2003 Toyota RAV4 Automatic Transmission Problems
- 106
- 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.
What owners report
- transmission problems · 12 records
- engine light · 11 records
- check engine · 9 records
- same problem · 8 records
- transmission problem · 8 records
- first second · 7 records
Mileage in stored records
| Band | Records |
|---|---|
| 60–100k mi | 54 |
| 100–150k mi | 36 |
| 150–400k mi | 5 |
| 30–60k mi | 2 |
| 1–30k mi | 1 |
Complaint records
Owner-submitted complaint content, presented as stored.
Automatic Transmission
My toyota rav4 automatic suddenly began to run roughly, and clunk when shifting. I attempted a left turn at a light into a parking lot to check the car when it hesitated for several seconds in the middle of the busy intersection. The oncoming traffic was alert enough to avoid me but it was close. I would not have attempted that turn if i had known the extent of the car's problem. I was able to get the car home and…
ODI 10300033
Automatic Transmission
I have a 2003 toyota rav4 that i bought used and luckily have not had any problems with until now. 2 days before christmas i was in town running errands and had stopped at a traffic light. When the light changed and i pressed on the gas, the vehicles engine revved up but the truck hardly moved. Then it jerked as if someone had rear ended me. I thought it was weird but went on. Stopped at another light and same…
ODI 10297065
Automatic Transmission · Engine And Engine Cooling
2003 toyota rav was stop instead of accelerating on highway starting 12/17, brought to dealership on 12/22/09 and they changed spark plugs; brought back 12/29 they changed water pump and then test drove and called me to tell me it could be transmission but to replace the ecm first since they knew it could cause transmission problems. *tr
ODI 10297752
Automatic Transmission
2003 toyota rav4 automatic transmission jerking, stopping and going by itself. *cn
ODI 10302872
Automatic Transmission
I own a 2003 toyota rav 4, approx. Two months ago the transmission went out on it. As i have learned this is a common problem with 2001-2004 toyota rav 4's. It seems many of the above noted year rav's have a faulty ecu in them, this ecu tells the transmission to do the wrong thing, therefore causing the transmission to fail. I have been quoted a price to repair my rav4 it will cost me well over $5,000.00, really? I…
ODI 10304492
Automatic Transmission · Seat Belts
Engine light has been on for awhile. I spent 1400 to get it fixed last year so that i can pass emission but still failed and had to get a waiver. On december of 2009, a friend of mine and i was driving and it started to lose its power and started jerking. We immediately parked the car and turned it off. We waited a little while to see if we can get help somewhere but we were in a place where we can't get any cell…
ODI 10328061
Automatic Transmission
Upon a recent trip to tennessee, i started noticing the slipping of the transmission during accelerate . After taking the vehicle to a repair shop i was informed that toyota was aware of the problem and has no plans to help remedy the situation. When ever you try to accelerate it does not want to stay in gear leaving the driver in doubt of weather or not the car stay in gear. It seems the ecm module is defective and…
ODI 10296467
Automatic Transmission
Around 12/1/2009, i noticed that the automatic transmission seemed to have problems shifting, for example when you would think that the car would shift from 1st to 2nd gear, it would not, or when you were at a stop light and tried to accelerate, car would not move. It was as if the car was in neutral so stepping on the accelerator did nothing but cause a loud "revving" sound. In most cases within a few seconds, it…
ODI 10306704
Automatic Transmission · Electrical System
I bought a brandnew 2003 rav4 6 years ago and already have 95,000 miles on it. The transmission starts to slipped and drag a couple of days ago. It almost caused an accident on my way home because the transmission slowly shifts gear on 2nd and 3rd with a high idling. I have read some forums about the rav4 2001-2003 ecm issues. I would like to complaint that toyota would not do a recall to the faulty part that can…
ODI 10294204
Automatic Transmission
We have a 2003 toyota rav4 that obviously has a defective part and safety issues. We bought this vehicle for our teenage daughter approximately 1 1/2 yrs ago from a dealer and it had 74,000 miles. Thankfully we did get a extended warranty, but not one that will cover this problem. This last november our daughter was driving the car and was stuck going up a hill as the car would not shift into the right gear. She was…
ODI 10313672
Automatic Transmission
I own a 2003 rav 4 and recently within the last 4 days the car jerks and does not shift right between second and third and when in first going to second it has a short jerk to the shift. Then the rpms rev up to 5 nearly getting me hit by a diesel on the freeway. I am aware this problem is happening for many people with this car and is a model defect toyota needs to own up to this problem and fix it. Unfortunately…
