2002 Toyota RAV4
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Power train is the leading concern among 555 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 6th highest complaint count among 26 RAV4 model years with reports.
Of the 2002 reports, 39 involved a crash and 15 involved a fire. 50 people were injured.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
No safety recalls on file.
Representative owner complaints
555 reports, newest first.
Power train, Feb 1, 2009
MY CAR STARTED TO REV WITHOUT ANY FORWARD GAIN IN DISTANCE WHEN I DEPRESSED THE ACCELERATOR. I TOOK IT INTO THE TOYOTA DEALERSHIP AND WAS TOLD THE TRANSMISSION FLUIDS JUST NEEDED TO BE FLUSHED, BUT THAT THERE WAS NO METAL IN IT. TWO DAYS LATER I TOOK MY CAR BACK IN FOR THE SAME REVVING AND BUCKING PROBLEM. THE TEAM MANAGER CHECKED THE TRANSMISSION OUT AGAIN AND. REASSURED ME THAT ALL WAS FINE AND ASKED ME TO RIDE WITH HIM TO PROVE IT. THE CAR DID NOT BUCK. I WAS GIVEN A STORY ABOUT HOW THE COMPUTER RESETS WHEN THE CAR IS WORKED ON, AND THAT IT WAS SET FOR A MORE AGGRESSIVE DRIVER. TODAY, I BARELY MADE IT HOME FROM THE MOUNTAINS. MY RAV CRAWLED OVER THE PASS AND KEPT JERKING FROM 30-60 RPMS WITH NOISE BUT NO ACCELERATION GAIN. I CANNOT COUNT ON THE CAR TO TAKE ME TO WORK UNTIL IT IS FIXED PROPERLY. *TR
Power train, Jan 6, 2009
HARSH SHIFT. *TR
Latches/locks/linkages, Dec 20, 2008
DRIVER SIDE FRONT DOOR POWER LOCK FAILS TO LOCK OR UNLOCK WITH AUTO LOCK BUTTON. HAS TO BE LOCKED OR UNLOCKED BY HAND. PASSENGER SIDE FRONT DOOR LOCK ALSO STARTING TO FAIL. *TR
Power train, Dec 19, 2008
HARSH SHIFTING/SLIPPING IN AUTOMATIC TRANSAXLE. NO SPECIAL EVENTS LEADING UP TO FAILURE; JUST STARTED IN ABOUT 123,000 MILES. PROBLEM NOW OCCURS EVERY TIME I DRIVE THE VEHICLE. ONLY AN OBD II SCAN HAS BEEN PERFORMED ON THE VEHICLE. *TR
Power train, Dec 17, 2008
STARTED CAR 2 WEEKS AGO (DECEMBER 8TH) DROVE FOR 10 MINUTES AT SLOW SPEED UNDER 30 MPH. CAR STARTED BUCKING AND HAVING TROUBLE SHIFTING. WAS ALMOST RARE ENDED DUE TO LACK OF ACCELERATION. RPM WOULD INCREASE BUT CAR WOULD STRUGGLE SHIFTING AND ACCELERATING. BROUGHT TO TRANSMISSION SPECIALIST. THEY THOROUGHLY CHECKED TRANSMISSION AND COULDN'T FIND A PROBLEM. DRAINED FLUID AND REPLACED FILTER. COST $170. THREE DAYS LATER STARTED BUCKING AGAIN. TROUBLE SHIFTING. BROUGHT TO DIFFERENT MECHANIC WHO STATES NEEDS NEW TRANSMISSION. REQUESTING REBUILT FROM TOYOTA. COST OVER $2000, CAR ONLY HAS 94,000 MILES ON ENGINE. TOYOTA SAYS THAT IF IT IS OVER 60,000 MILES IT IS NOT UNDER WARRANTY. *TR
Power train, Dec 16, 2008
DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY GOING 65 MILES PER HOUR AND THE ENGINE JUST STOPPED, COMPLETELY SHUT DOWN. 2002 TOYOTA RAV 4. *TR
Power train, Electrical system, Dec 8, 2008
