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Comments
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
I am thinking of getting a 2004 Matrix XRS manual with 55k miles. It is a great deal and I am buying it from a reputable repair shop. They claim it is in great shape and has many more miles in it. For comparison, I am currently driving a 1996 Civic I bought new.
So...is 55K too many miles to be purchasing a Matrix with? Sounds like there is a good chance of the transmission going soon? This is the 6 speed, anyone know of any other persistent problems with this make/model/year?
Thanks so much in advance....
I still would agree with the previous poster though, and only buy it if it has a 100,000 mile warranty on the powertrain. And if the clutch fails, put a beefier aftermarket one in it.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Good Luck getting her back to life
Took the car to local transmission place and he removed the trans. and inspected. Found the output shaft bearing failed and parts of it were eaten up by a couple of the syncro's. Clutch only about 1/2 worn out. Quoted $2000 plus tax to rebuild with new syncro's and bearings and about $2500 plus tax to include clutch, etc...
and also comes with an 18 month/unlimited mileage warranty after the rebuild.
Also asked him to use Redline MT-90 trans. fluid when finished rebuilding.
Never expected to be doing a transmission in a Toyota - especially before it would need a clutch. Most of my cars in the last 20 years have been standards and I've never even needed to do a clutch on one. Did an automatic transmission in a Bonneville last year at this time. That was not so unexpected.
I'm disgusted to say it, but we had a Neon that ended up with 230,000km on it when we got rid of it, and it never needed a new clutch or transmission. Now if you want to talk about head gaskets...
At the moment I am guessing a bad throw-out bearing but I wonder what the apparent temperature sensitivity implies. This is a 2005 Matrix with only 43K on it. I've been scanning this forum and it seems for the most part these tranny problems are only supposed to occur in '03 and '04 models. Is my car proof Toyota hasn't rectified the problem?
I wonder if they will cover it for free under the powertrain warranty - after all, it is not the same thing as a worn clutch. They really should cover it.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
I need advice: What transmission should I get? Is Automatic better than the Manual in the later models? I pay cash for cars, so I have been saving for a long time for this vehicle....should I even consider a Matrix anymore? I want something to last for a LONG time like my current car, which is a Toyota Camry that is 19 years old.
Thank you
For a few days, I was hearing that distant grinding sound from the motor and I finally stopped to a small neighborhood garage to have it test driven by a mechanics. His diagnostic was very clear: transmission bearing failure. He called me an hour later telling me transmission had to be opened and bearing replaced for about $1200.
So I decided to take the car to the dealer where I bought it and have always have it serviced to know how much they would charge me. And to tell them I was quite surprised with such an important failure at 170,000km.
When I told the service manager what my problem was, he looked at me with the same surprised expression I would have expected from him if I had told my car was able to fly. As if it was the first time he heard of such a problem on a Matrix. Coincidence, a mechanic entered the client area from the garage, saw his face and asked what was happening. He had to tell him I had a problem with my transmission bearing. «Oh, I'm not surprised, we have changed quite a few of them».
Isn't that funny? It looks like they don't give the mechanic the same training they give the front desk people!
And the training they give them doesn't look very good either, because when I asked if it would be better to install a used transmission instead of fixing mine, he answer me that a used one would be likely to break again pretty soon...
So Toyota people seem to have humoristic aptitudes. And according to what I just read on tha forum, I guess I will receive that kind of answer to the mail I sent to Toyota.ca this afternoon: «We have received quite many complains about that bearing failure on 2004 manual Matrix, but we maintain our point: there is no reported problem with that transmission.»
I'm really looking forward to reading their real answer...
Good luck!
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
If any of you find any sort of recourse for this.. please let me know. I am tired of mooching off others to get places.
Ironic they replace the bolts in the windows but obviously there are issues with the tranmissions (which they deny when I emailed Toyota). :mad:
Good luck!
to neutral on itrs own Any ideas Only has 67k miles
out of warranty
I have a 2003 5 speed matrix and the tranny failed at 102,000+/- miles. I am in CA, so rebuilding mine would be pretty hard to do unless I somehow ship it to you...I was wondering...do you sell overhauled trannys for this model car at all? I need to have my mechanic here look at what's left of the tranny before I can safely say that it's shot completely, but I bet money it is.
