Toyota RAV4 Complaints (2002)

527 consumer complaints on file.

#11590615May 24, 2024
ENGINE, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, POWER TRAIN
My car engine light goes on and off due to transmission fault. It continuously has a hard time shifting gears in between 2500-3000 rpm and gives a jerky stop before continuing to speed up/accelerate despite when I have not let go of my foot from the pedal. After taking it to the auto shop, I was told this is the same problem other Toyota RAV 4 between 2001-2003 experiences and the mechanics told me that there was a lot of recall for the same code my car is giving (2 codes that the computer diagnosed were p0775 and p0161). While Toyota extended the warranty to 10years/150,000k and my car is 1-2 years past the warranty, it's only been barely 80,000mi and it should not be causing this problem. This transmission/ECM problem puts me and the passengers to risks because both the speed and RPM don't go past certain numbers which is low at most times, limiting myself as the driver to go even within the speed limits. All the more, with this happening more frequently these days than it had in the past, I am highly concerned for my safety and not feel safe to have someone in my car. I have been to 4 different mechanics and they have told me the same problem and that it's the same case as they saw from different RAV4's recall problem. This car was handled very carefully and this is the only occurring problem. With engine light being on and off, it is my concern that I need to have this car inspected, related to Toyota RAV4 recalls.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11547973October 3, 2023
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
The contact owns a 2002 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, she heard an abnormal sound coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure had since become a regular occurrence. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer, who confirmed the diagnostic result. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 130,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11463498May 5, 2022
POWER TRAIN
2002 Toyota RAV4 AWD transmission problems and will be available upon request. Transmission caused vehicle to disengaged , jerks, stalls with severed engine braking while driving creating a safety performance and hazard on the roads to myself and other unexpected drivers. Upon reading similar complaints of other owners reported similar transmission problems. This was believed to be a reproduced problem and should be investigated for Safety-Related defects. The vehicle was inspected by manufacture according to previous owner. Manufacturer recently replaced transmission and updated ECM per previous owner. The vehicle appeared in working order for 3-4 months then the transmission problems occurred again as mentioned above. There was no warning lights while I experienced this transmission problem.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11446602January 7, 2022
POWER TRAIN
The contact owned a 2002 Toyota RAV4. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, an abnormal noise was heard. The brake pedal was depressed, and the vehicle spun 360 degrees and stopped on the opposite side of the road. No warning light illuminated. The contact called the independent mechanic who advised her to turn off the vehicle. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle and drove the vehicle approximately 3-feet before the rear wheels locked up. The vehicle was towed to the independent mechanic and diagnosed with rear differential failure. The contact was informed that the rear differential needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired because the contact took the vehicle back to the used car dealer. The contact stated that the used car dealer stated that the mechanic did not diagnose the correct failure. The dealer's independent mechanic diagnosed the failure as a transmission transfer case failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 123,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11399415March 3, 2021
