2003 Toyota RAV4 electrical problems

Filed Sep 14, 2016 · Acceleration, Electrical · 143,000 miles · NJ

Harsh shifting, jumping from gear-to-gear, sluggish acceleration and transmission/electronic control module failure. Called toyota regarding the extended warrenty. They refused to honor the extended warranty despite not providing notice to the correct address.

Filed Aug 25, 2016 · Electrical, Transmission · 82,000 miles · CA

I was driving my 2003 toyota rav4 and attempted to merge into another lane when I experienced a very hard shift from the transmission causing the vehicle to stall with a reving engine noise and avoided being rear ended by a truck. I purchased my rav4 brand new in 2003 to accomodate my disability needs and only have 82,000 miles.I checked with my mechanic today and he looked up the toyota recall on these rav4 transmission failures and not once did toyota inform me about the recall. How is disabled individual on fixed income to afford $3000.00 for a transmission on a well maintained toyota with only 82,000 miles. I wish toyota would show some empathy to accommodate an individual whose sole purpose of a brand new rav4 would fulfill his daily physical challenges in life and now left with a toyota with 82,000 miles in need of a transmission. This rav4 is no longer safe to be driven given its nature of safety concerns.

Filed Apr 19, 2016 · Electrical, Transmission · 103,000 miles · IA

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 toyota rav4. While driving approximately 30 MPH, the accelerator pedal was depressed and the vehicle jerked. As a result, the vehicle became stuck in second and third gear. The failure recurred intermittently. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the failure was undetermined; however, the technician discovered that the computer damaged the transmission. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 103,000.

Filed Sep 30, 2015 · Electrical · 112,790 miles · SD

Electric control module (ECM) is bad, causing harsh shifting, failure to accelerate correctly, and RPM's to jump. This is a known problem with this model and should have been recalled. This vehicle only has 112,000 miles on it. The part is $800+ or $1100 from dealer.

Filed Sep 3, 2015 · Electrical · 162,000 miles · MI

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 toyota rav4. While driving at various speeds, the vehicle would suddenly stop accelerating. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the ECM unit was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 162,000.

Filed Feb 23, 2015 · Electrical, Transmission · 134,600 miles · OH

Bought car used and didn't notice the shift problem til later.shifts hard from 2 to 3rd gear. Many people have issue with this mostly being the ECM going bad then destroying the transmission. Both are expensive fixes and both are dangerous leading to accidents.

Filed Jan 6, 2015 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 108,000 miles · CA

Experiencing abnormal behavior when shifting gears (auto trans). Transmission was shifting oddly - harsh shift condition . It was not a frequent problem and no engine light and I took it to the local mechanic and he connected to his computer and could not find any error codes. The problem happens every time I move from a stop. Found out that toyota put out a technical service bulletin in early 2006 after defects started surfacing stating to replace the car's computer ECM/ecu and possibly the transmission.. The company did not inform owners about this defect which is now surfacing and did not recall due to cost of replacing the ecu and transmission it destroys. The defective ecu burns up the clutch and other parts in the transmission

Filed Nov 10, 2014 · Acceleration, Electrical · 99,300 miles · CA

Last week, on the freeway entrance the car would not accelerate, then "bucked" and "raced". I nearly got rear-ended by the car behind me - a frightening experience. Then, driving city streets - to the mechanic - the same experience - stalled then raced ahead. After replacing the transmission fluid and filter ($400), the problem continues and the mechanic advised replacing the ECM ($928.46 plus labor). This is a serious financial strain on me. I take my car in for service every 5k miles and it is way below the extended warranty mileage of 150k, however, it is now 11 years old. I never, ever, received any recall notice from toyota! I strongly believe that toyota should reimburse me for these repairs since they have been and are well aware of the safety issue the failed ECM causes.

Filed Sep 30, 2014 · Electrical, Transmission · 92,400 miles · NH

Harsh shifting; automatic shifting erratic; lurching, especially when starting from stop. Local garage says transmission is shot and requires replacement ($3100).

Filed Sep 28, 2014 · Electrical, Transmission · 119,600 miles · NJ

This letter is in reference to an issue, namely, harsh shift condition, on our 2003 toyota rav4, the vehicle presently shows approximately 119, 600 miles. According to toyota warranty policy bulletin no. Pol 10-03, dated 07/09/10, page 1, toyota has received reports that certain 2001 through 2003 model year rav4 vehicles equipped with an automatic transaxle may exhibit a harsh shift condition if this condition occurs, the check engine light may illuminate and/or the vehicle may begin to shift harshly. This warranty is being offered for 10 years or 150,000 miles please verify VIN applicability for this csp by performing a VIN inquiry before completing the repair. On page 2 we checked the applicable VIN ranges and observed that our vehicle was included in this customer support program (csp).our respectful request is that toyota honor the warranty enhancement for our rav4. Based on a telephone call to toyota motor sales customer experience center in torrance ca, the company rep. Said toyota would not honor the extended warranty. I believe that the part (ECM) was defective and should be replaced under extended warranty because the vehicle is under 150,00 miles but just over the ten year limit. Thank you.