37k miles and tranny went out

So I have only 37,000 miles on my taco trd 4x4 and the transmission went out and just had to be replaced. My truck is lifted (mid travel front & sua in rear) so they ended up goodwilling it rather then normal warranty. I’m curious what would of caused it to go out so soon. I haven’t beat on it or anything like that, it just went out. Anyone else have this happen ?

 

It happens. What a warranty is for.

What was the actual cause is unknown without knowing what failed in the transmission. Did a hard part break, did the torque converter fail, did it burn up??? Lots of possibilities and no way to answer without details. But "lifted" means nothing because that could be 1" or 6" and no idea tire size, who did the lift and so on.

But if they covered the replacement without issue, likely just something that why warranties exist. Ask the service department what failed and why it may have. They are the only ones that can give an exact answer

 

I would be more concerned with why they chose to goodwill the transmission instead of sending it through powertrain warranty.

Sounds like they thought the lift is what caused it, but couldn't prove it so they used up your goodwill (many car manufacturers only give you 1 goodwill)

 

My bet is they 'told you' goodwill and filed the warranty paperwork. Just to make themselves special in your eyes.

A lift doesnt void warranty on what it doesnt affect

So can you be more descriptive about what 'go out' means? Ie how it behaved?

 

This ^ sounds like the dealer is just trying too act like something they are not.

 

Only thing similar i ever heard last year by a toyota sales rep his 2018 rave4 torque converter failed at 40k miles coming out of a hotel parking lot when i was picking up my new truck at the dealer. Probably one of those guys pushing the extended warranty program.

 

You probably were just unlucky and got a rare bad one.

I've read here that some trucks were getting out the door with transmissions not full of fluid. At least on some years.

 

You probably know this but as soon as you change any rear end suspension geometry you have changed the driveline geometry which could have effects on the transmission, even if only in the form of added vibration. OP has done a swap to spring under axle in the rear, my guess is that has an effect on the driveline geometry.

 

90 % of the transmission problems that come into the dealership get a remanufactured transmission regardless of whether it needs it or not .
Even if its a $ 15 dollar part in the valve body , dealerships no longer fix transmission internals .

 

Damn. Got a cavity? Rip em all out and bring in the dentures.

 

maybe that is so at yota dealer but not at GM dealers. GM is cheap and their transmissions go out a lot. they don't want to spend more than needed...

 

it makes sense. Time is money and most techs maybe have an entry level understanding of how to diagnose a trans issue. (senior techs usually leave dealerships and start their own shops)

 

Same with VW, they will rebuild before they replace. We had valve bodies stacked to the roof in the warranty room.

 

Lifting the truck changes angles of everything attached to the transmission. Also, with a lift usually comes bigger tires which will also stress components as we all know. Therefore a dealership could absolutely deny a claim based on that alone.

 

I'm curious to hear what caused the failure... The most common problems will always be fluid related... low level, dirty, worn out. To beat the dead horse, no dip stick leads to such things happening.

 

Those reman parts come from a Toyota facility or third party?

 

Toyota performs their own remans through AWTEC. http://www.awtec.com/

 

Aisin makes toyota transmissions so its all 3rd party

 

Ask the dealer ??
If it was your lift, I would expect similar issues in another 37k so I would probably do some investigating with the dealer's mechanics.
Since you were well within the 60k power train warranty find out why it was a 'goodwill' replacement rather than a straight up warranty claim. The suggestion is of course you did something wrong. I would ask the dealer to explain EXACTLY what that was and why it wasn't covered.

 

AFAIK, it's to get a more accurate reading on the newer fluids.
People were under- or overfilling they're transmissions; mostly over.
In an article on the subject, one particular transmission was overfilled 3 quarts. 3 quarts equaled 1/8" on the dipstick.