Hire a lawyer, sue Toyotas pants off, corporations understand law suits and lost funds. Selling your car passes this off to some poor uninformed unsuspecting soul, perhaps good for you bad for them. Copy & paste all this BAD tranny talk to prove you are not delusional.
After going back and re-reading these posts I realized you replied to me when I was replying to another poster. Anyway I hope you got your Avalon problem fixed. Mackabee
For those of you who are experiencing transmission issues... the good news is that there has been a lot of positive reports/results from people how have implemented the TSBs Toyota has put out. Your computer memory is starting from scratch and will be "re-learning" your driving/shifting patterns during the first few hundred miles. I recommend driving very smooth for 500 miles and avoiding jerky shifting. If you don't do this, there is a risk of your computer learning the bad shifting patterns and you experiencing transmission problems. Your computer cannot unlearn this you can only reset your computer and start over at that point. Ask your dealer about this after the TSB is complete.
I've had this procedure done to my 2007 and I must say my transmission is silking smooth with no hesitation at all (I wan't having tranny problems prior to this though).
There are a few posts here and there by owners of '07 Avalons that seemingly indicate that Toyota is adopting the same procedure for automatic transaxles that are beginning to be used for FWD and front torque biased AWD vehicles that have a manual transmission. With a manual transmission the driver cannot be restricted from downshifting regardless of roadbed conditions so the new procedure seems to be to rev the engine up to an appropreately higher level to prevent a significantly high, too high, level of engine compression braking on the front wheels when/if the driver inadvertently downshifts in slippery roadbed conditions.
Apparently as of '07 the Avalon (TSB for early production) will now downshift upon a full lift throttle event but will rev up the engine simultaneously to prevent or alleviate any significant level of engine compression braking that might otherwise lead to loss of directional control or interfere unduly with the anti-lock braking system.
Now, apparently, there will be no need for a 1-2 second DBW engine throttle-up delay to allow time for the transaxle to complete the double shift, up on lift-throttle and then down to accelerate, in QUICK sequence.
This smell is caused by the high humidity air condensing on the cold condenser coil. The water droplets form on the fins and then run down to the pan below to drain to the ground. Each time the air conditioner shuts down the water stays until it evaporates. Airbore bacteria in the air accumulates on the dried out fins until it forms a slime-jelly like coating. This can smell or may not, and possibly partically block the drain.
What can you do? The carbon filter will adsorb all or part of the odors and in time loose it's ability to remove the smell. The carbon itself is a food source for many lower plant life and can and does enhance bacteria growth. This is the reason granular carbon filters have been removed from nearly all drinking fountains in buildings. Replacing may help but is not the total solution. I would have the dealer check the drain to be certain it is clear. You need to be carefull when trying to kill the odors for the additives might do more harm than good. I have use peroxide in hospital air washers and it works and has no odor and decmposes into plain water. Do not use bleach for it is corrosive, espically on aluminum coils, and the smell.
Circulating air from inside the car across the coil could be contributing to the problem due to perfumes, cigarettes, hair spray, body perspiration, small animals, food, and every thing else we do or haul in the car. I usually circulate outside air and so far I have not had any musty smells.
Leoinaires' deaths some time ago was caused by faulty maintenaince of the hotel air handling air washers. I have no way of even imagining this could happen due to a car air conditiong unit.
alan s: My experience with a 02 Camry, 01 Avalon, and 05 Avalon rattles may be helpful. The Camry had a dash rattle or cracking until the dealer finally had the windshield removed and resealed by an outside glass specialist. Until I experienced it for myself, I did not believe it could possibly be the windshield. It was! Same for the 01 Avalon. Removal and resealing of the windshield stopped the rattle or cracking completely also. Same dealer but different shop staff insisted last year upon installing "spacers" provided by Toyota on the 05 Avalon. Stopped the problem for some months, but the rattle is now back and the dealer is stalling. Of course, I cannot prove it is the windshield. I continue to remind them of my unhappiness and the need for them to come up with a plan to solve the problem.
