Ever had a transmission fail? On what vehicle?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Mar 17, 2008
Messages
8,145
Location
Michigan
I have owned lots of vehicles and while I have had engine failures I haven't had a transmission go out.
How about you?
 
I had the A/T fail on my 1992 Hyundai Sonata. I bought the car new and changed the ATF approximately every 25-30K (D&R) but it didn't matter....the Mitsubishi KM-175 (I think) was a weak unit. The only variable in the mix is that I had lent the car to my father (for 2 weeks) because his was in the shop and the failure occurred while he was diving it. I suppose it's possible that he did something wrong (like shifting from D into R while moving forward)....but I'll never know....he was elderly at the time.....Those early Hyundai's were 'disposable' anyway....Hyundai-Kia has come a long way, IMO.
 
I've had two:
- Transmission (automatic) in my 1997 Ford Explorer 4.0L (OHV), likely from towing beyond the vehicle's capabilities
- Transmission (Borg-Warner T5) in my 1987 Mustang GT, drag racing.
 
My 1997 5.7 L GMC Sierra Vortec's transmission went out (The sun shell gear) at 144,000 kms. I read/heard these were notorious for this. No reverse nor 2nd or 4th gear.

Had it repaired then it went out again less than 5,000 kms later. The transmission guy covered it and was p*ssed at his employees who did the repair.
 
My wife's previous 2004 Honda Accord V6 auto trans failed with a little over 160K on it several years ago. 2nd gear clutch pack was gone on teardown; a common failure for that series auto trans. After warranty, switched to Redline D4 and all was fine until the dreaded shift flairs started. From gathered data that is out there in the wild, we got almost twice the life expectancy out of it. We had a reman'd unit installed, drove the equity out of it, traded it in on our 2014 Accord. Was a really good steed, I think it had 246K when we put it out to pasture.
 
Jatco JF506e 5-speed in a 2000 Mazda MPV around 150k miles. I found out that this model has a common flaw with the reverse piston cracking.

Replaced the piston, but messed up the install. Worked OK, then problems returned. Replaced the valve body, no improvement. Finally took it apart and found my mistake, got it fixed correctly, it was working well when we sold the van around 180k miles.

I had a Jetta diesel with a manual transmission, badly leaking axle seals. Got low on gear oil and did some damage to the synchros, I guess. Had to double-clutch to get it into third after that.

Transmission failure is my #1 vehicle fear... I think most engine failures give ample warning, but transmission failures often do not. The Mazda was able to limp along with the failure, though.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by irv
My 1997 5.7 L GMC Sierra Vortec's transmission went out (The sun shell gear) at 144,000 kms. I read/heard these were notorious for this. No reverse nor 2nd or 4th gear.

Had it repaired then it went out again less than 5,000 kms later. The transmission guy covered it and was p*ssed at his employees who did the repair.


Wife's old 2001 Blazer had the same thing happen at 107K. Only failure I've ever had.
 
Yes. 70 elcamino. Had it rebuilt and it stopped moving just a few weeks after the warranty expired.

73,340 duster. Had it rebuilt 2x.

86 Mitsubishi pickup with a 5 speed stick was always in the shop getting the trans rebuilt. I finally swapped in one from a newer year. Only to have the crankshaft break a few weeks later.

Bought my dad a 1998 Grand am. Occasionally it's trans ( converter?) would stay locked up and stall the engine when coming up to a stop sign.

The trans in my 02 Jeep is very noisey. Sounds like it has a bearing failing.
 
'73 Chrysler Newport Custom
400cid/Torqueflite 727 3spd auto
Tranny failed twice

97 Dodge Ram 3500
360 cid/4 spd auto
3 trannys in 115K miles

2004 Nissan Altima 2.5S
2.5L & 4spd auto
was starting to shift flare but, didn't fail
 
Last edited:
88 Buick Century, thankfully had a 3 speed auto so it only cost $750 to reman it in the mid 90s. The 4 speed would have cost probably double that. Maybe 80xxx miles on the car. rear ended a fuselage body Chrysler not too long after that and killed the Buick.
 
97 Toyota Camry during the first year of ownership. Replaced under warranty.
 
We have had several Chevy Lumina 4 door sedans . About half of them had A/T problems after 100,000 miles . Otherwise , fine cars .
 
66 GTO torque monster. Ate the 2 speed powerglide.
95 Accord - radiator failed and antifreeze mixed with atf. Famous "Strawberry Milkshake".
 
Yes, both Chryslers.

94 LeBaron around 72,000 miles.

98 Jeep Grand Cherokee, first at 2,000 (trans replaced under warranty) and then again at 78,000.

Never again.
 
02 Jetta TDI, automatic. Failed at 80,000 miles

2001 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP, Low 13 second car, headers, rockers, smaller pulley. You get the idea. 190,000 miles on a hard launch at the track.

1991 C4 Corvette L98/700R4. Heads, Cam, exhaust, large tube intake runners you get the idea. 152,000 miles.

1996 Honda Accord, 54,000 miles. I hated that thing. It is how I ended up with a my 1998 Z28. Never looked back.

When I had the 1998 Regal GS I had that transmission built for the mods I did to it at 70,000. My good friend has the car. Still going strong at 220,000/

A few F-body ten bolt rear ends and clutches. Racing is tough on a car.

Never lost an engine even with N2O.
 
Ford Windstar company leased vans. Had 2 different ones ,a 1999 failure at 9000 mi and a 2001 failed at 28k. Neither one would even move.
 
I have had two.

1) 1985 Chevy S10 Blazer with the infamous 700R4 transmission. At least it waited until about 120,000 miles to crap out. It required a complete overhaul.

2) 1998 Ford Windstar LX. Transmission was faulty from the beginning. At low speeds with part-throttle acceleration, it would "slam" very severely when shifting gears. Under strong acceleration, it was fine. There was a service bulletin on this, which required removal and replacement of some parts inside. Vehicle had only 900 miles on it when this was done.
 
78 scout had to have torque converter replaced.93 acclaim 3spd auto 3rd gear failed 2 days after installing a tranny cooler.Go figure.Got to have it rebuilt as the car is in good shape and the engine runs good.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top