I too as of 1 week ago started having trouble with my 2002 toyota rav4 transmission. I'm having all the same problems that are listed here on this websight. The transmission slipping, not shifting,cutting in and out while you are pulling out in traffic. This is definitly a safety issue, and what bothers me the most is toyota is not trying to recall or rectify the problem. I bought a toyota for it's reliability, I only have 106,000 miles on my rav 4 and I expect the transmission to last a lot longer then that.What happened to the companies you could trust to make quality products and take care of problems that arose to the customers satisfaction? I guess thats a thing of the past. All I know is this "I am never buying another toyota" and I'm not just saying that ."I AM NEVER BUYING ANOTHER TOYOTA AGAIN!"

I just purchased a 2002 Rav4 from some weasels at a local used car lot in June/2009. Was not aware of the transmission issues until now. I've only owned this car for 2 months and I noticed the jerking/hesitating when car is just getting going for the day, usually from 2-3rd gear. Took to a mechanic and had the transmission fluid flushed for $140.00 thinking that would help.

Found a website, www.toyotaownersonline.com and put in my VIN to see if this car had any service record history show up. Sure enough, in Dec. of 2008 it shows that the ECM was replaced under warranty.

Obviously this is not the final solution, since I am still noticing hesitation in the shifting. Guess I've been taken for a sucker. Just my luck. I just wanted a good reliable car, but it looks like I'm out 10k for getting a lemon. Here's to hoping Toyota will have some compensation down the road...

I am a loyal toyota owner as well and have owned several in my life so far. I bought the new 2002 toyota rav4 back in 02 and was very happy with the truck. I did all the necessary fluid changes and kept up with the every day maintenance on the truck. In may of this yr just when i reached 120k miles the truck began to hesitate when i pressed on the gas almost like the emergency brake was on. Shifting became a problem, always between 1 and 2 rpms. Once the truck gets moving there is no issue only from dead stop. It has gotten way worse. I had the tranny fluid flushed 2 times already by the same guy. When i brought this truck in to the another mechanic he said the fluid was burnt and the solenoids were not shifting the truck right there was a lot of gunk and bad fluid in there but by changing all the fluid it might not help. He told me it looked like nobody ever changed the fluid at all. Next time i do this im going to sit there and watch them do it because i think it was never actually done and i even paid for this service. Never went back to that mechanic. Well after 2 changes of all the fluid the truck shifted ok but went right back to the same thing. I was quoted at $3500 for a new tranny and $900 for a new ecm to make this all go away. I dont have that kind of money. Toyota will not do anything about this, they told me to contact the dealer. Im not under warranty anymore so i would have to pay for a rebuilt tranny costs about $2000. Im trading this truck in this weekend and im never buying a toyota again. Why hasnt there been a recall yet on this there are so many darn complaints!!

Update from Sep 21, 2010: Well i was not aware that my wife brought in the rav4 in 2007 for the 601 ecm recall and had it reprogrammed. That was at 107,000 miles. This issue started after that so Toyota actually casued the problem with their faulty electronics. I just got back my 2002 Toyota rav4 this am. Under the new 150,000 10yr extended warranty Toyota installed a new ECM and computer in the truck. It now runs at 96%. I still need to do a transmission fluid flush and add the additive to help the shifting get back to 100%. It took the california emission control board to step in and make toyota be accountable. They did not do this on their own to be courteous. I still will never buy a Toyota again...EVER. I recommend you all stay away.

