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Wagons Toyota Matrix Matrix Transmission Problems
358 messages, Last post on Nov 24, 2009 at 2:16 PM
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Our son called us 2 nights ago from Oregon. Stuck on the side of I-5. At the time he is sure his transmission is shot ( He has a 2003 Matrix manual trans.) For the heck of it I jump on the web and plug in 2003 Matrix tranny problems. I was shocked!! I got way too many immediate returns! Our son calls us the next day - He bought the extended warranty (100,000 miles) Believe it or not he was only 1600 miles over the warranty when the transmission went. NO coverage! It will cost $3300 for a new tranny and clutch. Our son is a poor college graduate who thought he bought a reliable used car. We all incensed!! I plan on writing Toyata - does anyone know how to proceed? I have read something about a "goodwill" program? Can someone advise? What will it take for a class cation suit to become a reality? How do these people go to bed at night and look at themselves inthe mirror? Rob from Connecticut
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Replying to: rhoovis (Jul 26, 2008 6:10 pm) I just read your post. I live in Tacoma, WA and when mine went out, I took it to SeaTac Transmission, in Seatac, WA. They are a VERY good shop, and it was only $1,800 (which is still a TON!) The rebuilt it, so I am hoping they put better parts in it.... Just an FYI for you. It might be able to be done cheaper than $3,300. |
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Replying to: rhoovis (Jul 26, 2008 6:10 pm) My experience was very much like that of the other good people who reported on this thread. About three weeks or so ago I heard a tapping sound from the front of the car, primarily in 4th and 5th gears. I went through the usual suspects. Valve tap? No, can't hear it under the hood at idle or under acceleration at low gears. Hole in exhaust? No, can't hear it outside of car. Water pump? No. So I took it to my local Toyota dealer where I get service regularly. After one day ($75 + tax) of diagnosis, here's the quote on the receipt: "...ROAD TESTED VEHICLE. NOISE HEARD FROM TRANSMISSION, HEARD IN ALL GEARS BUT LOADEST (sic) IN 5TH GEAR, DIFFERENTIAL OR 5TH GEAR IS ABOUT TO COME APART, REC REBUILT TOYOTA TRANSMISSION AND REPLACING CLUTCH WHILE APART $3506.99 " Oh, really? It's about to come apart?? That's $3506.99?? (I loved the $6.99). I have to replace the transmission at 87,000 miles??! Needless to say I was not happy. That's when I found this forum, thanks to my boss. Lots of people reported the same problem, 2002-3 Matrix w/ manual trans. I called the dealership where I bought the car and explained the issue to their Service Director. I got the service records from my local dealer and met with him. He said he would have his Service Mgr. call me the following week. The Service Mgr. called and said I would have to make my case with the dealer who did the most servicing. Toyota acknowledges nothing about an on-going problem with these transmissions. So I went back to the dealership where my car is serviced in Glen Mills, PA, USA (a nice dealership overall) and spoke with the Service Mgr. in person. "There's nothing we can do" is how the conversation started. I presented the ream of paper I had in my hands with this forum thread and mentioned the slew of people reporting the same problem, and that it appears to be a faulty bearing in the transmission. He gave me the same story as the Service Director in the original dealership, i.e., he confirmed that Toyota has no service advisory or technical bulletin on the problem. After I presented my situation in more detail, including that my extended warranty had run out at 75,000 miles, he agreed to go to the Toyota regional rep and see if they (Toyota) would do something for me. He called back a day or two later and presented an offer that I agreed to. The dealership would diagnose the problem, even if the trans had to be disassembled, and effect a repair. Toyota agreed to pay for 1/3 of the cost of the repair, the dealership would pay 1/3, and I would pay 1/3. (The issue of replacing the transmission went away). It took about a week to get to the problem. At first they replaced the 5th gear (and did he say differential?), but that did not solve the noise problem. So they took the transmission apart and, guess what? It was a bad bearing. I swear I told them that. Anyway, according to the the repair bill, they replaced a needle bearing, along with a spacer, synchromesh key and spring, transmission sleeve, shaft snap ring, transm. hub, radial bearing, ring set and bolt, all under warranty. The total transmission repair bill was reported to be $1,200 of which I paid one-third. The clutch replacement was $394 total parts and labor, which I paid in full. Total cost to me for everything, including taxes (6% in PA) was $845. $845 is by no means pocket change, esp. with my two daughters' tuition bills due this month, but it seemed like a fair price to pay. The car feels like new, and the clutch pedal is light as a feather. I do like the car. It's a great runabout and commuter car that gets me 34 mpg, and can carry a surprising amount of stuff when I fold down the seats. Other than the trans, it has been bulletproof. I serviced it by the book and could prove it. I believe that was at least part of the reason for the good will. If I were you, I would take the experiences of those on this forum under advisement and try to get some good will on a repair before incurring the cost of replacing the entire transmission. Note the bearing repair is a replacement in kind. According to the Service Mgr., there is no upgraded part. So in time I would assume the problem can recur. I have decided to take my chances. Good luck. If you need any more detail on this, I would be glad to copy you on the repair slip. Mike T. |
