Shifterati

Toyota RAV4 · 2nd gen (2001–2005)

2003 Toyota RAV4

This page is a draft. It has not been approved yet, so read it with care.

Watch out for

Reputation: what owners and the press report. Tap one to see what to check.

Hard shifting and hesitation 2001–2003

What to check: Drive it from cold through every gear, and feel for jerks, slurred shifts and hesitation.

CarComplaints.com logs more complaints for the 2002 than for any other RAV4 year, most about shifting, jerking and hesitation, and puts the shifting problems down to a faulty engine control module.

Sources ^1,2,3

Recalls

No recalls are listed for this year.

Checked against NHTSA records on 21 October 2026.

Sources