2003 Toyota RAV4 Electrical System Problems
- 39
- Owner complaint records in our dataset
Records are owner complaints, not a measured failure rate.
Owner complaint recordsComplaint records reflect reports in our dataset and do not measure how frequently the problem occurs across all vehicles.
Among these 39 stored complaint records:
- 0 indicate a crash
- 0 indicate injury
- 3 indicate fire
What owners report
- engine light · 6 records
- accelerator pedal · 4 records
- harsh shift · 4 records
- check engine · 4 records
Mileage in stored records
| Band | Records |
|---|---|
| 60–100k mi | 16 |
| 100–150k mi | 11 |
| 150–400k mi | 5 |
| 30–60k mi | 2 |
| 1–30k mi | 1 |
Complaint records
Owner-submitted complaint content, presented as stored.
Electrical System · Power Train
I was driving my 2003 toyota rav4 and attempted to merge into another lane when i experienced a very hard shift from the transmission causing the vehicle to stall with a reving engine noise and avoided being rear ended by a truck. I purchased my rav4 brand new in 2003 to accomodate my disability needs and only have 82,000 miles.i checked with my mechanic today and he looked up the toyota recall on these rav4…
ODI 10898405
Electrical System · Unknown Or Other · Vehicle Speed Control
Harsh shifting, jumping from gear-to-gear, sluggish acceleration and transmission/electronic control module failure. Called toyota regarding the extended warrenty. They refused to honor the extended warranty despite not providing notice to the correct address.
ODI 10906740
Electrical System · Power Train
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 toyota rav4. While driving approximately 30 mph, the accelerator pedal was depressed and the vehicle jerked. As a result, the vehicle became stuck in second and third gear. The failure recurred intermittently. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the failure was undetermined; however, the technician discovered that the computer damaged the transmission. The vehicle was…
ODI 10860330
Electrical System
Electric control module (ecm) is bad, causing harsh shifting, failure to accelerate correctly, and rpm's to jump. This is a known problem with this model and should have been recalled. This vehicle only has 112,000 miles on it. The part is $800+ or $1100 from dealer.
ODI 10778688
Electrical System · Power Train
Bought car used and didn't notice the shift problem til later.shifts hard from 2 to 3rd gear. Many people have issue with this mostly being the ecm going bad then destroying the transmission. Both are expensive fixes and both are dangerous leading to accidents. *tr
ODI 10689970
Electrical System · Electronic Stability Control · Power Train
Experiencing abnormal behavior when shifting gears (auto trans). Transmission was shifting oddly - harsh shift condition . It was not a frequent problem and no engine light and i took it to the local mechanic and he connected to his computer and could not find any error codes. The problem happens every time i move from a stop. Found out that toyota put out a technical service bulletin in early 2006 after defects…
ODI 10670525
Electrical System · Power Train · Vehicle Speed Control
Last week, on the freeway entrance the car would not accelerate, then "bucked" and "raced". I nearly got rear-ended by the car behind me - a frightening experience. Then, driving city streets - to the mechanic - the same experience - stalled then raced ahead. After replacing the transmission fluid and filter ($400), the problem continues and the mechanic advised replacing the ecm ($928.46 plus labor). This is a…
ODI 10653967
Electrical System · Power Train
This letter is in reference to an issue, namely, harsh shift condition, on our 2003 toyota rav4, the vehicle presently shows approximately 119, 600 miles. According to toyota warranty policy bulletin no. Pol 10-03, dated 07/09/10, page 1, toyota has received reports that certain 2001 through 2003 model year rav4 vehicles equipped with an automatic transaxle may exhibit a harsh shift condition if this condition…
ODI 10639673
Electrical System
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 toyota rav4. While driving at various speeds, the vehicle would suddenly stop accelerating. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the ecm unit was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 162,000.
ODI 10761163
Electrical System · Power Train
Harsh shifting; automatic shifting erratic; lurching, especially when starting from stop. Local garage says transmission is shot and requires replacement ($3100).
