So my transmission is a goner; 06 v8 2wd 46kmiles

budenski

New member
So my transmission is a goner; 06 v8 2wd 46kmiles***UPDATE*** positive note

So I drive home to pick my 4runner from the body shop from getting a new front bumper. The body shop mechanic mentioned to me that the transmission was a bit funky and that I should go to the toyota dealership to have them check it out. I do this.

As I'm driving down the street towards the dealer, my car seems slow and totally unresponsive. No matter how much I hit the gas, I would still accelerate at an obese snail's pace. As soon as I hit 35mph, the car would jolt as if I just screamed "NAWZZZ!!!" and then immediately shift to a higher gear.

I walk into the service area and asked them to look at my transmission. He was asking me about it and was just telling me that it's probably me not knowing how to drive with an electronic transmission, sure thing buddy... They said that it would take a while as it was not throwing any sort of code, but I had no choice as I was 2 hours from school, my mom's in Florida and my dad's in Iraq. I walk around the dealership, check out the 09 sportedition and then the service manager walks up anxiously after about 20 minutes. He announced to me that my transmission needed to be replaced. I looked at him funny as I originally thought it was a glitch in the electronics. He responded to my look of confusion by stating he's never once replaced a 4runner's transmission of the new body style. The actual mechanic walked inside and told me that around 35mph(see a pattern?) it tried to shift and went BOOM!! The CEL immediately turned on. He pulled two codes and both pointed towards the transmission. Apparently two solenoids locked up.

Luckily I have toyota's 100,000 mile warranty and is being replaced under warranty and should be ready to go this coming monday. They tried to give me a corolla as a loaner but instead pulled an 09 camry out of detailing area due to me wanting a bigger car and they're REALLY NICE. I plugged in my ipod to the aux input and it sounds great. I guess I need to get them to install that aux noise filter while it's there.

My biggest upset is that I skipped my 2 o'clock class, drove my butt 2 hours home, and I still didn't get my runner back! And now I've gotta trek it back home monday :mad:

I know transmission problems are about nonexistent with our cars so I thought I'd share my story with y'all.

+++++UPDATE+++++

Background: Bought the 4runner used on February 3, 2009 and was told April 2, 2009 that I needed a new transmission but it would be covered under warranty.

Cause: According to the mechanic, when he pulled the transmission, the fluid was not normal red color that automatic transmission fluid is. He stated that the fluid was just a normal fluid and was more than likely the cause of the failure. I guess the person who owned it before me took it somewhere to get the fluids changed or did it themself and ended up doing more harm than good.


Conclusion: Don't worry about your transmission failing as this situation is analogous to putting diesel in our tanks and then complaining of engine troubles.
 
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That sucks man! Did you notice ANY of these problems BEFORE taking it to the body shop?? Also, isn't the powertrain covered by the 60 month, 60,000 mile warranty?? Are they replacing the transmission or just trying to rip it apart and piece it back together?
 
Did it show any symptoms before you took it to the body shop? If not, it sounds a little fishy that the tranny started going south on their watch, especially on a 4R with under 50k miles.
 
Yeah bro, it is a truck truck transmission designed to tow decent amounts. The solenoids shouldn't have gone bad under normal conditions. I guess sheit happens though as well...
 
"That sucks man! Did you notice ANY of these problems BEFORE taking it to the body shop?? Also, isn't the powertrain covered by the 60 month, 60,000 mile warranty?? Are they replacing the transmission or just trying to rip it apart and piece it back together?"

Yeah... tell me about it. Actually, I did notice some funkiness with the transmission before hand so I doubt the shop did anything malicious to it. I'm not sure what toyota's powertrain warranty is but 60/60,000 sounds about right. I only know I have their 7yr/100,000 bumper to bumper. They're replacing the entire transmission, they ordered it this afternoon and are expecting it to arrive monday morning. I wasn't charged anything, including the rental car. My only cost is the extra gas to be burned and an afternoon to pick it back up

"Did it show any symptoms before you took it to the body shop? If not, it sounds a little fishy that the tranny started going south on their watch, especially on a 4R with under 50k miles."

It did have some problem beforehand. When it would shift from 2nd to 3rd, it would be stuck in neutral/limbo stage until I fully let go of the gas.

"Yeah bro, it is a truck truck transmission designed to tow decent amounts. The solenoids shouldn't have gone bad under normal conditions. I guess sheit happens though as well..."


That's my thought exactly. I was actually contemplating towing our bass boat up here to go hit up some lakes and the thought of the transmission being harmed never crossed my mind. I honestly have no clue what the solenoids due but I'm sure they were designed better.

Also, I should have gave some background on the 4runner. I actually just bought it in February with 4x,xxx miles. I'm not sure what it was used for but don't see any evidence of a tow ball/mount ever being installed. It's not 4wd nor does it have a trac off switch so I doubt any abuse was done to it.
 
"It's not 4wd nor does it have a trac off switch so I doubt any abuse was done to it."

Well, obviously they did something to it, eh!
 
sounds like a conversaton with the previous owner might be enlightening if possible. or just a bum tranny.
 
Boy, it is always nice to have a warranty. Usually, I buy an extended warranty and nothing happens, or it messes up after the warranty.

I hope that this isn't a sign of future problems for the rest of us. I also wonder what happened to the member that had the head gasket problem in his 4.0 V6?
 
At they're doing the right thing and replacing it. Those transmissions are like 10 grand at a discount part store like Conicelli! I'm looking for an extended warranty just in case I keep mine past 60,000 miles, which will most likely happen now that the wife has her eye on a Merc! My local dealer will give me the Platinum extended (8 yr./120,000mi.) for about 800 dollars. That is much easier to swallow than the majority of a tax return!
 
tomhaney1 said:
My local dealer will give me the Platinum extended (8 yr./120,000mi.) for about 800 dollars. That is much easier to swallow than the majority of a tax return!

What dealer is that?
 
This really sucks and is a major disappointment and a pain in the ass , but I'm glad your covered under warranty.

Who know if you vehicle was abused or not , thats beside the point. Sometimes I think people have a mis conception of Toyota or anything else mechanical for that matter , disappointing yes but anything can fail. I'm just glad they are giving you a new tranny and it's not going to wipe out your wallet . Keep us posted.

By any chance you did not right down the milage when you took your truck into the body shop for the bumper and how many miles were on it when it came back ??? just wondered if someone was joy riding it.
 
tomhaney1 said:
At they're doing the right thing and replacing it. Those transmissions are like 10 grand at a discount part store like Conicelli! I'm looking for an extended warranty just in case I keep mine past 60,000 miles, which will most likely happen now that the wife has her eye on a Merc! My local dealer will give me the Platinum extended (8 yr./120,000mi.) for about 800 dollars. That is much easier to swallow than the majority of a tax return!

Do you have a contact name for that extended warranty bro?
 
appreciate the inside information. left him a message. don't worry I wont use your name bro......

thanks. that is a very good deal.
 
alaskaman said:
I'm looking forward to a post of a pic showing a thermometer 120 degrees this summer =)

Haha always cool when you're not actually in it! How about I post a pic of the thermometer at 100 degrees at 3 am!
 

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