2010 Sienna needs a new trans. Now what?

[Bgallagher]

Originally Posted By: LargeCarManX2
I often wonder if Toyota is cutting corners to save money in light of the past failures that cost them so much?


+1 Oh how the mighty have fallen. For a long time people only bought GM vehicles until they started cutting corners and making sub par cars. Don't get me wrong, Toyota is still a quality car but at 23k that seems to be a lot of issues.

Most likely you will get a reman unit (which should have a warranty aside from the bumper to bumper. Typically 3/36k.) Make sure to get it in writting in case they try to mess with you after the original factory warranty.

 

[k24a4]

I would press them for an extended warranty. "Odie" got one on his Yaris when the head gasket was replaced under warranty.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

If the housing is used but the internals are new it is sold as remanufactured. Not a deal killer IMO.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: tpattgeek
P.S. I believe Hokiefyd was being facetious when he stated no Japanese vehicles have needed trans. Any Honda fan knows about the early 2000's Civic's and Ody's...


NHGUY said that the way everyone hypes it, Japanese transmissions never fail. I was stating that the way I see everyone hyping it, you couldn't get a Honda to 50k miles before the transmission goes out.

As usual, the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

Best of luck in getting a good reman'd unit for your Sienna. Hope Toyota takes good care of you under warranty.

 

[Vikas]

Be thankful that it blew up during the warranty.

 

[D Hill]

I think the mechanicals are certainly improved over earlier cars, but now we have loads of electronics in even the cheapest cars. My cousin (who works for Ford as an engineer, and who had an '11 Edge that had so many "My Touch" Nav/HVAC/ module failures [at $1800 each out of warranty] in the first six months that the dealer took the car back as a lemon) said that while the drivetrain will probably last 300K miles following scheduled maintenance/OCI intervals on probably 8 out of 10 new cars sold, the stupid electronics will fail well before that, leaving you with a vehicle with 100K miles with no mechanical troubles, but you won't have A/C or a radio unless you spend 2K to replace the module that controlled everything besides throttle, brake and steering through a touch screen on your dash that failed at 85K miles or 5.5 years.

So basically every other car sold now has the potential to be the electronics nightmare my '97 BMW 540i was.

Good luck with the repair, and like some others have said, be thankful the trans didn't puke a week or a few thousand miles out of warranty...

 

[yonyon]

Originally Posted By: Bgallagher
Originally Posted By: LargeCarManX2
I often wonder if Toyota is cutting corners to save money in light of the past failures that cost them so much?


+1 Oh how the mighty have fallen. For a long time people only bought GM vehicles until they started cutting corners and making sub par cars. Don't get me wrong, Toyota is still a quality car but at 23k that seems to be a lot of issues.

Most likely you will get a reman unit (which should have a warranty aside from the bumper to bumper. Typically 3/36k.) Make sure to get it in writting in case they try to mess with you after the original factory warranty.

I hope this isn't a trend developing. For as long as GM was on top, then Toyota for their years, now Hyundai should fall by the end of July, right? That give Fiat maybe three weeks. By the end of the year anyone buying a new car will need an atomic clock to know which brand is currently the quality leader!

 

[bigmike]

I had my A/T in my truck fail at the 48k mark. Still under extended warranty, replaced with a GM reman. unit that came with a 3 yr / 100k warranty. No complaints, other than they had my truck for a week for approvals and replacement.

It happens. I call them flukes/outliers.

I wouldn't be shied away just because it is remanufactured. From what I've read when I was going through information on the GM units, it appeared to me the only part they reused was the housing.

 

[wag123]

The sound systems used by Toyota (and MANY other car manufacturers) are made by Matsushita (Panasonic), even the JBL systems. Matsushita sound systems have had a VERY high percentage of display/control problems since about the mid 2000's on virtually every system they produced for EVERY manufacturer. This time frame happens to coincide with when most of their production was shifted to Chinese plants (go figure). One would think that after several years of having to replace defective units, the car manufacturers involved would have demanded that Matsushita identify and fix the problem.

