Two days ago got a “check engine” light on 2001 Rav4, with 69000 miles. Dealer says it’s the ECU and wants $1100 to fix. Asked about Federal Emissions Warranty on this. Was told as I took possession 10/00, it’s two months over warranty period. As it’s a 2001 car, I contend it could be within warranty. Any opinions?
I think they’re right, technically, you’ve owned the car for 8 yrs 2 mos. Model year designation isn’t the determining factor.
I agree. The warranty starts on the day the car is placed into service and 2 months can be a deal killer.
Before wading into 1100 dollars worth of ECU on a possible misdiagnosis, how about driving the car to a local AutoZone, Checkers, Advance, etc. and get it scanned.
They will do this for you free and it only takes a few minutes.
Post any results for further discussion.
I only suggest this because ECU failures are rare on any car. Being a tech for many years, I can only say that I’ve seen 3 ECU failures in my lifetime.
One involved the loss of the fuel pump relay ground (AND it was a “new” reman unit to boot), another was a dubious one that was warrantied and not so dubious when I was finished with it, and the other was a unit that was damaged by the car owner (his actions allowed orange juice into the ECU, long story).
As you can tell, I’m not big on computer failures; unless it happens to be one of Bill Gates Windows problems. 
The interesting thing is we have had at least 4 posts on this board about a failed ECU diagnosis on this board for this vintage RAV4. I think Toyota may have a bad part given that frequency. Its pretty rare even on this board to see that diagnosis crop up.
Can the Dealer require proof of a failed emission test? As I read the warranty this is one of the parameters.