If you have any suggestions, please let me know!
Thanks in advance.
Sincerely,
Sara Keil
keilse01@verizon.net
Is this really a Toyota? I could get better reliability out of a chinese engineered look alike! JUNK
The reply from Toyota.ca to my question about their responsability with that transmission problem was as expected: «We are not aware of any common problem with the Matrix transmissions».
So I reply to them telling my thoughts about their attitute. And went to have my car fixed. It has finaly been done by an independant mechanic, because my Toyota dealer asked too much and insisted to change the clutch as well (it was finaly only 25% worn).
Meanwhile, I received another message from Toyota. They replied to my second message telling me they opened a file for my case.
Two weeks later, a phone call from them: they offer me the parts, I pay the labour. I asked how much was the part: $2800CA they said. So I guess it was a new transmission. But when I finaly said I had my car fixed with an independant, they said they can't do anything for me. Bye, file closed.
So clearly, they know there is a problem even if they deny it first. To me, it looks like a strategy to wait that long before admiting their fault and compensate for it.
I have transmited my whole case to the APA. They were very interested and mentionned they receive many complains regarding those transmissions. And they were not surprised Toyota did their offer by phone. And as they predicted, Toyota did not reply to me by writen, even if I asked for it and even if they said they would.
If you hear your transmission start to make a very faint and distant noise, act fast with Toyota so they will have time to answer before you fix everything...
And by the way, I have friends that work in different media dedicated to automobile and for sure, I will manage to have that story reported so people know what to do. And who they deal with.
One last thing: I have two friends who followed my case closely. Both have old Toyotas, a Tercel and an Echo. One will switch to Hyunday, the other to Honda. That doesn't put a cent in my pocket, but it doesn't put any in Toyota's either!
There were no transmission problems until at 205,000 miles in May 2009 a rattle developed when the car was moving and in gear. It went away when the clutch was pushed in. Two shops thought that it was the flywheel going bad, so I had the flywheel and clutch replaced for $1K. That didn't stop the rattle and the suggestion was a bad bearing(s). With another 1,000 miles of driving the rattle was getting worse, but the car still drove OK. After reading about the 2003 Matrix manual transmission experiences on this thread and elsewhere, it began it began to look like this could cost about $2-3K more and be time consuming. I'll be driving a lot this summer and needed a car right away. So, I traded in the 2003 Matrix for a 2009 Honda Fit. (I love the Fit, although its seats aren't as comfortable as the Matrix.)
I only got a $2,500 trade in on the Matrix due to its transmission problems and some minor body problems. But, that was about what I expected based on the used car price calculators here at Edmunds. My Matrix was a great car and I got my money's worth from it! I'm sorry that many of you have had transmission problems and feel fortunate that mine didn't happen until high mileage.
A note to other victims of this crackerjack transmission: I just got off the phone with Toyota's national customer service line. The woman I spoke with said that there is no documentation of a similar problem with the 2003 Toyota Matrix 5 speed, so there was nothing they could do to help me. I know that there is an acceptable amount of complaints that they will field before acknowledging the defect or issuing a recall, but she told me that it was confidential how many complaints there have been so far. Because I haven't taken the car to a dealer to be serviced (and pay twice as much), they were unwilling to offer any help through their "goodwill" program. I am in law school and told the woman that in two years I will be an attorney and have nothing better to do with my time than spend the next two years researching this and mounting a case. I was hoping that would have had a more dramatic effect, but she just cheerfully thanked me for calling Toyota. Oh well. I encourage everyone on this site to call Toyota and lodge their complaint. While there will likely not be any immediate relief, at least there will be a record. Maybe one day we can file a class action suit for the defective bearings. I am not imagining anything big or dramatic, but if there are enough people with the same problem, we could at least collect what we have paid on the part and the service. That number is 1-800-331-4331. In the meantime, everyone should keep a copy of all service records and detailed accounts of conversations with any Toyota employees and what they have said.
The other consideration is that if the transmissions are giving out at or around 100,000 miles, there may be a lot of Matrix owners who have yet to reach that mileage. So, this could just be the beginning of a huge problem for Toyota.
Good luck to everyone.
When I get my car back next week, I will post a follow up of what the mechanic said.
Update when you can,
T.
