2002 Toyota RAV4 and the transmission occassionally would not shift correctly under 30 mph it sometimes felt like it was slamming into gear only happened occassionally had the car scanned solaniod?

Answer 1

This appears to be a common problem some of the 2002 RAV4 have. Mine did. Have the P-codes checked with an OBD-II readout to see if the onboard computer senses any transmission malfunction. The P-code numbers will indicate which malfunctions it detects. But most likely the readout will show no transmission malfunction codes; because the CPU(the onboard computer) was programmed incorrectly to start with and is incapable of reporting the proper malfunction codes. Mine was. The CPU tells the transmission solenoids when to shift the gears. But if the CPU begins to malfunction, it can cause the solenoids/transmission to shift harshly and improperly. Go easy on the transmission until you get it checked. I did. Back off the pedal when the car begins to jerk. Let the car coast so the transmssion can find the proper gear itself. This will save your transmission from being destroyed. Toyota has reprogrammed the replacement CPU(twice, now) to fix the problem. The original can not be "reflashed" to fix this. You can buy the CPU and replace it yourself. I did. Do not let the dealer talk you into a new transmission; it will only go bad again because of the defective CPU.