2001 RAV4 Transmission problems....

[mgetz20]

Hi everyone. This is my first post on here and it's a doozy. I recently took my 2001 Rav4 into my local Toyota garage for a problem with the transmission. It was shifting a little rough into 2nd gear once in a while and wouldn't go faster than 55 mph. Well after they diagnosed it the car came back with even more problems. The car downshifts when first gear is reving up so I can't go faster than 15mph and when I go in Reverse there's a loud thud! This all happened after they diagnosed it. Can you believe it? They said that they didn't do anything to the car that would have caused this, but who knows what they do in the garage. Anyways, I was hoping someone could tell me what could be going wrong with the transmission.

By the way they've replaced the ECM under their warranty but that didn't help at all. Since Toyota only replaces the whole transmission they won't even try opening it up to pinpoint what's exactly wrong. They also said there were no error codes showing up on the diagnostic.

[tm2121]

Wondering if anyone else has had this problem. (Sorry this is a long one)
My 01 rav4 has 80000 miles. The check engine light has come on many times, and have been told by dealer nothing is wrong and they reset the computor. The last time it came on my wife was driving it, I told her not to wory about it. Sure enough the car over heated on her on the highway. I checked the coolant and it was low, took it for a test drive and relized that the transmission was now slipping and not shifting properly. Took it in to the dealer and was told that there was air in the cooling system and that they bled the system and the transmission was fine. Not able to explain how the coolant got low (there were no leaks). Pick up the car and on the way home transmission is doing exactly the same. Drop it back off to find out the the transmission was bad and had to be rebuilt ($4200). The car has been back to the transmmission shop 3 times and it's still not right. During all this the light comes on once again, took it in to the dealer and came up with a bad Cat. had it replaced ($1200). All this after my 75000 mile extended warranty. For the last 16 years drove nothing but Toyota, but am considering otherwise.

[raulmi6]

I had problems with my cat conv a few years ago. It was replaced under the certified vehicle powertrain warranty. About the same time I also did the recommended 60k maintenance, at which time the dealer noted that the transm fluid was dirtier than normal but didn't diagnose any problems. The car now has 80k miles, the 6yr (in'05 they started giving 7 yr warranties) expired last Nov. and things have since gotten ridiculous. The transmission began to exhibit problems shifting (overrevving, jolting shift, late shift, lugging, etc.). The dealer said it was the transmission and they wanted $5k to replace it. I took it to a reputable transm. shop and had it rebuilt for $2500. Afterward, the tran shop took it to the dealer (who they work with at times) because the trans was still behaving erratically. Now the dealer tells me that the ECU needs to be completely replaced and that this is what fried the transmission (and prob. the cat conv.). Naturally, Toyota is sticking to their guns claiming that there is no warranty coverage b/c the trans problems didn't get called in before last sept. I noticed after doing a google search that a TSM was issued for the ECM/ECU due to check engine lights coming on erratically. A few people noted that the ECU had to be replaced and that it was causing their transmissions to malfunction. One person was told by a Toyota rep that there hasn't been a TSM issued for defective ECU's causing transmission malfuctions because Toyota hasn't received enough complaints yet. Any ideas, suggestions?

[raulmi6]

oh, and the dealer now wants $1400 to replace the ECU.

[preludebusiness]

I am having the same problem now. The engine lite has been on and off, and has problem with going to 2nd gear from 1st. Toyota dealer told me it's gonna cost $7xx for the stupid ECM already plus labor. My RAV4 doesn't have warranty already, which is suck. Any idea what I should do? I replaced the oxygen sensor like 2 months ago too.

[M&MA]

I had 60K miles on my 01 Rav4 when I scheduled an appointment for the recall regarding the ECM reprogramming. Before I made it to the dealer, the transmission started acting up. It behaved as if it didn't want to engage fully in 1st gear, then hard shifted into 2nd. Later it started double shifting from 2nd to 3rd. I stopped driving the car until I brought it to the dealer. After reading all the problems in this string, I was fearful of a transmission problem, but the dealer told me the reprogramming of the ECM would fix the problem. The car ran great for about 80 miles, then returned to the original problem with a check engine light. I had not had a check engine light prior to that. When I brought the car back I was told that I needed a new ECM(covered under the 8year/80K emissions warranty). Turns out there is a technical service bulletin(TC002-06) describing this very problem. I'm still waiting to get my car back, but I'm confident that was the fix. Hope this helps others with the same problem.

[mustang67408]

Originally Posted by mgetz20

Hi everyone. This is my first post on here and it's a doozy. I recently took my 2001 Rav4 into my local Toyota garage for a problem with the transmission. It was shifting a little rough into 2nd gear once in a while and wouldn't go faster than 55 mph. Well after they diagnosed it the car came back with even more problems. The car downshifts when first gear is reving up so I can't go faster than 15mph and when I go in Reverse there's a loud thud! This all happened after they diagnosed it. Can you believe it? They said that they didn't do anything to the car that would have caused this, but who knows what they do in the garage. Anyways, I was hoping someone could tell me what could be going wrong with the transmission.

By the way they've replaced the ECM under their warranty but that didn't help at all. Since Toyota only replaces the whole transmission they won't even try opening it up to pinpoint what's exactly wrong. They also said there were no error codes showing up on the diagnostic.

Here is a TSB of what they should have replaced. Look on your receipt and see.
If this ECU did not fox the problem, then the trans is damaged inside and should be replaced. Usually the ECU works, as there is a logic update.
The HARD into REV is a TYPICAL ECU malfunction. I had one last week go into REV and 1st at the same time.
Its quicker, cheaper and easier nowadays to replace whole assemblies. There is so much damage when they come apart, that you can not clean all the metal particles out of it and we have found that more and more transmission cases warp form excessive heat. Unfortunatley things are NOT made like they used to be, the cases are thinner and cannot take the abuse. Must be to save weight or save expense on aluminium, I dunno why.
The ECU is 8yr/80K miles warranty
The Trans is 5/60K, are you out of warranty?
Do you have extended warranty (TOYOTA EXTRA CARE)?