13 complaints reported

2002 Toyota RAV4 UNKNOWN OR OTHER

Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.

Reports
13
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
1

Complaint Timeline

Chronological view of owner reports

Apr 2017

MPG ISN'T AS RATED. RATED 25 CITY/30 HWY. IM GETTING 18 CITY/22 HWY. IV HAD IT CHECKED AT THE TOYOTA RAV4 2002 DEALER AND THEY FOUND NOTHING WRONG. I'VE REPLACED ALL O2 SENSORS, SPARK PLUGS, AIR FILTER. THE CAR RUNS PERFECT BUT THE MILEAGE SUCKS!! THERE MIST BE A FIX FOR THIS ISSUE. I'VE SEEN THAT THERE SEVERAL OTHER RAV4 OWNERS HAVING THE SAME PROBLEMS. YET THERE MANY THAT GET THE RATED MPG.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2002 TOYOTA RAV4, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: Jan 2016
Sep 2015

THIS VEHICLE DOES NOT SHIFT ITS GEAR. IT RUNS ONLY IN FIRST GEAR. THERE ARE NO REVERSE EITHER. IT IS HARD TO CONTROL IN ROAD.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2002 TOYOTA RAV4, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: Apr 2015
Mar 2015

THIS CAR IS A VERY DANGEROUS DEATH TRAP AND LEMON BECAUSE THE TRANSMISSION DOESN'T WORK PROPERLY EVEN THOUGH MY USED RAV4 ONLY HAS 75K MILES ON IT. WHAT A BLACK EYE ON TOYOTA AND THE NHTSA FOR NOT RECALLING THIS MESS OF A CAR! THIS IS A TRAVESTY...WE BOUGHT A TOYOTA FOR $8200 BECAUSE WE THOUGHT TOYOTA WAS A GOOD CAR...NOW WITH ONLY 75K MILES BUT 13 YRS OLD IT IS A TOTAL DANGEROUS LEMON....WHY WON'T YOU FORCE TOYOTA TO DO A MANDATORY RECALL BEFORE PEOPLE ARE KILLED IN THIS DEATH TRAP? NOT RIGHT, PLEASE ACT....

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2002 TOYOTA RAV4, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: Jan 2015
Jun 2011

WHILE ON AN ONRAMP, GOING INTO THICK, FAST TRAFFIC ON THE HIGHWAY (95) OUR RAV4 HAD WHAT I GUESS IS CALLED A "HARSH SHIFT" AND STALLED IN NEWTON, MA. WE THINK THIS IS DUE TO A FAULTY ECM OR TRANSMISSION (WE ALREADY HAD THE ECM REPLACED ONCE, IN PASADENA, CA AT THE END OF 2008, AND IT WAS LIKE PULLING TEETH TO GET TOYOTA TO DO IT!) I CAN'T BELIEVE THE VEHICLE IS EXPERIENCING THE SAME PROBLEM, AGAIN!! SOMEONE COULD HAVE BEEN SERIOUSLY INJURED! A QUICK SEARCH OF THE MESSAGE BOARDS (CARCOMPLAINTS.COM HAS 3 PAGES OF COMPLAINTS REGARDING THIS ISSUE!) AND A LOVELY NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE WRITTEN ON JULY 13, 2010 BY CHRISTOPHER JENSEN ABOUT TOYOTA EXTENDING THE WARRANTY ON THE OBVIOUSLY FAULTY ECM'S TELLS ME THIS IS A PROBLEM THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED, SOONER RATHER THAN LATER.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2002 TOYOTA RAV4, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: Jun 2011
Jun 2011

THE ECM FAILED AND CAUSED DAMAGED TO THE TRANSMISSION (2ND GEAR SPECIALLY). ON THE HIGHWAY, THE VEHICLE HAD DECREASED POWER; GEARS WERE SLIPPING AND THE CAR WERE JERK FROM GEAR TO GEAR. TOYOTA APPARENTLY WAS AWARE OF THE MALFUNCTION BECAUSE THEY EXTENDED THEIR WARRANTY TO 10 YEARS/150K MILES. BECAUSE OF MY MILEAGE, I AM NOT COVERED. IF THEY KNEW THERE WAS A FAULT, WHY DIDN'T THEY DO RECALL AND FIX THE PROBLEM?