My 2002 Toyota Rav4 started slipping and jolting as I drove in local traffic. I took it to the dealer where it was purchased and also where just six months earlier my extended warranty expired. I was told that the ECM and the transmission had to be replaced for over $6000. I was quite upset because I had reported problems with the transmission and the Check Engine light while the car was under warranty. Each time I took it in, while under warranty, they could not find a problem, or they made minor adjustments. The car would drive fine for a while and than suddenly the slipping and jolting of the transmission was just too much to ignore. I declined having my car fixed at the location where it had been serviced. I called Toyota Headquarters in California to present the concern and ask for some assistance. They politely but firmly offered me no help. I ended up taking my car to another Toyota dealer who gave the same diagnosis but charged around $5000 for replacing the ECM and transmission. I just had the ECM replaced at $1500 and drove it away. Now the car is somewhat better but still jolts when I drive in 2nd and 3rd gear. By the way, when I spoke to Toyota Headquarters, I was told that they had received no significant number of complaints about the ECM/transmission problem in the Rav4. I hope everyone will contact them if they have or are experiencing this problem. Maybe we can get a class action suit started.

My 2002 Toyota Rav4 began having problems shifting in January 2009. It was intermittent, and wasnt cause for concern until July 2009. At that time, the car would balk, chug, make clunking noises whenever I drove it. The check engine light finally came on at that time. I took it to a service technician, and he replaced the transmission fluid and the solenoids in the transmission. I then took it to a Toyota dealer, who told me the ECM had to be replaced. After spending $1500 to replace the ECM, they told me the transmission was damaged and had to be replaced for $3500.

After doing some research, I find out that Toyota has known about this problem since 2006. It is a serious safety issue when entering traffic, or trying to move from a stop light or stop sign, as you dont know when the car is going to shift into gear or not. Toyota has not issued a recall, nor has not done anything to resolve the issue.

$5000 is unacceptable to spend on a common problem which has been known for 3 years!

I've dealt with this inconvenience since September 08 since I couldn't get Toyota to fix it & I was unemployed. It progressively got worse and I intermittently controlled it with acceleration (or lack thereof), until one day I literally coasted into my driveway and now it's no longer drivable. I will attempt to guilt Toyota into accepting some responsibility & at least give me a decent trade-in value and buy another Toyota. If they don't offer something relatively close to a fair deal (I'm not holding my breath), I'll be buying a Honda. I realize I'm only one person and I mean nothing to the Toyota empire, but I'm not giving up without trying something. This whole situation is wrong!

The first sign of any kind of trouble was that the engine SHUT OFF COMPLETELY, on the parkway on a drive out of town (light luggage,) and would not restart immediately. Brakes and steering extremely sluggish. Had we been travelling at higher speeds in denser traffic we would have had NO accident avoidance measures, and we had NO WARNING of the problem. Rolled to pull over, after some time was able to restart and crawl to dealer.

Dealer claimed it could find no problem either by diagnostics or driving. Kept car for nearly a week. Suggested we might need to replace the transmission, and perhaps the ECM, but didn't tell us about the warranty--wanted to charge $3-5000. Never mentioned the obviously well-known and really dangerous ECM/transmission problem and sent us back on the road. Wanted to replace the transmission before the ECM, which as everyone here knows now just sets up another transmission for destruction by the faulty ECM. Now very difficult to believe they weren't hoping we'd end up outside the extended warranty (8 years/80K miles) before total fail, or that we'd pay to replace the transmission before that.

Car shut off again, finally restarted, in stop-and-go traffic 1.5 weeks later, back to the dealer, which couldn't repeat the problem and again never mentioned the ECM/transmission problem or the warranty. Dealer finally declared it found a damaged "transmission chip" (I think this is one of the "solenoids" people talk about here) and charged $300 to replace it. Suggested again that we might need to replace the transmission at some point.

Right after chip replacement--transmission (acceleration, maintaining speed) hesitating and gimpy, but subtle enough to drive through. On drive out of town (light luggage + extra person) hesitations became jerks and then the bucking or hiccups that others have mentioned, IN 60 MPH traffic. Terrified of another total shut-down, we turned back to the dealer, who still has the car today (5 days later). Dealer said yesterday it would replace the ECM under the extended warranty bec. we are at 7 years/60K miles, but today said they "made a mistake," "had the wrong car," and has refused to replace the ECM under the warranty. Insists we "get permission" from Toyota for this repair under the ext warranty.

