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Matrix Transmission Problems

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Comments

  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    If you are in the USA and your car was first sold for use in the U.S., then you don't call Canada. You contact NHTSA instead. The website for reporting problems is below

    http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/index.cfm

    2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)

  • roarmcroarmc Member Posts: 1
    No response... because he lost and has to pay toyota
  • hatethematrixhatethematrix Member Posts: 4
    Thanks. Just got my car back from the shop $2,400 later.
  • paul1hunterpaul1hunter Member Posts: 2
    Yesterday I started my 2005 Matrix and the check engine light was on. When I drove it the speedometer did not move-it was stuck at 0. Car ran fine though. This morning when I turned the car on the speedometer jumped up to 80. When I drove it the speedometer was all over the place-not reflecting the speed I was going. Then the car would rev up when I pushed on the accelerator but would not move much. It's really weird. I took it in to the dealer this morning and they seemed very perplexed when i described the issue to them. They are currently looking at it now. Has anyone every heard of a car doing this? It seems that there is some sort of disconnect between the speedometer and the accelerator.
  • paul1hunterpaul1hunter Member Posts: 2
    Okay the dealer just called me back. Rodent damage. Apparently squirles crawled into the engine and chewed away the wire in 2 locations. The one they were able to repair but the other goes to the oxygen sensor and the entire unit has to be replaced. You can do all the preventative maintenace in the world, be prepared for as much as you can and then something like this happens. Fun fun.
  • slowzukislowzuki Member Posts: 3
    My 03 transmission bearing had failed as was on its way to taking out the rest of the transmission. I bought a low mileage 2006 transmission out of a smashed Corolla and its been good so far.

    It took me and my brother in law about 8 hours to swap the old one out and the new one in. He had got a hold of the instructions that skip the factory method so you don't drop the rack or cradle.

    I was gonna replace the clutch at the same time but it looked in good shape.
  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    I was gonna replace the clutch at the same time but it looked in good shape.

    You might regret that later. So much easier to do with the tranny already out, the whole clutch kit would have been less than $100.

    2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)

  • rhoovisrhoovis Member Posts: 1
    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
  • canonlawcanonlaw Member Posts: 20
    Hey,
    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.
  • maturcomaturco Member Posts: 3
    I just went through the tribulations with my 2003 Matrix XR 5-speed. Here's what happened. You may have recourse for at least some good will, esp. if you have had the car regularly serviced by Toyota, and even if you are out of the warranty period.

    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.
  • bigdadi118bigdadi118 Member Posts: 1,207
    Tie a small bundle of German Shephard hair in the engine compartment.
  • burkes_r_madburkes_r_mad Member Posts: 1
    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
  • marjomarjo Member Posts: 28
    Really sorry to hear this. Does suck. I doubt they'll do much for a second hand vehicle, but maybe you could find out what dealership it was bought and serviced at previously. See if they can do anything for you under the "goodwill program". Print off all these complaints from this website and bring it in. File a complaint with Toyota. I did in Canada, but they still have told others after me there are no complaints. We have to all keep complaining about this to Transport Canada, Toyota, NHTSA (http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/index.cfm) and everyone we know. Tell everyone not to buy a 2003-4 Matrix 5spd. Anyone who still owns one should trade it in at Toyota and let them get stuck with all these lemons. I find people are still extremely skeptical because of Toyota's reputation, but that's only because their car hasn't failed YET. Happens at around 80,000-130,000km based on previous posts, almost all past warranty. I miss my Matrix, but I'll never buy another Toyota until they admit this issue.
  • blasttyrantblasttyrant Member Posts: 1
    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??
  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    If you were under the mileage limit on July 16, it would have been worth your while to approach Toyota and ask for a good faith repair, even though you are not a regular at the dealership. That is especially true if you are still under the mileage limit now. We are talking four weeks here...a case could be made that it was already beginning to fail before the warranty expired, and it was just attended to later.

