My story of how Toyota blew my Tranny
11-21-06, 08:16 AM
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My story of how Toyota blew my Tranny
I have decided to put this in this section of the forums so that everyone could benefit from my tragic experience with Toyota. *I will summarize the story at the end*
11/7/06
I went to get a power flush on the tranny and they switched the oil out with Dextron 3 fluid when i specifically asked for Type 4. I left the dealership saying, "well...it IS the dealership, maybe they know better". I drove the car for the past day and it truly feals like the tranny is ready to go any second.
-The transmission is heating up to the point that I can feel the heat through the floor reaching all the way to my knees.
-I can see smoke coming from the tranny when i turn the car off.
-The car now takes alot longer to shift than usual.
-The car feels like it really holding back, I feel a loss of power and having to smash the gas pedal to get movement.
-The car downshifts HARD on the highway when slowing down.
All of this started as soon as the car came out of the dealership. I called a very well known lexus specialist and they told me that it need T4.
I took the car back to them and the guy tells me that it takes Dex 3 ONLY and that putting T4 wouldnt make a difference. As im explaining to him the problems im having hes sitting there almost ignoring me and rolling his eyes.
Before I left I told them that I was going to bring the car back tomorrow and I expect to get a T4 power flush. After a little arguing he agreed. I will let you guys know how the car runs after I get T4 in there. Sorry about the long thread, just needed to vent.
11/11/06
I took it back the next day and they said "NO, we will NOT change the fluid because Dextron 3 is what is suppose to be in this car!"
I was up against the whole dealership. They brought out all the old guys who all thought they knew what they were talking about and I was in a jam. They even printed out sheets that showed it was supposed to be Dex III in the car. All I could remember is what the good guys at Club Lexus told me about the Dex III oil so I continued to argue with them telling them to call up lexus and see what is really suppose to be in that car.
They all went back into their office and came back 20 minutes later to say "ok, I owe you an opoligy and my managers owe you an opoligy. You are right, it IS suppose to be Type 4 tranny fluid in the car."
Everything seemed to go my way for a few seconds.
......or maybe not....
He then said "BUT, that IS what we put into your car. We hadnt realized it, but our barrels downstairs are all full with Type 4 fluid and have been that way for over 2 years"
WTF!?
I immediatley called him out on BS in front of everyone and told him "If you were SOOO sure that it was Dex 3 and all your managers were sooo sure it was Dex 3 and all the mechanics SAID that they put Dex 3 into these cars then WHY THE **** would there be Type 4 fluid in the tanks?!"
I started getting really loud (this is very unlike me, but i HATE liars) so they went back into thier office and came out 15 minutes later and said (with smiles on and being VERY nice) "no problem sir, we will take your car and flush it again with the Type 4 oil"
I gave them the car and they took it back and "redid" it. Last time it took them 1.5 hours to do it and this time only 40 minutes. Hmmm. So I get the car back and everything seems to be ok for the drive home, but the next day I get in to go to work and stick it into "reverse" and......NOTHING. It doesnt go into gear. I take it into neutral and stick it back in and it works. Next I stick it into drive and....NOTHING! I wait a couple seconds and it shifts VERY hard into gear. I start driving away and it slips out of gear! I stop at a stop sign to try to get it back into gear, but it keeps shifting in and out of gear by itself. The car isnt even in motion! Its been doing this for the past few days and only seems to be getting worse. I feel a HUGE loss of power as if I have to smash the gas pedal just to get the damn thing to accelerate and I feel vibration in the gas pedal on the highway.
I now have an appointment to get the car checked out by a lexus specialist. I still have the receipt from the Toyota dealership that says they switched my oil with Dex 3. If it comes down to it I might have to sue them for a new tranny. Let me know what you guys think. Oh and BTW, my car only has 100,000 miles on it.
11/15/06
I called the Toyota dealership and let them know what was going on. They realized that they had made this mistake and they must have known that I was getting ready to take action so they told me they were ready to fix the problem. They told me that they are going to locate a used transmission that is in good shape and that will come with a warranty. I told them that itll have to do and they told me they will call me back with any news of the new tranny.
11/20/06
They have located the new tranny and my car goes into the shop today!
I will keep you guys updated.
*SUMMARY*
-Toyota put the wrong tranny fluid in my car
-car starts driving wierd
-i take it back and have them redo it
-transmission gets even worse and is ready to go out
-i take it back and they offer to replace the tranny
-still waiting on how it turns out
11/7/06
I went to get a power flush on the tranny and they switched the oil out with Dextron 3 fluid when i specifically asked for Type 4. I left the dealership saying, "well...it IS the dealership, maybe they know better". I drove the car for the past day and it truly feals like the tranny is ready to go any second.
-The transmission is heating up to the point that I can feel the heat through the floor reaching all the way to my knees.
-I can see smoke coming from the tranny when i turn the car off.
-The car now takes alot longer to shift than usual.
-The car feels like it really holding back, I feel a loss of power and having to smash the gas pedal to get movement.
-The car downshifts HARD on the highway when slowing down.
All of this started as soon as the car came out of the dealership. I called a very well known lexus specialist and they told me that it need T4.
I took the car back to them and the guy tells me that it takes Dex 3 ONLY and that putting T4 wouldnt make a difference. As im explaining to him the problems im having hes sitting there almost ignoring me and rolling his eyes.
Before I left I told them that I was going to bring the car back tomorrow and I expect to get a T4 power flush. After a little arguing he agreed. I will let you guys know how the car runs after I get T4 in there. Sorry about the long thread, just needed to vent.