Lessons: (1) Put NO MONEY into these cars, unless you are outside the ext warranty and are paying ONLY to REPLACE the ECM and willing to risk potential costs if the transmission is damaged. (2) This car is potentially extremely dangerous, as several people have mentioned. Dead stops in highway-speed traffic are at some point going to KILL SOMEONE. Toyota and the dealers know this, and several appear to be careless of the lives and safety of 2002 RAV4 owners, and many are also looking to make some money off misdiagnosis and pointless major repair before addressing the problem. For this reason, I believe that the NHTSA needs to do a mandatory safety recall IMMEDIATELY for this make/model/year. (3) If you are looking at a used 02 RAV4, get part numbers for the old and new ECMs and insist on having an independent mechanic verify that you are buying a car w/ a new model ECM and that the transmission is not damaged. DO NOT buy the car w/ an old model ECM and/or a transmission that you have not had checked out.

I and my family have been life-long Toyota owners (35 years). It is extremely unlikely that I will ever buy a Toyota again. Lemons every now and then come with the territory--it is the way that the dealers and the company are treating the problem, now of hurricane proportions, that has probably made this the last Toyota I will ever buy.

First, I would really like to encourage everyone who has a 2002 Toyota RAV4 with failed ECM and transmission to go to the following Website and lodge a complaint: http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/

I am disgusted that in 2006 Toyota realized there was an issue with the ECM which could/would ruin the transmission. Instead of letting consumers know about this issue as soon as they realized, they sent a Technical Service Bulletin to dealerships and service areas, but failed to let their own customers know. I can only assume that the issue would have cost Toyota too much money. To me, it looks as though they swept a safety and financial issue under the carpet knowing that customers would have to eventually foot the bill for shoddy quality and unethical behavior. The most frustrating part about this issue is that the defect often does not rear its ugly head until owners are out of warranty and basically screwed.

According to Internet research, this problem generally starts around 90,000 miles and causes considerable danger with jerking and shifting problems. I started to have my shifting issues in November 2008. Feeling that the situation was hopeless since I was far out of warranty, I was so pleased to receive a notice from Toyota in January 2009 telling me that they would reprogram my ECM. Stupidly thinking that Toyota had taken responsibility, I went on my merry way and hoped that the transmission damage would not continue. Unfortunately, it did. Two weeks ago when my transmission failed for good, I was resigned to the fact that I would be paying $2200 to have it replaced/rebuilt; however, I was shocked to receive a phone call telling me that I have to replace the ECM. Apparently, the ECM reprogram notice was regarding a whole OTHER issue. WHAT??? I am in disbelief. Because of Toyota's underhanded, deceptive, immoral actions, I am out of pocket $3500 or so. I expect some issues with an older vehicle, but never saw this coming. Toyota has lost my respect. I am so upset and disgusted.

To add insult to injury, Toyota was out of ECMs when my transmission shop called them, because they have been replacing so many lately .... Seriously????

My goal in life now is to spread the word about Toyota products. I have filed with complaints.com, carcomplaints.com, Better Business Bureau and the Office of Defect Investigation, as well as calling Toyota twice. I have also created many lovely laminated signs with which to plaster my car. I am 36 years old and hopefully will have a long life left to complain about Toyota (well, long life if I discontinue driving Toyotas ... ).

As many of you other Rav4 owners, we are also experiencing the same problem with a defective ECM and jerking/hesitant shifting problem. Immediately after purchasing my vehicle 2 yrs ago, I received a SSC 60I notification. Since there was other work that the Toyota dealership had to perform, I took The SSC 60I with me on my next appointment which I gave to them. I assumed that it had been done.....but it wasn't. I continued getting other SSC 60I notifications. A month ago my vehicle started having problems in shifting on acceleration when taking off. I immediately contacted the Service Manager at the dealership, when I explained the problem I was having he said that the SSC 60I had never been done on the vehicle and to bring it in, and this should fix the problem. I took one of the SSC 60I notifications with me, and they insisted on doing a diagnostic test on the vehicle which would run $90. Being I was upset, I informed them that if the test proved it was the ECM then I would not have to pay for the diagnostic test. The mechanic came back and said the ECM was bad and I needed to replace it for a tune of $1,500 plus which of course I declined at that time after already spending 5 hrs in the shop. I asked him to simply perform the SSC 60I and he refused to do it. He said the ECM simply has to be replaced.

