BishamonMotorsports

I took my 2005 Scion tC to the dealer a few days ago to have them check out a problem I have been having with the manual transmission. It currently has about 50,000 miles on it and the powertrain warranty expires at 60k so I thought it was about time I had it looked at. At around 30,000 miles I began to notice a 'grinding' noise when shifting between 4th and 5th gear. It isn't hard to get into 5th gear, but it doesn't shift as smoothly as it should. The noise is very brief. I've also noticed that occasionally it is hard to get it into reverse. Sometimes I have to shift into another gear and back to neutral before it will let me get in reverse. This may not be related. I hadn't noticed the noise getting any worse, but decided to have it checked out anyways. The mechanic there tells me it needs to have 5th gear replaced! Fortunately it is completely covered under warranty. The parts are being ordered now and I will be having it fixed soon, but the mechanic couldn't tell me what caused the problem. Has anyone here had a similar experience or know what could have caused this? I want to make sure it is fixed correctly the first time considering I only have about 10,000 miles left under warranty. I'm also thinking I should get an extended warranty through a 3rd party. Any advice? As far as I know the clutch is fine, I forgot to ask the mechanic while I was there the other day. The clutch would not be covered under warranty so I think they would have told me this if it needed to be replaced as well. I'll post again once it is fixed if I learn anything new. Thanks

jbae1221

watching...

TylerC08

Yes, you are correct, it is not related to your transmission problem. Your owners manual explains the same procedure to try if you have that issue.

As for the the 5th gear...I'm kinda shocked but then again 5th gear on my '08 ain't butter. The tC's transmission kinda worries me here and there.

jackotamo

3-4 and 4-5 are always smooth shifts for me. 1-2 and 2-3 is only smooth if i accelerate slow but I feel like a grandma. Anyone know how to make it shift smoother without me looking like a frog?

malloynx

drivetrain problems can be caused from a number of different things. poor castings, flaws in the gear, lack of lubrication, etc.. yuo have to remember these are moving parts and anything can happen. I work at a dealership and I see this stuff everyday.. ____ happens, don't over think the situation.

I work on 100K car with worse problems and less miles.


as for the extended warrenty do your research. I have to deal with these jerks as well. They try and stiff you for every penny. Right now I have easycare for my extended warrenty, but I don't plan on using them.

akira2098

I switched to Redline MTL for the fluids, never really had a hard shift since...the stock Toyota fluid = garbage. Also I recommend shifting bushings, helps with the shifters precision...probably not by a lot, but at least you get to feel every gear a lot easier.

sciontc_mich

You're not alone! let me repeat... YOU'RE NOT ALONE!

When the tC came out in late 04, as an 05. There were MT problems all over the place. You could do a search, they're here somewhere! What happened was bad syncronizers inside the transmission. They hung up and caused the gears to grind as you were shifting. Most people who complained usually had a complete transmission swapped in and no more trouble. The clutch from what I remember wasn't the best either in the beginning. I think it's fixed now with better material.

I think toyota had a cheap supplier and some bad parts since the 08 person who posted is like "oh it's perfect" well yeah after 3 years they finally fixed it.

But when I hear of an 05 having MT trouble I'm not surprised, there were so many.. you'll get it fixed and I bet now it won't have any more trouble, keep us posted.

kuo34

'06 isn't butter either, but I've had no issues. One of the other tC drivers I see at autox has an 04 or 05 that's pretty smooth, though he's tens of thousands more miles of shifting on it.

Fluid change and shifter bushings (and a short shifter) have changed my experience too. I do recall having trouble getting into 4 from 3 during high RPM shifts. *shrug* at least she starts when I turn the key and doesn't cost $100 to fill up :D

BishamonMotorsports

First off, thanks to everyone for your responses. I searched around a little bit and found some threads on other sites that also mention bad sychronizers (although i don't really understand what one is), but I can't find anything about a full transmission replacement. As I said in my original post, it is really important to me to have this problem fixed correctly the first time. If something goes wrong with it again it will probably come after my warranty expires. If anyone knows where I can find reports of transmissions being completely replaced or other ways that the dealership has been fixing this problem it would be a big help. I may use it to leverage the dealership into doing something similar. Then again, this may be overkill for the problem I'm having. I really don't know. I got a voicemail from the dealership today. I guess the parts are probably in and I will be calling tomorrow to set up an appointment.

akira2098

I have an 06' and it definitely isn't butter like kuo34 said. Especially when the tranny is really cold, its like metal on metal sometimes. But yeah I agree with the (TRD) quick shifter, bushings and fluid change help make the experience a better one. That's pretty much the trick I had to pull to make it an enjoyable ride.