 

[D Hill]

Originally Posted By: wag123
The sound systems used by Toyota (and MANY other car manufacturers) are made by Matsushita (Panasonic), even the JBL systems. Matsushita sound systems have had a VERY high percentage of display/control problems since about the mid 2000's on virtually every system they produced for EVERY manufacturer. This time frame happens to coincide with when most of their production was shifted to Chinese plants (go figure). One would think that after several years of having to replace defective units, the car manufacturers involved would have demanded that Matsushita identify and fix the problem.


Perhaps they got the quality high enough so that they typically fail right after one's warranty expires. The majority of vehicle manufacturers would take that as "problem fixed".

 

[nitehawk55]

As a former factory/dealership mechanic i'll set you at ease with the remanufactured unit and say it's as good or better than a new one so don't be concerned with it plus you still have lots of warranty , you were just unfortunate to get a bad one....it happens and that's why you have a warranty.

Mechanic who installs the transmission should and will likely flush the cooling lines/rad as this is part of the replacement proceedure , at least it was for me .

Why the heck would anyone even think the rad should be replaced when flushing the lines is all that is needed . Some of you guys really come up with good ones .

Customer....."I'm concerned there may be a few particals of metal in the cooling lines in the radiator , I want a new rad"
Dealer....." sure , we'll get right on that" /rolleyes

 

[wiswind]

I would agree that the TOYOTA remanufactured transaxle will be fine.
If there have been any reliability updates for the unit, they will have been incorporated into the unit you are getting.
This is not be be confused with the cheaper "rebuilt" transmissions offered under various brands......often only the minimum done to repair it....no upgrades etc....
This is a manufacturer's own unit that has been remanufactured to the Original Manufacturer's Specifications.......and the original manufacturer (in this case Toyota) is standing behind it.
So if the replacement unit fails, both the dealership and TOYOTA stand to loose money, in addition to likely loosing a customer.

As for "new radiator", that would only be necessary if the transmission cooler that is inside of it has been plugged up by junk from the failure of the transaxle.
It can happen, and part of the transaxle replacement process is to verify the fluid flow through the cooler.
You might ask them to double check the fluid flow through the transmission cooler if you are unsure about it.
The normal thing would be just a flush of the cooler through the lines (which happens when they verify fluid flow).
The instructions that I have seen specify NO chemical cleaners, just new transmision fluid to flush out the cooler(s).

 

[bigmike]

I put a magnefine filter on my truck after the A/T went. They flushed the cooler and lines but I didn't trust that.

Might be a good time to do so, assuming they don't give you some nonsense about voiding the warranty.

 

[tpattgeek]

Thank you everyone for your contributions. I just wanted to give a quick and final update. I picked up the van yesterday and it drives wonderfully. When I was pulling out of the dealership though, the VSC and TRAC OFF lights came on. Pushing the traction on/off button didn't turn it off, so I immediately returned. They took it from me and came back saying since an alignment was done (since the engine was dropped), they needed to re-calibrate the steering sensor. The computer thought the wheel was turned while it was straight. 10 minutes later, I drove home in a thunderstorm so I couldn't really listen to the new trans, but I'm sure it'll do just fine. Thanks again for everyone's confidence, and I'll look into the Magnefine plugs, if anything, just for peace of mind.

P.S. I talked to the guy that did the work and he said it was his first time with a Sienna trans swap. He formerly worked at the Lexus dealership, and he said although they're similar to Toyota's, they're still very different. He said it was a challenge, but fun.

I heard he was very thorough, so I'm glad someone that pays attention to detail was the one working on my family vehicle. Just though I'd share that...

 

[JHZR2]

Glad it worked out. Seems like no big deal to me. Id rather a failure at 23k then one at 65k when nobody has a care. Yours is likely a fluke.

But the points about FWD, overpowered minivans being a horrid combo to me holds true. Too much power through too small a system shoehorned in there.

Is there a "towing package" or similar for the sienna? I might be inclined to get an AT cooler on there to help with longevity.

