2001 Toyota RAV4 electrical system problems

“MY2001RAV4 WITH 125000 STARTED JUMPING INTO GEAR ALSO THE RPM REVS UP BUT VECHICLE LOSSES POWER VERY DANGEROUS ON HIGHWAY TRANSMISSION SLIPPING AND JERK INTO GEARS”

“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!!”

“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.”

“I BOUGHT A TOYOTA RAV4 TWO WEEKS AGO, AND SAW THERE WAS A RECALL ON THE ENGINE CONTROL MODULE, BUT ASSUMED THAT TOYOTA WOULD REPLACE IT IF MINE NEEDED REPLACED. MY VEHICLE'S ECM HAD BEEN REPROGRAMMED, SO I ASSUMED IT WOULD BE FINE. I WAS WRONG. AFTER ABOUT A WEEK, MY VEHICLE STARTED SHIFTING HARSHLY, AND I HAD TO CRAWL ALONG A BUSY EXPRESSWAY WITH MY FOUR-WAY LIGHTS ON WITH CARS FLYING PAST ME. AND I HAD TO LIMP THROUGH INTERSECTIONS, THEN IMMEDIATELY STOP MY CAR FROM LURCHING FORWARD -- WHAT IF A PERSON HAD BEEN WALKING ACROSS THE INTERSECTION?? TOYOTA SAYS MY VEHICLE'S TOO OLD TO BE COVERED UNDER THE RECALL TO REPLACE THE ECM. ABSOLUTELY APPALLING. IF THEIR FIRST RECALL OBVIOUSLY DIDN'T WORK, OWNERS SHOULD NOT HAVE TO PAY FOR A HUGE MISTAKE TOYOTA MADE. IT IS ONLY FAIR THAT THIS IS COVERED FOR THE LIFETIME OF THE CAR. IT IS NOT FAIR FOR PEOPLE LIKE MYSELF WHO HAVE TO BUY A USED CAR. I DON'T KNOW HOW THIS HASN'T BEEN INVESTIGATED YET. IT IS OBVIOUSLY A SAFETY ISSUE SEEING AS THE CAR CRAWLS THROUGH BUSY INTERSECTIONS AND SOMEONE COULD EASILY HIT YOU. OR YOU COULD BE TRYING TO MERGE ONTO A HIGHWAY AND THE CAR COULD REFUSE TO ACCELERATE AND A CAR COULD HIT YOU…”

“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”

“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”