NHTSA Complaint #10557840 — 2002 TOYOTA RAV4

WE BOUGHT THIS CAR OFF MY MOM (WHO WAS THE ORIGINAL OWNER AND HAS TAKEN IMMACULATE CARE OF IT!) JUST TWO MONTHS AGO! OUT OF NOWHERE THE CAR STARTED TO EXPERIENCE "HARD SHIFTING". BECAUSE IT COULDN'T SHIFT LIKE IT SHOULD, IT WAS A ROAD HAZARD/SAFETY ISSUE! WE TOOK IT INTO THE TOYOTA DEALERSHIP THAT VERY DAY. THEY TOLD US IT WAS THE ECM AND MAYBE EVEN THE TRANSMISSION! THE APPROX. COST WOULD BE $1,100 TO REPLACE THE ECM, AND THOUSANDS MORE IF IT WAS THE TRANSMISSION. THEY SAID THEY WOULD HAVE IT DONE BY TUESDAY (CHRISTMAS EVE.) I STARTED RESEARCHING THE PROBLEM BECAUSE IT DIDN'T MAKE SENSE THAT THIS CAR THAT HAD SUCH LOW MILES WOULD HAVE THIS PROBLEM. WELL, I FOUND OUT THIS IS A WIDESPREAD PROBLEM WITH THE RAV4. TOYOTA KNOWS ABOUT IT AND HAS NOT RECALLED THIS PART! THERE WAS EVEN A LAWSUIT AGAINST THEM, BUT THAT ONLY LED TO AN EXTENSION OF THE WARRANTY TO 10 YEARS OR 150,000 MILES, WHICHEVER COMES FIRST! OUR CAR ONLY HAS 88,900 MILES BUT BECAUSE IT IS 11 YEARS OLD, IT WON'T BE COVERED BY A WARRANTY! WE ARE OUT $1,180 RIGHT AT CHRISTMAS TIME! AND THEY DID NOT GET THE CAR FIXED UNTIL DEC. 27TH! (KIND OF PUTS A DAMPER ON CHRISTMAS PLANS WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE YOUR CAR!):( I CALLED TOYOTA IN HOPES THAT THEY WOULD HELP US BECAUSE THEY KNOW THIS PART IS FAULTY, BUT I WAS MET WITH AN UNSYMPATHETIC RESPONSE! BASICALLY, "ITS OUT OF WARRANTY SO IT WON'T BE COVERED!" TOYOTA NEEDS TO RECALL THIS PART, AND REIMBURSE THOSE WHO HAVE ALREADY HAD TO FIX IT, NOT ONLY BECAUSE IT IS THEIR MORAL OBLIGATION TO DO SO, BUT ALSO BECAUSE SOMEONE COULD BE KILLED IF THEY DON'T! PLEASE RECALL THIS PART, BE DECENT HUMAN BEINGS, INSTEAD OF BEING WORRIED ABOUT YOUR BOTTOM LINE! THERE ARE MORE IMPORTANT THINGS THAN MONEY, TOYOTA! AS MAD AS I AM ABOUT BEING OUT THE MONEY TO FIX THIS PROBLEM (THAT TOYOTA KNEW ABOUT) I AM GLAD THAT I AM ONLY OUT THE MONEY, RATHER THAN MOURNING THE LOSS OF A LOVED ONE. *TR