Auto Tranny Dying in 06 Tacoma

UPDATE: sorry I haven't really checked in for a while, but the truth is, I've been so disheartened that reading boards about Toyota doesn't seem all that fun. So..in the middle of February, I shot my email off to Toyota Customer service thru the website. I got a response back in 2 days, that same day I got a call from the service manager at the dealership. He claimed he never got my email. I said to myself, maybe that's ok b/c that happens, people don't get email right? Well, I explained the situation to him briefly, and he said he would call somebody at Gulf State Toyota which I guess is some kind of headquarters. He calls me back in another 2 days and says he has approval to put the transmission in my truck for $1755, or half off. I was pretty excited, thinking that was a great deal if it costs at least $2k to get your current transmission rebuilt.

I also expressed the concern about the squeaky springs and he said they finally got the 'new' silencer pads in and would put them in at know charge, per my request. This made me happy too.

For the next month and half I would think about every day and question myself as to whether or not I was making the right decesion. In Feb. was when all the sh*t hit the fan w/ Toyota in the media, so you can understand this posed quite the dilema. However, with the advice of all family members, who always think its better to repair a car, rather than dump it for a new vehicle, I decided to do it.

He said the offer would only be good for a month or two, so I agreed I would take it in on my next 5,000 mile maintenance interval, which would put the vehicle at 98,000 miles and be in the middle of March, he said that was fine, and to call him 2 weeks before I was coming so he could order it. Well, I do make the call when I hit 4,000 miles to let him know I'm coming. When my light comes on, I call again to make sure he has it. At first it was like he didn't know what I was talking about, had to look for it, called me and told me it was at the wharehouse and they would get it the day I brought it in. So the plan was to get new tires under the Extended Tire Program (w/ alignment-I pay for) the silencer pads put in, and the new transmission put in. He claimed they could have all this done by 4pm. I thought that was great, but thought it may have been too quick to do all that.

So the day of was nothing but utter confusion. The oil lube service manager was typing it all in, didn't even know silencer pads for the springs existed. The guy who was supposedly to be my service advisor, had no idea they were doing a transmission swap. Trying to let all that go since it was 7am in the morning for everyone, I grabbed a rental car and headed off to work. After lunch, I called to check on the status and they said everything was going good, it would be ready late, like by closing time and if I would rather pick it up tomorrow. I said, well if it's close to being ready, I don't mind hanging out for a couple of hours (had the mighty PSP with me ) and didn't really want to keep the rental car for another day (since it wasn't comped)

The service advisor kept on telling me that they had to drive it for 20 miles to check it out. I was fine with that. When I showed up, he said they were out driving it, so they were done. That was 'lie' one. I walked around to the back and saw they were actually swapping out the tires. Went and talked to the lube manager, who is very cool w/ me. And he was surprised to see me, thinking I was leaving it over night. I said, nah, they said it'd be ready, so I came over. He replied that the tire swap was the last thing they were doing, that they had done everything else. So things were looking good to be out of there by 5pm. Went to check everything out w/ the service adviser, he said he didn't realize the guy had already taken it for the drive, so they made good time.

I then asked him questions about my 'old' transmission, like when they took the pan off, if there was still metal debris in there. He stated they don't do that, they just pull the whole thing out and send it complete w/ fluids back to Toyota. I know I'm no mechanic, but this seemed very strange to me, almost as it it would be common sense to remove the pan of something you were replacing, but my technical knowledge is obviously very limited. I should have asked to see my old one, but did not. So, $1938.XX and I'm out the door. I decide to give it a week before I would leave any feedback. I also noticed, that on the service ticket, the same mileage 'in' was the same as 'out' maybe this is something they don't 'really' do, but that is bothersome, considering they were supposed to have driven it for 20 miles..plus my fuel level was the exact same spot I dropped it off. We all know that 20 miles is just about a gallon in a Tacoma, so I would have noticed the needle down a little further..ALL LIES

