ecm repair

[Snyrav4]

Originally Posted by vegassteven

Basically I wonder if it's a computer problem only at this point and if I get it fixed how much I'll get out of the transmission

Most likely, based on the history of the 4.2, the ECM was the problem all along. Have the mod done. If you're lucky, prior damage to the transmission will be minimal.

[Snyrav4]

Originally Posted by inmyrav

Is repairing the ECM through the Bkyln guys at 52k miles idiotic or good prevent defense? Should I wait until 80K?

Two schools of thought here: #1. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" and #2."ECM problems posted on this forum". I'm sure the majority of 4.2 owners never had, or will have an ECM problem.
IMO: #1. ........... However.. if transmission/shifting abnormalities do occur, drive as few miles as possible and have the ECM mod done by our Brooklyn friend.
Good luck and my the ECM gods smile upon you!

[zilog357]

Originally Posted by bhc65

Anyone had a ECM repaired from a company called otherdeal.com. Looks like they are located in Puerto Rico

Yes, mine was repaired by www.otherdeal.com on December last year. I have a 2001 RAV4 L (2.0L). It was sold to me by a woman that was tired of supposed problems with the vehicle. I checked the car and not only it was looking great, but I found no problems with it, so I bought it (cheap! $3000) :D. It was all fine until it started acting up when shifting .

Since I am from Puerto Rico, that website was the best option, as they are local for me. I got my ecm repaired in one day and the next day my RAV4 was back on the street. All problems went away instantly. I guess that if the previous owner knows, would like it back, lol.

By the way, I wanted to be sure of what was done to the ecm and opened it up , as now I know that this problem is happening everywhere, even happened to my neighbor, but couldn't find a single trace of what they did ... (too bad)

[Snyrav4]

Originally Posted by zilog357

I wanted to be sure of what was done to the ecm and opened it up , as now I know that this problem is happening everywhere, even happened to my neighbor, but couldn't find a single trace of what they did ... (too bad)

FWIW, This ECM procedure is likily a software update (firmware flash) . It would not be physically noticable.

[n8eman]

Hey all,

I have a 2002 with `138 000 KM. Had all the classic symptoms: starting off in limp mode or 3rd gear, erratic downshifting, clunking from transmission, felt like it was slipping.

I took it to my local Toyota dealer in Victoria and explained in detail the problems. One hour later they called me with the bad news, I need a transmission and ECM, for a total of $6000 CAD. "Wow", I said, really? I asked if this repair fell under any TSB's or if it was covered by Toyota, and she said "No, I'm sorry, the mechanic would have checked for any bulletins or technical service notes. It is not covered, I am sorry".

"Wow", I said again, and continued to explain how I had seen documents online relating to this exact repair, and that the documents showed that there is a technical service bulletin regarding this repair, as well as a lawsuit, and that Toyota had extended the warranty for this repair, and I was surprised to learn from her that my car was not included. I asked her to check again, she agreed.

Five minutes later, another call from her, and WOW, it IS covered, and will be ready on Wednesday, free of charge!

How do you like them beans?

FYI

While I had them on the phone, I explained about a previous problem regarding the serpentine belt tensioner. It had started making noise some time ago, so I took it to them to have it repaired. I said, "it sounds like an exhaust noise, but it is not an exhaust noise, I can tell".
I go to pick up the car later and they say that it sounds like an exhaust noise, but not sure, and they did not want to spend any more time/money on it, and that if it gets worse, come back, here is your bill.
I paid the bill and went home, once in the driveway I hear the noise again and decide to look for myself (which I had not done earlier, as I wanted the dealer to fix it) I grab a flashlight, block the wheels, put the car in reverse, parking brake on, and crawl under the vehicle with the noise at full volume. The first thing I see is the serpentine belt going around the crank pulley with a definitive swagger, consistent with the noise. I push the butt of my flashlight against the belt, very carefully, and the noise disappears!

I found the problem in 10 seconds, what did I pay Toyota for?

I change the belt, notice it has a hydraulic/automatic, belt tensioner, and therefore no adjustment. Sure enough, 2 weeks later, the noise is back, the tensioner is bad. I call Toyota, they offer me 10% off labour, because they mis-diagnosed it. I pass and decide to replace it myself.

I have not done this repair yet, and I asked them to do this as well, they passed me on to their Lead Technician, and he said he would try. I will keep you all posted.

[Linda Roe]

• Effing Transmission Repair Serving Manager. He didn't listen to me.
  