    2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)

  • jficklinjficklin Member Posts: 1
    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.
  • nick2006matrixnick2006matrix Member Posts: 42
    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! ;)
  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    The one I had was an '03, and there was a sticker right on the auto trans dipstick that said something like "no routine maintenance". I may have misread the manual, and your '06 may be different from my '03 (although they otherwise have identical powertrains), but there is no scheduled maintenance for the automatic in the Matrix.

    I know that in my case I never had it changed prior to selling the car. I would imagine that if you tow with yours, that would change things.

    2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)

  • thomas55thomas55 Member Posts: 1
    I want to replace a 2003 matrix 5sp manual trans with a 6sp manual trans.has anyone done this and does it pose many alterations?
  • mantechmantech Member Posts: 28
    If you would like to swap the transmission from 2ZZGE (Xrs 6 sp) to your 2003 Matrix, that would be impossible, Since the 2ZZGE has different casing configuration,. You better replace the whole engine with transmission If you can find one. :D
  • poypoy Member Posts: 1
    Hey everybody -
    Spent tons of time yesterday reading about the 5-speed manual C59 transmission/bearing problems in the Matrixes of a few years ago. I started to get scared about buying a new 09 Matrix S 5-speed manual. Should I be?

    I read that they started using better bearings in 05 and later. There were so many posts, but they were all from 03-05 owners, and of course the problem starts showing up about now in 09, after a few years driving it. Anyone know what the current situation is?
  • circuitsmithcircuitsmith Member Posts: 117
    As a rule I buy cars only in the last year or two of a generation. Thus my '81, '85 and '88 Accords (still have the '88) have been excellent. My '06 Matrix has been trouble free (except for the lousy Continental tires). Consider getting an '07 low mileage Matrix instead.
  • weiomweiom Member Posts: 1
    Throw me in! Same thing

    2003 XR 5 speed manual transmission blew at 87k...drove around with some grinding, took it to the dealer, they said my transmission was screwed. i wanted a second opinion, so drove it to a mechanic that same day, and it was crackling the whole way over on 1st, 2nd gear, less on 3rd, and a little on 4th, and it lasted like this for like thirty minutes, before a high whistling sound became a little permanent, and then the absolute end: a higher whistling sound that made me stop as i rolled to the side on neutral. after that, couldn't put it in gear, nothing..had it towed to the mechanic, transmission's gone.

    we need to complain about this to TOYOYA! trying to look for a japanese replacement....dealer had estimated costs at 3,500

    email me:
    weiom@hotmail.com
  • gnashgnash Member Posts: 3
    I have the same problem. I found a rebuilt online for $700 and bought it.
    I've scoured the web looking for a shop manual or a description of removal/installation procedures. The guy I bought it from said it was a relatively easy home job.
    Anybody have info on how to go about this job?
    Thanks.
  • firtreefirtree Member Posts: 2
    I'm considering buying a used 2005 AWD with 42K. Is this transmission problem occuring with automatic trans. or just manual? Also looking at Vibe....any info. would be great. Thanks!
  • canonlawcanonlaw Member Posts: 20
    If you email me I can email you the official service manual in PDF. It might have what you need. It tells you how to take apart the transmission and repair it, so it should probably be good enough.

    zebwainwrightATgmail.com
  • canonlawcanonlaw Member Posts: 20
    As far as I know, the problem is only the manual. If I had it to do over again, I would NOT get the manual, but I would get the AUTO, which is the only option on the AWD model. Also, the Vibe should be the same. No real problems with the auto trans there.

