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EnginePart report

2003 Toyota RAV4 Engine Problems

Complaints
21about this part
Share
7%of 315 total for the year
Median mileage
89,000miles
Trend
StableComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are within 25% of the 3 years before.

NHTSA recorded 21 complaints about the engine of the 2003 Toyota RAV4, 7% of the 315 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 89,000 miles.

Example complaints

Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

“This car has been maintained and preserved and only 84000 miles on it. And the car wont shift. It jolts me or revs extremely high and also almost caused me an accident as it almost shut down on power while making a left turn in intersection. The check engine light comes on and off. It's only while going from 2nd to 3rd or shifting down from 2 to 1st. I had my mechanic look at it and he said it's a common issue with the ecu to take it to dealership to replace for free and they want to charge me 150 just to examine it.”

NHTSA complaint #11309385, filed 2020-02, 84,100 miles

“I'm the owner of a 2003 RAV4, purchased from a Toyota dealer in 2011. Last week, I experienced a time lapse of my car shifting into first gear, in my opinion, a safety hazard. This morning I took the car to a mechanic and began searching the web for any recalls for a 2003 RAV4, there are none. However, on this site, I discovered that I am one of many who have this complaint, and that we ,the consumer, all share the same results from Toyota. You missed the deadline. …”

NHTSA complaint #10631106, filed 2014-09, 130,000 miles

“My vehicle began to buck and then shortly thereafter the check engine light came on. I initially took it to the closest mechanic and was told I needed a new transmission and that they couldn't replace it. Told them to take it to krause Toyota. Was then told by krause it needed a new ECM but they were too busy and couldn't look at the vehicle for 2 weeks since I wasn't a regular customer. I then took the car to bennett Toyota - class outfit. They replaced the ECM immediately - which wasn't cheap. Cost me $1200. …”

NHTSA complaint #10760770, filed 2015-09, 71,537 miles

“Experience a hard shift jerking motion when driving my car and almost got hit twice due to the car jerking and immediately slowing down. I took it in to kendall Toyota of anchorage right away and then read online that there was a class action lawsuit and enhanced warranty of 2001-2003 toyotas because of the malfunction of the ECM and transmission. This car is not safe to drive! Toyota kendall said it would be $6,000 to replace both the ECM and transmission and that Toyota would only pay half because the car was 10 years old. …”

NHTSA complaint #10551328, filed 2013-11, 65,507 miles

“I purchased a 2003 Toyota RAV4 from the Toyota dealership that only had 13 miles on it in august 2003. In august of 2014, I started having trouble with the automatic transmission shifting harsh when changing. The car would strain to change gears, then all of a sudden it would jerk into gear. No lights came on at all. I took it to the Toyota dealership to have the problem inspected and they told me about an extended warranty of 10 years or 150,000 miles. This was the first that I had heard about this warranty. Toyota never contacted me to let me know about the warranty. …”

NHTSA complaint #10660707, filed 2014-11, 128,677 miles

Related service bulletins

Engine: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
20251415%
20243822%
20232515%
20222718%
20214111%
202018028%
201920723%
20183310%
20173110%
20162510%
20153712%
20143116%
20132911%
2012228%
20113312%
2010215%
2009278%
200813724%
200719519%
200610915%
200596%
2004117%
2003217%
2002224%
200193%
200027%
199811%
199724%
199612%

Other parts of the 2003 Toyota RAV4

Transmission and drivetrain
209 complaints
Electrical system
42 complaints
Vehicle speed control
29 complaints
Engine cooling
26 complaints
Other or unknown
15 complaints
Air bags
10 complaints
Electronic stability control
7 complaints
Seat belts
7 complaints
Body and structure
6 complaints
Fuel system
5 complaints
Brakes
3 complaints
Steering
3 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2003 Toyota RAV4

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 27, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology