NHTSA Complaint #10437988 — 2001 TOYOTA RAV4

MY VEHICLE WAS EXPERIENCING HARSH SHIFTING AND HARD ENGAGEMENT. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER TODAY AND WAS TOLD THE ECM NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. I DID SOME INTERNET RESEARCH AND DISCOVERED TOYOTA RECEIVED THOUSANDS OF COMPLAINTS REGARDING THIS ISSUE AS FAR BACK AS 2006 IN THE 2001-2003 MODELS. THEY EXTENDED THE WARRANTY TO 10 YEARS AND 150, 000 MILES. HOWEVER, MY VEHICLE IS 6 MONTHS BEYOND THE DATE (ONLY 103,000 MILES). I CONTACTED TOYOTA AND THEY WILL NOT PAY FOR ANY REPAIRS. IN ADDITION, I DISCOVERED THAT OWNERS HAD ISSUES WITH THE REPLACED EMC UNIT WITHIN 2 YEARS-CAUSING TRANSMISSION FAILURE OR REPEATED ECM FAILURE. I QUESTIONED TOYOTA AS TO WHY THIS WAS NOT A RECALL ISSUE. THEY COULDN'T TELL ME. IF IT HAD BEEN A RECALL ISSUE, TOYOTA WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE REPAIR AND NOT ME. IN ADDITION, HOW DO I KNOW THAT ONCE I HAVE MY CAR REPAIRED TODAY, THAT I WON'T HAVE THE SAME ISSUE OR WORSE IN 2 YEARS--LIKE MANY OTHER CUSTOMERS? TOYOTA SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO MAKE THIS A RECALL ISSUE--ESPECIALLY SINCE THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WITH THIS ISSUE. *TR