Purchased the 2002 Toyota Rav4 for $6000 from a 'reputable' mechanic. His nephew owned it. Mechanic did all the work on it while it was owned by nephew. Nephew owned it for 2 years. I purchased it in May 2014. February 2015 the transmission went out. Through much research & digging found a recall on it. Toyota stated they fixed it in 2007. Further investigation show 2001 - 2003 Rav4's are a pieces of junk. This car was taken in from the previous owner to have the 'shifting issues' looked at in March 2012. Said nephew owned it at that time. Noone can tell me the mechanic & the nephew didn't know there was going to be problems with the transmission. February 16, 2015 the car stopped in the middle of the road. Had towed to my mechanic, we will call him [xxx]. [xxx] said it was the transmission, he could take the tranny out & send it to his transmission guy for repairs. Total estimate: $ 3800. Called the previous owner, he 'oh, I'm sorry'. fast forward to today, April 27, 2015. The car has been at the mechanics for 2 1/2 months. Transmission has been rebuilt. Had to reprogram the ECM. Have gone through 3 ECM's, the transmission is still slipping between 2nd & 3rd gears. [xxx] & the tranny guy tells me it is the computer. Computer company says it is the tranny. So my car just sits at my mechanics shop. It can run but if I run it I risk ruining the transmission & it not being covered under warranty. Up until this point I have forked out $4100 for the repairs. (doesn't include the loan I had to take out for the car). Today I am going to take the car in & demand it gets fixed by this weekend, if it doesn't I'm going to have to take them to small claims court to get my money back so I can have it repaired properly. The two people I am doing business with are small business owners. I don't want to take them to court but they are forcing my hand. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Ripon, WI, USA

Transmission slips between gear 3 and 4.

- Collinsville, IL, USA

My Rav4 started having issue with the transmission. I brought it to a Toyota dealer in escanaba, Michigan and they told me I needed a transmission and a brain and the cost was over $4,000. I could not afford at the time so I waited a short time before I could get a loan to repair. After it was repaired, it started acting up again and I brought it back to the dealer in escanaba and they told me it was the motor this time and I had done something. It wasn't the motor. When the transmission was installed, they broke the flywheel, bent the crankshaft and the transmission pump was welded to the transmission. The dealer repaired for free this time. Now, the transmission is leaking in two different areas. I have had months without a vehicle and lots of expenses incurred. I am very disappointed in my Rav4 and the dealership in escanaba.

- Manistique, MI, USA

Car seemed to struggle getting to 1st gear then lurched into 4th gear. Struggled to get it driven to the dealership. Ended up being a failure of electronic control module (ECM), failed code po 755. This was covered under a warranty enhancement of a NHTSA id#10037585 known problem that expired after 10 years from purchase or 150,000 miles. I purchased the car new in 2003 from the same dealership that did the repair. Toyota corporate office would not offer any help in fixing this known malfunction problem even though my mileage was less than 43,000 miles. I feel a known safety issue should be addressed in some way by Toyota beyond their stringent time limits. 1-9-2015 cost to replace ECM...$1,435....with no guarantees it did not ruin the transmission.

- Clearwater, FL, USA

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.

- Elkview, WV, USA

My daughter purchased a used 2002 Rav4 as her first car in 2010. It had engine and transmission problems within months of purchasing. She also had transmission issues where it would not go into gear or it would act sluggish while driving on the California freeways. It was very dangerous, especially for a young driver. We learned of the class action suit for this issue and got on board with it. Unfortunately we lost, as we knew we would, since Toyota does not want to stand behind its warranties or technical service bulletins. We paid for a transmission replacement so she could safely drive this vehicle and the tsb clearly states that any prior out-of-pocket repairs related to this issue would be reimbursed. Even though we eventually had the ECM and transmission replaced at their expense, she was to be reimbursed for the prior work done but was not. We will never purchase another Toyota product. Too many recalls and issues. And they do. Not. Honor. Their. Agreements. I know we aren't the only ones....there are legions of dissatisfied consumers. Something this dangerous should be addressed. Never had these problems with Ford or Pontiac vehicles.

- Meadville, PA, USA

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 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.

