NHTSA Complaint #10620672 — 2003 TOYOTA RAV4

VEHICLE DRIVEN BY ELDERLY WIDOWED MOTHER (JOSEPHINE BEASLEY, AGE 70) NO MORE THAN 6,200 MILES PER YEAR AND BEGAN EXPERIENCING HARSH SHIFT IN TRANSMISSION IN MARCH 2014. AAMCO INFORMED US THAT A MALFUNCTIONING ELECTRONIC COMPUTER MODULE (ECM) CAUSED THE DAMAGE TO TRANSMISSION. AAMCO TECHNICIAN NOTIFIED US THAT THE ECM REPAIR CLAIMS ARE COVERED UNDER A TOYOTA SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT (WWW.RAV4ECMSETTLEMENT.COM). REPAIR COST FOR TRANSMISSION $2,890 AND ECM PART $1,227.91 PAID FOR OUT OF POCKET. THE RAV4 WAS PURCHASED FROM CARMAX ON APRIL 18, 2009; ELDERLY MOTHER DOES NOT HAVE ACCESS OR UNDERSTANDING OF INTERNET. SHE DID NOT REALIZE THAT SHE HAD TO REGISTER THE VEHICLE WITH TOYOTA IN ORDER TO RECEIVE RECALL NOTICES OR ANY OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION PERTAINING TO HER VEHICLE FROM THE MANUFACTURER. CONTACTED TOYOTA CUSTOMER SERVICE AND THEY REFUSED TO REIMBURSE THE COST OF REPAIR AS THE VEHICLE EXCEEDED THE 10 YEAR IN SERVICE WARRANTY PERIOD EVEN THOUGH IT IS WITHIN 150,000 MILES LIMIT. WHEN SHE DROVE THE VEHICLE OFF THE CARMAX LOT IT HAD 44,213 MILES ON ODOMETER AND ON AUGUST 7, 2014, ODOMETER READING IS 75,374. SAD THAT THE ELDERLY ARE BEING TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF BECAUSE OF THEIR LACK OF TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE. *TR