NHTSA Complaint #10676954 — 2003 TOYOTA RAV4

I PULLED ONTO THE HIGHWAY, AND PUSHED THE ACCELERATOR DOWN TO GET INTO TRAFFIC, AND THE VEHICLE FAILED TO ACCELERATE INSTANTLY AS IT ALWAYS HAD DONE. THE TRANSMISSION SLIPPED, SLOWLY GETTING INTO GEAR, AND THEN ONLY GRADUALLY CAUGHT, CAUSING ME TO ALMOST GET HIT IN THE INTERIM BY AT LEAST ONE CAR AND A TRACTOR TRAILER. TOLD BY MY MECHANIC THAT THIS WAS UNUSUAL FOR TOYOTA TRANSMISSIONS, HE SAID I SHOULD GO ONLINE AND SEE IF THERE WERE ANY RECALLS FOR THIS TYPE OF PROBLEM. SURE ENOUGH, TOYOTA HAD, UNDER DURESS OF A LAW SUIT, ACKNOWLEDGED THE PROBLEM, AND HAD ISSUED AN EXPANSION OF THE WARRANTY ON THIS EXACT PROBLEM TO 10 YEARS OR 150,000 MILES. ON THE ONLINE DESCRIPTION OF THE TRANSMISSION/EMC PROBLEM, IT WAS STATED THAT THE PROBLEM USUALLY STARTED AROUND 80,000 MILES, WHICH IS WHAT MY 2003 RAV 4 HAS ON IT. AFTER FIRST CALLING TOYOTA HEADQUARTERS (TORRANCE, CA) TO GET THEM TO INCLUDE MY CAR UNDER THAT EXTENSION, THEY SAID THAT IT WAS TOO LATE AND THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO. I THEN SENT THEM A REGISTERED LETTER BEGGING THEM TO HELP ME, AS THE CAR WAS ESSENTIALLY A DEATH TRAP WITH THE SLIPPAGE INTO THE FIRST TWO GEARS, AND THEY RESPONDED WITH A LETTER TELLING ME TO CALL THEM BACK. THIS WAS FRUITLESS, AS THE REITERATED EXACTLY WHAT THE FIRST CUSTOMER SERVICE REP TOLD ME. I ASKED THEM TO PUT IT IN WRITING THAT THEY WOULD NOT STAND BEHIND THEIR PRODUCT FAILURE, WHICH THE REP SAID HE WOULD DO. I HAVE HEARD NOTHING FROM THEM SINCE THAT CALL LAST WEEK. I TOLD HIM I DID NOT GET ANYTHING FROM THEIR COMPANY TELLING ME, THE OWNER, THAT THIS PROBLEM IN THE POWER TRAIN EXISTED, AND THAT IT WAS UNFAIR THAT BECAUSE I BABIED THE CAR OVER THE YEARS I HAVE OWNED IT, THE 80,000 MILES JUST OCCURRED RECENTLY, PAST THE 2013 DATE THAT WAS IN THE NEW WARRANTY EXTENSION. IN OTHER WORDS, A PROBLEM THAT WAS KNOWN BY TOYOTA TO MANIFEST ITSELF AROUND 80,000 MILES PENALIZED ME IN THIS CASE. *TR