- Elkview , WV, USA

My wife was driving to a doctor's appointment and, while on the "on ramp" to the interstate, the car would not shift from 2nd to third gear (it's an automatic trans). With the engine revving she looked down to check to assure it was in drive about the time it lurched into 3rd, then soon lurched into 4th. Coming home she shifted between drive and neutral to try to maintain a safe speed, save the transmission and engine, while allowing her to get home. The dealership quoted $989 to replace the ECM (computer), but couldn't assure the transmission wouldn't later need to be replaced. Toyota corporate was not helpful. I had records from the previous car owner that Toyota issued an extended warranty to replace the ECM for 10 years or 150,000 miles as a result of a class action suit, "if they felt it was warranted." I also had documentation that the ECM was "reprogrammed" at 72K miles. My contention was the ECM should've been replaced, not reprogrammed, but was told that the reprogramming was done to correct a different problem. I asked if I could speak to someone else at corporate and was told everyone would give me the same response since it is their company position. The internet is full of owners who replaced the transmission first, only to find the ECM caused the newer transmission to fail also, or owners who replaced the ECM only to find that the transmission also needed replacement. It is obvious that Toyota is aware of the problem. I believe they have failed to adequately protect owners by creating a recall to allow owners to get this fixed prior to scary and potentially dangerous shifting problems. The internet is also full of people who claim to want to enter another class action suit, but I am hoping Toyota appreciates their customers enough that law suits wouldn't be required to get them to do the right thing. But, I'm losing hope.

- Huntersville, NC, USA

The contact owns a 2002 Toyota Rav4. The contact indicated that the vehicle failed to shift to reverse. The contact had to make several attempts and was able to change gears. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who diagnosed that the ECM and the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 216,000.

- Crystal Beach, TX, USA

Going from a very slow speed or from stop it has a hard time getting out of first and or second. I will jerk or shift very harshly. Sometimes it feels like I've been rearended. As it's picking up speed in the 15-25 mph range it will start to slow on it's own when I'm still giving it gas. It feels like there's a rubberband in the transmission stretching and as it gets tight it's slowing down then it will just release and then comes the harsh or violent shift. If I can catch it at the right time and let off the gas, that will most of the time negate the harshness. It is probably not safe to be driving it but I do not have a choice at this point. Toyota told me it may need a new chip at about $900 and if that doesn't work, it will need a new transmission!! I'll just be as careful as I can and not pull out in front of traffic.

- Pascagoula, MS, USA

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 for the transmission and I gave him $400 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.

- Elkview, WV, USA

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 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.

- Elkview, WV, USA

Transmission partially and also completely slips in reverse. ECM and transmission replaced for same issue in 2010. Contacted Toyota - customer service refused to acknowledge problem despite being given information on their class action settlement that was granted final approval on January 6, 2012. I feel this is a public safety issue if the manufacturer (Toyota) is not following their agreement (milligan V. Toyota motor sales U.S.a., Inc.). we were never notified by Toyota of the issue.

- Sanford, NC, USA

Transmission slips in reverse - brought to dealership - ECM and transmission replaced - spent $4,997.42 to replace. Investigation done now on recurrence showed this to be a known issue and Toyota was supposed to notify us (we were never notified), and reimburse. They now refuse to reimburse nor acknowledge this problem is known. July 2014 same issue -but worse recurring with replacement ECM and transmission from dealer. Toyota refuses to acknowledge problem when contacted. Concern this is appearing very common in internet searches that this is a known public safety issue.

- Sanford, NC, USA

I was beginning to pull onto the interstate highway 75 in venice, Florida, when the car started bucking uncontrollably and I could not get up to speed to merge into traffic. It then jerked into gear and I went on. It seemed to have a problem shifting into 3rd gear. It seemed to happen when pulling away from a stop light as well. I took it to a transmission shop, who put his computer diagnostic on it. He said the computer was not showing as bad, so he rebuilt the transmission. I got the car back and it started doing the exact same thing! I took it back, he rebuilt it again, still with no bad computer codes showing. Still not functioning correctly, even though he had replaced the burned 3rd gear. I paid $2200 for this. Now it needs a $950 computer! it is a 2002 and I read online that these vehicles had a transmission issue and owners were reimbursed for this. Mine did not act up until this point. wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/13/Toyota-extends-warranty-on-troubled-2001-3-Rav4/. I am a single father raising a young daughter. I need this car to take my daughter to school safely and to get to my job. How can I get reimbursed for this problem? I love my Rav4 and want to keep it. I bought the Toyota because everyone says they will run forever, but I can't afford issues like this. I take good care of this car. I have had Jeep and other cars up to 300,000 miles and never had transmission issues. Thank you so much.