POWER TRAIN
2002 TOYOTA RAV. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS. *LD *JS
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11348557August 11, 2020
POWER TRAIN
ERRATIC SHIFTING ESPECIALLY AT LOW SPEEDS. PROBLEM IS INTERMITTENT. CAR MAY LOCK IN HIGH GEAR (4 SPEED AUTOMATIC) OR SEEM TO BE STUCK IN 2 GEARS AT ONCE AND REFUSE TO MOVE AT ALL. CAN BANG HARSHLY WHEN SHIFTING. LOCKED UP AT A BUSY INTERSECTION NEARLY CAUSING AN ACCIDENT. AT OTHER TIMES IT WORKS PERFECTLY. HAS NOT OCCURRED AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS, ALTHOUGH THE PROBLEM JUST BEGAN A FEW DAYS AGO. BEFORE THAT THERE WAS NO HINT OF A PROBLEM.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11341007July 22, 2020
POWER TRAIN
VEHICLE STALLS AND JERKS CONSTANTLY WHILE DRIVING; UNABLE TO ACCELERATE AFTER STOPLIGHT. VERY UNPREDICTABLE.THIS IS DUE TO DEFECTIVE ECM WHICH TOYOTA HAS BEEN AWARE OF BUT REFUSES TO LIST AS A RECALL.I PURCHASED THE USED CAR 1 MONTH AGO --- HAD NO IDEA IT HAD THIS SERIOUS, DANGEROUS PROBLEM. TOOK IT TO TOYOTA DEALER WHICH IS SAYING IT WILL COST $5K TO FIX !! CAR ONLY HAS 77K MILES.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11244996August 19, 2019
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, POWER TRAIN, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
2002 RAV4 ECU SHIFTING PROBLEM (DTC CODE P0755). THE CAR JITTERS WHEN SWITCHING FROM GEAR 1 TO 2 AS WELL ON REVERSE. IT ALSO JITTERS WHEN IT DRIVES ON LOW GEAR. THERE IS AN WELL KNOWN PROBLEM WITH RAV4 2001-2003 BUT TOYOTA HAS FAILED TO RECALL IT, DESPITE BEING A SAFETY HAZARD AS IT HAS CAUSED ACCIDENTS AND BODILY INJURY. IT HAS THE HIGH LIKELIHOOD TO DESTROY THE TRANSMISSION.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11220357June 15, 2019
STEERING
POWER STEERING STOPPED WHILE DRIVING. VEHICLE HAD TO BE MANUALLY STEERED TO LOCAL MECHANIC FOR DIAGNOSIS. SHOP STATED THEY HADN'T SEEN POWER STEERING SPEWING FROM POWER STEERING FLUID WELL UPON REMOVAL OF LID WHILE VEHICLE WAS ON.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11195491April 10, 2019
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC), ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
THE PAST COUPLE WEEKS MY CAR HAD BEEN LAGHING MORE AN MORE WHEN AT COMPLETE STOP. THIS PAST WEEK IT HAS BEEN THE WORST. WHENEVER I TRY TO ACCELERATE FROM.A COMPLETE STOP MY CAR WITH LAG AND JERK LIKE IT IS TRYING TO SHIFT INTO GEAR BUT CANT. WHEN I TOOK IT IN TO A TRANSMISSION SPECIALIST THEY SAID IT WAS MY ECM AND THAT THIS YEAR SPECIFICALLY HAS HAD PROBLEMS RECORDED FRON OTHERS WITH THE SAME ISSUES WITH THE EMC. ONE INCIDENT I HAD SPECIFICALY WAS WHEN INWAS TRYING TO GO UP A MOUNTAIN TO GET TO WORK MY RPMS WERE SPIKING AS MY RAV WAS TRYING TO SHIFT GEARS TO GET UP THE MOUNTAIN AND MY CAR STALLER OUT. I HAD NO CLUE IT DIED UNTILL I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE MOUNTAIN AND TURNING MY STEERING WHEEL BECAME A STRUGGLE. I HAD TO PUT ON MY E BREAK JUST TO STOP AND TRY AND TURN IT ON TO SHIFT INTO NEUTRAL SO I COULD GET DOWN THE MOUNTAIN. I HAVE HAD SERVERAL CASES WHEN I HAVE ALMOST BEEN RE ENDED BECAUSE OF THE JERKING HAS BEEN SO ROUGH.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11170658January 17, 2019
ENGINE