So the initial first drive was nice, more like alright. I noticed that it would still forcefully shift into any gear, but did not notice any slipping b/t that 30-40 mph range. Great I thought, mission accomplished...then I put about 500 miles on it in 5 days, I'm driving along a feeder right at 40 mph, a car wants to get in my lane. I let off the gas, BAM! gear slippage I kind of rule it out as one instance b/c I don't want to think about it and worry myself. Then, 3 days later, on a Friday rush hour commute home, I notice it slip b/t 30-40 mph not once, but TWICE, on the same exact road that I noticed this all to begin with..

Right now, I'm trying to keep my rage level in check b/c I am furious. I am questioning if they even swapped the transmission or just flushed it (b/c last time they flushed it, it was fine for a couple of weeks, then the problem returned) I wish I could find somebody that I could slip a $20 to, to get under there and see if there is any sign of it being a new tranny. Like I my work, we have to stamp numbers on everything, maybe there will be some kind of manufacture date or another number I can check for validity. I am scared to call the dealership, b/c obviously I will have to say to drive it with me, but what if I can't duplicate the problem?? I am also tempted to do a chargeback for the service thru the bank and be ready to never deal with them again.

anyways guys, have to get to work, thanks for reading. I wish anyone that goes thru the same crap as me w/ Toyota, the best of luck!

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I need help! Last weekend, I noticed when b/t 30-40mph, when my truck would shift gears (3rd-4th) the back end would vibrate violently. I monitored it for 4 days and it kept up w/ a few requirements. 1) The engine would almost have to be 'warm' or driven for 20 minutes for it to occur. 2) it was only happening on normal or gradual acceleration; if I floored it straight through to say 60mph, it was fine.

Decided to take it to the dealer, they said it seemed like the drive shaft, no big deal, they would call me. Well, they called me with horrible news saying it was the transmission and there were metal shavings all in the transmission pan, could not pinpoint any problems and would do nothing, other than ask me to pay $4000 to replace it! I cringed in horror b/c I still owe $8500 on my 3 year old vehicle!!

I have no idea what to do, one mechanic friend said to just drive it until it dies; these things happen all the time, so why replace it now when I could get another 20k before it completely goes. Worse thing I would need a tow right? Another person just told me about putting magnets in the pan to get the shavings..wonder if that would work. Aamco (the only tranny place I know) said to bring it in, its usually not as bad as a dealer says, and they have all sorts of "tricks" they can do to keep it running. It made me feel like I would be taking it to a chop shop!

Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated. I also wrote a letter to the service manager at the deal (I included it below) If anyone has a solid email for Toyota Customer Service, I would love to have it. All I can find is general web submission forms..

here is the email I wrote, might be good for a few chuckles:

Just got the email checking how my service went on my 2006 Toyota Tacoma, which I think is a joke..

I brought the vehicle in after noticing for 4 days that something was happening when shifting gears. I had no idea if it had something to do w/ the drivetrain, transmission, springs, etc. I figured since it had only been happening for 4 days, that I may have caught it early enough and the cost would be minimal.

Upon dropping it off with Art Whatley, he thought it may be the driveshaft too, and not too worry, it wouldn't be that bad. Well, the next day Art calls me and says it has something to do w/ the transmission and it did not look too promising. He said this could get very costly, up to $4k. I did not like that idea at all. Sure enough, an hour and a half goes by and Art calls me saying they took the pan off and found metal shavings on there, that Sterling McCall would go no further and kindly said it would be $4k to replace. I asked him to please elaborate on the problem. He couldn't offer an answer to what exactly was wrong or what was causing the shavings. I mentioned I just had it in there for a $500 90,000 mile service appointment, why wasn't anything noticed then?? He said he did not know and that Toyota rarely has a problem with transmissions. I guess I was a special case.

