Vehicle Shudder problems of the 2002 Toyota RAV4

Out of the blue while in rush hour traffic, my car started shaking, jerking, slamming into gear, not accelerating, and at times it felt like the brake was being applied when I stepped the gas. When I first took it to the dealership a day after this happened the first time, they could not find anything because they could not duplicate the issue during a test drive. Literally minutes after picking my car up and driving off the dealership lot, it started happening again in stop-and-go traffic. This time it was much worse and I was afraid as the person behind me almost rear-ended me. I took it back to the dealership and they tell me I either need a new ecm or a new transmission. But after researching this on the internet, it is a huge issue that is happening to a lot of 2002 Toyota Rav4 owners. And we as the owners are at the mercy of the unknown - this happens out of no where and is horribly unsafe and yet Toyota takes no responsibility.

Transmission slipping and slamming into gear. Vehicle shudders like it was going to stop running, then rpm's jumped up to about 4,000 and slammo! slams into gear. Almost got hit by a large truck behind me. Check engine light doesn't come on . Took it to dealership and they say without error codes they cannot diagnose the problem. Had a recall on ecm a couple of yrs. Ago. Had it done(re-flashed) at dealership. No help from Toyota.

I have a 2002 Rav4 all wheel drive automatic, and the transmission started acting up at 98,000 miles. The car would shudder at stops, sometimes lunging forward. I would hold up traffic as it continued shuddering until it would finally go into second. Sometimes on the freeway it would slip out of gear and shudder as well. I would have to reduce speed until it would go into second. Sometimes at intersections I would crawl across the street as I hoped that it would go into second before the light turned red! I took it into Toyota oxnard CA. At 110,000 miles. The service manager told me that this model "is notorious for transmission problems. " I then said, "and you sold me this car knowing this?!" I purchased the used car from the same lot in April 2004. So the car was looked at, and the diagnosis was that it needed a new transmission. No mention of the computer problem. I was quoted $3800 to fix it. I took it to another transmission shop for a second opinion, as I could not afford $3800 to fix it. I was told that if I "baby" it that it may last awhile longer. At 203,000 miles it gave out. The car would no longer go into 2nd gear. I took it back to the transmission shop where I was told that the computer was also an issue, and he suggested to replace both. It is now fixed. . . $4800 later. I am currently unemployed and had to use all of my student loan money to pay for my car.

I own a 2002 Toyota Rav4. I've been the sole owner of this vehicle and purchased it band new in 2002 from a local honolulu Toyota dealer. In mid/late 2009, the vehicle started having transmission problems: hard shifting in lower gears 1, 2 & 3, hard shifting when placing the vehicle in reverse, the vehicle shaking and vibrating when slowing down and sudden acceleration from the stopped position when the gas pedal is slowly pressed. . I took the vehicle in to determine the problem. An independent mechanic informed me that Toyota issued memo outlining the problems I described above possibly due to the transmission and/or the ecu (computer that controls the transmission). A Toyota servicing mechanic informed me that my 2002 Rav4 was no longer under drivetrain warranty, so repair cost are my responsibility. A quick web search of "rav4 transmissions" shows that many other Rav4 owners suffer from similar problems, resulting in very high repair costs, anywhere from $3,000 up to $8,000. The vehicle still suffers from the above mentioned problems, but due to the high repair estimates I am unable to fix the vehicle.

Auto transmission problem, where the car shudders and shifts very abruptly and often shifts very late posing very dangerous to drive. This problem came on instantaneously without any forewarning , so as I started researching it, the problem appears to be an ecu malfunction where the computer doesn't send the right commands to the transmission for when to shift properly. This can be very dangerous and it is very upsetting that Toyota didn't at least inform Rav4 owners of this issue. I could have replaced the ecu and which is an easy repair costing only about $1200 or there is also a shop online that fixes the ecu for $400 but now I have to fix the ecu and replace a transmission thanks to Toyota's negligence now the repair bill is in the $4000-$6000 price range. Many independent mechanics aren't aware of the issue and have replaced the transmission without knowing that the ecu is at fault and ended up replacing the transmission again and again until finally pinpointing the problem and replacing the ecu also. The same nearly happened to me when I took it to both of my mechanics and they didn't foresee the ecu to be at fault and wanted to replace only the transmission. We've owned the car since day 1 and it has been meticulously maintained it's sad to have this happen to it without any warning.

I started having issues with my car on 6-20-2008. I was driving my car & noticed that when I would accelerate it wasn't accelerating properly. Then I noticed that as the car was shifting into 2nd gear it would stall & then suddenly shift really hard into 3rd gear. Sometimes as I would accelerate the car would start shaking & then shift hard into 1st gear. This made me very nervous because I was unable to keep up with the flow of traffic & feared that the problem would create an accident. The problem seemed to happen intermittently, but it was happening more often than not. We looked at the transmission fluid thinking it might be something wrong with the transmission due to the way it was shifting. We checked the fluid & filled the fluid. My husband drove it a little & it didn't act up for him. So I thought the problem was fixed. Well then I started driving it again & it continued to shift hard & not accelerate properly. I had my uncle look at it & he thought it sounded like the transmission was not engaging. So I finally took it to a Toyota dealership to have them look at it. Of course ($84 later) they couldn't get the problem to occur. I went to pick the car up the next day & they said they found a bulletin on 2001-2003 Toyota Rav4's that if there was a hard shifting that the ecm needed replacing. $1500 later the car is fixed. Of course Toyota does not cover the cost of the problem because it was only a bulletin & supposedly did not cause a safety issue & come to find out my manufacturers warranty is past & my extended warranty doesn't cover it either even though it's a major part that keeps the car running & functioning properly. I am extremely dissatisfied with the Toyota service & their ways of handling problems that are not the consumers fault but Toyota's manufacturing fault.

I had a Toyota rv4 2002, that was giving me transmission problems, the car star shaking in the middle of the freeway in various occasion, that really scared me, and my child, I had to paid 3462. 52 dollars to have the transmission replaced, but that didn't fix the problem, and Toyota replaced the ecm, another 1, 200 dollars. I'm very unhappy because later I found out, that Toyota knew of this problem, but they didn't not notified the customer, I'm a single mother, and for me that was a lot of money to paid with my credit cards. . .