[northernnorm]

My parents 2002 RAV4 had the same symptomology as described here:
http://www.rav4world.com/forums/88-4-2-faults-fixes/70036-transmission-solenoid-replacement.html
“It shifts erratically when starting out, sometimes shifting in and out very quickly. Also, it seems to drag (sluggish) when starting out, almost like there is a brake on.“
Additionally the car had progressed to such as state as it was stalling often when starting out and had significant hesitation issues and very hard gear shifting.


After reading up on posts here I researched a locale to send my ECM unit to for repair. There were none I could find in Canada. Circuit Board Medics in South Carolina seemed quite popular and reviews were good so I sent it to them. Cost $199.00 U.S. for repair work and $129.00 U.S to fedex the unit there and back plus about $23.00 Can in customs on the return.


Circuit Board Medics also have a good youtube video which helped a lot for the removal and reinstallation of the ECM. It is here:

Circuitboardmedics.com experience was excellent. Once they received the unit it was repaired and back in transit within 24 hours.


I installed the unit yesterday, followed the instructions to reprogram the ECM which were basically letting car idle for over 5 mins then taking car on a highway run to get it up to 100km a certain number of times. Transmission issue is now solved.


Very happy with this as I was quoted over $3000 for a new transmission install and this wouldn't have solved the problem. Most likely it would have been suggested then getting a new ECM which would have been close to $2000 after install. Feels great to have car up and running for under $500 Canadian. Thanks for all great info on this site which let to the solution for me.

 

[rns]

My friend's 2001 Rav4 with U140F faced these hard shifting symptoms.
It got quite soon transmission flush and new oils with no help.
Then I send the ECU for repair and after reinstalling it got bit better and better until about 1000km when it lost 3th&4th gears during driving.
Reverse gear became missing too. It never got perfect until it got worse again

I did with Techstream Ect memory reset to try once more.

But if it is not successful, what to do next? Those solenoids, can I replace only some of them?
P0755 was recorederror code. No other transmission related code have been present, P1135 has been regular code too.

 

[typo]

I had this error on my replaced ECU after a week or so:

P0758 - Shift Solenoid "B" Electrical (stuck only in one gear forward, luckily reverse still worked).

The company I got the ECU from replaced it, and the replacement has been working like a charm for over a year now. I wouldn't rule out the ECU still being the culprit.

 

[rns]

....
The company I got the ECU from replaced it, and the replacement has been working like a charm for over a year now. I wouldn't rule out the ECU still being the culprit.

Hi and thanks for this.
The company that fixed the ECU mentioned it has lifetime warranty. I wish I can get it rechecked with that.

As I wrote earlier the transmission got new solenoids 3521021010 and 3522021010 and also filter 3533028010 with gaskets. It got naturally new atf oil but all this had no affect in the gear change.
It doesn’t shift into third or reverse.

Thumbs up the Ecu repair would do the trick again as it almost did it in the beginning

 

[rns]

Hi and thanks for this.
The company that fixed the ECU mentioned it has lifetime warranty. I wish I can get it rechecked with that.

As I wrote earlier the transmission got new solenoids 3521021010 and 3522021010 and also filter 3533028010 with gaskets. It got naturally new atf oil but all this had no affect in the gear change.
It doesn’t shift into third or reverse.

Thumbs up the Ecu repair would do the trick again as it almost did it in the beginning

No luck with rechecking Ecu. :frown Positive thing is that engine check light hasn't been lit since that.

As next step TSB tells to replace the whole tranny.
Apart from those solenoids I replaced, Is there any DIY left to try?


I looked problem symptoms table for 2nd to 3rd upshift problem.
It gives either Valve body assembly or C2 direct clutch.

But Reverse gear is missing too... And magnetic material seen in atf.
So my conclusion is worn out C2 direct clutch plates??? :frown

Can anybody say it could be worth to check Valve body or just take it to transmission shop?

 

[rickamortive]

Any luck with the tranny? Im experiencing the same issues and trying to figure out where to go next with troubleshooting.

 

[Abanks]

my 05 rav4 I hear a nocking when I go over bumps on the road I have had everything replaced from struts, linkage, bush barrings, rotars the knocking is still there.....is anyone else having this sort of problem?

 

[ADkris]

Made an impulse decision when I purchased a 2003 Rav4 with only 34,000 original miles, this is the cleanest car I've ever seen for that age, it looks new inside and out and as a bonus, it was only $6,000. I felt like I found a unicorn, however after coming home and reading the reviews I'm hoping my unicorn doesn't come up lame and gimpy.

Car drives great, no sign of transmission problems (yet). I'd like to keep it this way, my question is, should I have the ECM checked to see if it's okay or wait for problems to show?

Does every 2003 models have the ECM problem? I don't want to search for trouble but at the same time this is a car for my daughter who is just learning to drive.

Thanks for your time!
Kristi

 

[AdamVT]

So glad I found this thread. Thought my wife's 02 RAV tranny was dead. I mailed mine off to Ebay seller "autoexpress_axt" because he was near by and I didn't want to wait to long. He repaired it and mailed it back all on the same day he received it for $70! Once the car "re-learned" it's shift points it shifts wonderfully smooth. Re-learning was a nerve racking process. I took it to a parking lot and got it up to second gear about 30 or 40 times, each time it engaged second hard and somewhat jerky. Just when I started to think my tranny was already irreparably damaged before the ECU repair I got a perfect smooth shift into second gear. First to second shifts were all perfect after that. Third and Fourth gear shifts weren't nearly as dramatic and jerky but still needed quite a few shifts to smooth out as well before they too became perfect.:thumbs_up:

 

[Gumtree38355]

my 05 rav4 I hear a nocking when I go over bumps on the road I have had everything replaced from struts, linkage, bush barrings, rotars the knocking is still there.....is anyone else having this sort of problem?