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 TOYOTA RAV4. WHILE DRIVING LOW SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE WAS ABNORMALLY LOUD WHILE IDLING AND THE CHECK ENGINE INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT MENTIONED THAT THE VEHICLE UNINTENTIONALLY ACCELERATED ON OCCASION. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO A DEALER OR INDEPENDENT MECHANIC FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING OR REPAIRS. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 91,789.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11153376November 23, 2018
POWER TRAIN, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 TOYOTA RAV4. AFTER STARTING THE ENGINE, THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT PROPERLY ACCELERATE WHEN DEPRESSING THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO FRED ANDERSON TOYOTA (9101 GLENWOOD AVENUE, RALEIGH, NC) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE ELECTRONIC CONTROL MODULE AND TRANSMISSION WERE FAULTY AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED, BUT NO ASSISTANCE WAS PROVIDED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 91,000. *TT CONSUMER STATED TRANSMISSION FAILED WHILE IN TRAFFIC, CAR WAS ABLE TO ACCELERATE PROPERLY AND WAS LONGER SHIFTING GEARS.*JB
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11114783July 31, 2018
TIRES
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 TOYOTA RAV4 EQUIPPED WITH COOPER FUTURA SCRAMBLER C14L TIRES, SIZE: P215/70/R16 (NA). WHILE DRIVING 70 MPH, THE REAR PASSENGER AND REAR DRIVER SIDE TIRES BLEW OUT WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE CONTACT?S RESIDENCE. AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE, BUT NO DIAGNOSTIC TEST WAS PERFORMED. THE DEALER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE TIRES WERE NOT REPLACED. THE APPROXIMATE VEHICLE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 169,000. THE TIRE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 123,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11075301February 27, 2018
POWER TRAIN
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 TOYOTA RAV4. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 10 MPH, THE VEHICLE FELT AS IF IT SWITCHED GEARS INDEPENDENTLY. THE CONTACT DEPRESSED THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL; HOWEVER, THE TRANSMISSION FAILED TO ENGAGE AND THE VEHICLE DID NOT PROCEED FORWARD. THE CONTACT DEPRESSED THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL SEVERAL TIMES BEFORE THE TRANSMISSION FINALLY ENGAGED AND THE VEHICLE OPERATED NORMALLY. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO A CERTIFIED MECHANIC WHO WAS UNABLE TO IDENTIFY THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE DEALER AND MANUFACTURER WERE NOT NOTIFIED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 200,000. *TT *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11066988February 5, 2018
AIR BAGS
TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2002 TOYOTA RAV4. THE CONTACT WAS INVOLVED IN A MULTIPLE VEHICLE CRASH. WHILE DRIVING 65 MPH, THE CONTACT CRASHED INTO THE FRONT AND REAR DRIVER SIDE OF ANOTHER VEHICLE. THE CONTACT'S AIR BAGS WERE THE ONLY ONES NOT TO DEPLOY. THE CONTACT SUSTAINED A BROKEN FINGER, MULTIPLE BUMPS, AND BRUISES ALL OVER THE BODY. MEDICAL ATTENTION WAS NOT RECEIVED. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO A DEALER TO BE REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 200,000.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11064724January 24, 2018
POWER TRAIN
THE CAR MAKE NOISE,BY THE TRANSMISSION AREA AND THE 3 GEAR NOT WORKING WHEN THE CAR IS ALREADY HOT. I THINK MY CAR STILL UNDER GARANTY IS ONLY 128,000 MILES.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11056083December 22, 2017
POWER TRAIN
