NHTSA Complaint #10504441 — 2002 TOYOTA RAV4

ABOUT A WEEK AGO MY CAR BEGAN HAVING ISSUES SHIFTING GEARS. IF I PULLED INTO A TURN LANE I WOULD SLOW AND START CREATING A DANGER FOR BOTH ME AND OTHER DRIVERS. I TOOK MY CAR TO A TRANSMISSION SPECIALIST, WITH OVER 30 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE. HE LET ME KNOW THAT 2002 RAV4'S HAVE A RECALL ON THE COMPUTER THAT CONTROLS THE TRANSMISSION. HE ALSO SAID THAT IN CERTAIN CASES HE KNEW TOYOTA HAD REPLACED THE TRANSMISSION AS WELL. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP WHERE THE COMPUTER WAS REPLACED AND I WAS TOLD THAT THE TRANSMISSION HAD AN EXTENDED WARRANTY OF 10 YEARS OR 150,000 MILES. MY CAR WAS 19 MONTHS AND 10,000 MILES OVER THE EXTENDED WARRANTY. THE TRANSMISSION SPECIALIST LET ME KNOW THAT THE TRANSMISSION WAS DIRECTLY DAMAGED BY THE COMPUTER. WHEN I CALLED THE MANUFACTURER THEY LET ME KNOW THAT THEY DIDN'T AGREE WITH THE PROGRAM, THOUGHT THAT IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN A RECALL INSTEAD OF EXTENDED WARRANTY BUT THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO FOR ME. THE MANUFACTURER REPRESENTATIVE ALSO LET ME KNOW THAT THERE ARE OTHERS IN MY SAME SITUATION. *TR