Serious Transmission Problem Toyota Matrix (& possibly Corolla & Pontiac Vibe?)

[unbearable]

Hello everyone. It is my understanding that the Toyota Matrix, Toyota Corolla, and Pontiac Vibe have the same transmission and engine. Please be aware of a serious transmission problem on these vehicles.

It seems that many Matrix owners are having problems with a faulty transmission bearing which necessitates the transmission needing to be replaced prematurely. I believe this might also apply to Toyota Corolla and Pontiac Vibe models.

We had to replace our five-speed manual transmission on our 2004 Toyota Matrix at 98,000 miles at a cost of $3,100! Models besides the 2004 are also affected, but I don't know which ones. I sent a certified letter to the president of Toyota Motor Corp. North America. I was told since there is no recall, I would not be compensated.

It is important to notify affected owners about this problem before their life is endangered when the car breaks down without warning on a 70 mile-per-hour highway. This is what happened to me.

There are numerous reports of Toyota Matrix 5-speed transmission failures due to a defective transmission bearing. I don't believe a manual transmission should need to be replaced at 98,000 miles. Some vehicle owners have had it happen at less mileage. The regional manager of the repair shop I took it to said he has seen this problem before, and he believes there will be a recall. At this time, Toyota will not compensate Matrix owners for this very expensive defect.

Please sign my petition at http://www.change.org/petitions/unbearable-transmission-bearing Hopefully if there are enough signatures, Toyota will do a recall .

Thank you!

[NM5K]

Why don't they just replace the bearing, instead of the whole
transmission? Seems like overkill..
My Corolla is an automatic.. But it's stories like these that
prompt me to change the fluid/oils in these devices..
I just did a dump and refill twice on mine a week or two ago.
Fluid looks pretty clean and red now. It wasn't horrible before
I dumped it, but had kind of an orange twang to it.. I dumped
and refilled it twice in a period of a couple of days.
Have enough fluid to do it again, but I'll probably wait another
5000 miles and change it again with the next oil change.
Mine has a recall on the ECU.. I still haven't bothered to
get it changed out yet, and they have sent me 3-4 notices so far.

[unbearable]

>
> Why don't they just replace the bearing, instead of the whole
>
> transmission? Seems like overkill..
>
> My Corolla is an automatic.. But it's stories like these that
>
> prompt me to change the fluid/oils in these devices..
>
> I just did a dump and refill twice on mine a week or two ago.
>
> Fluid looks pretty clean and red now. It wasn't horrible before
>
> I dumped it, but had kind of an orange twang to it.. I dumped
>
> and refilled it twice in a period of a couple of days.
>
> Have enough fluid to do it again, but I'll probably wait another
>
> 5000 miles and change it again with the next oil change.
>
> Mine has a recall on the ECU.. I still haven't bothered to
>
> get it changed out yet, and they have sent me 3-4 notices so far.

Hi NM5K. I am not sure, but I think the bearing comes loose and somehow destroys the transmission. When this happened to me, the car was not functional at all. Maybe it would not happen if the bearing was replaced before it gets loose or whatever it is that happens.

I think it is good you changed the fluid early. I hope it helps. Over thirty people who signed the petition said the same thing happened to their vehicle. I believe one of them had an automatic transmission.

[hachiroku]

WOW! I am having bearing noise on my '05 Scion tC. Toyota would not
replace it under the extended warranty, said it was a "wear item" and
wanted $780 to replace it! I asked the Service Manager what to do and he
said, "Drive the car".

Hmmmm. I still have an open case with Scion...

If it is the same issue, the bearing in qusetion is the "Clutch release"
bearing, known to a lot of us as the Throw Out bearing.


--
Ronald Reagan didn't spend his whole first term blaming Jimmy Carter.

[NM5K]

On 8/31/2012 10:35 PM, hachiroku wrote:
>
> WOW! I am having bearing noise on my '05 Scion tC. Toyota would not
> replace it under the extended warranty, said it was a "wear item" and
> wanted $780 to replace it! I asked the Service Manager what to do and he
> said, "Drive the car".
>
> Hmmmm. I still have an open case with Scion...
>
> If it is the same issue, the bearing in qusetion is the "Clutch release"
> bearing, known to a lot of us as the Throw Out bearing.
>
>

The throwout bearing in my 68 Ford F-250 makes noise
when it starts getting hot.. And I had replaced the
clutch and bearing when I replaced the engine back around
2002 or whenever it was..
You can prolong the life of it if you only use it when
actually shifting. Anytime you are sitting still for
any period of time, put it in neutral and let the clutch
out. That's what I do with my truck.. It's when it's held
in for long periods of time that it starts squealing a bit.
In that truck, changing that bearing is not that big a deal..
You just yank the tranny out a ways, slap a new one on, and
re-stab it.. Must be brain damage on the typical side mounted
engine to command such a high fee to change it. The bearing
itself shouldn't cost all that much.. Or at least it wouldn't
for the Ford.. Mine has a lifetime warranty, same as the clutch.
So I can get a free one if I ever work up the motivation to
yank the tranny. I wouldn't be holding your breath waiting for
this.. I'm getting to where I hate working on vehicles
more and more every year.. :(

[hachiroku]

On Sat, 01 Sep 2012 07:46:48 -0400, Elmo P. Shagnasty wrote:

> In article <504182a0$0$1303$c3e8da3$6901...@news.astraweb.com>,

> hachiroku <haci...@e86.GTS> wrote:
>
>> If it is the same issue, the bearing in qusetion is the "Clutch release"
>> bearing, known to a lot of us as the Throw Out bearing.
>

> ...which is a WEAR ITEM.

At 50,000 miles?!?!

I have had EIGHT Toyotas. One wore out at ~8,000, and was obviously
replaced under warranty. Out of the other 7, I have NEVER had to replace a
throw out bearing. Ever. Two of them went over 240,000 miles, and both of
those had the original clutches. Two more went over 120,000 miles without
a TB replacement.

Wearing out at 50,000 is just BS.

[tedtow...@gmail.com]

https://www.change.org/petitions/unbearable-transmission-bearing/sponsors/new
everyone sign this who has had toyota transmission problems with this type of trans

[jasongw...@gmail.com]

If it's a bearing problem that's one thing but if your clutch is shot in under 80 k you shouldn't own a manual transmission Learn to drive a stick I have a Honda prelude 5 speed 260k and only a fluid flush and additive in it 1 time around 150k also a 2004 matrix's with 160k and just put a clutch in cause my 16 year old drives it ocational but this bearing issue I have no issues but I also service the matrix 5speed by book and maybe a little more stringent cause I'm a mechanic and I know that gear oil in any tranny is only good for around 65k on normal condition not a teen driving it so it has been 3 times but maybe to me that's common sense