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Toyota RAV4 Class Action Settlement
By Mike Holter
Toyota has reached a class action lawsuit settlement over allegations that some 2001-2003 model year RAV4s have defective automatic transmissions. Under the RAV4 settlement, Toyota will provide a warranty enhancement and reimbursement to current and former RAV4 owners and lessees who submit valid claims.The Toyota RAV4 class action settlement will resolve a class action lawsuit, entitled Milligan v. Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc., that claims some 2001-2003 RAV4s equipped with automatic transmissions have experienced a “harsh shift condition.” When this occurs, the vehicle may suddenly not shift smoothly and/or it may exhibit harshness in shifting operations during driving. The “harsh shift condition” may be attributed to a malfunctioning Electronic Control Module (ECM).
Toyota denies wrongdoing but has agreed to establish a class action lawsuit settlement to resolve the litigation.
Class Members of the Toyota RAV4 class action settlement include all persons in the United States, including the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, who currently own or lease or formerly owned or leased a model year 2001 through 2003 Toyota RAV4 equipped with an automatic transmission. (Toyota previously mailed a notice regarding this issue to current owners as part of a separate Customer Support Program. However, this class action settlement expands that Customer Service Support Program to include prior owners and lessees.)
Class Members can receive the following benefits under the Toyota RAV4 class action settlement:
(1) Warranty Enhancement. Toyota will continue to provide a warranty enhancement to any Class Member, for a period of 10 years or 150,000 miles from the Class Vehicle’s in-service date, whichever occurs first, for a harsh shift condition and/or illumination of the check engine light with the following codes: P0750, P0753, P0755, P0758, and/or P1760.
(2) Reimbursement Under the Existing Customer Support Program. Toyota will continue to offer reimbursement to current owners pursuant to the existing Customer Support Program. The class action settlement will extend this reimbursement to prior owners.
(3) Reimbursement for Repair Costs. Class Members who paid for a repair or replacement of the ECM and/or automatic transmission for the specific condition covered by this settlement during the enhanced-warranty period will be reimbursed.
To submit a claim form for reimbursement, you must download a claim form at www.RAV4ECMSettlement.com and mail it, along with the required documentation, during the Reimbursement Period, which is from the date of the Final Approval Order and Judgment through December 31, 2014.
Class Members who fail to submit valid reimbursement claims during the Reimbursement Period will not receive a payment from the RAV4 ECM settlement.
Detailed instruction on how to file a claim for the Toyota RAV4 ECM Class Action Lawsuit Settlement can be found in our Open Lawsuit Settlements section.
Updated August 17th, 2012
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27 thoughts onToyota RAV4 Class Action Settlement
I bought a used 2003 rav4 in 11/17/12 at autonation toyota libertyville. Started experiencing jerky transmission shifts when you step on the gas & suddenly car starts to slow down while driving early this month. Took to dealership for service & was told of recall being expired & is now faced with a $5596.57 estimate to get car fix. I was not told of a recall for this vehicle when car was purchased. I felt so deceived after leaving the dealership. To think that all cars we own are all TOYOTA :(
I just took my Toyota Rave 4 2003 in and they told me it had the hard shift problem and that the enhanced warranty expired in April. I almost got hit twice when this issue happened and Toyota refuse to honor the warranty and wanted to charge me $1,200 just for the ECM and then said it might still need a new transmission. I am filing an appeal! Don’t let them do this to you, it’s complete BS! They lost a class action lawsuit and now refuse honor the agreement. Write Toyota and file an appeal!
Going through the same problem as other ppl here. 10yr or 150k from the date you bought it is bs. One thing i’m gonna try to do is remove the ecm (the part that’s bad) and send it to a repair place in Georgia called ‘myairbags’. They charge 69 bucks to fix it, s&h. Best of luck everybody!
Thank you Carlos. Kindly send your phone nos and address of the Georgia my airbags repair place to me or call me on (323)4409197. I need to send my ECM for repair. Again thank you for your information.
did this solve OUR problem??
i also can not afford the repairs to my rav 4 does anyone know of a mechanic or a group who can help me and others.
I received the recall letter from Toyota for my 2002 Rav4. The letter said something to the effect – file this letter if you are not experiencing problems. Deceptive. It should have said bring your car in immediately for a replacement part. A recall is a recall. Toyota kniew it had a defective part. I was past the 10 year mark so Bill Wright Toyota CA would do nothing for me. $1,000.00 to repair it, which I did not do.
Did everyone know that the original recall was for 50,000 and 5 years? It was’nt until the government forced them to do more that they extended the recall to it’s current status. But for those of us over the 10 year or 1000,000 miles mark – we are out of luck. This is one of the reasons Toyota has lost it’s #1 status in the U.S.
I have a 2001 RAV4 with same issues.
I agree with what you’re saying! A recall should be fixed at TOYOTA’s expense…and the dealerships should always have to comply.
I own a 2002 Toyota RAV4L w/ harsh shift condition and would like to have this repaired. Can I just take my vehicle to a Toyota dealer for repair w/ no out-of-pocket cost? Or do I have to pay for the repair and then file for reimbursement? I can’t afford to do this. If this is so, wouldn’t this be discriminating against me for earning a low-income?
I rented a Rav4 in Halifax while on a trip there. After driving a few blocks I found I had to fight with the brakes to stop and hold the vehicle. I came very close to crossing a red light and colliding with a full lane of traffic. My wife, a normally calm unruffled individual let out a scream being convinced that we would be killed.
I lost the better part of a day’s touring since it took the tow truck well over an hour to show up. Then I had to take a taxi to get to the agency.
As a result of the vehicle’s critical problem I was unable to do anything for the rest of the day while I tried to “smooth out” and recover from a harrowing experience being the driver of a car that had its own will to drive without yielding to the person at the wheel.
I am an owner of 2003 toyota rav4. My car started the harsh shift condition last year. When to toyota they fix the ecm. A year later the same problem start again. This time they telling they is nothing with car. The car has 1000miles left before the warranty expirer. But toyota refuse to fix it. What should I do?
Call this number 1 800 331 4331 Toyota customer service and press option 3
If the settlement date was January 2012, and this litigation involves Toyota RAV4 vehicles from 2001-2003,
Then how can Toyota sate that:
“(1) Warranty Enhancement. Toyota will continue to provide a warranty enhancement to any Class Member, for a period of 10 years or 150,000 miles from the Class Vehicle’s in-service date, whichever occurs first
as this a would exclude all 2011 vehicles????
I am an original owner of a Rav4 and this vehicle has been parked for a year due to transmission shifting issues.
I was just thinking the same thing! How can they say they’ll only cover for TEN years when the settlement date was in 2012???