How is it going with your 2003 RAV4 so far??? I just bought a 2003 RAV4 automatic last week and I happened to see this thread and feel nervous about my car. I am afraid of taking my car to dealer or mechanic to have them check...

I just start to drive my 2003 less than a week. I have the same question: Do all 2003 RAV4 (auto) have the defective ECM that will cause failure of transmission eventually? My RAV4 has 84000 miles on its odometer.:frown

 

[Gumtree38355]

2001 Rav4 ECU Rebuild

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.

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 (September 8, 2009)

For all the people that have been asking how my Rav4 ECU is working here's the update. I just returned Saturday from driving my car half way across Canada (PEI to Ottawa to Niagara Falls to North Bay and back to PEI) --- 4710 KM! pretty much driving non-stop. The drive to Ottawa was 18 hours there (only stopping for gas) and 16 hours back (only stopping for gas). Rav worked excellent!!! Absolutely no problems. Weather was hot -- still no problems. If that doesn't prove the problem is fixed nothing will I'm hoping the problem will never come back but so far so good. I have complete faith in it.


UPDATE* (May 14, 2010)

Ravie is still working great! Over the winter it would be slow to do the first shift but after that no problems. Now have 195,000 km on it! ..... 20,000 km more than right after my ECM was fixed!


*UPDATE (July 7, 2010)

No problems. Now at 199,000+ km. Just came back from a short trip where we drove it through 3 provinces

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%


May I follow up with your RAV4 after ECU was fixed? How many more KMs have you put on your RAV4 after the fixed ECU????

Any more problems occured after that???

Thanks,

 

[Gumtree38355]

ECU Part Query

Hi prior to my puchasing my 2004 rav the owner said she had the problem part which i guessed from reading forums to be the ecu it was replaced at 82000 kms in 2010 after loosing foward drive had to crawl home she said. But looking at her receipt for repair from Toyota Dealer part replaced is written up as accelerator position sensor costing $680 aus$ for part with these part nos 5171670 7801042010 im guessing this is an ecu with a mumbo jumbo given as a name hiding the fault ?but arnt positive anyone know for sure and a further query is was the ecu problems rectified with a later version for a replacement part i have a bad feeling my replacement might a same as original one with inherent problem just waiting to happen again 🤷:wall anyone know from the above part numbers if later version or was problem rectified with an upgrade or is there a way to check. Any learnered advise would be much appreciated

***


I would like to follow up your second ECU which is supposed to be a later version one.
Have you had anything wrong with the second ECU so far? How about the transmission.
I just purchase a brand new ECU from Toyota dealer for my 2003 RAV4.

 

[Gumtree38355]

Emissions warranty may work for you!!!

I have a 2002 Rav4. I had my ECM replaced in 2005 and did not have the transmission replaced because was told it was not needed at the time. I heard about the 10yr/100,000 enhanced warranty. My car started to have a harsh shift change again last week. I took it into the dealership and explained I had past history of this condition on my car. I was told that the ECM and the transmission needed to be replaced. AND, my warranty had run out because I bought my car 12/12/2001 and I took it in 1/1/2012...31 days past the warranty. I explained that I already had it change 3 times before...they would not help. They told me to call the TOYOTA Headquarters at 180033314331 and contact there recall department.

I talk to a representative at Toyota and they told me the same thing...I asked if my ecm was under a different warranty because it was replaced...it was!!!
It is covered under the "emissions warranty." The new parts would be covered under the federal emissions warranty of eight years and 80,000 miles. If that did not work, the transmission was probably damaged and would need to be replaced. But the transmission would only be covered under the five/60,000 warranty. The following is the link I found this information on this topic:

Toyota Extends Warranty on Troubled 2001-3 RAV4 - NYTimes.com

Toyota has opened a case and I am waiting for a representative to call me back with further instructions. I hope this helps other in my similar situation.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


Having had ECU replaced by Toyota dealer in 2005, your RAV4 still repeated the transmission problem 7 years later. May I say Toyota replaced ECU with the same version of ECU as original one?

It is very weird to hear ECU on your RAV4 went wrong only after three years of its birth.

 

[Julius Tay]

Thanks for the excellent write-ups! FYI, you can probably do the transmission or ECM reset yourself using the Techstream software and MVCI cable. At least I can on my 2008. The software and cable can be had for $29:

2012 Newest V7 11 010 Mini VCI V7 for Toyota Cable Software Tis Techstream | eBay

So till date, only TechStream can be used to reset the Rav4 ECM/transmission memory? Can't another scan machine be used for the purpose?

 

[neecee1167]

my 05 rav4 I hear a nocking when I go over bumps on the road I have had everything replaced from struts, linkage, bush barrings, rotars the knocking is still there.....is anyone else having this sort of problem?

I also had this problem and took it to Les Schwab who replaced the sway bar links- no more noise

 

[niklaus]

How is it going with your 2003 RAV4 so far??? I just bought a 2003 RAV4 automatic last week and I happened to see this thread and feel nervous about my car. I am afraid of taking my car to dealer or mechanic to have them check... I just start to drive my 2003 less than a week. I have the same question: Do all 2003 RAV4 (auto) have the defective ECM that will cause failure of transmission eventually? My RAV4 has 84000 miles on its odometer.:frown

Mine is happening rn