Transmission Woes Prompt Warranty Extension On Toyota RAV4 Models

Good luck collecting on this one. You have to have one of the 235,000 cars Toyota considers affected. Even if you own a 2002 Rav4 that has or had a faulty ECU, they could care less. We spent $4235 to have both the ECU replaced and reprogrammed, and the transmission ruined by that unit also replaced. My faith in Toyota is waning, and I have owned 5.

The important thing about this situation, is that if your RAV4 is not covered, you should repair the ecm computer, which is the part that starts all this problem when it fails. It suddenly looses control over the automatic transmission shifting solenoids and if you keep driving it like that, the transmission will add to the problem.
If it starts in second or third gear, you should stop using your RAV4 and have the ecm repaired. Otherwise, you will burn the clutches of the transmission in no time.
The cost of a new ecm is around $1250, so it is a wise decision to have it repaired instead. Transmission repair bills are even higher, up to a few $1000's.
Symptoms to identify that your RAV4 is having this problem are:
-Your RAV4 model year is 2001, 2002 or 2003
-Loss of power
-Erratic shifting
-Harsh Shifting
-Hard engagement when put in reverse
-Starting in second or third gear
-Check engine light, P0750, P0753, P0755, P0758, P1760 codes
You will know if it is starting in 2nd or 3rd gear if you feel your RAV4 very heavy when launching, that is, moving from 0 MPH.
There is a good article about this issue, with more details at:
www.qcwo.com/technicaldomain/harsh-shifting-problems-on-toyota-rav-automatic-transmission-and-problem-repair
Hope this helps,
Richard

There is a class action suit in the US District Court of the Northern District of California C. Milligan vs Toyota MotorSales USA, Inc. (#C09-05418-RS),regarding ECU's and automatic transmissions on 2001 to 2003 RAV4's. Copy of lawsuit accessable through google.com. Case's last entry is a continuance issued 9-14-10, pending court-approval of settlement.

My Rav 4 has had the ecm replaced 3 times. The transmission has been replaced once. It has been in the shop for 4 months trying to get the 4th repair to the ecm and transmission successfully completed. Four months with no success in unreasonable. My question is - what recourse do consumers have if the repairs cannot be succesfully completed? I have no confidence that Toyota can repair the vehicle. I will not buy another Toyota vehicle.