Toyota Rav4 Transmission Problems, TCU Problem?

Sounds like Toyota’s got another big problem on its hands. Around 120 2001-2004 Rav 4 owners have filed complaints with the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration claiming a defect with Toyota’s electronically controlled transmission.

Supposedly the control module may fail, leading to harsh shifts and eventual damage. If that weren’t bad enough, Toyota hasn’t sent out a service bulletin on the issue, leaving more than a few Rav4s in the shop for new gearboxes. Toyota says the company is investigating the claims to determine if a quality issue is at fault.

Some owners are furious at the automaker because it failed to warn them of a serious transmission problem. Had Toyota warned them, they say, they could have avoided expensive repairs.

In March 2006, Toyota sent dealers a technical service bulletin warning them that some consumers might complain about harsh shifting. It said improvements were made to the computer “manufacturing process to reduce the possibility of this condition occurring.” It then told the dealers to replace the module and if that did not work to replace the transmission. But consumers owning the vehicles were never notified about the problem.

That kind of a warning is important because, as soon as the transmission begins to misbehave, consumers should stop driving it and get it fixed to avoid major transmission damage. You can bet there are a lot of angry customers who have had to replace their transmissions. Obviously an unexpected and irritating expense.

I can’t find any information about the outcome of this recall. Toyota seems to be having a lot of recall issues right now, when it rains it pours.

Needless to say, if you do have a transmission failure and you have to pay for it out of your pocket, GotTransmissions.com can provide a long term solution. The first thing we can help out with is supplying you with one of our Toyota transmissions. We also have TCU’s for sale, in stock. TCU is an acronym for transmission control unit.

Since it is suspected that the TCU may have a part in the failure, we recommend replacing the TCU with one of our pre tested certified good units. The two ingredients mentioned will put a stop to this problem for good. Call us now for more detailed information. 866-320-1182.