ODI 10293130
Automatic Transmission
When driving my 2003 toyota rav4, the transmission slipped at about 20mph. I was about to enter an interception, and a 18 wheel truck, started to make a turn in front of me. I was unable to proceed, and narrowly missed the truck hitting me head-on. Competition toyota of middle iland, ny put a new ecm in for $1400, but the trans. Continued to slip. I spent $5,700+ on a rebuilt transmission from jasper corp., but i…
ODI 10311874
Automatic Transmission
I own a 2003 rav4, after 100k miles the car stalks and will not accelerate in traffic. Had it checked by a mechanic and the ecm is bad. Called toyota dealer about the ecm recall and they refused to cover for it since it's over the 80k miles. *tr
ODI 10291799
Automatic Transmission
Toyota rav 4 automatic transmission suddenly failed. *tr
ODI 10291448
Automatic Transmission
I own a rav4 toyota. Last thursday my ar started having problems with the transmission, was rough shifting and stalling from in first and second. I took the vehicle in to the dealership, 45 km from home, crossing a major highway the vehicle "kangaroo jumped" over the intersection. The dealership had the vehicle for 3 hours and found nothing wrong with it so i returning home the problem started happening again. When…
ODI 10290703
Automatic Transmission
After accelerating from a stop the vehicle hesitated and then sped up quickly and i almost hit another vehicle. It did that about 4-8 times before i did some research and found it was out of warranty and that toyota wouldn't fix it, according to my research and toyota's reluctancy to recall the vehicle. *tr
ODI 10318327
Automatic Transmission
TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS ON 2003 TOYOTA RAV 4. *TR
ODI 10292871
Automatic Transmission
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…
ODI 10286725
Automatic Transmission
No prior notice of any problems. All of a sudden vehicle will barely start from stopped position. I drive a 2003 toyota rav4. All indication is that the ecm is faulty causing the transmission not to shift correctly. Pulling into or out of traffic with the said vehicle is extremely dangerous. *tr
ODI 10287413
Automatic Transmission
My 2003 toyota rav4 sometimes stalls in traffic, due to what seems like the transmission slipping. The engine races for a while, then the transmission will catch and the car will surge forward. There is no pattern to when this happens. *tr
ODI 10285617
Automatic Transmission
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 toyota rav 4. The contact stated that intermittently the transmission slipped out of gear and the engine stalled without any prior warnings. As a consequence, her risk for a vehicle crash was increased. An authorized technician advised her that there was a technical service bulletin for the transmission. Since the contact was ineligible for a free remedy, the vehicle was not repaired. The…
ODI 10284182
Automatic Transmission · Vehicle Speed Control
The first thing i noticed was a hard shift into reverse. Like a lurch. About 2 days later i noticed the shift from 2nd to 3rd was taking longer than it should. On about the 4th day, at a light when stopped, i hit the gas and didn't move. There was a notable hesitation and i nearly was rearended. Finally on about the 5th day, i had the pedal to the floor and was crawling along the road basically. We turned around and…
ODI 10304403
Automatic Transmission
I have a 2003 toyota rav 4 with an automatic transmission. While driving on the highway the car slipped out of gear and hesitated and the car sputtered losing speed and nearly causing me to be rear ended by a tractor trailer. I am being told that it is a ecm module control problem that you may be aware of. I spoke to a representative at toyota and the told basically "to bad for me". I would like to file a formal…
ODI 10283866
Automatic Transmission
My toyota rav4 2003 had the same transmission problem that i know you have received complaints about. Toyota never recalled or informed any owners of these vehicles and now what i'm reading has happened to my car. This is dangerous and toyota should be made to notify all owners. All of a sudden my car started to not accelerate and buck forward. I almost got into an accident, almost rear ended because the car was not…
ODI 10284600
Automatic Transmission
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 toyota rav 4. The contact noticed that the vehicle skipped gears when she attempted to shift from 1 to 2 or 3 to 4. The gear slippage increased the risk of a vehicle crash. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and a technician concluded that there were no problems with the transmission. No repairs have been made. The current and failure mileages were 98800.
ODI 10283423