I BROUGHT MY RAV BRAND NEW IN 200. HAVE HAD NO PROBLEM WITH IT UP UNTIL A FEW DAYS AGO. IT WAS RUNNING JUST FINE BUT THE NEXT DAY I NOTICED THAT IT WOULD JERK WHEN I SHIFTED IN/OUT OF REVERSE. NOT ONLY THAT BUT IT HAD TROUBLE ACCELERATING AND WOULD JERK FROM 1ST TO 2ND GEAR. READ MULTIPLE COMPLAINTS ON THIS ISSUE VIA WWW.CARCOMPLAINTS.COM/TOYOTA/RAV4/2002/TRANSMISSION/PROBLEMS_SHIFTING.SHTML AND FOUND THAT I AM NOT ALONE IN THIS PROBLEM....THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE.. I HAVE A FOUR YEAR OLD AND I AM SCARED OF DRIVING ANYWHERE BECAUSE IM SCARED OF PULLING OUT IN TRAFFIC FOR THE FEAR THAT THE CAR WONT MOVE AND I MAY GET HIT.....THIS NEED TO BE ADDRESSED....*TR
Power train, Dec 3, 2008
MY 2002 RAV4 TRANSMISSION WENT BAD (SHIFTING IMPROPERLY) OVER 100 COMPLAINTS ON LINE ABOUT SAME PROBLEM. THERE ARE NO RECALL OR EXTENDED WARRANTIES FROM TOYOTA. *TR
Power train, Nov 26, 2008
2002 TOYOTA RAV4 TRANSMISSION STARTED JERKING AND COULD NOT PICK UP SPEED ON HIGHWAY. ALMOST GOT INTO A MAJOR ACCIDENT WITH MY DAUGHTER (20 MONTH OLD) ON BOARD. I LOOKED ONLINE AND THERE ARE NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS OF THIS MAKE AND MODEL HAVING MAJOR TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS. TOYOTA NEED TO FIX THIS MAJOR SAFETY PROBLEM AND NOT STICK THE CONSUMER WITH THE BILL (AVERAGE FIX $3,000 DOLLARS FIX PER VEHICLE AT BEST WORTH$7,000). *TR
Power train, Nov 22, 2008
2002 TOYOTA RAV4, 207,000 MILES. AUTO TRANSMISSION SUDDENLY SHIFTING HARD FROM 2/3 GEARS, HARD INTO REVERSE, SLOW TO ENGAGE AFTER FULL STOPS, JERKS ABRUPTLY. CONTACTED DEALER/ TOYOTA SERVICE CENTER, WILL HAVE THEM INSPECT THE VEHICLE. WELL MAINTAINED, RECENTLY HAD ROUTINE SERVICE DONE BY DEALER, TRANSMISSION FLUSH. FLUID LEVELS ALL TOPPED. *TR
Power train, Nov 16, 2008, crash
I WAS DRIVING MY FATHERS 2002 TOYOTA RAV4 AWD WHEN THE TRANSMISSION SUDDENLY SHIFTED FROM 2ND TO 1ST GEAR AND THEN THE DRIVE LINE LOCKED-UP CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO STOP SUDDENLY. A CAR FOLLOWING ME TRIED TO STOP BUT "TAPPED" MY REAR BUMPER. NO DAMAGE TO EITHER VEHICLE. DIAGNOSIS OF THE PROBLEM WAS A BAD VEHICLE COMPUTER AND NEW TRANSMISSION WAS NEEDED. COSTS WERE $4500. *TR
Engine and engine cooling, Oct 26, 2008
I BOUGHT A TOYOTA RAV4 2002 AT THE DEALER "TOYOTA OF ALAHAMBRA" AND I BEEN HAVING A PROBLEM TO MANY TIMES WITH THE COMPUTER ENGINE LIGHT COME ON. WHEN I TAKE THE CAR TO THE DEALER THEY TOLD ME THAT NOTHING WAS WRONG. THEY TURNED OFF THE LIGHT AND SAID AND SAID THAT EVERYTHING WAS OK, THIS HAPPENED THREE TIMES. RECENTLY I HAD PROBLEMS AGAIN WITH THE COMPUTER ENGINE AND THEY CHARGED $1,200.00 DOLLARS TO FIX IT AND THEY TOLD ME THAT WAS MY FAULT THAT I WAS TAKING OFF IN 2ND GEAR BUT I NEVER USE THE 2ND GEAR. WHAT I KNOW THIS CARS HAD PROBLEMS WITH THE ENGINE COMPUTER. THE NAME OF THE DEALER IS "TOYOTA-SCION OF GLENDALE" 1260 S. BRAND BLVD. GLENDALE, CALIFORNIA 91204. AS I KNOW WE HAVE 170 COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS RAV4 TOYOTA CARS. FORTUNATELY I HAVE NOT ANY PROBLEM WITH DEATH, OR FIRE, OR CRASH, BUT I AM WORRY ABOUT THIS COMPUTER PROBLEMS, WHEN I AM DRIVING THE CAR I AM NOT COMFORTABLE DRIVING ANY MORE, CAN YOU TELL ME THAT CAN I DO ABOUT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR ATTENTION. *TR
