2001 Toyota RAV4 Driver assistance Problems

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).

NHTSA ID

11185532

Incident

Feb 21, 2019

Mileage

111,219 mi

MY 2001 RAV 4 REAR ENDED A CAR IN FRONT OF ME, AND IT WAS DUE TO A MAJOR UNINTENDED ACCELERATION OF THE ENGINE. I AM AN EXPERIENCED DRIVER WITH NO PRIOR ACCIDENTS AND MY FOOT WAS NOT ON THE WRONG PEDAL WHEN I WAS SLOWING DOWN - APPLYING MY BRAKE PEDAL WHEN I WAS APPROACHING A BUMPER TO BUMPER CONGESTED INTERSECTION (AROUND 5PM). ALL OF A SUDDEN AS I APPLIED MORE PRESSURE ON MY BRAKE PEDAL DE-ACCELERATING FROM 20 MPH DOWN TO 10 THEN TO 5 MPH TO 2 MPH, MY 2001 RAV 4 ENGINE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED (THE ENGINE STARTED TO RACE AND THE RPM WAS GOING CRAZY MAKING A LOUD ENGINE SOUND) I WAS ONLY 10-15 FEET FROM THE CAR IN FRONT, AND THE IMMEDIATE ACCELERATION OF THE ENGINE (IT SOUNDED LIKE IT WAS REV VING AROUND 80 MPH IN LESS THEN 2-3 SECONDS) SUDDENLY SHOT MY CAR FORWARD (LIKE A ROCKET)! THE ENGINE HAD FULL POSSESSION OF MY ACCELERATION. I IMMEDIATELY APPLIED MORE PRESSURE TO THE BRAKE PEDAL BUT THE FORCE OF THE INTENSE UNEXPLAINED ACCELERATION WOULDN'T ALLOW ME TO COMPLETELY STOP MY CAR! MY RAV 4 REAR ENDED THE BACK OF THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME, AND THE ENGINE WAS STILL RACING, PUSHING THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME,WHEN IT FINALLY STOPPED IT'S OWN ACCELERATION AND I HAD TIME TO TURN OFF THE MOTOR. THE ENGINE HAD FULL ACCELERATION POSSESSION OF MY RAV 4! I SIGNED AND SENT BACK A TOYOTA CONSENT FORM THEY SENT ME TO EXAMINE THE EDR AND OTHER RECORDING DEVICES TO FURTHER INVESTIGATE, EXPLAIN WHAT THE HELL WENT WRONG WITH THE ECU OR WHATEVER COMPUTER SYSTEM IS IN THE RAV 4. I TRUST TOYOTA WILL PAY FOR THE DAMAGE THAT MY RAV 4 DID TO THE OTHER CAR AS WELL AS MINE. THIS COULD HAVE BEEN WORSE AND COULD HAVE CAUSED A DEATH AND/OR MASSIVE INJURY TO OTHERS AND MYSELF AS WELL AS MAJOR PROPERTY DAMAGE. I WANT FULL REIMBURSEMENT OF MY ORIGINAL FULL PURCHASE PRICE I HAD PAID FOR THIS 2001 RAV 4 I HAD BOUGHT BACK IN 2001-2002 FOR THIS DEFECTIVE RAV 4.

NHTSA ID

11182047

Incident

Feb 21, 2019

Mileage

111,219 mi

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!!

NHTSA ID

10970991

Incident

Apr 3, 2017

Mileage

135,000 mi

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.

NHTSA ID

10924431

Incident

Nov 3, 2016

Mileage

63,192 mi

WHEN I CHANGE GEAR OR PRESS ACCELERATOR TO GIVE GAS, MY CAR DOESN'T PICK UP RACE AND DOESN'T SHIFT THE GEAR. IT WILL DO ON ITS OWN. THE ENGINE LIGHT KEEPS COMING TURNED ON, EVEN THOUGH THISNGS HAVE BEEN REPLACED.