For a transmission that is not supposed to be serviceable, not required to have the fluid changed, and should last the life the vehicle; for it to fail at 90,000 miles is unacceptable. Art said it could have something to do with towing. I stated I have never hooked up anything to the trailer hitch, the heaviest thing I've had in the bed was 500 lbs, I never race the truck, I've done no other modifications to the truck whatsoever; so how could this have happened?!?!?

What's worse, is Sterling McCall Toyota has been servicing the truck since the day I got it. Why this problem wasn't found earlier, is beyond me. I've talked to a few mechanics, and they think that the timing servo motors that tell the gears to change could have got corroded and caused the gears to mash together or whatever. If that is they case, how come Sterling McCall doesn't check all these aspects on a non-serviceable transmission?? In fact, why even make something that isn't serviceable, doesn't that go against the shear nature of making something??

Let me give a brief list of problems I've had with the truck that Sterling McCall has failed to address:

1) Around 30,000 miles (after the warranty expired conveniently) I got the squeaky spring problem. You, Mr. Williams assured me I wouldn't have anything to worry about. You guys changed to pads twice and lubed the springs numerous times. Well to this day, they are the worst they've ever been. In fact, a YouTube video is coming very shortly depicting how loud this is. Maybe that will get someone's attention higher up.

2) A spring came loose in my seat. Sterling McCall offered no help but instead said it would be $645 to replace the bottom of the seat.

3) A 'spider joint' (whatever that is) went out around 80k, making horrible noise. No reason why it went out, I was just kindly required to pay $500.

4) My temperature/compass gauge failed, (not really a Sterling McCall issue, but still wanted to list it) Had to find an independent tech person to sodor the unit back together.

5) My transmission dies for no apparent reason, Sterling McCall wants $4,000.

Whats the worst about all this is I still owe $8500 on the car. It should be illegal for you guys to want me to pay for half the price of what I still owe on the vehicle to keep it running. I bought a Toyota b/c since I was 16 everybody said Toyota is superior, they will last you forever and hold their value. I think a garbage truck has more value than my Tacoma. It has been riddled with problems since I drove it off the lot. If it has something to do w/ a majority of the parts being built in Mexico, then I suggest that stops. I read in on line forums that even 2010 Tacoma's have the spring problem. It is beyond me how you guys cannot fix these problems.

I am not happy at all with my recent service appointment. I am appalled by the fact that Sterling McCall did not find this problem preemptively and expect me to drop $4,000 like I was handing out Halloween candy. I will probably never come back to Sterling McCall Toyota and will not bring my wife's car back there either. It is a Rav 4 and in PERFECT shape right now, I doubt that will be the case at 90,000 miles huh Mr. Williams? I tired consistently going to your place b/c I figured sticking to the same company and building a rapport with your company would get me excellent customer service. It turns out, it didn't.

I will be forwarding this email to Toyota Customer Service and the BBB very soon, I don't think there is anything you can do for me. It would be nice if you could, instead of leaving me with $4k less in my pocket or having to go buy a new vehicle when I've only had this one for THREE YEARS...

 

Once i make it to the office tomorrow I am going to submit the letter that I had sent to my dealer. I have an 05 pre runner and this post you made makes it sound like I wrote it just using different words. Absolutely horrible experience from my dealer and problems from 5k miles. I sent the letter to every Toyota address I could find in the US (not dealers). Sending to the BBB is a good idea. Let me know if you had any luck with your tranny as I feel that mine is on its last leg at 113k. Look forward to talking to you about our similar issues.

Awful 05

 

I assume you bought this vehicle new? If not, who knows what the previous owner did.


Anyways, shit happens. Parts break. You either fix it, or you don't. And auto transmissions die all the time. I remember on my old Accord, I was at about 80K and the tranny was slipping. Not bad, but enough for me to notice. It was just a matter of time. Glad I traded that in before it grenaded.

90K is a lot of miles.