Power train, Electrical system, Oct 13, 2008
SUDDENLY, MY CAR STARTING SHIFTING VERY ROUGHLY INTO REVERSE. IT HAPPENS EVERY TIME I PUT THE CAR INTO REVERSE. I WAS TOLD THE ECM NEEDED TO BE REPLACED BECAUSE IT WAS DEFECTIVE. THIS IS THE SAME ECM THAT HAD A FACTORY RECALL ISSUED THAT I HAD SERVICED LAST YEAR. *TR
Power train, Oct 13, 2008
CAR BEGAN TO SLIP OUT OF SECOND GEAR TO FIRST GEAR DURING ACCELERATION. I TOOK THE CAR TO A TOYOTA DEALERSHIP AND THEY TOLD ME THAT THE ENGINE CONTROL MODULE (ECM) WAS INOPERATIVE AND THAT THE TRANSMISSION WAS DAMAGED AS A RESULT. I WAS TOLD THAT THE EXTENT OF THE DAMAGE TO THE TRANSMISSION COULD NOT BE DETERMINED UNTIL A NEW ECM WAS INSTALLED AT A COST OF $1500 BUT THAT THE COST OF THE TRANSMISSION COULD BE BETWEEN $3,000 TO $5,500. I WAS INFORMED BY THE DEALER THAT THE PARTS ARE OUT OF WARRANTY. *TR
Power train, Oct 11, 2008
CAR HAD VERY SLUGGISH ACCELERATION ONTO HIGHWAY AFTER ECU FAILED AND TRANSMISSION IS SLOW TO GET INTO GEAR. HAD TO PULL OVER TO SHOULDER AS THE VEHICLE COULD NOT GET UP TO INTERSTATE SPEED. *TR
Engine and engine cooling, Power train, Oct 8, 2008
OUR RAV4 BEGAN TO HAVE PROBLEMS SHIFTING, AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WAS ON. TOOK TO LOCAL DEALER. FIRST VISIT RESULTED IN TUNE-UP ITEMS. DEALERSHIP TREATED IT AS AN ENGINE-RELATED PROBLEM. CHECK ENGINE CAME BACK ON AGAIN THE SAME AFTERNOON. ON SECOND VISIT, DEALERSHIP KEPT CAR OVERNIGHT TO DRIVE IT WHILE IT WAS COLD. WE WERE TOLD THAT WE HAD A BAD CATALYTIC CONVERTER, AND THAT THIS WOULD HAVE TO BE REPLACED BEFORE ANY FURTHER DIAGNOSIS COULD OCCUR. THE CC WAS ONLY THREE YEARS OLD, ALREADY HAVING BEEN REPLACED UNDER WARRANTY. THEY HAD ALREADY REPROGRAMMED THE ECM. PER A TOYOTA SERVICE CAMPAIGN. AFTER THE CC REPLACEMENT, CAR IS STILL NOT SHIFTING PROPERLY, AND IS GETTING WORSE. DEALERSHIP ADVISED US THAT WE NEED AN ECM REPLACEMENT, AT A COST OF $1300. AFTER THE FACT, WE FOUND TOYOTA TSB TC002-06, WHICH DESCRIBES THE EXACT ISSUES OUR RAV4 IS HAVING. TOYOTA ADMITS IN THE TSB THAT THE ECM OF THE '01 THROUGH '03 RAV4'S CAN CAUSE THE HARSH SHIFTING THAT WE ARE SEEING, AND THAT TOYOTA MADE CHANGES TO THE "MANUFACTURING PROCESS TO REDUCE THE POSSIBILITY OF THIS CONDITION OCCURRING". THE RECOMMENDATION IS THE REPLACEMENT OF THE ECM. IT CANNOT BE REPROGRAMMED TO ELIMINATE THIS PROBLEM. THE RESULT OF THIS ECM FAILURE IS THAT THE CAR IS NO LONGER DRIVABLE, AS THE TRANSMISSION DOES NOT SHIFT PROPERLY AT ALL, AND IT CONSTANTLY LOOSES TENSION ON ITS CLUTCH PACK, RESULTING IN LOSS OF POWER TO THE ROAD. THE CONDITION GETS WORSE OVER A SHORT TIME. IN ONLY TWO WEEKS, THE CAR WILL NOT STAY IN ANY SINGLE GEAR WHEN DRIVING. A SEARCH OF THIS ISSUE ON THE INTERNET FOUND MANY OTHER PEOPLE HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM. OFTEN, THE ECM FAILURE CAUSES PHYSICAL TRANSMISSION FAILURE. THE DEALERSHIP WILL NOT STAND BEHIND THEIR FAULTY DIAGNOSIS, NOR WILL THEY MAKE TOYOTA HONOR THE WARRANTY, WHICH IS 80,000 MILES OR 8 YEARS. WE ARE UNDER THE YEARS, BUT OVER BY 8,000 MILES. HOW CAN THIS NOT BE TREATED AS A SAFETY ISSUE? IS IT NOT SERIOUS ENOUGH WHEN YOUR CAR SLIPS OUT OF GEAR IN TRAFFIC UNEXPECTEDLY? *TR