Thanks to the fine folks on this post I was able to have the ECM reflash completed on my 06 Touring per the TSB. What a difference!! I would swear it was a different car. I recently test drove a 3.5 Altima with CVT and my Avalon is nearly as seamless now. This applies under all conditions including rolling stops and hard acceleration. To boot, I have gotten nearly 2 mpg more on average since. Clearly mine was not "working as designed". Unfortunately, (now that the engine knock, steering column and transmission have been addressed) I now have a new issue. Every time my car sits for 3 days or more without being driven the battery goes dead. I do not have the auto headlight feature on so it is not that. They can find nothing wrong with the battery or charging system and no draw on the electrical when the ignition is off yet it has gone dead 5 times over the last six months. Anyone have any ideas????
Without knowing all the details... it is possible you have a bad cell in your battery. That happens. I had a similar problem on my last car. The dealer kept saying it was the battery. Two batteries later, several weeks of my car randomly not starting and finally my 3 cylinders not firing... they finally found the ground in the ignition wiring.
I have a 2005 with a hesitation at slow speed. Are you say I have to drive carefully so the computer learns my driving habits? I have driven 20 new company cars, in the past, and ran them through the paces. I have tried to treat my #36,000 car with care and there is no way I tried to teach the computer to operate the transmission with intermittant hesitation. Why did all this complaining end up with an expensive fix? When I told my service manager about the 6-20-07 fix he stated he was told to tell everyone " they are all that way" and now he has to admit there is a REAL problem.
My fix parts are on order. I certainly hope the cure is not worse than the disease
Starts when you first put the car in motion but gets erased TOTALLY the next time you start the engine. With the huge number of cars in the rental fleet and so many married couples that both drive the same car how could it be any other way?
Even for driver unique parameters it continually (re)learns and if you suddenly decide to go from "sedate" to "lead-footing" it for a period of time it will soon adjust accordingly.
Absent uniquely "coded" ignition keys.....
The confusion arises, seemingly, from the fact that there are certain engine/transaxle operational parameters that are "kept" forever and the system continuously (re)learns and re-adusts, first from the factory defaults and then as components wear or age and tolerances change.
For many of these latter category ones they can be erased and thereby forced back into the original factory default values by disconnecting the battery power for 10 to 15 minutes.
My 93 Ford ranger PU has 130,000 miles and I find that I must clean the idle air bypass port about every second oil change. I usually disconnect the battery, especally if the state emissions test is due tomorrow, when I do that and starting from factory defaults the idle air control solenoid parameters will "settle" fairly quickly into the correct value. But I can also simply allow it to "relearn" the new operational parameters on its own, it just takes a bit longer.
I suspect that what is happening, has been happening, is that the "DBW" version of the engine/transaxle controlling firmware creates the 1-2 second delay/hesitation just as Toyota has stated, "to protect the drive train". Apparently to which only a few owners, seemingly, are sensitive or their driving habits or patterns expose them to same. The MASSES, on the other hand, are considered more safe overall with the "DBW" version that prevents any significant level of engine compression braking on those front drive wheels but results in the delay/hesitation experience on RARE occasions.
So if you complain LOUD enough and/or LONG enough you will most likely get a "legacy" engine/transaxle firmware version, for the RX300 say, from 2003, before DBW.
It's likely that the only real shortcoming of the legacy version is ATF overheating and undue clutch wear resulting in premature transaxle failures. Toyota/Lexus may have decided to live with a few of those in order to dampen down their FWD and front torque biased AWD customer's public "out-cry" somewhat.
I sincerely believe the only viable long term fix is a variable volume ATF pump as Ford has adopted for the new Edge or even some sort of fluid pressure storage accumulator as was used in the TC system of the early versions of the LS400.
But in the meantime I suspect we are about to see a widespread TSB application by Toyota/Lexus that adopts the firmware control technique for automatic transaxles. The firmware technique now being used to prevent a significant level of engine compression braking on a stick shift FWD (or...) vehicles such as the Suzuki SX4 during driver downshifts.
After you get the fix (congrats on stuffing it in the dealers face by the way... hehehe) just drive carefully for the first few hundred miles. It only takes a little while for the computer to learn you shifting/driving habits. With the newer "intelligent" (...yeah right) shifting, the computer can cause your shifting to be jerky if it learned that. I have no idea if that's the case with your car, but it's just a suggestion.