ODI 10640991
Electrical System
Ecm fail. Heading north on highway 53 and made a turn to go south on highway 53 car seem to apply brakes and gears was hunting which gear to go in all the time i giving it gas to get out of the way of on coming cars,, made it home, next day drove car and as i made a right turn same thing again went back home and call toyota dealer they said it sound like the tranmission was failing, got on the internet and found…
ODI 10567270
Electrical System
Basically toyota will not honor the replacement of my ecm because i notified them 10 after their "extension" had expired. I did not receive any notifications regarding this issue. I spent a week from mechanic to mechanic, getting estimates. Finally someone told me about the recall and suggested i reach out to toyota. They refused to make an exception because the delivery date to the original owner was 8/31/2003.…
ODI 10544440
Electrical System · Engine
Often (and unpredictably), vehicle does not accelerate from stop. It creeps forward as tack jumps, then with a loud "clunk" it jerks into 2nd (or 3rd) gear and suddenly leaps forward. Check engine light goes on and off. Took vehicle to toyota dealer more than once and told "no problem found." when this issue was finally demonstrated, the toyota dealership reported that solenoid b is faulty and entire transmission…
ODI 10534673
Electrical System · Electronic Stability Control · Engine · Power Train
On or about may 5, 2013 i noticed my car started to hard shift, though i was driving as usual. The problem happens off and on and is most noticeable when waiting at a stop sign, red light or drive thru at a restaurant. The shift jolt is most noticeable when needing to accelerate or shifting into drive--it doesn't happen when i go into reverse. The shift jolt sometimes is accompanied by a thud noise. On may 7, 2013 i…
ODI 10513658
Electrical System
The clips securing the electrical console on the driver's door gave way and fell into the door, for no apparent reason. Now the console is loose and keeps riding up from it's position. I'm concerned this is going to cause an electrical shortage or will get wet when door or window is opened during rain, snow etc. I had someone look at it at a nearby toyota dealer and was told the whole electrical console on the…
ODI 10479980
Electrical System · Engine · Power Train
I own a 2003 toyota rav4. My car was running in good working order, with just over 99,000 miles on it. On may 2nd 2012, i experienced issues with the car's transmission and ecm. The car would rev when i pressed on the gas, but it would not move. Also, when shifting gears, the car would slow to a brake and then there was be a bump or grinding in the gears before the car would proceed to move. This would put me in…
ODI 10458345
Electrical System
Original owner of 2003 rav4. The vehicle was parked. When notified by college security that car had erupted into flames. Car was totally consumed by fire and was wrecked at junkyard. The car had never been crashed, had all maintenance up to date and was in perfect shape. *tr
Fire reported
ODI 10448114
Electrical System · Electronic Stability Control
My car has a problem well known by manufacturers,as,harsh shift of automatictransaxles , or (ecm)code p0755.toyota sent service bulletins to dealers but i was never notified>now i have to repair my car at a cost of over $6000.toyota headquarters in california has refused to honour my repair,even though they honoured for california.reason being am out of warranty by the miles,which i have 175000,but im still in…
ODI 10420155
Automatic Transmission · Electrical System · Unknown Or Other
Hi about my 2003 toyota rav4, its seems to stall and shutting off the engine while driving. For exaple it happen more then 5 time on me this month7/1/2011, and almost getting bump in rear end. I took it to toyota dealer, and paying $100 for what they could find anything wrong. This model should be recall or accident will happen. *tt
ODI 10417146
Electrical System · Engine
My 2003 rav4 has always been very sluggish from a dead start and any kind of sudden acceleration but i knew that i would eventually reach the legal speed limit. Driving 1 1/2 weeks ago, however, brought my attention to another, far more serious acceleration problem, far worse than just sluggishness. The suv was shifting out of gear automatically and i feared for my safety as i was in moving traffic and i was having…
ODI 10358927
Automatic Transmission · Electrical System
My wife's' 2003 toyota rav4 just started having transmission problems. We took it immediately to a repair shop. On the way there were serious problems with the transmission shifting which was particularly dangerous during the acceleration and deceleration in intersections. The dealer repair shop said the computer and transmission would need to be replaced. I called toyota customer service and they told me a service…
ODI 10356880
Electrical System · Power Train
Computer failed that led to transmission to fail. After fixing it still glitcheseses. It is ok one day and glitches another very unpredictable and transmission mechanic can not figure out the problem. Computer was put in new and transmission was rebuilt cost about $ 4000. It is hard to effort this during these economic hardships. Not to mention all this happened only on 88000 kms. *tr
ODI 10354644
Automatic Transmission · Electrical System
Ecm and transmission problem in 2003 toyota rav4 create a very dangerous condition - severe hesitation and delay/disruption in shifting when other vehicles are behind you or when you are trying to cross lanes of traffic in low gears. *tr
ODI 10300313
Electrical System · Power Train
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 toyota rav4. She noticed that when she stopped the gear will fail it will stay in drive. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, and the diagnosis indicated that the failure was caused by the electronic control unit. The dealer replaced the ecu and the failure was corrected. The failure mileage was 102,000 and the current mileage was 104,236. Updated 03/30/10. *lj the consumer stated when she…
ODI 10312257
Automatic Transmission · Electrical System
Car was having trouble shifting. It felt like the emergency brake was on. I pulled out into traffic and the car would not shift from 1st to 2nd gear. I had to pull over. I called my mechanic who said it sounded like the transmission and recommended a transmission specialist. The transmission was rebuilt. They also replaced the computer. They told me the computer failure is what caused the transmission failure. The…
ODI 10299019