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2002 TOYOTA RAV4, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: May 2011
Dec 2010

S10 APPROPRIATE HANDLING RE TOYOTA VEHICLES SUDDEN UNINTENDED ACCELERATION FWD FM OWNER OF A 2002 RAV4, 2002 COROLLA AND A 2007 TOYOTA PRIUS *TGW THE CONSUMER WAS INFORMED THAT NONE OF THE 2002 VEHICLES WERE INCLUDED IN THE RECALL. THE CONSUMER STATED HER OTHER TWO VEHICLES, WHICH ARE MUCH NEWER WERE NOT RECALLED EITHER AND COULD POTENTIALLY ACCELERATE AND CAUSE INJURY OR DEATH. THE CONSUMER ALSO ADDRESSED QUESTIONS IN HER COMPLAINT. *JB UPDATED 05/24/10

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2002 TOYOTA RAV4, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: Jan 1901
Mar 2010

MY 2002 TOYOTA RAV4 AUTOMATIC IS HAVING SERIOUS TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS. IT INTERMITTENTLY DOES NOT FIND THE SECOND GEAR, AND WHEN IT DOES, LURCHES FORWARD IF THE ACCELERATOR IS APPLIED. THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS, BECAUSE PRIOR TO IT SLIPPING OUT OF GEAR, IT STARTS OUT SLOW, AND YOU MUST APPLY THE ACCELERATOR MORE THAN USUAL TO GET MOVING. IT HAS ALSO LOST THE GEAR WHILE AT HIGH SPEEDS, A POTENTIAL NIGHTMARE FOR SOMEONE THAT DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO REACT PROPERLY. AFTER RESEARCHING MY ISSUE, (AND HAVING THE TRANSMISSION FLUSHED AND FILTERS REPLACED) I FEEL LIKE I HAVE NO RECOURSE. TOYOTA INITIATED A RECALL TO RE-FLASH THE CONTROL MODULE IN 2007, WHICH I HAD DONE. THEY NEVER INFORMED ME THAT THERE WAS AN ACTUAL ERROR IN THE PERFORMANCE OF THE MODULE, JUST SOMETHING ABOUT IT ELIMINATE A PROBLEM OF THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMING ON AROUND 60K. MY MODULE TESTS OUT FINE TODAY, YET IT APPARENTLY RUINED MY TRANSMISSION, AND NOW I HAVE LEARNED SOME INDIVIDUALS HAVE REPLACED THE CONTROL MODULE, AND SOME THE ENTIRE TRANSMISSION, ONLY TO BE REVISITED BY THE SAME PROBLEMS. MY CAR CURRENTLY HAS 111,000 MILES ON IT, AND THE REPAIRS WILL COST MORE THAN THE VALUE OF THE AUTO. HOW CAN I SELL THIS VEHICLE WITH A CLEAR CONSCIENCE KNOWING ALL OF THIS? PLEASE CONSIDER THIS FOR RECALL, TOYOTA WITHHELD INFORMATION FROM ITS CUSTOMERS WHEN INITIATING THIS RECALL IN 2007 (THE FLASH RESET), AND CAUSED MANY OF US DANGER AND GREAT EXPENSE AS A RESULT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, BRENDA KING

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2002 TOYOTA RAV4, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: Mar 2010
Mar 2010

HARSH SHIFTING FROM 1ST - 3RD GEAR IN AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2002 TOYOTA RAV4, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: Mar 2010
Mar 2010

