Three problems related to starter solenoid have been reported for the 2002 Toyota RAV4. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2002 Toyota RAV4 based on all problems reported for the 2002 RAV4.
2002 Toyota Rav4: ecm computer problem causes the transmission to burn out. The ecm has a design blunder which causes it to lose its ability to control the solenoids. The transmission is damaged quite suddenly.
My 2002 Toyota Rav4 has been intermittently not shifting into gear. It balks and clunks, and eventually shifts. This is a safety issue when entering traffic, because you don't know if the car will be able to accelerate to the speed of traffic or not. It is also a safety issue at stop lights, because you don't know if you will be able to make it across the intersection before the light changes or not. This started in January 2009, but was not consistent. In July, it finally created a "check engine" condition. I took the vehicle to a reputable mechanic, and he changed the transmission fluid and replaced solenoids, which the engine code suggested. I then took it to a Toyota dealer, and they replaced the ecm, at a cost of $1500. That did not solve the problem, and they say I need to replace the transmission for $3500. Toyota has known about this problem since 2006, and at that time issued a bulletin. However, I feel they should have issued a recall due to the safety issues and the cost involved.
In the past few years the check engine light kept coming on and my local dealer would fix something that was supposed to be causing the problem twice. The 3rd time Toyota had a recall on the computer and reprogrammed the ecu. Now the 4th time the car would not go when pushing the pedal or it would stop in traffic with the hopes of not getting into a wreck. Barely made it back to the dealer who said it had a bad main computer failure and the "shift solenoid b" was bad. All this with only 83k miles. This seems somewhat very low to be having this kind of a problem. I contacted Toyota, gave them the info and they investigated and said it was way out of warranty so the case is "closed". The total cost of repair was to be $4998 but with the dealer giving me a "one time good will 50% split and a senior citizens discount", it had a final price of $3,725. 63.