*edit*
Also, the damage is done with your tranny, if they found shavings. There is no trick to "fix" it. It will only get worse. You are going to need a rebuild.

 

oh man,another one.not good.

 

thanks for the response guys, especially WATacoRider..you have all valid points. Yes, it was new, a demo w/ 8k miles on it. Sales guy told me sales manager used it to trail his small boat, but that was so long ago..

Whatever they did with the flush and the cold temperatures seems to be holding up. I plan on not driving it for more than 30 mins..Like I said, it just sucks that Toyota is supposed to be the end all be all, but yet offer no solutions other than to replace everything. If I replace the tranny and determine if replacing the rear springs is a good option to stop the squeaking, I'll be spending as much as I owe!

Oh well, I still love the looks of the truck, its the best one out there, like the Ferarri of small trucks Guess I'll just have to start saving and waiting for that rebuild!!

 

I don't consider that new. Even if you bought it the same year. Any updates?

 

no, no updates yet other than that my ticking timebomb is still running fine. I can only pray that if a shaving was caught in the gears, the flush got it out and maybe (hopefully) bought me a lot of time. It seems to only act funny when I drive it hard, so I've been taking it really easy and not going over 70mph..

as for the dealership, not a peep outta them. I plan on going back once more to get new tires from the Extra Tire Package agreement b/c I know another guy over there I occasionaly slip a 20 to. He said he'd hook me up w/ a new set right before I hit 100k. Then I'll probably give that dealership the boot and go somewhere else.

I guess I'm all talk as I haven't contacted the BB or Toyota. Wish both avenues were easier and render useful responses, but they won't..It really makes me cringe to see these new Toyota commercials all about "quality" and then to think about my truck...WTF Toyota!?! but I'm serious about that YouTube video for the squeaky springs! Once I get motivated, hopefully y'all will see something and it will be great! Spring replacement for EVERYONE!! we can only hope right..

 

bump - updated OP

 

How is slipping noticeable when you let off the gas?
And why is a 90000 mile old worn out spider joint (U-joint) a big deal? 500$ is excessive, but you didn't call around?

 

man, I'm not sure if its 'slipping' per say, all I can say is that it's a horrible jumble of racket coming from the engine that I can directly feel thru the pedal. It happens when I'm in stop and go traffic. So I'm going along towards the green light, reaching 35 mph, while I still have my foot on the gas. Light turns red, let off the gas, then that's when I feel the rattle/slipping/hear noise/etc. Sorry I can't describe it better..but I'm starting to think it may all be in my head. Maybe its just part of the transmission. I'm just used to buttery smooth shifting on cars (this is my first truck) so I guess I don't know what to expect..but when I was driving my mom's Lexus (SUV) today I noticed almost the same thing in traffic Maybe with the truck it's a little more pronounced. I guess my whole theory is like, this shouldn't be happening. Especially if when I noticed it before, it was a month later when my truck did the 'stuttering' thing, which prompted me to bring it in, and thats when they told me there were metal shavings..

and sorry about the spider joint mate, I really had no idea. I guess it's not unreasonable for those things to fail. It was just a minor complaint really. Again, most of my problems w/ the dealership arise from them not giving me a reason why things fail (except they do and it always has to do with towing or bed-load, which I never do) and just basically want me to fork over cash..I just want to know why something is happening to my vehicle..

 

would suggest driving until it breaks, a noise is sometimes just a noise. Good Luck.

 

Is this what you were experiencing?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8qR-J7RLJU
This is BS!
I take care of my truck! Look at it!!!

I too was told that my transmission doesn't require servicing. The advisors would say "its sealed."
BS! I ended up having to get it drained, flushed and refilled at another shop because this guy knew more than Toyota did. $188 later, I don't get the vibration nor the hard shifting, BUT it now skips in what I think is 2nd gear.

