NHTSA Complaint #10508084 — 2002 TOYOTA RAV4

IN 2009, 2010, AND 2011 MY 2002 TOYOTA RAV4 EXHIBITED SHARP, ROUGH SHIFTING INTO AND OUT OF GEAR, OFTEN WHEN ON THE FREEWAY. THE VEHICLE ALSO HAD A CHECK ENGINE LIGHT THAT REPEATEDLY CAME ON. I WAS INITIALLY ADVISED BY A NON-TOYOTA REPAIR SHOP THAT THE ISSUE WAS WITH THE TRANSMISSION AND IT HAD TO BE REPLACED. HOWEVER, UPON TAKING THE CAR TO A TOYOTA DEALERSHIP THEY STATED THE PROBLEM WAS WITH THE ECM. IN 2009 THEY RE-PROGRAMMED THE ECM, IN 2010 THEY RE-PROGRAMMED THE ECM AND IN 2011 (AFTER THE EXTENDED WARRANTY WAS ISSUED BY TOYOTA CORP) THEY REPLACED THE ECM. THEY NEVER DID ANY SERVICE ON THE TRANSMISSION. NOW IN APRIL 2013 JUST 17MONTHS AFTER THEY REPLACED THE ECM IT HAPPENS AGAIN AND THEY TELL ME I NEED A NEW TRANSMISSION AND I HAVE TO PAY FOR IT BECAUSE IT'S OUT OF THE EXTENDED WARRANTY. SINCE THE ECM WAS THROWING THE TRANSMISSION IN & OUT OF GEAR FOR 3 YEARS, ISN'T IT OBVIOUS THAT THE TRANSMISSION WAS DAMAGED BY THE ECM? IT WAS EVEN MENTIONED IN THE SERVICE BULLETINS THAT THE ECM WAS POSSIBLY CAUSING DAMAGE TO THE TRANSMISSION AND THE DEALERSHIPS MAY ALSO HAVE TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION AT THE SAME TIME THE ECM WAS REPLACED. YET BECAUSE THEY CHOSE NOT TO REPAIR OR REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION ON MY CAR IN 2011 WHILE IT WAS UNDER WARRANTY, I NOW HAVE TO PAY FOR WHAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE IN THE FIRST PLACE. TOYOTA HAS BEEN AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM SINCE 2006 YET THEY NEVER ISSUED A RECALL OR NOTIFIED OWNERS UNTIL A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT WAS FILED. TOYOTA NEEDS TO SATISFY THEIR CUSTOMERS BY ISSUING A RECALL AND ADMITTING THAT BOTH THE ECM AND TRANSMISSION NEED TO BE REPLACED ON ANY 2001-2003 RAV4 THAT EXPERIENCES ROUGH SHIFTING, OR SHIFTING IN & OUT OF GEAR, OR CODES THAT REFLECT A PROBLEM WITH THE ECM OR TRANSMISSION. THIS IS DANGEROUS FOR DRIVERS AND TOYOTA IS NEGLIGENT IN PREVENTING INJURIES AND DEATHS DUE TO A KNOWN DEFECT. *TR