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Rav4 Auto Gearbox Issues.. Ecu Or Gearbox?


boosaraff
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Sounds good, thanks. Do you have contact details?

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You need to Quote "Don" IIRC

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They'll phone you once they've run the diagnostics on the ECU to say whether it needs a re-flash or not and it's then that they take your card details. If you mention the TOC discount before you give the details, they will apply the discount. If the ECU's OK and doesn't need the upgrade, they will charge a fee for checking it and returning (IIRC, it's £25??)

At least that's how they did it for me.

Good luck.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hi can I just ask if your car is changing gears ok now?

A friend has an auto rav 4 and we came across this.

The symptoms sound quite similar

Anyone??? Is it possible it could be the gearbox ecu the symptoms are quite similar to what's described on here

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  • 2 weeks later...

I had my ecu repaired but still get the car over-revving on pulling away and then clonking harshly into the next gear. Hmmmmm now in head-scratching mode!!

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Sorry to hear it didn't go well for you. Is it still the same as it was before the ECU repair?

I received my ECU back last week and the car is running like a dream again.

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The car performs much better, it's just this issue that remains. I have sent an email to the ecu repair company for more ideas. Will keep you posted. Glad it worked for you - it's a big relief to get a sick car running again.

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Yes very big relief I sent it off on a Tuesday and was back on Friday really impressed with the service.

Hope it works out for you too

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The car performs much better, it's just this issue that remains. I have sent an email to the ecu repair company for more ideas. Will keep you posted. Glad it worked for you - it's a big relief to get a sick car running again.

That's unfortunate, Cliff. I've heard of only one member on here whose repair by ECUt didn't work first time but they did it again and it then worked fine. Not saying your situation is the same but it could be. Bit of a pain having to remove it and return but they do give a lifetime warranty on their work.

Just on the off-chance, have you checked that there are no broken or bent pins in the connector rails that might be causing problems? IIRC, there is something like 40-odd pins so lots of possibilities for cocked up conns.

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Yes - was very disappointing but your suggestion is a good one. I'll check the pins before returning :-)

By the way, I used a different company who came personally recommended - so not ECUt's fault

Will report on progress....

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Yes - was very disappointing but your suggestion is a good one. I'll check the pins before returning :-)

By the way, I used a different company who came personally recommended - so not ECUt's fault

Will report on progress....

That's interesting, Cliff. I recall that we had a lady on here a while back who used another company without success and ended up sending it to ECUt who fixed it for her.

I'm not rubbishing your firm but ECUt has an excellent track record with these things, hence their guarantee.

Good luck with it; I hope it gets sorted - it certainly sounds like the well-known ECU issue. Just take care though, if it is the ECU fault and you continue to drive the car, there is a very good chance that the g/box will destroy itself very quickly. A new box & ECU from Toyota is circa £3K!!

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Just heard back from the firm. They said the engineer found the fault and that it may be the gearbox. I guess my only options are for Toyota to put it on their diagnostics and/or sending it to ECUt.

Do you have their contact details?

Thanks for your help - any advice gratefully received :-)

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Just heard back from the firm. They said the engineer found the fault and that it may be the gearbox. I guess my only options are for Toyota to put it on their diagnostics and/or sending it to ECUt.

Do you have their contact details?

Thanks for your help - any advice gratefully received :-)

Here you go, Cliff:

http://www.ecutesting.com

They're in Heanor in Derbyshire.

Unless you have confidence in your local Mr.T, you might be better advised to check the codes yourself with an OBD reader. You can pick them up for as little as £10 on the web. Once you have the codes, you can post them on here and see if anyone can advise further. Bear in mind that a dealer will normally make a charge for diagnostics - certainly a lot more than £10!

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Yes, my local Toyota dealer wanted to charge me £120 just for a diagnostic check when I had a fault appear. Fortunately another motor guy I know did it for me....it took him about a minute to do and he told me what the fault was. I gave him £5 for a drink.

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I bought an OBD reader but it showed 'No codes'

When I asked the ECU firm, they said it did not go deep enough....and that it was a 'Mickey-mouse' device

Maybe I was naïve in believing this. Will test again in case I bent a pin on the ECU as a contributor suggested. Will post later

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Personally looking back at this topic someone else had a similar experience as yourself and then sent it to ECU testing. I think if it was me I'd send it to ECU a lot cheaper than what Toyota would charge and to be honest I don't think Toyota will say it's the ECU more than likely will say it's your gearbox according to the previous threads

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I think you're right. This would be the last resort - I'd rather send it to another ECU tester. I just tried again with my UB40 Memoscan. It showed 'No Codes' again. Hmmmmmmm.....Now head scratching

Any good ECU testers out there?