Hear it skip in the middle of the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zb-7eYlWYIE

EVERYTHING FROM THE METAL SHAVINGS TO THE SLIGHT ACCELERATION IS COMPLETELY ACCURATE. IM AT 107K MILES NOW.

 

damn w8n4mud, that is exactly what I was experiencing, but my god, never for that long of a period! I can even notice how your car 'jumps up' when it's shifting, mine did the exact same thing..You must have been in worse shape than me..how long had you noticed the problem? I let mine go for like 10 miles before I got that first flush, and yes, it did solve the problem, but I still got the diagnosis of "replace within 4 months"

You're truck is really nice, so it's a shame (but I'd also stop putting money into it now ) the replacement will be expensive unless you can strike a deal. Like I said, calling the 1-800 netted me results to get it reduced by 50%. I felt like if it would keep the truck going in the long run, I'd shell out for it, even though I was extremely pissed off at the situation. I guess the other thing is if you feel comfortable, many people told me metal shavings weren't that big of a deal, get it flushed every 6 months for $200, replace it only when you're dead on the side of the road. Guess you gotta see what works best for you..

 

Did you guys tried cleaning/replacing tranny filter ? I believe this is what would you need in parts
1) 8 qts of 00289-ATFWS World Standard Fluid
2) 1 35330-60050 Strainer Assy (Filter)
3) 1 90301-31014 Filter "O" ring $

 

I had actually noticed the slight vibration that only lasted less than a sec. a couple of months ago. I was so under the impression it was a bent/broken/damage wheel component (i.e. shock, UCA, boot) or the drive shaft/line. It was an on again/off again situation so the pressure to have it inspected wasn't there. Then a few weeks ago it got progressively bad FAST. That's why I went to two different places for an opinion. One said to replace the center support bearing and the other of course says service the tranny. So I did the latter of the two. Well, I had the tranny flushed AGAIN for another $178 this time because of the gear slipping in/around 1st and 2nd. As of now, it hasn't slipped but my driving style is not the same as I'm babying the truck (hate it). I couldn't tell you if the fluid level was low but they said they found more debris in the tranny the second time around.

If you get a drain, flush and refill on the tranny, would they automatically replace the filter? By the looks of it, you've got to drain the fluid to even get to this filter. Good info. I'll ask the mechanic and check. Although, if they're finding metal shavings, what good is the filter doing? You really don't have to answer that.

For now, I'll just wait to see what Toyota is going to say.

 

Since you have prerunner your vibration could be related to one of the u-joints.

but regarding a tranny. 99% shops will not replace this filter unless you insist on it. The truth is most of the time tranny failure is really clogged filter. This filter should prevent any material to go inside the tranny but if cloggs as the backup it allows overflow/bypass just like engine filters have bypass. Rule is that dirty oil is better then no oil.
Tranny flush usually makes it worst since drags all the material from bottom of the pan into the tranny. I had Ford and that thing needed new filter every 30k. Factory did 3 flushes and tranny was slipping. After I replaced filter it had never slipped again and clocked 100K miles o nthe same transmission. Once you drop the pan and see whats o n the bottom you will understand.
Before investing in anything I would replace filter first and refill with fresh oil. Metal shavings are always present in transmission so if somebody says there are metal shavings then ....duh...
Your tranny is fine and sounds more like you need that filter replaced.

 

I call BULLSHIT on "sealed" transmission. There is NO WAY in HELL that a transmission will last 200k miles WITHOUT fluid change.

I am a firm believer that transmission fluid & filter should be changed every 25-30k miles. Automatic transmissions are notoriously hard on fluid.

All those problems you guys are describing are due to the transmission fluid & filter not being changed regularly. I am NOT saying its your fault, because you were told the transmission is "sealed"

When gear fluid is not changed regularly it looses its lubrication value and stops lubricating & protecting gears. When the fluid looses its lubrication value, the gears mash together without being protected by the fluid, which results in metal shavings...

Its the same with engine oil. No engine oil will last 200k miles without changing...