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Replying to: paul1hunter (Jul 21, 2008 11:35 am) |
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I purchased used 03 matrix on March 18, 2008 for my daughter to drive car was very nice. My husband and myself both drove the car before purchasing it the car was great we found all the orginal service records in the car and even found a phone number for the orginal owner of the car (the only other owner) talked with her she said she never had a problem with the car. The car had 109K miles on the car when we bought it, about 4 to 6 weeks later the car just starts making this grinding sound and hard to go in gear we thought it was the clutch. After having a friend that is a certified bmw mechanic look at it we discovered it was the transmission! So, i call salvage yards, transmissions shops nobody can get me a transmission when i did find one it was $1500 used with close to 70k with little to no warranty!!! So, now i am stuck with a car that needs a transmission and a $320 month car payment. If i take it to the shop to fix the transmission, clutch & get my check engine ligh tto go off i am looking at close to $5000. HAS ANYONE HEARD ABOUT A RECALL FOR THE TRANSMISSON? TOYOTA DENIES THERE IS A PROBLEM THEY JUST LAUGH AND SAY NO THERE ISNT A PROBLEM! THIS REALLY SUX ..........BUT THERE ARE ALOS PROBELMS WITH THE TRANSMISSION IS OTHER TOYOTA TRANSMISSION ACCORDING TO WHAT I HAVE READ ON BLOGS EX: 4 RUNNERS, TACOMAS, COROLLA, & THE AVALONS
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Replying to: burkes_r_mad (Aug 13, 2008 8:37 pm) |
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I'm from Montreal and I just got my car back, guess I got lucky (if you can call it that) because I heard that weird sound comming from the trany early enough to get the car to the shop. I then brought it to Toyota to get it inspected and mentionned this forum, but they denied the problem as have so many others I have read on this forum They changed 2 bearings and charged me 1400$ ...... To top it all off, my 5 year warranty ended July 16 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I bougnt my Matrix 2004 used and not from the dealer, so I received no special treatment and got my car fixed elsewhere... I am VERY dissapointed, this being my 1st Toyota, which I bought because of their good reputation..... I can't really afford 1400$ right now, but what choice did I have??
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Replying to: blasttyrant (Aug 25, 2008 11:16 am) |
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| The output shaft bearing is my 2003 Matrix 5sp manual transmission has joined others in failing. Thanks to this forum I recognized the problem early and was able to get the transmission repaired before the bearing failed completely and took out other components. As with others I was out of warrantee (77500 miles) and Toyota made like they had never heard of a transmission failure on this vehicle. Since I do my own maintenance (faithfully and by the book) I didn't have Toyota dealership maintenance records to point to. There was no help from "customer care" at Toyota. They offered me $ 6,000.00 for my Matrix if I wanted to trade it in. I went to a transmission shop and had the transmission repaired. The output shaft main bearing was failing. The shop installed an updated bearing kit in the transmission for around $ 2,300 total (removal, disassembly, bearing kit - includes all bearings in the transmission, reassembly, new clutch, flywheel surfacing, and re installation of tranny into vehicle). They told me they could not see any lubrication issues related to the bearing or transmission case design. Their best guess: Toyota got a bad batch of bearings. The new bearings in the updated kit appear to be the same design as the old ones. Toyota dealership told them they knew nothing of an updated bearing... parts from Toyota would have to be purchased one-at-a-time thus costing 3 or 4 times as much as the kit. The kit comes from an aftermarket supplier and cost around $ 675.00. Here's hoping this thing will last... I don't want to get rid of this vehicle which gives me 38-42 mpg on the highway. | |
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I have an 06 base model Matrix with auto transmission. How is the trans serviced on this vehicle? Does it have a "conventional" pan and filter that is dropped and changed? Do most people just have it flushed or is there a drain plug in the trans that lets the mechanic drain the fluid and then just refill it? I would like to do some preventative maintenance since I plan on keeping the car for some time. Also, what fluid does it require, Dexron?, Mercon?, etc. Thanks! 
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