I took my car in to the dealer the next day, but they were unable to get the problem to recur, and so just charged me for the test drive and sent me home with my car. They questioned whether I could have bumped the stick, or not had it completely in gear... The conclusion (for them) was that it was a "freak" occurrence. (I had made mention to the service person about having read about transmission problems on the net, and that I had found another person with the exact same problem. They didn't offer any response to that.)
I took my car on a 3 hour trip the following weekend, and the "spontaneous shifting" happened again (from 4th to neutral), twice in succession. I was going up an incline on the highway.
On my return, I checked out this site again, and read even further back in the postings. I came across one posting in which the NHTSA site was given. I went to that site and it looked as though this was the organization that investigated the power window regulator bolt problem on the Pontiac Vibe. I'm wondering if this is what led to the subsequent recall. I found no investigations on their site looking into the Matrix transmission problems or bad bearings. Has anyone submitted a request for an investigation yet?
I'm including the website here, again:
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/index.cfm
I'm heading back to the dealer again. We'll see what they say this time...
T.
I am going to pursue this with the attorney general's office and through the online link that someone provided a few posts back. I am also going to call Toyota and update my complaint file. I like to think that I have better things to do with my time, but I am done accepting poor quality products from huge companies that rely on consumer laziness to protect themselves from any sort of repercussions from their crappy products.
I was looking forward to buying a 04 toyota matrix . Can I know that does the transmission problems both in manual and automatic.
Can I also know of the little troubles faced in automatic transmission if u know them. I agree with your statement regarding stick shift option but actually I have a 04 deal available to me in automatic transmission currently.
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/index.cfm.
(Sorry, I can't get it in blue to link, please just copy.) There are currently 22 complaints on the manual transmissions of 2003 and 2004 Toyota Matrixes. (Under the "Components" category, go to Powertrain.) They also give an 800 number if you prefer to call in. Enough complaints can trigger a recall. We need to really push on this. It is outrageous nad it could result in someone's death.
Also call or write or use your State's Attorney General's website to file a complaint. Write to your congressman. If this site alone has 32 pages of complaints, think of how many people must have been screwed.
Further, I am thinking of contacting an attorney for a class action. Please let me know if you are interested.
My 2003 Matrix has only between 62,000 and 63,000 miles. Now I'm supposed to put in another $4000 on a new transmission - the bearings are shot. I don't have $4000 laying around. Further, the dealer was trying to find a used one to put in - it would have the same problems as the old and I'd be paying another $4000 in a very short time.
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/index.cfm.
(Sorry, I can't get it in blue to link, please just copy.) There are currently 22 complaints on the manual transmissions of 2003 and 2004 Toyota Matrixes. (Under the "Components" category, go to Powertrain.) They also give an 800 number if you prefer to call in. Enough complaints can trigger a recall. We need to really push on this. It is outrageous.
Also call or write or use your State's Attorney General's website to file a complaint. Write to your congressman. If this site alone has 32 pages of complaints, think of how many people must have been screwed.
Further, I am thinking of contacting an attorney for a class action. Please let me know if you are interested.
My 2003 Matrix has only between 62,000 and 63,000 miles. Now I'm supposed to put in another $4000 on a new transmission - the bearings are shot. I don't have $4000 laying around. Further, the dealer was trying to find a used one to put in - it would have the same problems as the old and I'd be paying another $4000 in a very short time.
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/index.cfm.
(Sorry, I can't get it in blue to link, please just copy.) There are currently 22 complaints on the manual transmissions of 2003 and 2004 Toyota Matrixes. (Under the "Components" category, go to Powertrain.) They also give an 800 number if you prefer to call in. Enough complaints can trigger a recall. We need to really push on this. It is outrageous.
Also call or write or use your State's Attorney General's website to file a complaint. Write to your congressman. If this site alone has 32 pages of complaints, think of how many people must have been screwed.
Further, I am thinking of contacting an attorney for a class action. Please let me know if you are interested.
My 2003 Matrix has only between 62,000 and 63,000 miles. Now I'm supposed to put in another $4000 on a new transmission - the bearings are shot. I don't have $4000 laying around. Further, the dealer was trying to find a used one to put in - it would have the same problems as the old and I'd be paying another $4000 in a very short time.