Hi Blutoy, The cabin filter was changed but it did not correct the problem The dealership also sprayed the system with some perfumey stuff which just masked the odor. I guess from what other posters have said, there is mold or bacteria in the system....I may look into an aftermarket "dehumidifier" to correct this...
First, I thought YOU changed the filter, that is why I asked for the procedure. Second, is your condensation line open as in a wet spot (not where your thinking ) on the ground, even if it is partially blocked you WILL get an odor, try cleaning it but honestly is should take YEARS for that to happen but obviously somethings not right.
A word of personal thanks to you smuook for finding and posting the TSB. Our '06 XLS was badly afflicted and now is cured. Needless to say, I had to point out the TSB to the dealer who continued to deny a problem (sigh) so without you, we would have been out of luck. Like Bob Wiley (post 13755) I was planning on disposing of the car in the next 6 months. THANK YOU. The car drives like a new vehicle. I had experienced the same issue (an ECM reflash) with our '04 Volvo XC-70. Basic difference is that Volvo tested/accepted my concerns and treated me with due courtesy. Toyota stone walled and denied the problem. Sorry, but this is our last Toyota (and we've owned a half dozen of them in the past) given their approach.
Another personal thanks to smuook for the TSB. I have a 05 LTD with a hesitating tranny. Took the TSB into the dealer and they fixed it without question. Drives like a new car now. The work was extensive, and expensive. Something like 1800 bucks worth, but under warranty... Again thanks for the TSB.
I can't take credit for finding the TSB's... that goes to Mike Murrell. No problem for passing it along. This board has had quite a bit of talk about this issue. Glad to see it's finally being fixed. For ~$30K, people deserve a nice shifting car.
Keep in mind that with a "reflash" all "learned" engine & transaxle control sensor parameters (NOT driver style/habits) are restored to the factory defaults. Within about 500 miles the ECU will have relearned and retuned the system to the actual sensor tolerances so expect some change between now and then.
Change will not be as radical nor as sudden as with the widepsread reset with the reflash but will likely be so gradual you may not even notice.
With all due respect Mackabee, reports of dealer denial and inaction with regards to Avalon transmission problems have come from NUMEROUS dealerships. And regardless of whether Toyota "owns" these dealerships, the dealership represents Toyota to the consumer. If dealerships are not accurately communicating Toyota's position on the matter and are not responding with appropriate action why is Toyota putting up with it?
Good suggestion Mackabee. I actually did try another dealer in Calgary to see if we could get a different response. No such luck. Interestngly, neither dealer would allow me to speak with their Technical contacts back at Toyota headquarters in Toronto. I had the distinct impression that the local dealers' "Experts" were basically a filter between the customer and headquarters (heard that from a family member who works at one). I remain pretty disappointed with Toyota as a global organization.
My tranny, btw was a farce with obvious aberrant behavior. Slowly going up a steep driveway at our country place would have a forced change into 1st gear which always chirped the front tires accompanied by a horrible gnashing of gear teeth. Asides frm my neighbours wondering about my driving skills, I figured premature tranny wear was likely to ensue. The usual revving between gears was also a recurring theme. Pitiful frankly that anyone would designate it as "Operating as designed".
I will work with an automotive company as long as they are helpful and supportive (have a Jeep with a new transaxle under warranty as proof). Unfortunately, if it wasn't for the fine folks on this forum we would have been out of luck.
I actually noticed that myself. I was forewarned by this board as well as my experience with our Volvo XC-70. For the Avalon, initial operation was somewhat rough and then became smoother the more I drove. I put about 350 miles (500 milometers) of inner city driving on the car before posting my initial thank you message so that I could definitively respond in terms of an improvement.
As an aside, I recently floored the car with minimal response. Assuming there might be a connection in terms of driving styles (which had been gentle up to now), I floored it a dozen more times. Sure enough, the car is now much more responsive when it's "pedal to the metal" - a BIG difference.
I love driving and do about 60,000 kilometers every year, but this aspect surprised me.
The shifting performance work was done on my 2005 Avalon on 7-17-07 and it is a mess. I wish I would have stayed away from the dealer.
