My 2002 rav 4 check engine light came on at 96,000 miles; when the code was checked it related it to the catalyst system, but I called Toyota customer service and they informed me that the ECM had to be updated as part of a recall for my vehicle and I needed to take it to a Toyota dealer; doing this would cause the faulty check engine light to be reset. They performed the service, and now 3 weeks later the vehicle spontaneously pops out of 5th gear, causing the vehicle to dramatically decrease unpredictably at highway speeds. Dangerous!!! although after looking on the internet and discovering countless others with this same problem, Toyota has not yet issued a recall for the transmission problems; they have done nothing to address this dangerous and costly-to-fix problem. Supposedly in 2006 Toyota realized there was an issue with the ECM, (which could apparently damage the transmission). Instead of letting consumers know about this issue as soon as they realized, they sent a technical service bulletin to dealerships and service areas, but failed to let their own customers know. According to internet research, this problem generally starts around 90,000 miles.

- Rosendale, MO, USA

My 2002 Toyota Rav4 w/5 speed standard transmission pops out of 5th gear at highway speed causing sudden deceleration and engine revving if using cruise control. If I am in heavy traffic the car behind me comes close to rear-ending me because my brake lights don't come on. This first happened in February 2006 with 60757 miles on the car. At 757 miles past the 60,000 mile warranty, our local Toyota dealer refused to replace the transmission. But we were able to talk them into repairing it for free. In July 2010 at 123965 miles the same thing has happened again. At 65 mph on cruise control it popped out 5th gear and refused to go back in. Again I suddenly lost speed but luckily was almost by myself on the highway.

- White Salmon, WA, USA