NHTSA ID

10824188

Incident

Jan 7, 2016

Mileage

135,000 mi

WHILE IN CRUISE CONTROL ON AN INCLINE MY RAV4 ACCELERATES OUT OF CONTROL SO I HAVE TO APPLY THE BRAKE TO GET IT OUT OF CRUISE CONTROL. I HAD THIS ON 2 RAV4S, BOTH 2001, ONE WAS 4WD AND THE OTHER 2WD. TOYOTA TRIED TO REPEAT THE PROBLEM IN THE FIRST VEHICLE BY SENDING IT HOME WITH A TECH WHO DROVE TO MODESTO. THEY COULD NOT REPEAT IT...ON MY CURRENT CAR IT DOES THE SAME AND TOYOTAS BEST ANSWER WAS NOT TO USE CRUISE CONTROL AFTER HE ASKED WHY I WAS USING IT ANYWAYS. I WAS WORRIED ABOUT THE ECUS IN THESE CARS AND BEFORE BUYING IT, SENT THE PRIVATE DEALER TO TOYOTA TO REMEDY THIS. NOW I FIND OUT THEY ONLY FLASHED THE ECU UNDER THE RECALL WHICH THEY NEW DIDN'T FIX ANYTHING. NOW 2 YEARS LATER I FACE THE HARSH SHIFTING CONDITION....ALL ON ME. IM LUCKY NOT TO HAVE BEEN HURT BY EITHER OF THESE ISSUES NOT ADDRESSED PROPERLY BY TOYOTA, AND THANK GOD MY 9 YEAR OLD WASN'T WITH ME WHEN THE CAR STOPPED SHIFTING PROPERLY. *TR

NHTSA ID

10679074

Incident

Jan 20, 2014

MY 2001 TOYOTA RAV4 HAD THE SAME PROBLEM THAT WAS COVERED IN TOYOTA'S EXTENDED WARRANTY AND RECALL FOR THIS MAKE AND MODEL. ACCORDING TO A JULY 10, 2010 ARTICLE ONLINE AT THECARCONNECTION.COM IT IS AN ISSUE WITH THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION AND ELECTRONIC CONTROL MODULE. THE ISSUE, WHICH AFFECTS AROUND 235,500 VEHICLES, CAN LEAD TO A DAMAGED, ROUGH-SHIFTING TRANSMISSION. WHILE THE RAV4 FOR THOSE MODEL YEARS WAS ORIGINALLY COVERED FOR FIVE YEARS OR 60,000 MILES ON POWER TRAIN COMPONENTS, TOYOTA IS EXTENDING COVERAGE TO TEN YEARS OR 150,000 MILES. THE AUTO MAKER IS ALSO OFFERING TO REIMBURSE CURRENT OR FORMER OWNERS FOR REPAIRS ALREADY MADE. FOR ME, THE PROBLEM DID NOT APPEAR UNTIL NEAR THE VERY END OF THE COVERAGE DATE. IT WAS MIS-DIAGNOSED AND WHEN PROBLEM WAS FINALLY IDENTIFIED, I WAS TOLD IT WAS OUTSIDE THE WARRANTY WINDOW AND TOYOTA WOULD NOT COVER THE REPAIR. THIS ISSUE IS WELL KNOWN TO TOYOTA AND WIDELY DOCUMENTED. THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE WAS NOT PICKING UP SPEED AS QUICKLY. UPDATED 11/10/14

NHTSA ID

10637495

Incident

May 5, 2014

Mileage

148,000 mi

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! *TR

NHTSA ID

10632564

Incident

Sep 9, 2014

Mileage

166,000 mi

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. *TR

NHTSA ID

10545673

Incident

Sep 23, 2013

Mileage

104,568 mi

STARTED HAVING PROBLEMS SHIFTING GEARS, ACCELERATING. *JS

NHTSA ID

10455446

Incident

Apr 1, 2012

Mileage

120 mi

MY VEHICLE HAS BEGUN EXPERIENCING HARSH SHIFTING. IT WILL NOT ACCELERATE IMMEDIATELY AND IT WILL JUMP FORWARD AT TIMES. THIS IS A REPORTED PROBLEM WITH THE 2001 RAV 4. I RECEIVED A LETTER STATING THERE WAS THE POSSIBILITY OF COMPENSATION AFTER ONE HAS THIS FIXED. AS ONE A PERSON WHO CANNOT AFFORD TO FIX THIS OUT OF POCKET THAT IS NOT A LOT OF HELP. THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE AND SHOULD BE RECALLED! *TR

