INTO TRAFFIC WITHOUT POWER. THIS PROBLEM HAS RECENTLY GOTTEN WORSE AND HAPPENS EVERY TIME I DRIVE. INTERNET RESEARCH SUGGESTS A BAD ECM IS CAUSING THE PROBLEM. *TR

I HAVE A TOYOTA RAV4 2001 CAR. ITS AN AUTO TRANSMISSION WITH 117,000 MILES ON IT. SUDDENLY ABOUT 10 DAYS AGO I STARTED FEELING THE HARSH SHIFTING / BUCKING / JERKING WHILE TAKING THE CAR. I THEN WENT TO A NEAR BY TOYOTA DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TEST AND WHAT THEY HAVE FOUND WAS A FAULT CODE P0755 (HARSH SHIFT AND/OR M.I.L. ?ON? DTC P0750/P0753/P0755/P0758/P1760) WHICH IS BASICALLY RECOMMENDING TO REPLACE THE ENGINE CONTROL MODULE. I THEN SEARCHED ABOUT THIS FAULT CODE ON THE INTERNET I ENDED UP ON A WEBSITE (HTTP://WWW.CARCOMPLAINTS.COM/TOYOTA/RAV4/2002/TRANSMISSION/PROBLEMS_SHIFTING.SHTML) WHERE I COULD SEE NUMEROUS SIMILAR COMPLAINTS. IT LOOKS LIKE TOYOTA HAS MADE A FAULT ECM AND HAVE INSTALLED IN SO MANY RAV4 (B/W 2001 - 2003 MODEL YEAR), WHICH MADE SO MANY CUSTOMERS LIKE US TO GO THROUGH A LOT OF SERVICE EXPENSES. PLEASE DO THE NEEDFUL SO THAT TOYOTA MAKES A REIMBURSE THE EXPENSES FOR ALL THE CUSTOMERS WHO HAS GONE THROUGH SOME FINANCIAL BURDEN DUE TO THIS. *TR

MY '01 TOYOTA RAV4 BEGAN EXPERIENCE SHIFTING PROBLEMS IN AUG07, IT WOULD NOT SHIFT PROPERLY, AND WOULD SUDDENLY SLAM INTO GEAR. THIS HAPPENED SPORADICALLY ON AND OFF, CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WOULD GO ON AND OFF. DUE TO THIS PROBLEM, IT MADE IT VERY DANGEROUS TO MERGE ONTO HIGHWAYS, AS I'M TRYING TO ACCELERATE AND THE CAR WON'T GO BEYOND 1ST GEAR, AND THEN ONCE I'M RUNNING, IT SLAMS INTO GEAR, ALMOST CAUSING ME TO HIT THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME. IN NOV07, BASED ON A NOTICE FROM TOYOTA, I SENT CAR TO DEALER TO GET ECM REPROGRAMMED. APPARENTLY THIS WAS CAUSING THE PROBLEM. WELL, IT DID NOTHING. SO IN JUNE08, AS THE PROBLEM GOT EVEN WORSE, I SENT IT BACK TO DEALER. THEY SAID I NEEDED THE ECM REPLACED, THIS CAUSED MY CAR TO GET WORSE. SO A WEEK LATER, I TOOK IT TO A TRANSMISSION SPECIALIST TO GET TRANSMISSION REBUILT. *TR

2001 RAV 4 TRANSMISSION NOT SHIFTING RIGHT. JUST STARTED TO HAPPEN. CANNOT DRIVE THE CAR, I DO NOT HAVE THE MONEY TO FIX IT. DEALER AND ANOTHER GARAGE SAID IT NEEDED A NEW TRANSMISSION. I GUESS THAT RAVS HAVE THIS PROBLEM AND TOYOTA WON'T ACKNOWLEDGE THE FACT THAT THEY DO AND KEEP SELLING THEM AND PEOPLE KEEP GETTING RIPPED OFF. *TR

AS DESCRIBED BY MANY OTHERS THAT OWN A TOYOTA RAV-4 (2001) , MY CAR EXPERIENCED MAJOR PROBLEMS SHIFTING. AFTER RESEARCHING THE PROBLEM, I DISCOVERED THAT IT WAS DESCRIBED IN A SERVICE BULLETIN RELEASED BY TOYOTA. I TOOK MY CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP AND DEMANDED THAT THEY REPLACE THE ECM INSTEAD OF SIMPLY RESETTING IT AS THEY WERE PLANNING ON DOING. THE PROBLEM HAS NOT RETURNED TO DATE, BUT HAD IT NOT BEEN FOR THE INFORMATION PROVIDED BY OTHERS (ON VARIOUS WEBSITES), I WOULD NOT HAVE KNOWN TO MAKE THIS REQUEST. I WAS LUCKY THAT MY VEHICLE WAS UNDER THE SPECIFIED MILEAGE AND THAT THE COSTS WERE COVERED BY THE WARRANTY. *TR