Transmission Solenoid problems of the 2003 Toyota RAV4

Takata recall" I was driving on a city street on my way home late afternoon. . . Auto started to jerk and felt like something was pulling at it. . . It slowed up then jerked again. . . It continued on. . . I was driving at 45 speed limit. . . As I was turning the shifting was sounding like it was sticking. . . I parked it at home and next morning I had it checked and diagnosed as solenoid problem causing transmission burnout. . . Also Toyota revealed problems with the ecm and transmission failure.

Primary complaint: purposeful deception regarding full benefits of extended warranty of ecm and/or transmission replacement under class action milligan vtoyota. The events leading to my transmission issues began in 7/ 2012. I had problem getting out of my parent¿s steep driveway so I took it to the garage that had been changing my oil in sissonville wv. Upon diagnostics they reported to me a solenoid code which indicated a possible transmission issue. I was referred to aamco transmissions, however the check engine light had been reset and they were unable to get any codes. After being told it could possibly be something with my exhaust as well, I was referred to quality exhausts but was unable to be seen. Then proceeded barker¿¿s in dunbar. After test driving and evaluating he stated I had broken motor mounts. I made an appointment 7/18/12. When the technician placed my car on the rack he stated he was not sure what was wrong but it was not motor mounts and with the symptoms it was having I should have my transmission looked at. I had it towed to love Lexus in saint albans. There I was told my ecm was in need of replacement. He explained it was under warranty. I was caught off guard due the age of the vehicle. He went on to say the ravs have had some problems with these computers and an extended warranty was placed and applied to them. The harsh shifting had not been completely resolved. In 9/12 my check engine light came back on. I took it back to love Lexus and explained the condition as stated above. I asked if they would please test drive it to make sure they understood my complaint. After the diagnostics were complete I was told a fuel sensor had gone bad and was in need of replacement. Part 1 of 2.

We recently encountered a problem with our 2003 Toyota Rav4 where the transmission intermittently seemed to slip when engaging first gear from a stopped position, shifted harshly between first and second gears, or at times seemed to slip between shifting from first and second gear. The result of the hesitation to shift gears represents a real safety issue in traffic, and we feared this issue would cause an accident. We immediately stopped driving the vehicle and took it to our local Toyota dealership (apple valley Toyota in martinsburg, wv) to look into the problem. We dropped off the vehicle overnight, and received a call from the dealership the next day informing us that we needed a new transmission (quoted $3800). Researching this issue on the internet, we found the known issue with the ecm for this model year vehicle, and the fact that Toyota has known about the issue since at least 2006- although they did not inform the owners of these vehicles, nor did the mechanics at the dealership seem to know that this was an issue- despite a 2006 TSB on the subject. Unfortunately we did not find this out until after we had taken the vehicle to another shop and had the transmission rebuilt and the solenoid box replaced. Now, after almost $4000, we are still experiencing the same issue with the transmission which has left the vehicle undrivable. We feel that Toyota has a responsibility to their customers and that this is clearly a safety issue that warrants a recall. And that even if a recall is not ordered, they should have at least alerted their customers to this issue and prepared their dealerships on how to identify and resolve the issue correctly. Please be proactive and investigate this issue before lives are lost. This problem makes operation of the vehicle unsafe!.

My 2003 Toyota Rav4 had a very harsh shift into reverse, hesitant shift or no shift into 1st. If it did shift into 1st, there was a ramp up in rpm to 4000+ and shaking to get from 2nd to 3rd. I took it to a certified mechanic who did a full diagnostic and informed me that there were no problem codes, however I should flush the tranny fluids to begin with. After a complete flush, the problems didn't go away so I did some research on Rav4 transmission problems and discovered the ecm issue with my model. I had the ecm serviced and a vast majority of the issued were solved, however the faulty ecu had already done permanent damage to the transmission where it had a horrible shift from 2nd to 3rd (a horribly harsh shift into 3rd gear with rpm ramp up to 5000+ rps) requiring additional work from a certified mechanic to replace solenoids and transmission work.

My 2003 Toyota rav 4 has had the transmission rebuilt twice, the computer replaced, and the solenoids replaced twice. My mechanic once thought the ignition switch was burning up the solenoids. I am at my wits end. I have had the vehicle in the shop six times between June 2009 and October 2009 for the same transmission problem. It shifts fine for about a week, and then the same thing: it becomes unreliable as to whether it will shift into 2nd or 3rd gear properly. It jerks, it slips, at other times it revs up to 4000 rpms before it goes into gear and then it lurches forward like a rocket. Sometimes the rear wheels skip off the pavement. I haven't been involved in an accident yet, but it's a matter of time. I cannot merge into traffic like normal vehicles and I fear being rear-ended from a stopped position. I feel like putting a sign on the back of the vehicle explaining why I'm not moving. I just got the vehicle back from the transmission shop Thursday. By Friday, the transmission was already slipping again. I wanted to pull off the highway and cry. I paid $2400 to have the transmission rebuilt and fortunately, all of my return trips were covered by the transmission warranty. But I have also paid $1300 in rental vehicles for all the time the rav 4 was in the shop. I did find the Toyota service bulletin, but the codes from my vehicle did not match the codes in the bulletin. Toyota, please help us! we just want our cars fixed! what the heck is wrong with them? are they all lemons? my Rav4 has 93,000 miles on it. I am the 2nd owner, it has a clean title, and was manufactured in japan.

Car wouldn't shift properly. Toyota dealer said I needed a new transmission due to a problem with the solenoid. After internet searching the problem, I asked that the local repair shop replace the computer (much less costly) and the car started working again. An internal memo to dealers stated that this was a common problem on the make/model but the local dealer did not mention such a memo. I only found it after searching online.