The shift from 2nd to 3d is 50 times worse than it was. I had a hesitation at that this shift, it was annoying, but nothing like it is after it was fixed!!!!.
Th shift into second sequential mode takes about 50 yards. going down hill before it clunks in. The other shifts are normal.
The transmission lurges when coming to a stop. Just before stopping it shifts into first with a surge.
I haven't driven the car enough, but it seem to be free wheeling as you drop down to third and then to second. I noticed right away the brakes were weaker. If there is no down shifting and compression braking is eliminated, the car is harder to stop.
The engine reves up to 4000 rpm if you hit the accelerator as you would when you attempt to pass, The transmission hesitates then jerks into gear.
I had a big argument with the service manager. He told me over and over he did what I asked him to do. I told him, " what does my request to get the toyota technical bulletin work done, have to do with telling my car was fixed and it was not". After taking a test ride he agrees the transmission programing is not right. The dealer service department returned my car in worse condition than when I took it to the garage. They test drove about 12 miles and apparently said it was fixed. The mechanic put his four hours of work in and called it quits.
This fix is a disaster. I am told they may have to replace the transmission. This bull.
Has anybody attempted to file a class action suit? I am willing to contribute.
I refuse to go away and will hound this dealer until he gets it 100% right.
The service department at Toyota refused to do the TSB on my 05, "they could not get the car to exhibit the systems". I am lucky that I have a mild case of the issue and it is very intermittent. After reading the recent post (13788) maybe I should be very glad they refused to do the TSB. Macabee can you shed some light on payment from Toyota to the dealers on TSB work, that might or might not influence how the dealers react to doing TSB's?
What does "exhibiting symptoms" have to do with anything. The TSB says nothing about that.
This is the quote from the TSB:
Applicable Warranty**: This repair is covered under the Toyota Federal Emission Warranty. This warranty is in effect for 96 months or 80,000 miles, whichever occurs first, from the vehicle’s in-service date. **Warranty application is limited to correction of a problem based upon a customer’s specific complaint.
It does not say anything about the dealer reproducing it... it says based on the customers complaint. (period)
Not acceptable. Try another dealer... go up their chain of command. Get satisfaction and nothing less.
From the previous post... and from all the other posts so far... I'd say the major problem here is the dealership service. Shove it down their throat, make them do it right. They don't have to like it.
If it was four hours on the fix... seems like not a lot of time to correctly do this TSB for the 2005. Their not rebuilding the engine... but exhaust manifolds, O2 sensor, new ECM and testing should be longer than that I would think. :confuse:
Must be lucky. McGeorge Toyota Richmond VA. fixed according to TSB 33. No questions Asked. After the fix the service manager drove it and was not satisfied. offered me a company car while he checked out. Got it back and the service manager rode with me to see that I was satisfied. Said "Im glad they got this fixed, I've been telling them about this for months." Good dealership. Long on customer satisfaction and short bull$$$$.
What "some" dealers want is for you to back down and live with it. Rather than have it fixed under warranty (for a lower margin) and never see you again... much better for you to keep coming back and nickle 'n diming you to death at full service rates. After 8 years/80,000 miles (my guess is 80,000 miles would happen MUCH quicker) the warranty won't cover it. Then it's coming out of pocket. A potential buyer who has done any research wouldn't touch this car with crappy tranny.
Here's another thing to consider... even if you can live with it now, it's not going to get better over time, just worse.
My transmission tbs fix that was a disaster got a second fix this am.I was told corporate technical people advised that another calibration step not on the tbs was suggested. Did the dealer mess up or is this what really happened? I have no way of knowing.
30 minutes later they appear to have it right. Ran the transmission through some shifting over about 5 miles and the first impression is, it is better than when new. What does all this complaining accomplish? I guess two years later after I got my 2005, toyota finally did something.
I would suggest anyone unhappy with the transmission shifting keep pressure on the dealer and corporate until the issue is corrected properly. I had some loud-choice words with the service manager to get him to hear me. Ended up I got an apology and a thanks for being the first at their dealership to get this done.
You need to check why it's on. I left my gas cap off once and went to Autozone to read the codes for free (just to make sure). They were unable to read the codes... still don't know why. Took it to the dealer and he verified it was just the gas cap. The dealer reset it for free. Took about 10 minutes.