Power train, Sep 17, 2008
2002 TOYOTA RAV4 TRANSMISSION - TRANSMISSION IS NOT WORKING PROPERLY IN SHIFTING. ROUGH SHIFTING FROM 2/3 GEAR. HAD TO FIND INFORMATION ON FEDERAL 8YEAR/80K MILE MANDATED FREE REPROGRAMMING TO TRY TO FIX THIS. BUT READING ACCOUNTS THIS MAY NOT WORK AND EVEN THEN THE TRANSMISSION MAY BE DAMAGED ALREADY. THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL REGARDLESS OF MILES DRIVEN AS THIS IS A CONSTANT PROBLEM ON THIS YEAR/MODEL. THANK GOODNESS I WAS LOW MILEAGE BUT THIS PROBLEM OCCURS REGARDLESS OF MILEAGE. THIS IS A TOYOTA DEFECT IN THE TRANSMISSION. *TR
Power train, Sep 16, 2008
I HAVE A TOYOTA RAV 4 2002. IT HAS 64,000 MILES. IT HAS HAD ALL IT'S RECOMMENDED SERVICES, NEW TIRES AND IS CLEAN. THE TRANSMISSION NEEDS REPLACING AND POSSIBLY THE COMPUTER. TOYOTA WILL NOT ASSUME ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE TRANSMISSION AND IT COSTS $3500.00 TO REPLACE THE PARTS. ON CARCOMPLAINTS.COM THERE ARE 120 COMPLAINTS RE THE TRANSMISSION AND THE 2002 RAV4. PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT A LAW SUIT. THEY HAVE SAID THAT I DESPITE REPLACING THE TRANSMISSION IT STILL NEEDED REPAIRS. *TR
Electrical system, Sep 8, 2008
CAR BEGAN HAVING SHIFTING PROBLEMS. I WAS TOLD BY A SHOP THAT THE ECM IS A KNOWN PROBLEM. IT IS A SAFETY HAZARD SINCE IT OFTEN FAILS IN INTERSECTIONS. *TR
Power train, Aug 30, 2008
AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION STARTED THUMPING/JERKING WHEN SHIFTING FROM PARK TO DRIVE OR REVERSE, DESPITE HAVING FOOT ON THE BRAKE. WITHIN A MONTH, THE TRANSMISSION STARTED SLIPPING AND WOULD NOT SHIFT FROM FIRST GEAR. ENGINE RACES AT 4,000+ RMP AND DOES NOT SHIFT TO OTHER GEARS. *TR
Power train, Electrical system, Aug 29, 2008
I BROUGHT MY RAV BRAND NEW IN 2002. HAVE HAD NO PROBLEM WITH IT UP UNTIL A FEW A YEAR AGO WHEN THE ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON INTERMITTENT. EVERY TIME I WAS GOING TO TAKE THE VEHICLE INTO GET CHECKED IT WOULD GO OUT. WHEN I ARRIVED AT MY PRESENT DUTY STATION I WAS DEPLOYED ALMOST IMMEDIATELY. WITHIN TWO MONTHS OF MY DEPLOYMENT MY WIFE TOLD ME THAT CAR WAS HAVING A HARD TIME MOVING AND COULD HEAR THE TRANSMISSION SLIPPING. SHE THEN TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE MECHANIC AND THEY TOLD HER THAT THE TRANSMISSION WAS BROKE AND NEEDED TO BE REPAIRED. ONLY 52000 MILES ON THE VEHICLE. THE MECHANIC ALSO TOLD MY WIFE THAT THERE COULD BE A TSB OUT ON THE VEHICLE PERTAINING TO THE ELECTRONIC CONTROL MODULE, PART THAT TELLS THE TRANSMISSION TO SHIFT GEARS, "ECM"AND THERE WAS SEVERAL THAT PERTAINED THE PROBLEM AND WHAT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. BEING IN ITALY SHE CONTACTED THE STATES REP