Like many of you, I purchased this vehicle thinking that Toyota vehicles had a good reputation and that I would have this vehicle for many years to come with little maintenance. Boy was I wrong.

Researching this particular problem I see there are hundreds and hundreds of complaints for the very same problem. From what I've read, reprogramming the ECM was not the solution, and Toyota is well aware of it but refuses to do anything about it. We called the Toyota Corporate Office Customer Relations. They acknowledged that the vehicle has never had the SSC 60I performed on it. We explained how the mechanic at the dealership refused to do the service campaign. He said that if the ECM was bad, they would replace it and Toyota would cover it in full. We explicitly asked him 3 times if we understood him correctly and 3 times he reiterated that it would not cost us anything. He said he would call the dealership and get back to us. When the Corporate Customer Relations Office called back, he changed his story and then said they would pay to replace the ECM but we'd be responsible for the $300 labor. The kicker is that we'd have to pay for it all upfront, then wait 7 to 10 weeks for a refund from Toyota for the ECM to the tune of $1,200. As a single mom, I simply can not afford to tie up that kind of money for their problem. They refused to give me this in writing. I feared that I would pay the $1,500 and then not receive a refund as was promised on the phone. I would have no recourse, nothing to prove our agreement. They simply would not give me anything in writing whatsoever. After all of this, do you blame us for not trusting their word?

I decided to escalate it higher and asked for the Executive Office but they refused to give me the number. I then researched and found that James Lentz is the President, located his phone number and called his home. His wife gave me the Executive Office number but I could not get it from Toyota Customer Relations Dept. I then called and left a voice message for James Lentz, President. The next day I received a call from one of his assistants. After going through our ECM experience with him, he said he would call the dealership and get back to us. I told him that we couldn't even get the number for their Executive Office, that we had to call the Lentz home to get the number. He said "Oh don't do that.......don't call Mr. Lentz at home". In my opinion, my problem is his problem so he should be made aware of it. If you want the phone numbers, feel free to email me at ad_deb1980@yahoo.com and I would be happy to provide them to you. (there is an underscore between ad and deb1980) Be sure to put "Toyota - Mr. James Lentz" in the subject line so that your email is not simply deleted.

We just now got off the phone with Mr. Lentz Executive Assistant Dave Drury and they are offering the same deal, I pay for everything upfront and they would reimburse me to replace their defective part but again "NOTHING IN WRITING".

We had previously found a company located in Brooklyn, NY at http://www.rav4ecm.net/ who will work on ECM or replace it with a working ECM for $420 plus shipping. They warrant the ECM for 100,000 miles whereas a new ECM from Toyota is only warranted for 50,000 miles.

Since it is easier to pay out $420 versus $1,500 and wait for a refund check that may never come, we will opt to go through the repair shop in Brooklyn. In my personal opinion, I think all of us who have a Rav4 with this specific problem should all be calling Mr. Lentz at home or at their Executive Office until they take care of this problem with the Rav4 ECM's at no cost to us. There should be a recall on every ECM in the 2001 to 2003 Rav4.

Also, each and every one of us should be filing a complaint to:

1) Better Business Bureau in your State 2) Attorney Generals Office - Consumer Protection 3) National Highway Safety Administration (there is a safety issue if your car stalls or hesitates at stop lights or on the interstate since some Rav4 owners have experienced near accidents)

Again if you want the phone numbers for Mr. James Lentz or the Toyota Executive Office, feel free to email me at ad_deb1980@yahoo.com and I would be happy to provide them to you. Remember there is power in numbers !!!! If you do nothing, you get nothing. We also have contacted an attorney to file a class action law suit, so if anyone is interested, feel free to send an email with "Toyota Class Action Lawsuit" in the subject line or the email may not be opened. We will need your full name, address and phone number, as well as your email address.