Obviously you have a good dealer and by the way, to ALL, I prefer Car Store to dealer because it is very difficult to actually get them To Deal. 5000 mile maintence light, will disconnecting the positive cable reset it. I change oil every 3000, so my next will be past their 5000 suggested mileage.
Check engine light is different than from maintenance required light. You can reset the maintenance required light per owner's manual. Check engine light you can't.
Maintenance required is silly that it can't be set to owner's preference. I change my oil at 3000 also. How hard would that be?
Just read your initial and subsequent post Ange - glad things are better.
I was going to suggest that the software upgrade might not have been correctly done (in your case it includes other equipment). I'm an IT VP for a 50,000+ person company. We have had lots of instances where upgrades to PC's and even our mainframes would be improperly completed. Naturally the mainframes were checked and double checked before release so no issues for the users, but the volume of PC's made that effort impractical. Just as our PC's go buggy, the same thing could arise with software reflashes at the dealership - particularly if you were one of the 1st in line. Glad its OK and hope you will find it continuing to "perform as designed" (I write that with a grin on my face).
I wonder if you have Nav on your vehicle because on my 06' Avalon I could set Maintenance required miles on the Nav. I would go to maintenance tab on the Nav. Select engine symbol. Select maintenance item i.e. eng oil, filter etc. then set the miles and date I wanted to do maintenance. For those without the Nav I don't know how.
I bought one of the very first Avy Limited's (Feb 2005) and thanks to this Forum, I recently had subject TSB accomplished to fix erratic shifting issue. I just came back from a 1100 mile trip and report that tranny upshifts more smoothly through the gears while normal acceleration from dead stop and when passing, it downshifts smoothly and predictably instead of jumping around searching for gears. I did take it real easy the first 500 miles as suggested in this Forum. My car was this dealers first one to install TSB so I was a bit concerned but so far so good. My worst mileage on trip was 27 and best was 34 (don't think they topped off tank). Speed between 70-80mph w/AC running ~50% of time. I put 35psi in all four Michelins and use Mobil 1 5W-30 motor oil.
Unfortunately for the consumer there are still lots of dealerships that have not evolved with the times. I call these type of dealerships "dinosaurs". They are resistant to change and keep doing things the "old school" way. I don't know what to tell you. I guess until they finally start losing business they'll continue to do business as they have up to now. Mackabee
I wouldn't give up on Toyota just yet. Is there a customer assistance number for Toyota Canada? Here in the USA the main offices are in Torrance Ca. You can bet your Avalon if you call Torrance to complain about a dealer here in the USA action gets taken quickly. Have them open a case number and if they still resist invoke the lemon law if you have one in Canada. Mackabee
As another poster mentioned, warranty work is paid at a lower rate than customer pay. Dealers that care about their customers and their CSI or customer satisfaction index will go out of their way to ensure the customer is completely satisfied with their vehicle. The ones that don't care will not be around long. CSI scores are taking very seriously and influence the allocation of new vehicles the dealers get. You should be getting surveys in reference to your service visits from TMS. Those of you in Gulf States and Southeast Toyota may have a different system since those distributors are privately owned. Mackabee
Comments
Mackabee
We shall see. Yes, I am aware that new modules need to burn-in.
But the bulletin issues no such warning.
Let the dancing begin!!
I've had this procedure done to my 2007 and I must say my transmission is silking smooth with no hesitation at all (I wan't having tranny problems prior to this though).
Do you mean I must chain my wife to the bedposts until I have driven that 500 miles with only me as the driver?
New, final(??) fix for delay/hesitation.
There are a few posts here and there by owners of '07 Avalons that seemingly indicate that Toyota is adopting the same procedure for automatic transaxles that are beginning to be used for FWD and front torque biased AWD vehicles that have a manual transmission. With a manual transmission the driver cannot be restricted from downshifting regardless of roadbed conditions so the new procedure seems to be to rev the engine up to an appropreately higher level to prevent a significantly high, too high, level of engine compression braking on the front wheels when/if the driver inadvertently downshifts in slippery roadbed conditions.
