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Toyota RAV4 Transmission Troubles

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    mr_fixit1mr_fixit1 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2011 Rev 4WD and was wondering if maybe u could tell me what years are affected by this poor programing or ECM problem?? My 2011 4WD Limited 2.5 to be exact. I hate to say it............mt tranny has been acting up in the past two weeks or so. It only happens on hills at slow speeds so far. I live at the very top of a mountain, 12,082 feet above sea level, and here lately it shifts really hard, only after seeming to be slipping or bumped into neutral. Although I`m no Master Mechanic by fair, I do however, understand the basics of an automobile, but let me tell u something right now!! This Rev is something else when it comes to diagnose of problems!! Like why mine makes an offal roar, roar, roar, roar, coming from the front end that gets louder and faster as speed increases. Sounds really terrible I`d say and I want it fixed...............just tell me the source of the noise and stand back cause I`m bout to make something happin!!
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    jamievsjamievs Member Posts: 2
    2001-2003......but.........read the posts! Toyota has not been forth coming in advising of problems......though mine is a 2002 it only has 87k on it...a drop in the bucket for a Toyota....or at least should be!
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    natraviolinatravioli Member Posts: 2
    My car has 144,000 miles on it. Like I said, it's been a great car. I am a little upset with the transmission shop. They've had the car since 10/7 - very slow but today i was told they ordered an ECM so the price just jumped to $2300. I reminded him that I mentioned that part also when i turned the car over to him.

    Oh well i will be very happy to get my little Rav back. We'll see how she performs then.
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    jpaul6jpaul6 Member Posts: 1
    My girlfriend has an 02 rav4 with 203000 miles on it. It started to make a buzzing noise from under the hood a month or so ago. I work at a GM shop and thought it was the P/S pump making noise, wasn't to worried about it until she called me and couldn't get it to go forward or reverse. No check engine light or codes stored in the ecm. Toyota says the trans is out needs a new one. They don't think the ecm is bad. When she bought this it it had 140000 on it and she had the ecm and tranny replaced then. They won't back it up with 60000 on the reman they put in 4 years ago. Do you guys think with it already having a reman ecm from toyota in it, should we have it sent in and rebuilt again?
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    themoneymanthemoneyman Member Posts: 1

    The Rav4 transmissions are a piece of garbage... We had a 2002 for about three (3) months. I was driving on the Interstate in the fast lane coming up a hill when the entire tranny went. Thank goodness a truck wasn't behind me or I may have been killed.... After extensive research, found out these vehicle have serious problems. Not only do the trannys go bad due to faulty ECU's/TCM's, however the differentials shred. Cost to fix..... seven grand (7K). The vehicle sits dead in my driveway. There is an Class Action Lawsuit to fix these issues on any Rav4 under 150k miles/10Yrs. Google it. You can also contact the attorney and they will tell you how to proceed. In our case, we were "TOAST".... The warranty ran out two months after the incident. Called Toyota Corporate in California and got no satisfaction. Toyota makes EXCELLENT products like the Camary (saved my daughter and grandson's lives). The Rav4 SUCKS.... DON'T BUY!!!!! You're just asking for problems they won't acknowledge. Call Toyota Corporate. The more calls they get, the more they will pay attention to this severe issue. Someone is going to get seriously injured or killed.

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    jim644jim644 Member Posts: 3

    Just recently purchased 2001 RAV4 (low miles/VG condition thru-out) subsequently learn of tranny/ecm probs. No occurrence as yet. 62000kms. What do I have 2 look 4ward to. Jim, in Philippines.

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    Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    edited June 2014

    Probably nothing to worry about. What we hear on the Internet may or may not even be accurate, and if it is true, it might have affected a very small percentage of cars. Also, most "defects" occur early in a car's life, and be confined only to certain years of the model, or even only certain VIN #s within a given year.

    My feeling is that you should be more worried about what happens to a 13 year old car in general (corrosion, leaking seals, worn out brakes and suspension parts) rather than a few complaints you read about.

    I checked on RepairPal, which catalogs the most frequent complaints about a car by year and make, and there's nothing there about ECM problems. Most complaints were about failures in the EVAP system (leaks) and no-starts due to corroded contacts in the starter motor.

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    jim644jim644 Member Posts: 3

    :) Tnx for your reply, and yes, ur right about "old" parts. Unbelievably, almost like new(minus tires and brake pads).

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    Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481

    Well good for you. That means the car has had excellent care its whole life. A very good sign.

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    stv716stv716 Member Posts: 4
    My problem is the transmission(Toyota RAV 4 2003) starts to shift erratically, it becomes hard to shift into reverse gear, it starts out in third gear instead of first and it becomes very sluggish when taking off from a standing stop
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    Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Have you had a scan done for trouble codes?
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    stv716stv716 Member Posts: 4
    trouble code P0754 for some kind of solenoid
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    Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Yes, that could be a short in one of the shift solenoid circuits or it could be a wiring issues going to the ECM or a defective ECM itself. You'll need to have this diagnosed further to narrow down where the problem might be. The rough shifting is probably due to the fact that the ECM is shutting down one of the defective solenoids, or can't control them properly due to an internal fault.
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    stv716stv716 Member Posts: 4
    a dealer told me that i had to replace the ecu and the transmission.. it was going to be $$$. maybe anybody knows about repair
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    Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    You need to take it somewhere that actually diagnoses problems component by component. The solution offered by the dealer sounds hard to justify.
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    stv716stv716 Member Posts: 4
    Ha-ha! I think I don't need the dealer anymore . Online I found guys from Module Repair Pro Inc in Van Nuys CA I called them and told my problems. They were fast efficient (diagnostic and repair) and I also did not lost any money.
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    Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    So did that fix the problem?
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    stv716stv716 Member Posts: 4
    Of course! there is all information about their service http://www.shop.modulerepairpro.com/main.sc
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