NHTSA ID

10454270

Incident

Feb 1, 2012

Mileage

109,008 mi

WHEN ATTEMPTING TO ACCELERATE FROM A STOP, THE CAR STALLS. AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION DOES NOT HOLD ON TO A GEAR AND WHEN A GEAR IS FINALLY ENGAGED, THE CAR JERKS VIOLENTLY FORWARD. THIS IS EXTREMELY FRIGHTENING; I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO BE HIT BECAUSE I STALL IN DANGEROUS SITUATIONS. TRYING TO ENTER A FAST PACED ROAD IS HIGHLY RISKING THE CHANCE OF BEING READ ENDED, AND AT TIMES I WOULD ATTEMPT TO ACCELERATE FROM A STOP LIGHT ONLY TO CRAWL INTO THE INTERSECTION AND SIT IN HORROR. SOMETIMES HIGHER GEAR WOULD JUDDER THE CAR. APPARENTLY TOYOTA KNOWS THE ECM IS FAULTY AND DAMAGES THE TRANSMISSION, BUT THE ACTIONS THEY TOOK ON THIS MATTER WERE TOO LATE AND BARELY CARING. I WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE DANGER. I HAD TO COME INTO THE DEALERSHIP TO LEARN AND BY THEN MY CAR IS ALREADY OUT OF WARRANTY AND MY CAR IS IN NO WORKING ORDER. NO PROPER STEPS WERE TAKEN TO WARN DRIVERS OF THIS HAZARD. THE WARRANTY THEY PROVIDE IS INCAPABLE AND RESTRICTIVE OF ADDRESSING THE FAULTY ECM THAT WILL INEVITABLY PUT UNWARY DRIVERS IN DANGER. I AM STILL TRYING TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS MATTER BUT TOYOTA REPRESENTATIVES INSIST I PAY OUT OF POCKET FOR A DEFECT THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN SOLVED BY A RECALL YEARS AGO. *TR

NHTSA ID

10446937

Incident

Feb 4, 2012

THE TRANSMISSION SUDDENLY BEGAN SLIPPING AND JERKING WHEN ACCELERATING FROM A STOP OR WHILE IN LOW GEAR AND SHIFTING FROM A LOW SPEED. I BECAME AWARE OF THE ECM PROBLEM KNOWN TO OCCUR IN MY MAKE AND MODEL OF TOYOTA UPON CALLING THE DEALERSHIP; HOWEVER, I AM BEING TOLD THAT THE WARRANTY ONLY COVERS TEN YEARS FROM THE DATE OF PURCHASE (I PURCHASED MY CAR 11 YEARS AGO) DESPITE THE FACT IT IS KNOWN THAT THE ECM, THE COMPUTER THAT CONTROLS THE TRANSMISSION, IS DEFECTIVE AND CAUSES TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS. THIS IS A DANGEROUS PROBLEM AS THE CAR WILL NOT ACCELERATE AND THE TRANSMISSION SLIPS. IT IS DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND HOW TOYOTA CANNOT ETHICALLY COVER THIS KNOWING IT IS DEFECTIVE AND IS PROBABLE TO CAUSE OWNERS PROBLEMS IN THE FUTURE, REGARDLESS IF IT'S 8, 10, OR 12 YEARS DOWN THE LINE. *TR

NHTSA ID

10439946

Incident

Dec 9, 2011

Mileage

115,807 mi

THE TRANSMISSION WILL NOT ACCELERATE AND THEN SOMETHING SUDDENLY "KICKS IN" AND THE TRUCK WILL GO- NEARLY BEEN REAR-ENDED NUMEROUS TIMES- THIS IS A BIG SAFETY ISSUE- TOLD IT'S GOING TO BE A $4,000 TRANSMISSION REPLACEMENT- ONLY 102K MILES, LIKE NEW. ALSO, AT TRAFFIC LIGHTS, WON'T ACCELERATE AND PEOPLE GET TICKED AND NEED TO PASS AND CAN'T- NUMEROUS ONLINE COMPLAINTS- ADD THIS. UNACCEPTABLE FOR TOYOTA. *KB