    I say go for it, as long as there are all the service records, or it comes with some sort of a warranty.
  • firtreefirtree Member Posts: 2
    Thanks, canonlaw for the information!
  • jamesjrjamesjr Member Posts: 1
    I have an 06 matrix with 109K miles and the problems are beginning to show up. To repair my transmission as Toyota has told me to pound sand, it will cost $2500.00. This is my second Matrix as my first was an 03. I had to replace the transmission at 124K. That car was lost in an accident. I would recommend buying a Honda Fit. Toyota is not interested in correcting the problem as less then 4% of the market share is manual transmission
  • rparrpar Member Posts: 1
    Hi:
    My problems started late Friday fortunately 1/2 km from home. Malfunction lamp came on, engine stalled at a busy crossroad, managed to start it after a few tries, limped home, checked all connections seemed okay. Dealership today afternoon says seems like a computer problem (at only 34000 kms), wait till Monday, get a rental car, pay for rental myself (I do night weekend shifts ). Called Toyota customer service. They listened to my ramblings with concern however since I had no extended warranty I do not get a rental/courtesy vehicle. Told them that extended warranty comes after your regular 60000 km warranty. They said rental depends on dealership and dealership says depends on Toyota. Told Toyota this is becoming a vicious circle and hassle. Told Toyota I am going to write a complaint and next time no Toyota vehicles for me. Never had these hassles with American vehicles. In short, no more Toyotas I would even go close to. Why I am writing this is do not think about Matrix as they are not reliable and Toyota service needs big time improvement.

    Thanks.
  • gnashgnash Member Posts: 3
    Thanks, canonlaw. Sorry for the delay in responding. I found the shop manual and decided against doing it myself after consulting a transmission shop I trust. I finally got the rebuilt installed and the total bill, including transmission, core refund, clutch and installation ... $2300 CDN ... roughly $1825US, so I think I came out pretty good, all things considered.
    I would highly recommend Kormex Transparts out of Ontario, CA. www.kormextrans.com. Ask for Lucas.
  • rschwan9rschwan9 Member Posts: 2
    Yesterday on my way to work in Minneapolis the sounds that I thought I had been hearing from my 2003 Matrix became sounds I KNEW I was hearing. LOUD and clear. Got off the interstate at my normal exit and pulled into my workplace and besides the noise there was now difficult shifting. I went into work, immediately searched for Matrix transmission noise/failure and found this blog. In reading through the pertinent posts I found that my matrix at 65K miles was an absolute textbook example of the failure. Lower rumblings weeks ago, a strange noise when backing off the throttle and just slightly louder transmission sound in general. Then, as others have pointed out, there was the clunk, the whine, the squealing all happening within my commute yesterday. During my lunch hour I limped it to the closest Toyota dealer. By that time I had printed out pages from here and from other sites. When I checked in with the service dept. I told them it was the classic Matrix 03-04 trans 5-spd. failure that is all over the web. They were very polite but did not really acknowledge that they knew of this. I left the car and got a call several hours later that the transmission was gone and would need to be replaced. Which is just what I had told them earlier. They also said in there message that a fellow from Toyota would be out today to look at it and decide if any "good will" would be available. The service guy did say that he would like me to get all my service records with regard to fluid changes to him as well. OK, I need to wrap this up. Service guy called me at 9AM this morning and said "Toyota will give you a new transmission, if you will pay for labor"...I said done deal. It will be about $900 but my own local mechanic could not even match that putting in a used tranny. It was basically done NO QUESTIONS ASKED! While it is apart I am having them do the clutch plate (at 50% wear ) and a throw out bearing. Like the service guy said, hey the labor is already being paid for in the tranny swap so all that will be is parts. So...many thanks to all of you who take the time to write here. I hope that my little story will be of some help to someone else. Oh yeah, I did ask if the new tranny going in was just another 2003 model or had it been improved, they assured me that it was a new Part NUmber and an upgrade from orig. thanks again!
  • deadMATRIXdeadMATRIX Member Posts: 1
    2004 Base Matrix 5-speed DEAD at 73K

    Found this post AFTER my tranny failed. Wish I could have found it before. Same tranny problem as everyone has had. Noise coming from engine compartment, led to a whine which led to, what sound like, pieces of my tranny falling out. After that I lost first gear. Pulled into a gas station and decided to try to hobble to the dealer. Didn't make it, tranny died and it's stuck in second. Car is at 73k and obviously out of warranty. I called Toyota and talked to a very nice guy. However..... they decided that there was nothing they could do to help me with the $3,100 tranny replacement. This was my first and will be my last toyota. Bought this car brand new, bought toyota for its reliability record, bought a P.O.S.
  • beyondredlinebeyondredline Member Posts: 1
    Hello everyone,