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I think you're right. This would be the last resort - I'd rather send it to another ECU tester. I just tried again with my UB40 Memoscan. It showed 'No Codes' again. Hmmmmmmm.....Now head scratchingAny good ECU testers out there?

This gear box issue doesn't necessarily produce any OBD codes. Nevertheless any OBD Reader is fine; some mechanics don't have a clue so they blame the readers. I've got a Memoscan that cost £15 on eBay and it reads our RAV and LC just fine. No codes doesn't mean no problem. Toyota GB doesn't recognise reflashing the ECU as a legitimate repair - their solution is a new box and a recommendation to replace the ECU as well, hence my £3K figure earlier. If you send ECU to ECUt and it has indeed been reflashed correctly by your original guy, they'll only charge a nominal handling fee (IIRC about £25). Otherwise they can reflash and it'll be something a bit under £300. The best option, I reckon.

This autobox is very robust and seldom suffers mechanical problems - personally I don't recall anyone on here experiencing such issues. It's nearly always the well-known ECU reflash problem that the early 4.2 is prone to.

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Our rav didn't show anything when they put the laptop and diagnostics or whatever it's called and no lights came on either

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Sounds about right. Please do you have ECUt's contact detail? I feel this is the right next step.

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Just heard back from the firm. They said the engineer found the fault and that it may be the gearbox. I guess my only options are for Toyota to put it on their diagnostics and/or sending it to ECUt.

Do you have their contact details?

Thanks for your help - any advice gratefully received :-)

Here you go, Cliff:

http://www.ecutesting.com

They're in Heanor in Derbyshire.

Unless you have confidence in your local Mr.T, you might be better advised to check the codes yourself with an OBD reader. You can pick them up for as little as £10 on the web. Once you have the codes, you can post them on here and see if anyone can advise further. Bear in mind that a dealer will normally make a charge for diagnostics - certainly a lot more than £10!

Here it is again, Cliff. Send it Royal Mail Special Delivery.
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Great! many thanks. I'll take this route :-)

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  • 2 weeks later...

I had the ECU tested by the original repair firm. They have tested the unit and said it all checks out ok. They suggested it may be a damaged gearbox and suggested I get the solenoids checked.

The fault remains:

On pulling away, on moderate acceleration the car seems to stick in 1st and then clonks heavily into 2nd at about 4000rpm !!

I have compensated for this by keeping a VERY light foot on pulling away until it slips into 2nd at about 2000 rpm.

I guess it's time for a garage. Does it have to be Toyota ?

Any ideas welcome

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I had the ECU tested by the original repair firm. They have tested the unit and said it all checks out ok. They suggested it may be a damaged gearbox and suggested I get the solenoids checked.

The fault remains:

On pulling away, on moderate acceleration the car seems to stick in 1st and then clonks heavily into 2nd at about 4000rpm !!

I have compensated for this by keeping a VERY light foot on pulling away until it slips into 2nd at about 2000 rpm.

I guess it's time for a garage. Does it have to be Toyota ?

Any ideas welcome

Hi Cliff,

Is this the same firm that you said had re-confirmed their result on 15th June? Can't imagine that they would say anything else TBH. I thought that you were going to try ECUt?

Your symptoms sound like classic re-flash issue. Fact is, if you continue to drive the car in this condidtion, the gearbox is going to lunch itself. IMHO, there's no point going to Mr.T as he will recommend a new box & ECU = £3k. Yes, it will probably fix your problem but your car is not worth that level of further investment. Toyota GB do not recognise the ECU fault and therefore won't cover cost of re-flash; unlike Toyota US who have replaced boxes and ECUs to avoid product indemnity class action in the US courts!!

I still think that your best option is to send the ECU to ECUt for their attention. Cost = £25 - ish at best (no fault found); £300 - ish at worst (ECU needs re-flash - but you get lifetime warranty from these guys).

Just so that I'm clear, bearing in mind your model year shown in your details, is your car a 4.2.0? Does it have the rectangular fog light and indicator assemby in the lower front bumper area? Does it have steering wheel controls for the stereo? The ECU problem only applies to the 4.2.0 (early 4.2) and was corrected with a revised ECU in the 4.2.5 model (i.e. indicators incorprated in the top of the headlight unit, round fog lights in the lower front bumper, stereo controls on the steering wheel).

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