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2007 Toyota Camry Transmission Gear Snap Ring Issue: TMSUSA Responds - READ ONLY

233 messages,  Last post on May 05, 2006 at 12:59 PM

You are in the Toyota Camry Forum.

What is this discussion about? Toyota Camry, Transmission, Sedan



This Discussion is Limited to the 2007 Toyota Camry V6 6-spd Automatic Transmission Issue.
 
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TMSUSA is Part of the Executive Management of Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc.

Messages Page 23 of 24

#214 of 233 My Transmission... by so40

May 04, 2006 (10:34 am)

I have stated several times that I did not want anyone to work on my car unless it starts to act up. By making that statement I simply mean that I don't want it torn down "just to see" if it is one of the ones with the problem. I simply am not sure that it would be done correctly and the right amount of time spent to do it correctly. This is not saying anything about my dealer. I have never had to have any work done at this dealer. It is just based on my opinion of how work is done by dealers in this country the past decade or so. This is not limited to car dealers. It is the same with ATV dealers etc. Also, I don't think that the Factory allocates enough time (money) to the dealers to do things correctly on many jobs.
 
I have said several times that if the 160 number is anywhere near correct, they need to notify those owners. Now, if mine is identified as one of the possible "bad" transmissions then I have to decide to let them replace it now or wait and see what happens. You can believe that if mine was to be replaced I would want to be there when it was done. I do not want some guy with a air gun just jerking things off and then using the air wrench (no torque wrench etc.) and just guessing where this bolt was etc. Would I want a "New" car instead of the replacement? Well I don't know for sure, that would be a tough decision.
 
I don't think Toyota is going to say much more than what they have already said about this. They may know exactly how many are bad and they may not. I do think it could be more of a safety problem than they seem to think it is. I am glad they have addressed the problem and are taking care of the owners that "actually" have the trouble.
 
If I had known about this problem back at the end of March when my wife took a 900 mile trip by "herself", I would not have let her go in this car. Luckily everything went fine and the car is still having no problems with a little over 2,500 miles on it. It is just the "not knowing" that bugs me.
 
I would like to see Toyota offer all of the "possibly affected" 160 owners a free extended warranty, unless they just decide to replace all of those transmissions. However, I don't think that (replacing all) is going to happen.
 
Mike

#215 of 233 If by ray_h1

May 04, 2006 (11:25 am)

the NHTSA determines these trannies constitute a safety concern, y'all can darned well bank on, a) the total number of affected cars being identified, pronto, and b) recall notices going out to all affected owners equally pronto. I've posted twice in this thread that Toyota appears to be out in front of this issue. The thought has occured to me that attitude may be at the "unofficial" urging of the NHTSA due to the low number of vehicles involved. I can't imagine that the NHTSA isn't monitoring the situation and would be ready to step in officially if that "small number" unexpectedly mushrooms. I'm still giving Toyota the benefit of the doubt. I'm just not sure owners are getting the straight story from Toyota about the extent of the problem. I do NOT believe Toyota is in the dark about potentially affected VINs, either.

#216 of 233 Re: To Recall or Not to Recall? [filod] by jbollt

May 04, 2006 (11:19 am)

Replying to: filod (May 04, 2006 8:50 am)
3. (This one someone has to correct me if I am wrong) the problem is not in the assembly line (whether it be in the US or Japan) but the manufacturing of the transmission itself (which is in Japan). It might just be luck that all of those we have seen in the forums are all assembled US
 
Or MAYBE, there is more than one transmission plant in Japan, or more than one production "line", and the US destined ones (transmissions) are built on a different line than the Japanese destined ones.... The production "error" being limited to one of these production lines....perhaps the ones destined for US built cars?????

#217 of 233 Re: To Recall or Not to Recall? [filod] by tmsusa

May 04, 2006 (11:43 am)

Replying to: filod (May 04, 2006 8:50 am)
Thank you for your comments filod. As tmsusa said early on, the gear anomaly is with the transmission that is manufactured in Japan. The vehicle assembly process here and in Japan continues to operate flawlessly. (BTW, the vast majority of Camrys sold in the United States are built in the United States; some come from Japan, typically those sold on the West coast.)
 
I also mentioned several days ago that we had instituted a countermeasure, so vehicles being sold today are not impacted--We definitely have not issued a stop sale. As for vehicles in stock at our dealerships? We wish there were more, but at the end of April our dealers had less than a 10-day supply of the top-selling vehicle in the United States. We continue to build them here and there as fast as we can--and problem-free.