    My name is Tim and I work for an automotive facility in Green Bay Wisconsin. We are typically a performance shop that modifies vehicles for racing and other competitive use, however I happened to own a 2003 Matrix XR with a manual transmission. Its actually my wife's car, but for a while I had been hearing a grinding noise when the car was in gear and under power. After some research I found this thread and determined that the bearing was on its way to failure. Surprisingly our car had over 100k on it, seems like it lasted longer than others on here.

    Being that we purchased the car used and the millage I knew Toyota was not going to do anything to assist us. So i had the guys in my shop remove the transmission and check everything out. Yep, there it was a faulty bearing ready to fall apart. Called Toyota got the new bearing and had the guys put it back together with a new clutch as well.

    I see some of you have had better luck with Toyota, and others have found reman units for your cars. I found it difficult to find a unit for a reasonable price. So, I'm here to offer to anyone who is interested a rebuild service. If you are experiancing this problem please email me at: Tim@beyondredline.com and I'll be happy to provide you with a quote on rebuilding your transmission, as well as the service to remove and install your unit if you live near us. We are located in Green Bay Wisconsin. Our website is www.beyondredline.com

    Again, we are a performance shop, but because of my experience we are now fully prepared to work with you on this or any other issue you may have. Hey, we installed a supercharger on a matrix last year too...

    Thanks everyone, good luck

    Tim
  • MoretusMoretus Member Posts: 1
    Anyone had transmission problems with the 6spd? Mine has 121,000 miles on it and when it is cold it is slightly stiff and hard to shift into gear. However when the car warms up it is pretty normal. I don't seem to have any weird sounds coming from my transmission as outlined in some of the discussions.

    Do the XRS 6spd's have the same bearing issues as the 5spd's?

    Should I dump this car before it leads to bigger problems?
  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    I think everyone reporting the problem has had the 5-speed, not the 6-speed. Also, with that many miles and stiffness going into gear especially when cold, I wonder if you might not have a worn clutch.....

    2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)

  • jamborskijamborski Member Posts: 7
    Add me to the list: My 2004 toyota matrix with 92000 miles had the transmission fail yesterday, looks like another failed bearing. if there's any legal action please send me the info, I'm ready to battle it out!!
  • rschwan9rschwan9 Member Posts: 2
    Jamborski, I feel your pain and anger. I am back at post 250 here. Somewhere back in the thread there is a link to the National Transportation Highway Safety Board or whatever it is. They have an online complaint (safety concern) form you can fill out. It seems that they don't want to consider this a safety issue. Hmmmm. They replaced the bolts for my power windows because they may break the glass - under safety recall! If you ask me, a transmission failing at highway speeds is more dangerous to the driver and other vehicles around them than bad glass. Whatever. I am second owner of my 2003 and did not have service records. But Toyota gave me a new transmission (I paid labor) with no questions asked. And it is not the same 2003 transmission. I can tell by where the shifter enters the transmission etc etc....so it is a redesign of some sorts. So maybe this one will last 2 or 3 hundred thousand miles like a manual tranny should.
  • matrix09matrix09 Member Posts: 6
    Just bought 2009 Matrix - while I did research BEFORE I spent the money, I didn't catch this forum - I relied on the mainstream stuff (Consumer Reports, etc.). Man, I wish I had found this forum instead. Bottom line, I spent more than I could really afford, cut all other expenses, etc, just so I could have a reliable and safe car to help out with my grandkids. All that said, I have read the entire thread, some say that there has been a remedial bearing after 2005.

    Q: does anyone know for sure if the bearing problem has been corrected???? Is there any way to verify from Toyota what has been changed (like is it a new 9 ball bearing as opposed to the old 6 ball bearing, or whatever).