Apparently as of '07 the Avalon (TSB for early production) will now downshift upon a full lift throttle event but will rev up the engine simultaneously to prevent or alleviate any significant level of engine compression braking that might otherwise lead to loss of directional control or interfere unduly with the anti-lock braking system.
Now, apparently, there will be no need for a 1-2 second DBW engine throttle-up delay to allow time for the transaxle to complete the double shift, up on lift-throttle and then down to accelerate, in QUICK sequence.
What can you do? The carbon filter will adsorb all or part of the odors and in time loose it's ability to remove the smell. The carbon itself is a food source for many lower plant life and can and does enhance bacteria growth. This is the reason granular carbon filters have been removed from nearly all drinking fountains in buildings. Replacing may help but is not the total solution. I would have the dealer check the drain to be certain it is clear. You need to be carefull when trying to kill the odors for the additives might do more harm than good. I have use peroxide in hospital air washers and it works and has no odor and decmposes into plain water. Do not use bleach for it is corrosive, espically on aluminum coils, and the smell.
Circulating air from inside the car across the coil could be contributing to the problem due to perfumes, cigarettes, hair spray, body perspiration, small animals, food, and every thing else we do or haul in the car. I usually circulate outside air and so far I have not had any musty smells.
Leoinaires' deaths some time ago was caused by faulty maintenaince of the hotel air handling air washers. I have no way of even imagining this could happen due to a car air conditiong unit.
good luck ange3
Mackabee
My fix parts are on order. I certainly hope the cure is not worse than the disease
ange3
Starts when you first put the car in motion but gets erased TOTALLY the next time you start the engine. With the huge number of cars in the rental fleet and so many married couples that both drive the same car how could it be any other way?
Even for driver unique parameters it continually (re)learns and if you suddenly decide to go from "sedate" to "lead-footing" it for a period of time it will soon adjust accordingly.
Absent uniquely "coded" ignition keys.....
The confusion arises, seemingly, from the fact that there are certain engine/transaxle operational parameters that are "kept" forever and the system continuously (re)learns and re-adusts, first from the factory defaults and then as components wear or age and tolerances change.
For many of these latter category ones they can be erased and thereby forced back into the original factory default values by disconnecting the battery power for 10 to 15 minutes.
My 93 Ford ranger PU has 130,000 miles and I find that I must clean the idle air bypass port about every second oil change. I usually disconnect the battery, especally if the state emissions test is due tomorrow, when I do that and starting from factory defaults the idle air control solenoid parameters will "settle" fairly quickly into the correct value. But I can also simply allow it to "relearn" the new operational parameters on its own, it just takes a bit longer.
I suspect that what is happening, has been happening, is that the "DBW" version of the engine/transaxle controlling firmware creates the 1-2 second delay/hesitation just as Toyota has stated, "to protect the drive train". Apparently to which only a few owners, seemingly, are sensitive or their driving habits or patterns expose them to same. The MASSES, on the other hand, are considered more safe overall with the "DBW" version that prevents any significant level of engine compression braking on those front drive wheels but results in the delay/hesitation experience on RARE occasions.
So if you complain LOUD enough and/or LONG enough you will most likely get a "legacy" engine/transaxle firmware version, for the RX300 say, from 2003, before DBW.
It's likely that the only real shortcoming of the legacy version is ATF overheating and undue clutch wear resulting in premature transaxle failures. Toyota/Lexus may have decided to live with a few of those in order to dampen down their FWD and front torque biased AWD customer's public "out-cry" somewhat.
I sincerely believe the only viable long term fix is a variable volume ATF pump as Ford has adopted for the new Edge or even some sort of fluid pressure storage accumulator as was used in the TC system of the early versions of the LS400.
But in the meantime I suspect we are about to see a widespread TSB application by Toyota/Lexus that adopts the firmware control technique for automatic transaxles. The firmware technique now being used to prevent a significant level of engine compression braking on a stick shift FWD (or...) vehicles such as the Suzuki SX4 during driver downshifts.
In the alternative a quicker way might be to leave a battery charger attached and leave the blower running on low in fresh mode for a night or so.
The microbes that create the odor cannot survive in a "dry" environment.
