Automatic Transmission Problems Rav4 4.2 2002

[bitman]

the TSB TC002-06 of March 3, 2006

[trbj]

Thans Bitman,

very interesting service bullentin. Despite the intention of the bullentin it seems to be no any attempt whatsoever to honour any form of warranty replacement of ECU' s or resulting gearbox damages in Norway or other European countries. Case by case, denying knowledge to the problem and the source of the problem seems to be the standard implemented throughout the organization.

Trond

[bitman]

so after reading this page i can't undo get those damn screws :censor: they are not torx, phillips or any things else i have on my toolkit. is this changed for the 2003 vehicles as they were phillips?

i cannot see the joy in this from mr toyota as they know that those ecu's are having problems. anyhow i will use some big tools (grinder) tomorrow to cut those toyota security screws as they not going to screw me

so i can send my ecu to brooklyn for repair instead listen to the monkey talk from the toyota main dealer(s) and there so called £3k plus solution.

they (toyota) are not getting any pennies from me again but for buying parts if needed.

[anchorman]

Hey bitman, you can buy a set of security bits for about a fiver before you take that grinder to it

[IanXT4]

Screwfix do a good selection, enlarge the picture of the set shown here and see if you recognise the right one.

http://www.screwfix.com/search.do;jsessionid=NBJRLYDXI2TEQCSTHZOCFFQ?_dynchubikt=UTF-8&fh_search=security+bits&searchbutton.x=0&searchbutton.y=0&searchbutton=submit#

[bitman]

before;

after;

ecu ready for shipment

and toyota, don't mess with a dutch man!

[bitman]

Hey bitman, you can buy a set of security bits for about a fiver before you take that grinder to it

Screwfix do a good selection, enlarge the picture of the set shown here and see if you recognise the right one.

http://www.screwfix.com/search.do;jsessionid=NBJRLYDXI2TEQCSTHZOCFFQ?_dynchubikt=UTF-8&fh_search=security+bits&searchbutton.x=0&searchbutton.y=0&searchbutton=submit#

sorry guys but i was in a bad mood

[vRS Bob]

Hi all,

I have been following this thread (and other similar ones) with interest, and some alarm. My wife has a 4.2 NRG auto on an 03 plate which we have had for seven or eight months now, and although so far it has been running like a dream, I now have a sense of impending doom having read all about this problem. I therefore have two questions:

1). Is there any way I can tell from the serial number of the ECU/car chassis number whether it falls within the potentially faulty category, as from what I have read it affects 2001 - 2003, so presumably some time in 2003 the problem was fixed by a revised ECU?

2). Assuming ours falls into the category of potentially developing this fault, should I wait until it happens or pre-empt it by sending our currently behaving ECU over the pond for repair? Presumably not all of them will go wrong, and I'm not sure I want to Shell out 160 odd quid to fit a fault that might not happen anyway, if you see what I mean!

Cheers,

Bob.

[bitman]

hi bob,

yes, by the end of the day they will all fail... our nrg was driving fine and then from one to the other day problems. swmbo had to take a train back to wales land from gatwick and wasn't happy at all but when i give her the repair bill she will happy as mr. t quoted a new gearbox as solution. they litterly told her oh your gear box is shot and they had no interest when i showed them documents to prove other wise. so when we left the shop i told them that i will show my $280 fix in a couple weeks time. then they ask me how much in £ that was. well i don't respond on stupid questions so elvis left the building.

if this does happens with you nrg then stop driving her as if you keep driving you WILL break your auto box with all the £££ coming to you and you will have a happy mr. t main dealer.

in the usa mr. t extended the warranty to 10 years or 150k miles what ever comes first and we are taling about 140.000 rav 4s. this is much higher then here in europe because here people like playing around with gear sticks as they think is B)

so you don't have to change the ecu if you don't want but do it when you get strange auto box behaviour is my advise.

[vRS Bob]

Would I need to disconnect the Battery to remove the ECU or is it safe not to?

Cheers,

Bob.

[anchorman]

Yes mine too. Don't change it until it plays up. It may run for years without problem.

[bitman]

Would I need to disconnect the battery to remove the ECU or is it safe not to?

Cheers,

Bob.

i just took it out with the Battery still connected as the alarm will still work. also we just moved house and have no idea where the kenwood radio code paper is... and if the radio (read satnav & bluetooth for the phone) isn't working after the repair well then i have to sleep in the garden shed for the next couple months

[vRS Bob]

Would I need to disconnect the battery to remove the ECU or is it safe not to?

Cheers,

Bob.

i just took it out with the Battery still connected as the alarm will still work. also we just moved house and have no idea where the kenwood radio code paper is... and if the radio (read satnav & bluetooth for the phone) isn't working after the repair well then i have to sleep in the garden shed for the next couple months

Hah! Thanks Bitman. Hope it's the end of your problems when you get the ECU back.

Bob.

[trbj]

Hi Bob,

the ECU problem will aparently occurall the guy again with all 2001 t0 2003's sooner or later, - mine was sooner...