    Thank you all for having put out the information for those more diligent than I who might find it before they buy.

    dennis :confuse:
  • badmice2badmice2 Member Posts: 2
    So i've ready the board that there's a aftermarket bearing you can pickup? Does anyone know or have the part # for this? I just got quoted $3k for most likely the same tranny problem (i'm pissed right now). i'm hoping that the tranny is still in 1 piece and can make it to my mechanic so he can work on it rather than replacing my tran. Any info would help . Thanks.
  • matrix09matrix09 Member Posts: 6
    Badmice2

    Could you please tell me, what year and how many miles on your matrix?
  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    Do you have the 1.8L engine or the 2.4? This problem seems to have only occurred with 2003-2004 1.8L 5-speed Matrixes. If you have the 2.4, you have the entire powertrain shared with the Camry, including the transmission and clutch. That powertrain is not reported to have the problems being discussed here.

    If you have the 1.8, I don't think you should worry. They changed the bearing in question for the 2005 models. Certainly the '09 Matrix should not suffer from this problem.

    2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)

  • matrix09matrix09 Member Posts: 6
    Nippononly,

    Thank you so much for your post. I do have the 1.8 and manual 5 spd, so I was concerned that it might still be a problem - some of the posts don't mention what year their cars were, anyway, I certainly appreciate your information - it puts my mind at ease.

    thanks,
    dennis
  • badmice2badmice2 Member Posts: 2
    hey Matrix 09....

    I have the 04 Matrix 5 speed. I was fortunate enough to have driving mine 149k before the tranny started to go. I've sent it into the shop. The parts mgr i spoke with said he wasnt aware of after market bearings for the matrix as stated on a different post. My car can still be driven and I can still shift with relative ease. But the rattling notice is killing me.
  • hiddot84hiddot84 Member Posts: 10
    Hello, I had my second , yes, second Transmission go out in my 2003 Matrix XR 5 Speed 1.8L FWD , the first one @ 30k and the second at 120,000 (which toyota put both in for me brand new). However, I want to Convert my 5 Speed Transmission to an Automatic , and wanted to know if I could do this or not? Someone please let me know, so I don't have to spend another $2500 on a new transmission again.

    Thanks,

    frustrated matrix owner!
  • hiddot84hiddot84 Member Posts: 10
    By the way, I bought the Matrix Brand new and change the oil every 3k miles.

    thanks for any help.
  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    There's no question that replacing your manual with an automatic would cost as much as or more than replacing your manual again. Just buying the automatic transmission and having it installed would cost the $2500 or more.

    Having said that, I do wonder if it is technically feasible to do this. You would have to get the computer updated to handle the automatic transmission.

    2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)

  • matrixgirl09matrixgirl09 Member Posts: 28
    Why not trade it in or sell and get a car with an auto transmission? Wouldn't that be easier? There are tons to choose from right now.
  • jamborskijamborski Member Posts: 7
    it seems to me that Toyota gave you one of the trannys from the bad lot of bearings they received, in speaking with a transmission shop here in southern california they said that they use rebuild kits that are not toyota original parts and should hold up better. if you have another new transmission you might be able to find out when it was manufactured and if it was after 2005 you should be fine. (since none of the 2005 models have had this problem). if it was made before that then I would sell the car and if you really like the matrix then get an automatic. I have yet to replace my tranny since I have another reliable vehicle, but I'm going with a rebuilt one from the tranny shop, which comes with a one year warranty
  • steboczstebocz Member Posts: 2
    I just noticed rough jerky, shifting with my 2005 Tyota Matrix 4 speed automatic yesterday for the first time. Checked transmission fluid level stick immediately, but I found full level and clean color. Today I searched the internet and I found your notes with Matrix transmission problems. I will have the car inspected tomorrow but I'm not sure if I should go to my Toyota dealer or my independent mechanic. My Matrix has 71K miles on it. Please advise ASAP!!!!!!!!!! :sick:
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