  
• He said the ECM is working just fine.......I asked him repeatedly if the ECM could possibly be the cause of the problem...or cause future failure....I even printed out stuff from Toyota on this stuff....He said nope...ECM check ok. u.g.h. Nobody listens to me...oh..but that's not your problem...You guys prolly hear that from your wives all the time, I'll bet.
• My transmission slammed into reverse hard a couple of times, began bad shifting from 1-2 then 2-3rd gears, two times, then the next day slipped and wouldn't catch ... then I parked her.. The car was test driven by a friend mechanic and he had a hard time getting it into gear....Assuming my transmission was damaged just that quickly, and just got it back from the Transmission shop today for many thousands of dollars.....
  
• Now....it slams hard into reverse....sometimes, and has a hard time going from 2nd to 3rd sometimes. I've driven her 40 miles since the Tranny rebuild.
• She is parked again.
• Finding online lots of stories that the ECM in my car could possibly not show any fault codes and still be the cause of the problem.
  

Pulling the ECM and sending to the Romanian in Brooklyn first thing in the morning. : )


Found another website that had the same repair on sale for $175 last week...But I'm too late. http://qcwo.com/otherdeal/Services/2001-2003-Toyota-RAV4-ECM-Repair-Service


Now they're the same price as the Romanian...Which is fine with me. My Grandmother was born there...Buncha Gypsies...Great mechanics ;->


Thanks for posting, all of you. Really wish I had pulled the ECM and sent it off first.......But I'll be driving her again normally in another week...Then I need to sell her and get myself a 5 speed...I miss shifting.......Who wants to buy a 2001 Rav4L?

[Pamallah]

Originally Posted by Pamallah

Hi,
I purchased a Rav4 in July 09 knowing that it was having tranny/shifting problems, however, I was unaware of the history of this common problem and figured I was in for a tranny replacement.

Vehicle symptoms:
- Would work great for approx. 1 day after re-flashing (unplugging computer)
- Hard shifting and double-shifting between 2nd/3rd gears
- Shifting problem gets increasing worse in a matter of a day causing problems in shifting in other gears
- A bit of darkness to the tranny fluid from the shifting problems but I don't believe my clutch is burnt or damaged.

This is my story:

As the Rav4 would work for about a day each time the computer was unplugged we figured it must be the computer (after reading forums such as this) since it would shift fine during the "re-flashed" period.

After reading the feedback for "chkengine" on eBay (he states he can fix the shifting problem in the computer as says it is a hardware, not software problem) I decided to send my computer away (risky) since it was cheaper than the alternative options (replace ECU, replace tranny). Before sending it I had confirmed with him that the 3-year warranty would apply for me as well since I am located in Eastern Canada and he is located in Brooklyn, NY. Cost was $250 US Buy It Now with $30 US shipping, plus I paid $32 CDN to ship it there (not included in sale price). Turnaround time was about 4 days to arrive in NY, repaired and shipped out from Check Engine, Etc Mechanical Shop the same day it arrived, and took about 4 days for me to receive it back (shipped July 23/09 - received back Aug 4/09).

Day 1 (Aug 4/09): So I got my computer back yesterday and installed it at around 5:00PM. Check Engine stated to take the drive for a harder-than-normal accelerated drive for 5-7 miles. So I took a scenic 75 km drive - shifted great for the duration. After I got back, I drove around downtown to see how it performed at intersections - worked great.

Day 2 (Aug 5/09): Drove my car to work today - still working great.

My theory is that if the car runs great for a full week that the problem is considered "fixed". It's still too early to say but so far so good. Smile

Next steps: Will be replacing my tranny fluid and checking the tranny screen to make sure there's no large particles (which would mean tranny was damaged from all the hard shifting, etc).

Feel free to email me at pamallah@pei.sympatico.ca to get an update on how the car is working. I had read a lot of posts here where people would say their Rav4 was working great for the first day/two after having it repaired the same way mine was but no one reported any long term status. So please email me if you want to check in and see how its working in case, like the rest, I forget to post an update.

***UPDATE Jan 21, 2013*** Since I've been having a lot of people contact me regarding my ECM I figure I would give another quick update. I still have my Rav and now have over 290,000 KM on it (it had approx. 170,000 KM on it when I sent my ECM away for repair). Rav is still working excellently -- I've had no issues or recurrencenes with the tranny acting up. Best money I ever spent was sending it away instead of taking my car to a transmission shop. Feel free to contact me at my email address above if you have any questions.

[noe619]

***March 2013*** I have a 2002 Rav4 L with 69,xxx miles. Last week I experienced harsh reverse engagement when pulling out from parking. Just drove home and pulled out the ECU since I was aware of the ECU/transmission issue. Sent it to "chkengine" on Ebay on Friday, he received on Saturday, fixed it and sent it back to me same day. I got it today Monday and installed it, works just fine now. All gears worked smoothly right away, it only took a few minutes for the idle to settle when I came to full stops. Everything works good now. I recommend his service to anyone having these issues. Great fast service.