In the US the extended warranty even includes some 2004's.

I did not disconnect the Battery when taking the ECU out, - I actually also took my friends ECU (both 2002's) out before the weekend without disconnecting the Battery. When received back and installed I will report further!

My RAV has performed excellent ever sice I had the ECU repaired early this year. Mine had 90.000 km on the meter, my frieds RAV hs nearly twice as much which proves that this happens randomly.

Toyota Norway told me that it is 17 different partnumbers on this box, hence a good question of course is which ones fail...

I'm going to call the guy again as he kindly promised to look into the usage of each of thes partnumbers as I'm sure nobody changes them for fun!

More later!

Any volonteers to translate an, if necersary, upcoming article in english to more European languages? I've noted Bitman for Duch!

On the positive side, Bitman, the 2002 models still have phillips screws!

Trond

[anchorman]

Would I need to disconnect the battery to remove the ECU or is it safe not to?

Cheers,

Bob.

i just took it out with the Battery still connected as the alarm will still work. also we just moved house and have no idea where the kenwood radio code paper is... and if the radio (read satnav & bluetooth for the phone) isn't working after the repair well then i have to sleep in the garden shed for the next couple months

Can you sing bt?

[bitman]

Would I need to disconnect the battery to remove the ECU or is it safe not to?

Cheers,

Bob.

i just took it out with the Battery still connected as the alarm will still work. also we just moved house and have no idea where the kenwood radio code paper is... and if the radio (read satnav & bluetooth for the phone) isn't working after the repair well then i have to sleep in the garden shed for the next couple months

Can you sing bt?

no, not really

but you know girls and phones it's murder if it all stops working

btw, i can always sleep in my boot

[trbj]

Hi,

my good friend Erik got his ECU back from Check Engine on friday and installed it today.

Worked great from the first minute, everything perfect.

New is that a written note about idle speed adjustments etc. followed. An excellent service.

If anything, - his RAV is better than new. Let's see how long Toyota can get by denying the problem!

Will keep y'all posted.

Trond

[trbj]

Bitman, we're waiting for your report!

Trond

[bitman]

Bitman, we're waiting for your report!

Trond

just got the box today...

will install it on friday or saturday

Parcel tracks

Date Time Location Tracking Event

17-11-2010 10:30 Aldershot Depot Delivered

17-11-2010 01:25 Aldershot Depot Loaded to vehicle for delivery

17-11-2010 01:15 Aldershot Depot Received at delivery depot

16-11-2010 13:55 National Hub Received and processed

14-11-2010 23:40 International Hub Awaiting Customs clearance

14-11-2010 23:36 International Hub Received in destination country

13-11-2010 11:19 Heathrow Airport Received in destination country

11-11-2010 21:24 Delivery Agent - NEW YORK -PTT Forwarded for export

10-11-2010 08:33 Delivery Agent - UNITED STATES AMERICA

[bitman]

component side

solder side

[bitman]

and the result is...

gear shifting from D to R is so smooth that you not even feel it B)

just as every body else who got their ecu fixed by these ny brooklyn guys (Ckeck Engine, Etc).

went to toyota tollhouse horsham to tell them about my results but they are not really interested. no wonder because selling a new gearbox and ecu makes more revenue... really good customer service IMHO. but again for me personal they are all scammers, short term pocket fillers. another interesting reply was that they as toyota dealer do only what toyota tells them to do! so that must be very boring as mechanic working for them... (but we do know that already for years)

anyway my problem is fixed for £195.02 all in and it's better then before

[vRS Bob]

and the result is...

gear shifting from D to R is so smooth that you not even feel it B)

just as every body else who got their ecu fixed by these ny brooklyn guys (Ckeck Engine, Etc).

went to toyota tollhouse horsham to tell them about my results but they are not really interested. no wonder because selling a new gearbox and ecu makes more revenue... really good customer service IMHO. but again for me personal they are all scammers, short term pocket fillers. another interesting reply was that they as toyota dealer do only what toyota tells them to do! so that must be very boring as mechanic working for them... (but we do know that already for years)

anyway my problem is fixed for £195.02 all in and it's better then before

That's great news Bitman! It must be very satisfying to have got the problem sorted properly for a sensible price and sticking two fingers up to the dealers!

Cheers,

Bob

--

[shcm]

Bitman - Just curious, were there any obvious components that looked like they had been reworked? I'm not really going to tell from the photos.

[bitman]

Bitman - Just curious, were there any obvious components that looked like they had been reworked? I'm not really going to tell from the photos.

no not really. if needed i have very high resolution pictures (8m pixels about 4mb)

it's also difficult to see since it's all sdm

but no matter what they did, it works

[trbj]

CONGRATULATIONS!

Bitman, well done!

With Check engine it works every time, - no exception! And it lasts!

The Toyota guys are not really interested in happy customers.

My friend Erik's car had 150.000 km on the meter, had been to each and every service.

No way he was ever told about a potential problem or helped.

Should this topic be pinned for easy access for new victims of Toyotas ignorance???

Trond