Change will not be as radical nor as sudden as with the widepsread reset with the reflash but will likely be so gradual you may not even notice.
Mackabee
My tranny, btw was a farce with obvious aberrant behavior. Slowly going up a steep driveway at our country place would have a forced change into 1st gear which always chirped the front tires accompanied by a horrible gnashing of gear teeth. Asides frm my neighbours wondering about my driving skills, I figured premature tranny wear was likely to ensue. The usual revving between gears was also a recurring theme. Pitiful frankly that anyone would designate it as "Operating as designed".
I will work with an automotive company as long as they are helpful and supportive (have a Jeep with a new transaxle under warranty as proof). Unfortunately, if it wasn't for the fine folks on this forum we would have been out of luck.
As an aside, I recently floored the car with minimal response. Assuming there might be a connection in terms of driving styles (which had been gentle up to now), I floored it a dozen more times. Sure enough, the car is now much more responsive when it's "pedal to the metal" - a BIG difference.
I love driving and do about 60,000 kilometers every year, but this aspect surprised me.
The shift from 2nd to 3d is 50 times worse than it was. I had a hesitation at that this shift, it was annoying, but nothing like it is after it was fixed!!!!.
Th shift into second sequential mode takes about 50 yards. going down hill before it clunks in. The other shifts are normal.
The transmission lurges when coming to a stop. Just before stopping it shifts into first with a surge.
I haven't driven the car enough, but it seem to be free wheeling as you drop down to third and then to second. I noticed right away the brakes were weaker. If there is no down shifting and compression braking is eliminated, the car is harder to stop.
The engine reves up to 4000 rpm if you hit the accelerator as you would when you attempt to pass, The transmission hesitates then jerks into gear.
I had a big argument with the service manager. He told me over and over he did what I asked him to do. I told him, " what does my request to get the toyota technical bulletin work done, have to do with telling my car was fixed and it was not". After taking a test ride he agrees the transmission programing is not right. The dealer service department returned my car in worse condition than when I took it to the garage. They test drove about 12 miles and apparently said it was fixed. The mechanic put his four hours of work in and called it quits.
This fix is a disaster. I am told they may have to replace the transmission. This bull.
Has anybody attempted to file a class action suit? I am willing to contribute.
I refuse to go away and will hound this dealer until he gets it 100% right.
ange3
This is the quote from the TSB:
Applicable Warranty**:
This repair is covered under the Toyota Federal Emission Warranty. This warranty is in effect for 96 months or 80,000 miles, whichever occurs first, from the vehicle’s in-service date.
**Warranty application is limited to correction of a problem based upon a customer’s specific complaint.
It does not say anything about the dealer reproducing it... it says based on the customers complaint. (period)
Not acceptable. Try another dealer... go up their chain of command. Get satisfaction and nothing less.
From the previous post... and from all the other posts so far... I'd say the major problem here is the dealership service. Shove it down their throat, make them do it right. They don't have to like it.
Here's another thing to consider... even if you can live with it now, it's not going to get better over time, just worse.
30 minutes later they appear to have it right. Ran the transmission through some shifting over about 5 miles and the first impression is, it is better than when new. What does all this complaining accomplish? I guess two years later after I got my 2005, toyota finally did something.
I would suggest anyone unhappy with the transmission shifting keep pressure on the dealer and corporate until the issue is corrected properly. I had some loud-choice words with the service manager to get him to hear me. Ended up I got an apology and a thanks for being the first at their dealership to get this done.
FINALLY!!! ange3
Maintenance required is silly that it can't be set to owner's preference. I change my oil at 3000 also. How hard would that be?
I was going to suggest that the software upgrade might not have been correctly done (in your case it includes other equipment). I'm an IT VP for a 50,000+ person company. We have had lots of instances where upgrades to PC's and even our mainframes would be improperly completed. Naturally the mainframes were checked and double checked before release so no issues for the users, but the volume of PC's made that effort impractical. Just as our PC's go buggy, the same thing could arise with software reflashes at the dealership - particularly if you were one of the 1st in line. Glad its OK and hope you will find it continuing to "perform as designed" (I write that with a grin on my face).
Mackabee
Mackabee
Mackabee