NHTSA ID

10414020

Incident

Jun 5, 2011

Mileage

102,000 mi

TOYOTA RAV4 2001 SUDDEN ACCELERATION, AND THROTTLE SURGE... NO WAY TO STOP CAR WITH BRAKE PEDAL. *TR

NHTSA ID

10373686

Incident

Dec 28, 2010

Mileage

130,000 mi

ERRATIC SHIFTING ON MY WIFE'S 2001 TOYOTA RAV4 (140,000 MILES). COULD NOT ACCELERATE ALONG WITH RANDOM DOWNSHIFTS. THIS WAS VERY DANGEROUS ON BOTH SURFACE STREETS AND HIGHWAY DRIVING AS VEHICLE WOULD NOT ACCELERATE WHEN NEEDED OR RADICALLY SLOW DOWN WHEN IT SPORADICALLY DROPPED INTO A LOWER GEAR. TOOK THE VEHICLE TO ELK GOVE (CA) TOYOTA (EGT). THEY INDICATED THAT THE TRANSMISSION WAS LOW ON FLUID (IT WAS NOT, I CHECKED) AND RECOMMENDED A FLUSH. THEY FLUSHED IT AND STATED IT WAS TESTED AND READY TO GO. PROBLEM WAS NOT SOLVED. EGT THEN STATED I NEEDED A NEW TRANSMISSION AND POSSIBLY A NEW ECM. I CHOSE TO RESEARCH THE PROBLEM AND TOWED MY VEHICLE HOME. A QUICK SEARCH REVEALED NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS ON RAV4 ECM PROBLEMS AND SEVERAL SECONDARY MARKETS REPAIRING THESE DEFECTIVE UNITS. SENT MY UNIT OUT AND HAD IT REPAIRED -PROBLEM SOLVED. IT APPEARS THAT TOYOTA IS NOT ACKNOWLEDGING THE PROBLEM WITH THE DEFECTIVE ECM. HAD I NOT RESEARCHED THIS, I WOULD PAID FOR A NEW TRANSMISSION AND ECM. IN DEFENSE OF EGT, THEY DID REIMBURSE ME FOR THE TRANSMISSION FLUSH, BUT THEY STILL INSISTED THAT I NEEDED A NEW TRANSMISSION. PLEASE ADD MY COMPLAINT TO ANY OTHERS YOU MAY HAVE REGARDING TOYOTA RAV4 ECM PROBLEMS, SO THAT TOYOTA MIGHT ADMIT THAT THERE IS A DEFECT IN THE UNITS. MY WIFE HAS ALWAYS SWORN BY TOYOTA PRODUCTS - THE RECENT SWEARING ASSOCIATED WITH TOYOTA IS NOT THE KIND A COMPANY WOULD COVET. *TR

NHTSA ID

10339657

Incident

Jun 15, 2010

Mileage

140,000 mi

TOYOTA RAV4 2001 - COMPUTER PROBLEMS & TOTAL TRANSMISSION PROBLEM MY RAV4, 2001 MODEL INITIALLY STARTED GIVING "CHECK ENGINE LIGHT" AND HAVING HARD TIME ACCELERATING FROM STOP SIGNAL. THE BBB APPROVED SERVICE CENTER CHECKED IT AND FOUND OUT THE ERROR CODE AS P0750 AND ADVISED THE REPLACEMENT/REBUILDING THE TRANSMISSION TO FIX THE PROBLEM. THEY CHARGED ME APPROX $3000 FOR THIS TRANSMISSION REBUILD WORK/FIXING THE ERROR CODE ISSUE. TWO DAYS AFTER, I GOT THE SAME PROBLEM AGAIN AND WHEN I TOOK IT TO THE SAME SERVICE CENTER, I WAS TOLD THAT THE COMPUTER SYSTEM IS THE CULPRIT FOR CAUSING THE PROBLEM. NOW, BASED ON THE DETAILS AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET (HTTP://WWW.CARCOMPLAINTS.COM/TOYOTA/RAV4/2002/TRANSMISSION/MAIN_COMPUTER_AND_TRANSMISSION_FAILURE.SHTML), I UNDERSTOOD THAT THIS IS THE COMMON PROBLEM OF TOYOTA RAV4 CARS. WHEN I SPOKE TO TOYOTA CUSTOMER SERVICE ON 800-331-4331 (CASE # 1006150572), THEY SAID THEY ARE HELPLESS. I AM INTERESTED TO FILE A COMPLAINT WITH CARSAFETY TO TAKE THIS UP WITH TOYOTA AS TO WHY THIS COMMON PROBLEM OF RAV4 IS NOT BEING ADDRESSED/RECALLED, THOUGH THERE ARE CUSTOMERS FACING SERIOUS SAFETY PROBLEMS WITH THE CAR. THE PROBLEM CAN EVEN LEAD TO ACCIDENTS RESULTING IN THE LOSS OF THE LIVES. AS AN EXAMPLE, ON FREEWAY, WHILE GOING AT 60MPH, THE SPEED SUDDENLY FALLS DOWN TO 30 OR EVEN 20MPH AND CONTINUES LIKE THAT FOR FEW MINUTES BEFORE IT GOES AUTOMATICALLY TO HIGHER SPEED. THIS FAILURE OCCURS EVERY 10-15 MINUTES IF NOT EARLIER.. THE WHOLE TRANSMISSION WAS REBUILD (INCLUDING THE SOLENOIDS, GEARTRAIN COMPONENTS, TORQUE CONVERTER ETC), THE COMPUTER WAS REPLACED WITH A TOTAL OF APPROX $4500, THOUGH THERE WERE NO DEATHS/INJURIES YET. THIS PROBLEM NEEDS TO BE TAKEN UP SERIOUSLY WITH TOYOTA AND NEEDS A QUICKER RESOLUTION. THANKS IN ADVANCE. *TR