I NEVER RECEIVED A NOTICE OR LETTER FROM TOYOTA ABOUT EXTENDING THE WARRANTY TO THE TRANSMISSION FOR THE RAV4 SENT TO OWNERS. I EVEN WENT TO THE TOYOTA DEALER IN RAPID CITY FOR CAR MAINTENANCE AND THEY NEVER TOLD ME ABOUT THIS ISSUE. I DONATED THE CAR TO MY DAUGHTER WHO LIVES IN SEATTLE AND SHE IS HAVING PROBLEM WITH THE CAR TRANSMISSION. THE TOYOTA DEALER IN SEATTLE WANTS TO CHARGE $4500 FOR FIXING IT. WHAT DO I OR MY DAUGHTER DO? I WAS NEVER INFORMED ABOUT THIS EXTENDED WARRANTY. PLEASE LET ME KNOW. THANK YOU
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11030581September 29, 2017
AIR BAGS
I WAS INVOLVED IN A HEAD-ON COLLISION IN JUNE 2016 WITH ANOTHER VEHICLE THAT HAD VEERED INTO MY LANE AND MY VEHICLE WAS TOTALED AND ME AND MY SPOUSE SUSTAINED INJURIES. NONE OF THE AIRBAGS IN MY VEHICLE DEPLOYED LIKE THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO. ALL OF THE AIRBAGS IN THE VEHICLE THAT HIT US HEAD ON WERE DEPLOYED, PROTECTING THE DRIVER. HOWEVER, MY AIRBAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY WHICH CAUSED ME AND MY SPOUSE TO HAVE SEVERAL INJURIES INVOLVING ME BEING ADMITTED TO THAT HOSPITAL.MY VEHICLE WAS TRAVELING AT 45 MPH AND THE VEHICLE THAT HIT US HEAD-ON WAS GOING MUCH FASTER. IF MY AIRBAGS WOULD HAVE DEPLOYED LIKE THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO THEN MY SPOUSE AND I WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN INJURED LIKE WE WERE. THERE HAS TO BE A REASON THAT MY AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
2
Deaths:
0
#11012868August 4, 2017
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
MPG ISN'T AS RATED. RATED 25 CITY/30 HWY. IM GETTING 18 CITY/22 HWY. IV HAD IT CHECKED AT THE TOYOTA RAV4 2002 DEALER AND THEY FOUND NOTHING WRONG. I'VE REPLACED ALL O2 SENSORS, SPARK PLUGS, AIR FILTER. THE CAR RUNS PERFECT BUT THE MILEAGE SUCKS!! THERE MIST BE A FIX FOR THIS ISSUE. I'VE SEEN THAT THERE SEVERAL OTHER RAV4 OWNERS HAVING THE SAME PROBLEMS. YET THERE MANY THAT GET THE RATED MPG.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11000853June 23, 2017
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC), POWER TRAIN, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
FAULTY ECU COMPUTERS CAUSEING VARIATIONS IN SPEED AND PROBLEMS WITH HARD SHIFTING, DAMAGEING TRANSMISSONS, CAUSEING VEHICLES TO FAIL WHILE DRIVING WHILE IN MOTION VEHICLE WILL NOT SHIFT CORRECTLY. MY VEHICLE STOPPED IN AN INTERSECTION AND I WAS NEARLY HIT BY ANOTHER VEHICLE WHILE ATTEMPTING TO ACCELERATE THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT SHIFT INTO GEAR WHILE TURNING LEFT. I FELT I COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED BY ON COMMING TRAFFIC WITH NO ABILITY TO CONTROL MY VEHICLE. TOYOTA DEALER AND MECHANIC TOLD ME THIS IS A WELL KNOW DEFECT AND PROBLEM KNOW TO TOYOTA WITH RAV 4 2001-2003. ALSO, 02 SESSORS GO BAD EARLY LEADING TO HAZARDOUS EMISSIONS TO PUBLIC AND THIS BURNS OUT CATALITIC CONVERTERS WHICH CAN ALSO CAUSE HARMFUL EMISSIONS. RAV 4 2001 TO 2003 HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED AS HAVING FAULTY ECU'S, AUTO TRANSMISSIONS AND 02 SENSOR DEFICITS AND SHOULD BE RECALLED BY TOYOTA TO PROTECT THE PUBLIC FROM ACCIDENTS RELATED TO POOR SHIFTING, UNSAFE SPEED CONTROL AND HARMFUL EMISSIONS TO THE PUBLIC. I NOTIFIED TOYOTA AND THEY SAID THEY WOULD DO NOTHING BECAUSE THEY OFFERED AN EXTENDED WARNETY BUT THAT EXPIRED AFTER 10 YEARS AND THEY NEVER NOTIFIED ME OF ANY PROBLEMS TO LOOK OUT FOR WITH THE TRANSMISSION. I FEEL THESE VEHICLES MAY BE A DANGER TO THE PUBLIC DUE TO BUILT IN ENGINEERING DEFECTS THAT AFFECT SPEED CONTROL AND EMISSIONS. THEY ALSO LEAD TO VERY COSTLY REPAIRS FOR THE CUSTOMERS.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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