 

[tpattgeek]

The most we've ever towed is about 120lbs worth of children HA HA. If it can't handle that, then I give up. They've been making this FWD minivan (and even this engine/AT combo) for many years and this is still a first for everyone that was involved. I'll stick with a fluke being the cause, and expect to get at least 150k miles out of this AT. We do plan on possibly pulling a pop-up camper many years down the road, and by then, I'll look into cooling systems.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: tpattgeek
The most we've ever towed is about 120lbs worth of children HA HA. If it can't handle that, then I give up. They've been making this FWD minivan (and even this engine/AT combo) for many years and this is still a first for everyone that was involved. I'll stick with a fluke being the cause, and expect to get at least 150k miles out of this AT. We do plan on possibly pulling a pop-up camper many years down the road, and by then, I'll look into cooling systems.


The bigger issue is that it has what? >>200hp? And weighs what? ~5000 lbs unloaded?

To me it just is a lot of stress, both power and loading wise, on what is otherwise a Toyota Camry. As the stresses and power densities go up, it is reasonable to expect a loss in longevity or a higher chance of fluke failures, just because stuff is stressed more than the version with 100 hp less and 1500 lbs less from 10 years ago.

 

[lexus114]

Originally Posted By: tpattgeek
Thank you everyone for your contributions. I just wanted to give a quick and final update. I picked up the van yesterday and it drives wonderfully. When I was pulling out of the dealership though, the VSC and TRAC OFF lights came on. Pushing the traction on/off button didn't turn it off, so I immediately returned. They took it from me and came back saying since an alignment was done (since the engine was dropped), they needed to re-calibrate the steering sensor. The computer thought the wheel was turned while it was straight. 10 minutes later, I drove home in a thunderstorm so I couldn't really listen to the new trans, but I'm sure it'll do just fine. Thanks again for everyone's confidence, and I'll look into the Magnefine plugs, if anything, just for peace of mind.

P.S. I talked to the guy that did the work and he said it was his first time with a Sienna trans swap. He formerly worked at the Lexus dealership, and he said although they're similar to Toyota's, they're still very different. He said it was a challenge, but fun.

I heard he was very thorough, so I'm glad someone that pays attention to detail was the one working on my family vehicle. Just though I'd share that...



When I try and tell people that,all I get is; yeah,yeah sure.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: lexus114
Originally Posted By: tpattgeek
P.S. I talked to the guy that did the work and he said it was his first time with a Sienna trans swap. He formerly worked at the Lexus dealership, and he said although they're similar to Toyota's, they're still very different. He said it was a challenge, but fun.

I heard he was very thorough, so I'm glad someone that pays attention to detail was the one working on my family vehicle. Just though I'd share that...



When I try and tell people that,all I get is; yeah,yeah sure.


So is an ES 350 reallt THAT different mechanically from a V6 camry? I can imagine that RWD lexii and other things would be, but it is platform dependent.

Similarly, is an RX350 that different from a highlander V6? Land cruiser from the big SUV?

Besides interior treatments and maybe some suspension tuning?

 

[lexus114]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: lexus114
Originally Posted By: tpattgeek
P.S. I talked to the guy that did the work and he said it was his first time with a Sienna trans swap. He formerly worked at the Lexus dealership, and he said although they're similar to Toyota's, they're still very different. He said it was a challenge, but fun.

I heard he was very thorough, so I'm glad someone that pays attention to detail was the one working on my family vehicle. Just though I'd share that...



When I try and tell people that,all I get is; yeah,yeah sure.


So is an ES 350 reallt THAT different mechanically from a V6 camry? I can imagine that RWD lexii and other things would be, but it is platform dependent.

Similarly, is an RX350 that different from a highlander V6? Land cruiser from the big SUV?

Besides interior treatments and maybe some suspension tuning?



Straight from a former Lexus technician; "He formerly worked at the Lexus dealership, and he said although they're similar to Toyota's, they're still very different." I do realize it is hearsay, But it is true. They are just different enough to make a difference.