NHTSA Complaint #10279031 — 2002 TOYOTA RAV4

MY 2002 TOYOTA RAV4 HAS BEEN INTERMITTENTLY NOT SHIFTING INTO GEAR. IT BALKS AND CLUNKS, AND EVENTUALLY SHIFTS. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE WHEN ENTERING TRAFFIC, BECAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW IF THE CAR WILL BE ABLE TO ACCELERATE TO THE SPEED OF TRAFFIC OR NOT. IT IS ALSO A SAFETY ISSUE AT STOP LIGHTS, BECAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW IF YOU WILL BE ABLE TO MAKE IT ACROSS THE INTERSECTION BEFORE THE LIGHT CHANGES OR NOT. THIS STARTED IN JANUARY 2009, BUT WAS NOT CONSISTENT. IN JULY, IT FINALLY CREATED A "CHECK ENGINE" CONDITION. I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO A REPUTABLE MECHANIC, AND HE CHANGED THE TRANSMISSION FLUID AND REPLACED SOLENOIDS, WHICH THE ENGINE CODE SUGGESTED. I THEN TOOK IT TO A TOYOTA DEALER, AND THEY REPLACED THE ECM, AT A COST OF $1500. THAT DID NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM, AND THEY SAY I NEED TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION FOR $3500. TOYOTA HAS KNOWN ABOUT THIS PROBLEM SINCE 2006, AND AT THAT TIME ISSUED A BULLETIN. HOWEVER, I FEEL THEY SHOULD HAVE ISSUED A RECALL DUE TO THE SAFETY ISSUES AND THE COST INVOLVED. *TR