#218 of 233 Re: To Recall or Not to Recall? [tmsusa] by kiawah

May 04, 2006 (12:08 pm)

Replying to: tmsusa (May 04, 2006 11:43 am)
TMSUSA,
If there is an existing V6/Auto car on a dealer lot today which is for sale, and the car VIN number and/or manufacturing date is 'prior' to the date you realized a problem.....is that car still for sale to some unsuspecting shopper? Or have the dealers been told to pull the inventory, and do something like make demos/loaners out of them?

#219 of 233 Re: Numbers & Dates [angela8] by tmsusa

May 04, 2006 (12:26 pm)

Replying to: angela8 (May 03, 2006 9:06 pm)
"Based on the news I relayed in an earlier post, let's hope that a replacement transmission is in route now to your dealership. We'll make an effort to verify that in the morning with our Parts Distribution Team and Expeditors. Your disappointment is certainly understandable."
 
Rita--I was able to relay your concerns to the right folks and have just learned that the replacement parts for your vehicle have been status upgraded to get them to the dealership pronto. You've been very patient; tmsusa thanks you and appreciates your candid feedback to us.

#220 of 233 Toyota Transmission Suppliers by max_99

May 04, 2006 (12:53 pm)

Toyota has said a lot about what they are doing to catch defective transmissions. I would like to hear what Toyota's transmission suppliers are doing to reverse this perception that automatic transmissions in Japan have poor metallurgy, poor quality and can't to handle the torque required for larger engines. I understand Toyota is usually good about catching problems. What are the suppliers doing? I own a 2001 Honda Odyssey and a 2007 Camry. There are too many cars in my garage with potential transmission failure issues. Next time I will go out of my way to understand who built the transmission in any new or used car I buy.

#221 of 233 Re: To Recall or Not to Recall? [tmsusa] by filod

May 04, 2006 (1:37 pm)

Replying to: tmsusa (May 04, 2006 11:43 am)
tmsusa, thank you for this reply and I quote:
 
‘I also mentioned several days ago that we had instituted a countermeasure, so vehicles being sold today are not impacted--We definitely have not issued a stop sale’ tmsusa
 
Rest be assured tmsusa that I understand the measures cannot be 100% foolproof. It just gives me comfort that at least Toyota instituted measures to avoid the tranny issue on the car I might be buying next week or earlier when it is available.
 
This is exactly what I was looking for – and increased my wanting to buy the car when available instead of waiting few more months because of the issues I read. Scale is now 75% buying when available vs 5% before I read your post.
 
You have tried your best to answer the questions – and you are doing an excellent job considering the constraints of what you can and cannot say. Best regards,
 
FiloD

#222 of 233 Re: Numbers & Dates [tmsusa] by angela8

May 04, 2006 (4:02 pm)

Replying to: tmsusa (May 04, 2006 12:26 pm)
Thank you very much...yes today my phone was ringing away.
 
First from the Service Mgr Star Toyota, then from your customer center and lastly from the Customer Relations Rep with Star Toyota. All to called to tell me that my transmission will be at the dealership no later than next Tuesday (5.9.06) and I should be able to drive it out by Thursday. I am looking forward to driving my new again!
 
I am so glad to see that my 4-6 weeks wait has now been backed down to 2 1/2 weeks. It's good to know that Toyota cares for it's owners and is so responsive.
 
I don't want close this on a negative but I still don't understand what Toyota is doing to prevent dealer stock with transmission issues from being sold and creating hardship and disappointment for another anxious buyer.
 
Is it Toyota's position that all of the cars with issues have already been sold?

#223 of 233 Toyota's Report Card - how would you rate? by kiawah

May 04, 2006 (4:16 pm)

How would you evaluate Toyota's performance in regards to their handling of this V6-auto transmission problem? Being in a critical response business my evaluation would be as follows, but would be interested in some others' thoughts who have actually experienced the transmission failure.
 
Report Card:
"A" : General acknowledgment that a problem exists, was both open and timely.
"A" : Prevented propagation of problem (new build). Stopped the mfg and distribution when problem first surfaced, as of some date.
"D" : Prevented propagation of problem (existing inventory). No known/visible activities to take carstock out of inventory pipeline or on dealers lots that may be defective, and correct problems before new customers buy and experience problem. Some salesmen are cautioning buyers.
"A+" : Responsiveness to owners who experienced defect. Loaner car, expedited transmission shipment/repair, warranty extension, buy back, lease payment....all top notch, best of breed.
"F" : Pro-active preventive notification to owners who have vehicles subject to problem. No definitive VINdata provided, no data/information to give owners 'piece of mind' or early warning symptoms, no way to avoid potentially serious failure. Drive it and see if it fails approach.
"B" : Communications. This is comprised of an A for Toyota stepping up in public forum to expedite information dissemination, and a C because information is not complete and detail enough. Rough helpdesk information startup typical. Dealer communications rough startup as well, but now reported as verygood.

Messages Page 23 of 24

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