I DRIVE A 2002 TOYOTA RAV4 WITH 63K I BOUGHT IT USED 4 YEARS AGO WITH WARRANTY I NOW HAVE PROBLEMS SHIFTING FROM 1 TO 2 GEAR TOOK IT TO TOYOTA DEALER TO HAVE A DIAGNOSE, I HAD PREVIOSLY TOOK MY CAR TO A TRANSMISSION SPECIALIST I WAS TOLD TO TAKE TO THE DEALER WERE IT WAS PURCHASED BECAUSE THE ECM HAD TO BE REPLACED/RESET ANYWAY I DID A RESEARCH AND FOUND THAT THERE WAS A EXTENDED WARRANTY ON THE ECM FOR 96 MONTHS OR 80K WHICH EVER COMES FIRST MY EXTENDED WARRANTY EXPIRED BECAUSE WARRANTY STARTS FROM ORIGINAL OWNER(DATE FIRST USE) TO REPLACE THE ECM IS GOING TO COST ME $1300 I THINK I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO PAY THIS AMOUNT DUE TO TOYOTA RAV4 ECM PROBLEM BACK IN 2006 I SHOULD STILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR ECM WARRANTY SINCE I PURCHASED MY CAR IN FEB. 2006. I HOPE THE NEXT STEP IS NOT REPLACING THE TRANSMISSION. I AM NOT SATISFIED WITH TOYOTA CARS OR THERE SERVICES .

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2002 TOYOTA RAV4, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: Feb 2010
Apr 2008

MY TOYOTA RAV4 2002, HAS ONLY 50,000 MILES ON IT. NEEDS A NEW TRANSMISSION. THIS HAS TO BE A DEFECT !!! TOYOTA REFUSES TO RECALL, EVEN THOUGH IT'S A HUGE PROBLEM. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2002 TOYOTA RAV4, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: Apr 2008
Dec 2006

CAR SMOKES EARLY IN THE MORNING, I TOOK CAR IN BEFORE WARRANTY EXPIRED BUT WAS TOLD BY DEALER THAT THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE CAR. AT THE BEGINNING CAR WOULD ONLY SMOKE EARLY IN THE MORNINGS AND NOT ALL THE TIME. LATER AS THE CAR BEGAN TO SMOKE MORE REGULARLY THE DEALER REFUSED TO REPAIR DUE TO EXPIRATION OF WARRANTY. THE CAR IS NOW SMOKING DRASTICALLY, I WAS TOLD BY THE DEALER THAT THE SMOKING IS A COMMON SITUATION (DEFECT) WITH RAV4'S OF 2002. I WAS ALSO INFORMED THAT OTHER CARS HAD BEEN BROUGHT IT AND HAD BEEN FIXED BECAUSE THEY WERE UNDER WARRANTY. *JB

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2002 TOYOTA RAV4, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: Jan 2004
Apr 2003 Injury

2002 TOYOTA RAV4. THE LUGGAGE COVER HAS A RUBBER STOP ON EACH SIDE TO HOLD IT UP IN ORDER FOR THE HOOKS THAT ARE INSTALL ON THE BACK OF THE SEATS TO BE USED. IN COLD AND HOT WEATHER, THE RUBBER STOPS DO NOT HOLD THE COVER UP. IN APRIL 2002, THE COVER CAME DOWN AND HIT ME ON THE BRIDGE OF MY NOSE SO HARD THAT I WAS ALMOST KNOCKED OUT. IT WAS DARK AND FREEZING COLD. I COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED, ROBBER OR ATTACKED. IF I HAD A CHILD IN MY ARMS, I WOULD HAVE DROPPED IT. TOYOTA DEEMS THAT THERE IS NO PROBLEM WITH THE SHIELD. I AM PROOF THAT THERE IS AND ASKED THEM TO PLACE A RECALL ON IT BUT THEY REFUSE. *NLM

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2002 TOYOTA RAV4, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: Apr 2002
Jan 2003

A "BAFFLE" IS INSTALLED INTO THE OIL FILLER CAP BEGINNING WITH THE 2002 TOYOTA'S. WHILE DRIVING THE "BAFFLE" BROKE CAUSING THE TIMING CHAIN AND CONSEQUENTLY THE ENGINE TO FAIL. TS

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2002 TOYOTA RAV4, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: Jan 2003

Trend Over Time

Complaints by year

Quick Summary

The 2002 Toyota RAV4 has 13 UNKNOWN OR OTHER complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.