NHTSA Complaint #10296403 — 2002 TOYOTA RAV4

NO PROBLEMS WERE APPARENT UNTIL OVERNIGHT THE TRANSMISSION APPEARED TO BE SLIPPING. INDEPENDENT MECHANIC CITED FAILING TRANSMISSION AS PROBABLE ISSUE. TOYOTA DEALERSHIP STATED THE ECM/ECU WAS FAILING. TURNS OUT ECM WAS DEFECTIVE IN THE MODEL YEAR OF THIS VEHICLE. TOYOTA' RESPONSE WAS TO "REPROGRAM/REFLASH" DEFECTIVE ECM. THIS ONLY POSTPONEDTHE FAILURE OF THE ECM. THE DEFECTIVE ECM WOULD SEND INCORRECT CODES TO THE TRANSMISSION STUTTERING OR HALTING SHIFTS THUS LEAVING THE VEHICLE EFFECTIVELY IN NEUTRAL. THIS STUTTERING/SLIPPING QUICKLY DESTROYS THE TRANSMISSION. THE FAILURE OF THE ECM WOULD NOT ALLOW THE TRANSMISSION TO SHIFT WHICH PUT US IN DANGER OF BEING IN A REAR END COLLISION WHILE TRYING TO GET ONTO BUSY HIGHWAYS OR STALLING IN AN INTERSECTION. THIS OCCURRED MULTIPLE TIMES IN THE TRIP TO THE DEALERSHIP ALONE (THE VEHICLE WENT IN THE NEXT OPEN BUSINESS DAY AFTER THE FIRST OCCURRENCE). THE FAILURE OCCURRED IN THE FIRST THREE GEARS. THIS IS A VERY SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE WHICH WAS GIVEN AN INEFFECTIVE SOLUTION. THE DEALERSHIP REPLACED THE ECM AT A SIGNIFICANT COST TO THE CONSUMER. WHEN ASKED ABOUT THE DEFECTIVE ECM, THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT STATED THE REPLACEMENT OF THE ECM, ALTHOUGH AGREED TO BE DEFECTIVE, WAS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CONSUMER AND NOT TOYOTA. *TR