NHTSA ID

10336404

Incident

May 15, 2010

Mileage

128,000 mi

TOYOTA 2001 RAV4 HESITATING TRANSMISSION. MECHANIC SAID THE TRANSMISSION COULD POSSIBLY BE DONE AND METAL IS GRINDING. STARTED ALL OF THE SUDDEN. DOES NOT SHIFT OUT OF GEAR FROM FIRST TO SECOND, ETC. DESCRIPTION OF EXACT PROBLEM IS HERE: HTTP://WHEELS.BLOGS.NYTIMES.COM/2009/08/26/TOYOTAS-REACTION-TO-TRANSMISSION-WOES-DRAWS-CUSTOMERS-IRE/#MORE-23445. *TR

NHTSA ID

10310220

Incident

Apr 2, 2008

Mileage

129,000 mi

2001 TOYOTA RAV4 STARTED CAR PUT IN DRIVE APPLIED GAS AND CAR LEAPED FORWARD. PUT TRANSMISSION IN NEUTRAL,ENGINE WAS HEAVILY RACING,STEPPED ON BRAKE BUT COULD NOT STOP CAR. SHUT ENGINE OFF AND STOPPED IN A SNOW PILE. TOOK CAR TO DEALER FOR EVALUATION. DEALER COULD NOT FIND ANY PROBLEM. *TR

NHTSA ID

10310163

Incident

Feb 11, 2010

Mileage

83,650 mi

2001 TOYOTA RAV 4 THE ACCELERATOR SUDDENLY BECAME STUCK FULL OPEN AT A SLOW SPEED. WAS ABLE TO BRING CAR TO STOP BY RIDING BRAKES AND TURNED ENGINE OFF. HAPPENED ONE TIME. CAR SEEMED FINE AFTER RESTARTING. NOTHING WAS DONE TO CORRECT BECAUSE NEVER COULD FIGURE OUT CAUSE AND HAS NEVER REPEATED. *TR

NHTSA ID

10290777

Incident

Feb 15, 2009

Mileage

80,000 mi

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 TOYOTA RAV 4. WHILE THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING 30 MPH SHE NOTICED THAT THE VEHICLE STARTED TO PULL BACK AND FOURTH AND THEN THE ENGINE SHUT OFF. A LOCAL MECHANIC STATED THAT THE ECM NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THERE WERE NO PRIOR WARNINGS AND THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 95000.

NHTSA ID

10289362

Incident

Oct 3, 2009

Mileage

95,000 mi

BRAKES WERE APPLIED VEHICLE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED.*JB,...*AK

NHTSA ID

10008698

Incident

Sep 15, 2001

OUR RAV4 2001 ACCELERATED ON ITS OWN AFTER WE CAME TO A STOP AND RESULTED IN US CRASHING HEAD ON INTO A BRICK BUILDING WITHOUT THE AIRBAGS OPENING CAUSING TREMENDEOUS AMOUNT OF DAMAGE TO THE BUILDING BOTH AUTOS ON EACH SIDE AND OF COURSE OUR CAR. TWO DAYS BEFORE, IT ACCELERATED AGAIN AFTER WE CAME TO A COMPLETE STOP WAITING IN LINE FOR GAS JUST MISSING US CRASHING INTO A TRUCK.*AK

NHTSA ID

764196

Incident

Jul 5, 2002

CONSUMER SET THE CRUISE CONTROL AT 35 MPH, AT THE NEXT BLOCK THE VEHICLE BEGAN SPEEDING AT 60MPH AND WAS CLIMBING, CONSUMER SHIFTED INTO NEUTRAL WHILE THE RPMS WENT TO 6000, CONSUMER THEN SHUT OFF THE IGNITION, DEALER FOUND THAT THE CRUISE CONTROL ACTUATOR WAS AT FAULT. *SLC

NHTSA ID

566412

THE VEHICLE DOESN'T RESPOND TO THROTTLE PRESSURE AND TRANSMISSION DOESN'T SHIFT DOWN PROPERLY. THIS IS NOTICED AS A HESITATION. WHEN THE TRANSMISSION FINALLY DOWN SHIFTS IT SHIFTS ALL THE WAY TO FIRST GEAR, THEN ROARS FOR A FEW SECONDS, THEN SHIFTS QUICKLY.

NHTSA ID

758187