Shot Transmission in 3rd Gen @ 100k

My first post is a pretty depressing one, but I’ve seen a ton of good advice on here and I’m hoping y’all can guide me a little. I have a 2016 OR with an automatic transmission. I bought it used in 2019 with around 85k miles on it. It has 113k now. It recently stopped going into drive and I had it towed to the dealership where they said the transmission was seizing and quoted me $7300 for a new one. I normally wouldn’t go to a dealer but it’s 3 months out of extended warranty and I had my suspension/lift done there (I didn’t want the accusation that the lift fucked the transmission). I almost never tow anything, when I do it’s never close to the limit, and my off-roading is usually pretty gentle over landing to campsites. There’s no reason in the world my transmission should shit out at 100k. Here’s the thing: a couple years ago I had to have a pretty significant oil leak repaired. It was covered under warranty and I thought it was bad luck. Now I’m thinking it looks like my whole drivetrain has issues and what’s to say my motor won’t implode next year? Is this truck worth trying to fix? It’s also apparently got an issue with the cat converter that will cost another 2k to fix (I tuned out at this point). I’ve put 7k in mods into it but I don’t have the time or space to part it out. I couldn’t find any other posts with a similar issue so maybe I just have a lemon.

 

i read earlier of another user who had his tranny go earlier aswell

 

I would see if Toyota customer service can possibly do a "Good Will" repair seeing that you're barely outside of your warranty. As far as the Cat, you're out of the Federal Emissions warranty so that would be out of pocket for sure.
If you have to out-of-pocket the repairs for the transmission, find a good 3rd party transmission shop (non dealer) and have your transmission rebuilt, or find a good used low mileage unit from a salvage yard like LKQ and have it installed by a shop.
It will be much cheaper than the dealer, no reason to part out your rig for a transmission problem.
This definitely sucks, hope you get your rig fixed.

 

Welcome to the forum Sorry this has to be your first post.

The odds of a goodwill repair are slim.

People crash these trucks every day, have an trusted independent shop put in a low mile used transmission.

 

I thought I noticed your truck at the bottom of a canyon. Time to call the insurance company.

 

Since you bought it used at 85k, sounds to me that the previous owner probably got rid of the truck because of potential issues arising (like they drained the transmission while doing an oil change). No telling. You brought it to the dealer so now the issue is in their systems with Toyota, so you couldn’t get it to work temporarily and trade it in.

I’d cut my losses and recommend never buying a used vehicle again

 

The transmission comes out of the park position? Maybe @gearcruncher has an idea

 

You say there's no reason why the tyranny would fail that early but you have no clue what the guy before you did with his 85k miles...

 

Good used transmission from a reputable company, some will give you a 30 day warranty.

 

This!! I traded in my frontier for my taco and had body work done in June after a minor accident. The work required replacing the left rear quarter panel. When I got in my bed I noticed a weird noise towards the side that had the accident and didn't like it. The insurance claim was made, and the work was professionally done. When I saw my old truck listed for sale I looked at the carfax and nothing was listed. I felt terrible knowing someone was going to pay a hefty price and never know there was bodywork done. I’ll never, ever, but used again.

 

If Toyota won't help you take it to an independent shop. It costs under $3000 for a rebuild. Some years of Nissan cars have known transmission issues and my son's died at 100,000 miles. Nissan wanted $6000 for a new one. That transmission couldn't be rebuilt, but a local independent shop put in a new one for $2900. They picked up the new transmission from the same dealership who quoted us $6000 to install the same transmission.

 

See, you wouldn't have this problem, if you had answered that call about your cars EXTENDED WARRANTY....

 

I just checked car-part.com and I see used gearboxes for 1000-1500 dollars with reasonable mileage. That's probably the route I would take, if you buy from LKQ I believe you can purchase an extended warranty on the part as well.

 

What is your zip code ( or nearby) I'll search for you.

 

drop the pan and replace the fluid and filter and add some Lubegard Platinium to it and see if the actuators are shot or gummed up. Good place to start before more drastic measures- and go to an independent for rebuild/repair not the mothership. JMO. GL.

 

How many transmission services have been done ?

 

I agree with this. Try some easy trouble shooting before you trash the trans.

 

This is a good question.

113k miles is not a joke that’s 1/2 way to the moon. There is no reasonable warranty left and usually maintenance history takes over.
Given that it’s a 2016 and a first model year it’ll like have a plethora of other issues. Expecting no problems is just

 

You bought a used truck. Do you know the previous history of the truck? Did you do any transmission maintenance after your bought it?

That is not how lemon laws work, at all.

 

Unless Toyota will Goodwill the fix it doesn't matter if someone thinks the lift is at fault, it's out of pocket either way. Take it to an independent shop. Good luck.