- Englewood, FL, USA

Several times during the week of June 2, 2014, my check engine light went on and off periodically. I had my mechanic check the codes, but she found nothing wrong. On June 13, 2014 I was driving N. on highway 101 near redwood city, ca. It was about 6P.M. in good weather; I was in stop-and-go commute traffic. I had slowed to a stop in the far left lane, of 5 lanes, due to slow traffic. When traffic began to move again, I accelerated and the transmission seemed to be "slipping"; I revved the engine, but there was no power going to the wheels. There were many cars behind me blowing their horns. Then the car began to "clank" and "chug" and it sounded like the transmission was grinding. I turned on my emergency flasher lights and pulled very slowly over to the shoulder across 5 lanes of traffic! I had several near accidents, but I made it to the shoulder! the car would only go very slowly, but the loud noises stopped, so I pulled off the freeway at the nearest exit (which was very close). I would have stayed on the shoulder if the car was still "clanking" from the transmission area, but the noise had subsided. I felt that there was a serious mechanical (transmission) problem with my car. I called my daughter and asked her to drive to my location. I was going to call for a tow truck when she arrived. She arrived in about 45 minutes. I restarted the car and put it into "drive" and accelerated gently. The car sounder perfectly normal, and accelerated at a normal speed with plenty of power. We decided to try to slowly drive the car home if it continued to drive normally. We got home fine, but just as I was pulling into my parking lot, the car made loud noises again and lurched a few times as I pulled in the driveway. I had the car towed to the nearest Toyota dealer the next day. That's when I began to discover all the problems rav 4's had had with class action's&ECM failures.

- Santa Clara, CA, USA

Defective engine control module (ECM). As a result of sending the wrong signal to the transmission, it got ruined and the transmission had to be rebuilt. If there was a recall on the ECM for the 2002 Toyota Rav4, I was not aware of it, or I still did not owned the vehicle.

- Allentown, PA, USA

I was driving West on northgate way toward meridian avenue. The car (automatic transmission) failed to shift gears and almost stopped in the middle of the intersection near I5 northbound entrance. I continued to drive to meridian way and turn left. I pulled over to the curb on meridian way and turned the car off. I then restarted the car and drove home to wallingford (3 miles) by pacing the car so that I did not have to interact with other vehicles. (this occurred early on a Sunday morning so traffic was light.) I was barely able to drive the car up my driveway - shifting continued to be a problem so that the car stalled and did not respond to the accelerator. Toyota has a document that describes the problem. However I cannot access any assistance from Toyota because the car has been in service greater than 10 years. The experience was very frightening. The failure is episodic and unpredictable. I feel Toyota should replace the ECM in any car that fails in this manner. There are technical service reports on the website. The warranty is limited to 10 years or 150,000 miles, whichever occurs first.

- Seattle, WA, USA

We bought this car off my mom (who was the original owner and has taken immaculate care of it!) just two months ago! out of nowhere the car started to experience "hard shifting". because it couldn't shift like it should, it was a road hazard/safety issue! we took it into the Toyota dealership that very day. They told us it was the ECM and maybe even the transmission! the approx. Cost would be $1,100 to replace the ECM, and thousands more if it was the transmission. They said they would have it done by Tuesday (christmas eve.) I started researching the problem because it didn't make sense that this car that had such low miles would have this problem. Well, I found out this is a widespread problem with the Rav4. Toyota knows about it and has not recalled this part! there was even a lawsuit against them, but that only led to an extension of the warranty to 10 years or 150,000 miles, whichever comes first! our car only has 88,900 miles but because it is 11 years old, it won't be covered by a warranty! we are out $1,180 right at christmas time! and they did not get the car fixed until Dec. 27th! (kind of puts a damper on christmas plans when you don't have your car!):( I called Toyota in hopes that they would help us because they know this part is faulty, but I was met with an unsympathetic response! basically, "its out of warranty so it won't be covered!" Toyota needs to recall this part, and reimburse those who have already had to fix it, not only because it is their moral obligation to do so, but also because someone could be killed if they don't! please recall this part, be decent human beings, instead of being worried about your bottom line! there are more important things than money, Toyota! as mad as I am about being out the money to fix this problem (that Toyota knew about) I am glad that I am only out the money, rather than mourning the loss of a loved one.

- Pleasant Grove , UT, USA

When I was driving about 40mph the car would lurch, not all the time, but every so often. When I was backing up the car would make a clunking noise. I took my car to have the transmission repaired with my mechanic, it was repaired but the local but he said that if the computer part of the transmission isn't dealt with, it would happen again. I went to the Toyota dealership with the recall paperwork that my mechanic printed out for me and they said that 10 years have passed and they wouldn't honor the recall.

- Hacienda Heights, CA, USA