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New 2007 Toyota Sienna needs transmission

60 messages,  Last post on Oct 27, 2012 at 8:40 PM

You are in the Toyota Sienna Forum.

What is this discussion about? Toyota Sienna, Van

Messages Page 3 of 6

#21 of 60 RE: Lifetime Warranty & New Transmission [mcase2] by s4f4m

Jan 13, 2008 (9:01 pm)

Replying to: mcase2 (Jan 13, 2008 5:51 pm)
Definitely ask for a NEW one. What is REMANS? It is remanufacturing of a used transmission...replacing only the broken components. There is still wear/tear on the non-replaced components.

#22 of 60 RE: Lifetime Warranty & New Transmission [mcase2] by 2002odie

Jan 16, 2008 (12:53 am)

Replying to: mcase2 (Jan 13, 2008 5:51 pm)
I agree, this is horrible...I am getting bent out of shape because our 2002 Honda Odyssey at 89,000 miles needs a new transmission and I need to pay over $2k to get it fixed and having to fight with the dealer and corporate Honda to come down from trying to charge me the full $5k for the swap. In fact, during the time the Honda case manager was ignoring me, I started to research buying a 2008 Sienna to replace the Honda piece of junk, and here I see that brand new Sienna's with 500 miles are dropping transmissions, and some are on their second one by 3500 miles????
What's going on? Used to be Odyssey's and Sienna's were the best of the best.
Transmission failure is unacceptable. That's why we got the Odyssey back in 2001 and even had to pay $1k over the sticker at the time (and that was a good deal, since they were going for $2500 over...). We were after Honda reliability and quality. 20/20 hindsight, I should have gotten the Dodge Grand Caravan instead.
My friend has an 05 Sienna AWD Touring model and so far has not mentioned any transmission issues.
 
Now I will think about the Sienna some more (maybe that's why they are offering lifetime warranties, Toyota or their dealers know it's a problem), but definitely stay away from anymore Hondas. Maybe the Saturn Outlook or GMC Acadia are better alternatives.
 
So the transmission fails and they replace it with the same transmission that fails again...seems like Toyota doesn't have any solution except to keep putting in replacements that will eventually fail anyways??? Sounds like Toyota is using Honda transmissions now.

#23 of 60 RE: Lifetime Warranty & New Transmission [2002odie] by ateixeira

Jan 16, 2008 (8:08 am)

Replying to: 2002odie (Jan 16, 2008 12:53 am)
I have the 2008 Buying Guide from Consumer Reports right in front of me, and the specific score for transmission for every year, 2001 to 2006, on the Sienna is either "Better than Average" or "Much Better than Average".
 
Any car can break, but your odds are better with a Sienna than with any other van.
 
My 07 has been flawless.

#24 of 60 RE: Lifetime Warranty & New Transmission [ateixeira] by 2002odie

Jan 16, 2008 (11:23 am)

Replying to: ateixeira (Jan 16, 2008 8:08 am)
Good point, Consumer Reports is a good guide, but it is still just a guide.
 
Real life experiences that threaten the safety and well-being of a car designed to transport whole families is whole other story.
 
Having a transmission go out within 500 miles is completely unacceptable.
Where's the quality control?
Where's the testing?
Is it up to the buyer to be the guinea pig?
 
There must have been a bad batch of transmissions or some kind of design flaw to cause this kind of premature failure (and then the failure of the replacement transmission? Ouch!)
 
The transmission is the second most critical component, next to the engine, without it working properly, you are stuck on the side of the road.
It's not like a bad power window switch, or a faulty radio knob.
If the transmissions fails at just the right time and just the right place, people are going to get hurt.
 
Obviously Toyota knows something is up with these vans.
Otherwise why would the dealers so generously offer a lifetime or 100k warranty?
 
During my price shopping, I was surprised to find these are going for $5k under the sticker with a $1000 rebate, which puts them at or way below invoice in most cases.
 
Sign of the economic times? Slow sales? Or are they trying to unload them?
 
I am not totally against Toyota, my sister-in-law has a Sienna with over 120k miles and no issues, and my best friend has a Sienna AWD Limited with no problems so far, that's why I was looking at them as a replacement for the Honda.

#25 of 60 RE: Lifetime Warranty & New Transmission [2002odie] by ateixeira

Jan 16, 2008 (11:57 am)

Replying to: 2002odie (Jan 16, 2008 11:23 am)
Tens of thousands come off the assembly line. One bad apple doens't ruin the batch. There will always be a few exceptions, even on a reliable vehicle. No vehicle is perfect, I doubt there ever will be such a vehicle.
 
I'm sure they test samples, but not every one. Costs would skyrocket and you and I could not afford the van if they did.
 
Overall van sales are way down, they used to break a million per year but are way down from that peak. GM and Ford abandoned the segment entirely. Crossovers are all the rage, so vans have to offer more utility and value.
 
Smart folks step in and take advantage of that fact. Vans are better than ever.
 
My Sienna makes 268hp and is quicker than sports cars were not too long ago, yet I've also hit a record MPG of 34.0. Carrying 5 people and cargo. I've never done worse than 21mpg (what crossover can claim that?).
 
My van can carry 8 people or a sheet of plywood, has power doors on both sides, yet I paid only $25 grand, about $10 grand less than the average transaction price on a crossover.
 
Sure, on rare occasions, they'll break down. There's a lot of complexity and things that could go wrong. Still, the odds are good, and like I said, vans are better than ever.
 
Here's a bottom line, though: I got a price quote on a 7/100 bumper-to-bumper warranty direct from Toyota for just $880. So basically the manufacturer is betting that less than $880 of repairs will cover the entire van for that period, and even leave them room for profit!
 
They basically put their money where their mouth is. Just get the warranty if you're concerned.
 
PS Even Honda's scores for transmission reliability have improved recently (2004 and later).

#26 of 60 RE: Lifetime Warranty & New Transmission [ateixeira] by mcase2

Jan 17, 2008 (5:54 am)

Replying to: ateixeira (Jan 16, 2008 8:08 am)
The problem started with the transition in manufacturing in 2007 - The stats your reading are irellevant

#27 of 60 RE: Lifetime Warranty & New Transmission [mcase2] by ateixeira

Jan 17, 2008 (9:59 am)

Replying to: mcase2 (Jan 17, 2008 5:54 am)
Toyota still uses the U151E - 5 speed automatic in the Sienna.
 
Are you saying there were significant design changes?
 
I kinda of doubt it, given they had already started replacing those with the U660E 6 speed in other vehicles in their lineup.
 
I believe the data is 100% relevant.

#28 of 60 5 Speed by hause7

Jan 17, 2008 (6:51 pm)

The 5 Speed in the 07-08 Sienna's are the same as the 04-06. Consumer Reports rated it a very good transmission and i rarely hear about people who have problems with the transmission in the 04-06 MY. Our 04 has 72,205 miles on it and counting and the transmission still is like new.

#29 of 60 Sienna Transmission by vu2000

Jan 20, 2008 (6:37 pm)

My brother has a 2006 Sienna LE with 46K miles and it runs perfectly. A few years back I sold my 91 Camry V6 with 155K miles(never had any transmission issue). I am sure Japanese cars are not infallibe, but they are way more reliable than any American brands I've owned in the past.

#30 of 60 Just bad luck by pingmoon

Jan 21, 2008 (8:26 am)

I still love Toyota....it obviously has been a small number of vehicles that have
had this issue or I think we would be reading about it on a lot more forums....and a lot more on this forum. I'm fine as long as it does not happen again on the same vehicle, if it did then I would become more concerned....I did not get the lifetime warranty.

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