2001 Toyota RAV4 transmission problems

Filed Mar 7, 2021 · Electrical, Transmission · 125,000 miles · AL

My2001rav4 with 125000 started jumping into gear also the RPM revs up but vechicle losses power very dangerous on highway transmission slipping and jerk into gears

Filed Mar 9, 2019 · Acceleration, Engine · 111,219 miles · CA · crash · 1 injury

My 2001 silver toyota rav 4 had a sudden unintended acceleration problem when I was decelerating to a complete stop at an already congested intersection with traffic lights. I was applying brake pressure from 20 MPH, down to 15,10,5, down to 2 MPH, coming to a complete stop, my rav 4 engine suddenly started to rev-up/race wildly and very loud in a matter of 3, or 4-5 seconds (the engine/RPM sounded similar one would hear when you would be accelerating entering a freeway via the entrance ramp). My rav 4 shot forward so fast like it was on some rocket launching pad. My foot was on my brake pedal almost to the car floor and I could not stop the car from moving into the back - and rear ending the car in front of me which was about 10-15 feet in front of me, that was stopped waiting for the light to turn green at the already congested stop light intersection. Damage was done to the rear end of the SUV door hatch and the attached tire mounted on the back of the SUV in front of me. Damage on my rav 4 was car hood folding back and up and my front upper and lower section of my bumper and plastic grill area. I immediately reported the unintended acceleration problem to t he toyota motor company the next day and they sent a 3rd party engineering analysis to examine my car. The investigator spent 4-5 hours examining my car and couldn't elaborate his findings but has submitted the information he was able to retrieve, back to the toyota motor co. Apparently, my 2001 rav 4 is a first generation model/version and didn't have the elaborate detailed edr devices installed in them, however some other device/devices, could possibly be retrieved? The final report by toyota taken by the 3rd party field engineering analysis will take 3-4 weeks from this report I have posted. A police report was filed (please see the scanned info- for further investigation).

Filed Mar 5, 2018 · Transmission · 120,000 miles · CA

My rav 4 2001 has about 140,000 miles on it and has developed a serious problem. To clarify, a massive acceleration problem is occurring when I've been driving the car for 15 to 20 minutes, then suddenly - while I'm at a stop light, the SUV's engine races wildly loud like what you hear at the indy 500... It jerked and felt like it internally controlled my accelerator foot pad! I had to apply a massive amount of pressure on the brake pad before I had a chance to quickly shift my car into park to prevent running over pedestrians and hitting cars in front of me at the stop light! My rav 4 engine was still racing loudly wanting to shoot forward like a rocket! I have had the faulty ECM replacement recall done when toyota issued a warning to have the rav4 ecu unit replaced several years ago. Now I'm experiencing this engine racing/acceleration problem with my rav 4. Will my local toyota service center charge me for the parts and the labor to fix this defective mechanical problem?

Filed Dec 20, 2017 · Transmission · 103,034 miles · IL

The rav4 would not shift. The transmission needed to be replaced

Filed Jul 2, 2017 · Transmission · CA

The ECM on my 2001 rav4 was calibrated in 2008 by a local dealer. Under recall 601. In 2008 the car had just over 63000 miles. It now has 124000 and the transmission is hard shifting again.

Filed Apr 20, 2017 · Transmission · 115,000 miles · CA

The automatic transmission is shifting irratically, sometimes it will take off slowly until the gear engages. Sometimes there is a clunking sound as the transmission shifts gears.

Filed Apr 6, 2017 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 135,000 miles · CA

My wife was driving car and it started doing strange changes with the transmission, such as slipping between gear changes and jerking movements. At one point, she told me getting on freway on ramp was a hazard, because of irratic behavior of transmission!!

Filed Nov 5, 2016 · Acceleration, Transmission · 63,192 miles · CA

My 2001 toyota rav4 has 63192 miles on it. It began exhibiting transmission/acceleration problems yesterday while driving my granddaughter from school, about a 2 mile round trip on city street traveling approximately 35-40mph. The car refused to pick up speed and began to jerk due to shifting/missing gears, all by its self. The car has an automatic transmission so should not exhibit these problems. I found out today that this was a known problem to toyota and there was a voluntary recall that I had no knowledge off. I contacted toyota and they refuse to assist with rectifying this problem saying the date for the recall has passed, but I was never notified of said recall to begin with. The problem just started and although the vehicle is 15 yo, it has always been immaculately maintained and serviced and only has 63k miles on it so should not be having any transmission issues. I want toyota to rectify this problem as it is a problem with their module and not due to the age or condition of the car. There have been many reports of this same issue with this exact vehicle year and model and toyota has knowledge of these issues. The car is not safe to drive and this should be addressed by toyota and fixed immediately. In an article found online, toyota admitted to this manufacturer defect and despite the defect, toyota did not offer any special warranty coverage. Instead, the bulletin said repairs would be covered under the federal emissions warranty of 80,000 miles or eight years from the time the vehicle was sold. But this is not an issue with the age of the vehicle and it has less than 80k miles on it, and it is due to a manufacturer defect which should be covered.

Filed Dec 14, 2015 · Transmission · 120,000 miles · CA

We were almost hit at a street light. Upon accelerating our car the engine died due the transmission or malfunction of the electric control module. We were lucky if the person behind had not slammed on brakes we would have been hit. Also the car has problems with shifting while drive on freeway. We always now stay in the slow lane because we fear to pass,

Filed Jun 7, 2015 · Transmission · 61,000 miles · CA

Have been experiencing harsh shifting for the last week or so but the most debilitating transmission problem occurred on 6/5/2015 while driving 35 MPH. I ended up driving directly home using "low" gear because I was afraid of damaging the car further. I am the original owner of this car and purchased it new in 2001. 7 years after purchase, back on 3/10/2008, it was serviced by toyota under a "special service campaign" where they reprogrammed the ECM under warranty. I imagine it was for the harsh shifting problem (see t-sb-0156-10). It has obviously come back 7 years later. Programming only good for 7 years?