2003 Toyota RAV4: hesitation when accelerating

Filed Dec 4, 2015 · Transmission · 95,225 miles · FL

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 toyota rav4. While driving various speeds, the vehicle would hesitate to accelerate and the check engine light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the transmission/transaxles experienced a harsh shift failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 95,225.

Filed Jun 4, 2015 · 115,400 miles · SC

I was driving to work on monday morning, june 1, 2014, when the engine shut off in the middle of an intersection. There was no warning, no hesitation, no noise. I had pressed down on the gas pedal to cross the intersection and midway through the engine died. I was able to coast across and pull over to the side of the road. I waited a few minutes, restarted the car, and was able to finish my route to work. I took the car to a certified mechanic who inspected it thoroughly but found no problems and was unable to replicate the problem. He cleaned the throttle which he said was dirty. It's been 2 days and while the engine hasn't stalled again, there's some occasional hesitation - which I've never encountered before. It was running perfectly before it stalled in the intersection. I'm now afraid to drive it but it's my only transportation. The car has been serviced according to schedule, oil changes every 3k miles, toyota replaced ECM in june 2013; water pump, alternator,and 02 sensors have been replaced. I've read a lot of complaints on the internet about this problem and unsuccessful and expensive attempts to try to correct it.

Filed Mar 30, 2015 · Transmission · 82,000 miles · MA

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 toyota rav4. While driving at 30 MPH, the vehicle hesitated when depressing the accelerator pedal and the check engine warning light illuminated. The failure occurred multiple times .the vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was advised that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the ECM needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 82,000.

Filed Oct 21, 2014 · Transmission · 140,433 miles · WV

Part 3 of 3the salesman encouraged my parents to keep it because they wouldn't get much of a trade in, so I had my rav towed to my house. I called the sm of love lexus to inform him of my problem, to see if there was any recourse from him and to also express that I was completely unsatisfied.I reminded him that I had requested that they test drive on the four lane so they could understand my complaint of the hesitation of going in gear.he stated on the phone he did not recall, however they did drive it on the back lot. I asked him can you obtain a speed of 55mph in your lot, his response was ?no?. At that point I decided I would not be dealing with that service department any longer.in 2/2014 I began investigating how to get rid of my rav and stumbled upon the class action lawsuit that was described above.I have only received 50% of the benefits awarded to me by the extended warranty and I don?t understand why I would not have been informed of the whole thing.I didn't get a notice from the corporation of this problem, love lexus also failed to disclose my rights to having my transmission replaced along with the ECM under this extended warranty.

Filed Jan 19, 2014 · Transmission · 132,015 miles · CA

I was driving my 2003 rav4, entering a highway when the transmission failed to engage immediately when I accelerated. It hesitated for a few seconds then finally lurched forward. I was very nearly struck by a vehicle on the highway because I was unable to accelerate as expected. Now the rav frequently behaves oddly when shifting, sometimes refusing to upshift, suddenly downshifting at inappropriate times. The dealer advises the problem is likely a defect in the electronic control module (ECM) as covered in a tsb. From research recently I have learned that this ECM defect was a known problem beginning in 2006. I am amazed there has been no recall to repair this very serious safety issue. Now it appears I will be on the hook for a very expensive ECM replacement. Even though I have religiously taken this vehicle to a toyota dealer regularly for maintenance, they never once mentioned this known problem. Yet when I discussed this behavior with one of the dealer's service advisors yesterday, he seemed quite familiar with this issue. Please call for a recall on this issue.

Filed Jun 8, 2012 · Engine · 210,000 miles · VA

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 toyota rav4. The contact stated that the vehicle did not shift properly. The contact also stated that there was an increams in the engine rpms and the vehicle would hesitate before accelerating. The contact spoke with a dealer and was informed that the engine control unit was failing and would cause the transmission to fail. The failure mileage was 210,000 and the current mileage was 215,000.

Filed Aug 15, 2011 · Transmission · 93,400 miles · WI

2003 toyota rav4 - transmission slipping; ends up it is a computer (ECM) problem which is skipping 2nd gear and hesitating on acceleration and jerking into 3rd gear from 1st gear.

Filed Mar 7, 2011 · 124,000 miles · NV

The check engine light turned on. The car began hesitating upon acceleration. I took the car to auto zone so they could give me a quick diagnosis. They said one of the codes that came up had to do with the catalytic converter and that would be causing the stalling. I took my vehicle to one of the dmv's g2 repair stations and had the catalytic replaced and was informed that I had to take my car to toyota to have the ECM reflashed. The car worked fine for a few days and now the check engine light has turned back on and the car began to stall again. I was nearly in an accident due to the stalling. I have an appointment to have the ECM reflashed but the very rude service advisor at toyota let me know that might not fix the problem. He let me know that my previous repair station sent me there to cover themselves when in fact they sent me there due to toyota's service bulletin. I don't understand why I have to pay to have a faulty ECM reflashed. Toyota should provide that services for free. I have since found out that a faulty ECM can ruin the transmission so I may have some costly repairs in the future due to a faulty part by toyota. Toyota should replace the ecms on all 2001-2003 toyota rav4s since they know they are faulty and cover the cost of the transmission repair caused by their faulty ECM. Toyota is being very underhanded by sending out the services bulletin to certain repair shops and not to actual toyota owners. They should be held liable. Are they going to wait until someone dies? The unexpected stalling can cause a serious accident and toyota owners should be informed. If I had known this I would not have purchased a toyota for my teenager. The stalling almost caused an accident while I was driving but it would have definitely caused one for someone with less driving experience. It's a shame that toyota will not do anything until someone gets hurt.

Filed Nov 2, 2010 · Engine · 115,000 miles · MD

While driving, my 2003 toyota rav4's engine light starts flickering. The car starts hesitating, even with applying more gas. The car then loses power and cuts out. The car will then restart, but continue to hesitate and cut out the issue has occurred 3 times over the past month. The dealer could not isolate the problem and simply recommended replacing the spark plugs. My wife happened to be driving the car on the interstate during rush hour yesterday with my two toddlers in the car when it cut out again.

Filed Aug 11, 2010 · Transmission · 83,000 miles · PA

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 toyota rav4. The vehicle began to hesitate and then rapidly accelerate after the vehicle came to a stop. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where he was informed that the ecu and transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were 83,000. Updated 11/05/10. *lj updated 02/03/11*lj updated 02/04/11

Filed Jun 18, 2010 · Transmission · 131,000 miles · OH

Car suddenly started having shifting problem, hesitates from a start, very jerky, then difficulty shifting into second gear.

Filed May 11, 2010 · Acceleration · 139,000 miles · CA

Our 2003 toyota rav 4 has begun to have a very serious problem. When driving, the car will suddenly lurch forward or hesitate to accelerate. We immediately had this investigated, only to find out that the onboard computer needed replacing at a ridiculous dollar amount. This expensive repair has yet to be completed. Meanwhile, we've had time to research the problem, only to find thousands of other toyota rav4 owners that have experienced the same dangerous lurching and hesitation of their vehicle. Toyota says that our car is either too old or has too many miles on it. This car has been meticulously maintained, and now they say there is nothing they can do about this serious uncontrollable problem. We just felt you should be made aware of this dangerous situation.