I am not going to let them get away with this without a fight.

I have a 2002 RAV4 2WD and it has 110K miles on it.Around 3-4 months back I go a letter from toyota saying that I need to take it to a dealer to get the ECM reprogrammed.Fair enough. Last month i got the check engine light and had to take it to a dealer. They said the thermostat was broken and had to replace. I had an extended warranty so I thought it would be covered barring the deductible of 200 dollars but I had to pay the entire 350 dollars because the warranty company wouldn't pay for extra labor charges they billed. 2 weeks later the car was jerking and stopping so i took it to AAMCO and they said I had to replace the transmission solenoid which costs 2200 including labor which was covered by the warranty. So i went ahead and got it replaced and a week later It started acting up and I took it back to AAMCO.They took a look at the solenoid and the entire transmission and said there was no problem without it but the problem lies with the RAV4 computer which will show problems after 80K miles.now I have to replace the computer and see what happens next.

I bought the RAV4 used and the jerky shifting and apparent lack of first gear started the NEXT day. I stumbled on this site after the dealership called and said I needed a shifting solenoid. It was at first horrible reading these posts thinking I had just blew 10k on a POS. Then I kept reading and following the progression of posts over time. I called the dealership and said I think the ECM needs to be replaced. I sent some of the posts from here and the next day found the TSB from Toyota. It implies that the tech should ignore what the computer diagnostic tells him and replace the brain. The dealership agreed and the solenoid was not replaced.

The new ECM did the job. The transmission is fine. It shifts beautifully. I drove hard around the city and hit 85 in the country. Too bad it took awhile for Toyota to nail the problem. It seems much $ was spent needlessly. As for me. No cost, new brain, life is good.

I bought my car new with 6 miles on it in 2002 thinking that it, like many toyotas my family has owned, would last at least 200k miles. Today on my way back home from work, my Rav started jerking and stalling every time I started to accelerate. I took it to the nearest auto shop I could find. The mechanic drove it around the block and said I would need a new transmission. They don't do that work there, so he referred me to a specialty shop. I drove there immediately as the car continued to stutter and stall. The guys there said they've seen this problem on Rav4's before. He gave me several estimates and what they could do to fix it. It ranged from having Toyota install a new transmission and computer ($3300), finding and installing a used transmission and ECM ($2500) or having them rebuild the transmission ($2400). If anyone knows which is the best fix for this problem, please let me know. actionstill(at)gmail.com

I bought this car because of my family and friends' experience with this brand's reliability. I can't believe I'm facing this problem. I bought this car even though it was more than what I wanted to pay for a vehicle at the time because I thought the expense would offset having to worry about maintenance issues down the line knowing that I had bought a 'Toyota'. I won't be making that mistake again. Now I'm reading about several other RAV4 owners with the same problem and it makes me even angrier. I plan on bringing up this issue with Toyota, the Florida State's Attorney, and media.

I bought this Toyota Rav 4 brand new in May 2002, I thought Toyota was a reliable car but I think I have changed my mine, This is my 4th Toyota and I have had so much trouble with this Rav 4. The transmission has gone out on this rav 4 for the 2nd time. The first time it went out the car was still under warranty, and Toyota rebuilt it. I had to make three trips to the dealership before they fixed it right. that was two years ago, and now the transmission has gone out for the second time.

I call Toyota Customer Service to complain and got no where, all they did was apologize and said it is up me to have it fixed. I really do need a dependable car, because I am on disability, I go to dialysis three times a week, not that I cannot afford to get this Rav 4 fixed I have to find someone to take me and pick me ups from dialysis. because public transportation is really awful here in SACRAMENTO.Having to depend on someone to drive you around is a real pain. By the way, I am still paying for this Rav 4, I leased it for 5 years, and then purchased it, since I had already put a lot of money in it.