2001 Toyota RAV4: jerking or lurching

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 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 Jun 12, 2017 · 68,000 miles · CA

Driving car and it started jerking and then the check engine light went on tester showed it was related to ECM and transmission

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 May 27, 2015 · Transmission · 102,000 miles · MO

Vehicle shifts very harshly and jerks. I suspect it has something to do with the transmission and the electronic control module.

Filed Feb 12, 2015 · Electrical, Transmission · OH

I bought a toyota rav4 two weeks ago, and saw there was a recall on the engine control module, but assumed that toyota would replace it if mine needed replaced. My vehicle's ECM had been reprogrammed, so I assumed it would be fine. I was wrong. After about a week, my vehicle started shifting harshly, and I had to crawl along a busy expressway with my four-way lights on with cars flying past me. And I had to limp through intersections, then immediately stop my car from lurching forward -- what if a person had been walking across the intersection?? Toyota says my vehicle's too old to be covered under the recall to replace the ECM. Absolutely appalling. If their first recall obviously didn't work, owners should not have to pay for a huge mistake toyota made. It is only fair that this is covered for the lifetime of the car. It is not fair for people like myself who have to buy a used car. I don't know how this hasn't been investigated yet. It is obviously a safety issue seeing as the car crawls through busy intersections and someone could easily hit you. Or you could be trying to merge onto a highway and the car could refuse to accelerate and a car could hit you then. Or if it's a snowy or icy day and you try to climb a hill, you could easily not make it up the hill and roll backwards into the car behind you. Or the transmission could go out altogether suddenly, seeing as this is a known risk when the car starts shifting harshly. We should not have to wait for someone to die or be seriously injured before there is a recall for the lifetime of the vehicle for this huge problem. It is only by the grace of god that I haven't been injured or anyone else around me.

Filed Sep 11, 2014 · Driver assistance, Engine · 166,000 miles · CO

I was driving along and came to a stop. When I started to go, my rav had no power, then it lurched and almost stopped. I had to nurse it-slowly accelerate-in order for it to move. Every time I stopped and started it did this. Once it made a noise like a hard shift from the rear of the car. I had to put my emergency flashers on to drive it safely, and drove to a transmission shop. In speaking with them, they said that toyota has a known recall on this situation! The computer locks up the transmission. They called toyota and gave them my VIN, it has not been replaced. Its going to cost anywhere from $1500 to $5000 to fix, depending on if the transmission is actually messed up or if it is the computer causing the problem. He has to pull the transmission to check it first. If it is the computer they said about $1000. Who do I contact to get reimbursed for this recall? When I put my VIN number in your site, it says there are no known recalls. The internet says differently. I need help!

Filed Sep 27, 2013 · Acceleration, Fuel system · 104,568 miles · MD

Was entering a limited access highway and wanted to merge onto highway. When I pressed down on gas pedal to speed up, the car hesitated, lurched forward, stopped, and then shifted harshly once again. I had thought I gave myself plenty of room to enter but because of the possible transmission problem, my car almost ended in a car wreck - an approaching car had to take drastic moves in order to avoid hitting my car. I then found out that toyota knew about this problem with their ecms ruining these cars transmissions - something I was not aware, nor notified about. When I called them up - their toyota customer service line, I found out they still had my old address from 2005! Even though I've been going to my local toyota dealership for years and they had my latest data. Toyota says they can do nothing to help with a possible $6,000 bill. My car is only worth about $8k if that. Their negligence caused these problems, and almost caused a serious accident and human injury and/or death.

Filed Sep 11, 2013 · Electrical, Transmission · 193,000 miles · NC

I am newly employed with the post office so I need my car. I was out driving my route when all of a sudden it was lagging a little when I went to take off. Then when I was able to get some speed between boxes it was like it slipped into neutral and then jerked really hard and kicked into gear, I took it to a mechanic and also the dealership. After I took it to the mechanic I found out that there was a bulletin put out in 2010 about the same exact issue, so I called the dealership and made an appointment. They told me the same thing the mechanic did and that my car wasn't covered under the bulletin because it was outside the 10 year or 150,000 mile range. I cannot afford to have to pay this out of pocket and I need my car. The estimate that I got was $1536 from toyota and then there is the possibility that I might have to have the transmission changed too. This is crazy especially seeing as toyota knows about the issue and notified some people but not all rav4 owners. I am out there driving my car and could pull out at the wrong time and get hit because of the fact that there is no pick up and go in this car anymore. I love my car and need my car.

Filed Mar 1, 2013 · Transmission · 82,045 miles · NJ

Tl* the contact owns a 2001 toyota rav4. The contact stated that the vehicle shifted very hard and jerked. The contact also stated that the vehicle accelerated very slowly. In addition, the contact mentioned that the failure also occurred when accelerating from a complete stop. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer and it was confirmed that there was an internal failure and that the transmission and transmission control module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were 82,045.

Filed Dec 12, 2012 · Electrical, Transmission · 119,000 miles · NC

Harsh vehicle jerking with bad automatic shifting/acceleration. Used emergency lights and narrowly avoided accident with badly performing vehicle. Problem is diagnosed as failed ECM. *tr manufacturer is aware of this issue (toyota document t-sb-0156-10) but did not inform owners. Ecm failure in my car caused a very dangerous driving situation. This could have been easily avoided by pro-actively replacing the factory installed ECM if I had been given the t-sb-0156-10 information. I was driving with my 2 and 4 year old daughters at the time. This part failure is a recurring problem for this car. Please have toyota notify owners before this happens to them. Thanks.