FOR TOYOTA AND WAS TOLD THAT THEY COULDN'T LOCATE OUR CAR BECAUSE WE BOUGHT IT FROM A LICENSED DEALER "AMERICAN SPEC VEHICLE" FROM GERMANY. SHE THEN CONTACT THE AGENCY THAT IS AUTHORIZED TO SELL "AMERICAN SPEC CARS" AND WAS INFORMED THAT THE VEHICLE FELL UNDER THE WARRANTY AND THAT THEY "AMERICAN TOYOTA" SHOULD PAY FOR IT BASED ON AN AMERICAN TSB. CALLED TOYOTA AGAIN AND NOTHING. WHEN I CAME HOME, WE TOOK THE VEHICLE TO LOCAL DEALERSHIP AND BECAUSE IT WAS AN AMERICAN TSB THEY WOULD CONSIDER THE REPLACEMENT. IN THE MEAN TIME THEY ASSURED US THAT THE VEHICLE WAS SAFE TO DRIVE AND BEING OUR ONLY VEHICLE MY WIFE WAS FORCED TO DRIVE IT. TOYOTA "ROME" OKED THE REPLACEMENT OF THE ECM, THE ACTUAL FAULT OF THE VEHICLE BUT HAS REFUSED TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION THE RESULT OF THE FAULTY PART. NOW THE TRANSMISSION IS COMPLETELY SHOT AND LOOKING ON LINE THOUSANDS OF AMERICAN CONSUMERS ARE PAYING THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS OUT TO REPLACE A PRODUCT THAT IS THE RESULT OF TOYOTA'S ENGINEERING FLAWS. I PERSONALLY FEEL THAT THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE THE TRANSMISSION AND THE REPLACEMENT. FURTHER INVESTIGATION IS REQUESTED. *TR
Power train, Aug 28, 2008
THE 2002 TOYOTA RAV4 HAS A FAULTY ECM AND HAS CAUSED THE TRANSMISSION TO GO OUT. I ALMOST HAD AN ACCIDENT THE OTHER DAY. TOYOTA IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM BUT DID NOT DO A RECALL. HERE IS A LIST OF THE SAME PROBLEM OWNERS HAD: HTTP://WWW.CARCOMPLAINTS.COM/TOYOTA/RAV4/2002/TRANSMISSION/PROBLEMS_SHIFTING.SHTML. *TR
Power train, Aug 26, 2008
THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON CONTINUOUSLY. AT STOP SIGNS AND TRAFFIC LIGHTS THE VEHICLE BEGINS JERKING AND HESITATING WHEN YOU PUSH ON THE ACCELERATION PEDDLE. WHEN YOU PRESS DOWN ON THE ACCELERATION TO GO FORWARD THAT IS WHEN THE HESITATION AND JERKING BEGIN. ONCE THE VEHICLE TAKES OFF IT CONTINUES TO JERK. WHICH IS DANGEROUS WHEN YOU HAVE PASSENGERS AND SMALL CHILDREN IN THE VEHICLE BECAUSE THE JERKING PULLS YOUR NECK FORWARD ABRUPTLY. THE DIAGNOSTIC SAID THAT IT IS THE COMPUTER WHICH COST ROUGHLY BETWEEN $800.00 TO $1200.00. SEVERAL COMPLAINTS HAVE BEEN MADE REGARDING THIS PROBLEM TO TOYOTA BUT THERE HAVE NOT BEEN ANY RECALLS FOR THIS PARTICULAR COMPUTER PART ON THE 2002 TOYOTA RAV 4. *TR
Power train, Aug 26, 2008
2002 TOYOTA RAV4 JUST STOPS, IT DOESN'T SHIFT 2ND AND 3RD GEAR , THE ENGINE LIGHT TURNS AND SOME TIMES IT WORK CORRECTLY WITH NO PROBLEM BUT IN THE MIDDLE OF A DRIVE THE RAV4 IT JUST STOP JERKING ALMOST TO A DEAD STOP. DEALER SAID "YOU NEED A NEW TRANSMISSION AND IT WILL COST YOU $4,989.00 DOLLARS." *TR
Air bags, Aug 22, 2008, crash
AIR BAG ON MY 2002 TOYOTA RAV 4 DID NOT DEPLOY WHEN MY VEHICLE REAR ENDED A TRUCK MY SPEED WAS 40-45 MILE PER HOUR. TOYOTA REPRESENTATIVE SAID THE AIRBAG WAS NOT DESIGNED TO DEPLOY UNLESS I WAS IN DANGER OF SERIOUS INJURY. "A FRACTURED STERNUM IS NOT SERIOUS ENOUGH FOR IT TO DEPLOY." *TR