11/11/06
I took it back the next day and they said "NO, we will NOT change the fluid because Dextron 3 is what is suppose to be in this car!"
I was up against the whole dealership. They brought out all the old guys who all thought they knew what they were talking about and I was in a jam. They even printed out sheets that showed it was supposed to be Dex III in the car. All I could remember is what the good guys at Club Lexus told me about the Dex III oil so I continued to argue with them telling them to call up lexus and see what is really suppose to be in that car.
They all went back into their office and came back 20 minutes later to say "ok, I owe you an opoligy and my managers owe you an opoligy. You are right, it IS suppose to be Type 4 tranny fluid in the car."
Everything seemed to go my way for a few seconds.
......or maybe not....
He then said "BUT, that IS what we put into your car. We hadnt realized it, but our barrels downstairs are all full with Type 4 fluid and have been that way for over 2 years"
WTF!?
I immediatley called him out on BS in front of everyone and told him "If you were SOOO sure that it was Dex 3 and all your managers were sooo sure it was Dex 3 and all the mechanics SAID that they put Dex 3 into these cars then WHY THE **** would there be Type 4 fluid in the tanks?!"
I started getting really loud (this is very unlike me, but i HATE liars) so they went back into thier office and came out 15 minutes later and said (with smiles on and being VERY nice) "no problem sir, we will take your car and flush it again with the Type 4 oil"
I gave them the car and they took it back and "redid" it. Last time it took them 1.5 hours to do it and this time only 40 minutes. Hmmm. So I get the car back and everything seems to be ok for the drive home, but the next day I get in to go to work and stick it into "reverse" and......NOTHING. It doesnt go into gear. I take it into neutral and stick it back in and it works. Next I stick it into drive and....NOTHING! I wait a couple seconds and it shifts VERY hard into gear. I start driving away and it slips out of gear! I stop at a stop sign to try to get it back into gear, but it keeps shifting in and out of gear by itself. The car isnt even in motion! Its been doing this for the past few days and only seems to be getting worse. I feel a HUGE loss of power as if I have to smash the gas pedal just to get the damn thing to accelerate and I feel vibration in the gas pedal on the highway.
I now have an appointment to get the car checked out by a lexus specialist. I still have the receipt from the Toyota dealership that says they switched my oil with Dex 3. If it comes down to it I might have to sue them for a new tranny. Let me know what you guys think. Oh and BTW, my car only has 100,000 miles on it.
11/15/06
I called the Toyota dealership and let them know what was going on. They realized that they had made this mistake and they must have known that I was getting ready to take action so they told me they were ready to fix the problem. They told me that they are going to locate a used transmission that is in good shape and that will come with a warranty. I told them that itll have to do and they told me they will call me back with any news of the new tranny.
11/20/06
They have located the new tranny and my car goes into the shop today!
I will keep you guys updated.
*SUMMARY*
-Toyota put the wrong tranny fluid in my car
-car starts driving wierd
-i take it back and have them redo it
-transmission gets even worse and is ready to go out
-i take it back and they offer to replace the tranny
-still waiting on how it turns out
11-21-06, 09:17 AM
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Toyota mechanics are pretty gay.... They swear up and down they know exactly what their talking about.... I went in one time to buy some coolant for my car and the guy thought he would run game and give me some for free....So we walk out to my car to fill it up and he didnt know where to put the coolant and had to ask like 3 other guys where it went after I told him where to pour it like 4 times!! He wouldnt take my word for it cuz i'm a girl...but whatever!!! DORKS!
11-21-06, 09:41 AM
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That sucks! Now I'm scared to take my car to the local toyota dealership. The closest lexus dealership is over a hundred miles away in Kansas City. Hope it turns out for the best. Good Luck!
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11-21-06, 10:47 AM
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I never wanted to take it to the Toyota dealership. The only reason I took it there instead of taking it to Lexus is because Lexus doesnt have the tool to do a tranny flush. Kinda weird that they dont.
11-21-06, 11:03 AM
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IMO, I don't think that using Dexron III instead of Dexron IV will harm your transmission in less than 10 days or a few hundred miles. However, I can see the damage being caused by an incorrect amount of tranny fluid added by the dealership (too much or too little).
11-21-06, 11:10 AM
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11-21-06, 11:22 AM
#12
there are friction modifiers in toyota's trans fluid that are unique to it...
toyota doesn't even recommend mixing t-2 and t-4
one other quick note... I've seen trans flushes kill transmissions... correct fluid or not... I have never recommended it to a customer... drain and fill only, or pan/filter service depending on vehicle...
honda actually prohibits transmission flushes, and if you do flush a honda transmission, its warranty is now void...
11-21-06, 07:45 PM
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A while back I was trying to get a flush done from a transmission shop. The guy that owned the place basically said that transmission flushes were good for his business, because all the wear-metals had already found where they were going to stay inside the transmission. The flush actually loosens these particles and causes them to end up in other places that they dont need to be, which causes transmission failure.
His recommendation? Simply drain the fluid that is in the pan, put a new filter on, refill the fluid.
His recommendation? Simply drain the fluid that is in the pan, put a new filter on, refill the fluid.
11-21-06, 11:16 PM
#15
A while back I was trying to get a flush done from a transmission shop. The guy that owned the place basically said that transmission flushes were good for his business, because all the wear-metals had already found where they were going to stay inside the transmission. The flush actually loosens these particles and causes them to end up in other places that they dont need to be, which causes transmission failure.
His recommendation? Simply drain the fluid that is in the pan, put a new filter on, refill the fluid.
His recommendation? Simply drain the fluid that is in the pan, put a new filter on, refill the fluid.