DToX69

I have an 05 and I get the grinding sound when i shift quickly from 2nd to 3rd and first time i thought i might not of had the clutch pressed fully but after a couple times i knew it wasnt my fault :/ I got the fluid changed and new bushing and ehh still happens if i am shifting fast :/ i guess i need to have my tranny looked at before it gets worse

sciontc_mich

you're welcome for the help, a quick search on scionlife.com turned this link up

https://www.scionlife.com/forums/vie...on+replacement

gwtc was the member who had it replaced, it seems it takes a little prodding because it's easier than having to rebuild it all. but i just searched in the tC forums for "transmission replacement" and found that.

as far as syncronizers aka "syncros" they are simply a gear that spins up the gears to match the input shaft speed so you dont have a grinding noise. When they go bad, the gears gnash right into the input shaft. Could do a search on the web for a better explanation.

I would also make sure to keep your repair information, in case it goes bad again you can use it to support your claim that it's bad again, like it was before.

gwtc

iTrader: (4)

Yup...had mine changed twice at the dealer, I'm on my 3rd manual transmission, I had the same issues with the first 2, I think it was 3rd gear that grinded on the first trans. and 4th gear on the second.

Diluvium

im one of the old folks who has their tC (05) first day at the dealership and i do agree the clutch has been grinding sometimes no matter how legit you shift into gear.

every now and then between 3-5th gears, i would "properly" shift into those gears and all the sudden it just grinds. even when i press the clutch back in i would also have to put the gear back in neutral to get rid the grinding and shift again. this grind doesnt happen consecutively but its just a one time every now and then thing (maybe 1-2 a month).

i've had people who recently driven in my car claiming my clutch is wearing out! maybe it is but the car is adjusted to me so shifting smoothly/properly is easily done by me.

i just changed my transmission fluid with MT-90 and it feels brand new again. i have yet felt any grinding or anything close to grinding yet.

and if you bought a used manual car, your bound to have problems anyway. but if its new and if your problem is worser then mines then you really messed up your transmission.

BishamonMotorsports

Well, I took the tC into the dealership to have it fixed yesterday. They replaced 5th gear, and it feels like new : ) I'm sure the repair (5th gear only) has some kind of warranty though I don't know for how long. I let the mechanic know I was concerned about the synchronizers going out prematurely in the other gears after my warranty expires in about 10,000 miles. He told me there wasn't much they could do about that unless something actually goes wrong. Currently there has not been any recall related to these synchronizers. Based on what I've read in several forums online I think it is a pretty common problem, although maybe not enough to warrant a recall. So, to any of you who are experiencing a similar problem I would say take it to a shop now! Don't wait for your warranty to expire. This would have been a VERY expensive fix had it not been under warranty. I'm going to look into extended warranty options because I think there is atleast a 50% chance that I will be having a similar problem with another gear within the next 50,000 miles. Transmission work gets expensive fast. I'm also considering writing a letter to Toyota, just so that I have some documentation of this concern should I have a similar problem out of warranty. Thanks to all of you who have posted replies.

TylerC08

Thanks for the update!
Yesterday I rolled down my windows, turned off the a/c and radio so I could listen to some of my shifts. No matter the gear, I could easily hear the synchros with the windows up or down. The sound is too raw and metallic to be considered 'normal operation'.
I'll probably be scheduling an app. to tighten my suspension down along with inspecting the transmission sometime soon.

rosedaleny806

yea the Tc tranny feels weird to me 1 to 2 isnt smooth if i gun it and same wit 2 to 3 but if u drive decently like ur grandmother would then its smooth sailing but grinding from 4th to 5th is weird? ive actually noticed that when im driving on 5th gear my shifter kinda moves a tiny bit when i tap the gas or even let go of the gas not like a crazy jerk but i feel the shifter move while im in 5th. does any1 else feel that ?

TylerC08

I have seen the shifter move a tiny bit while in 5th gear when pressing or releasing the gas pedal. I believe that is normal for almost every transmission. Are you resting your hand on the shifter while driving?

rosedaleny806

^ thats exactly wat i see and i leave my hand on the shifter on 5th and noticed it its nothing big i jus never realzied it was doin it lol i think it might be normal for our cars sum1 told me "oh it means u need new tranny mounts"

oh yeah and i definatly gotta tightne up the suspension after that thread i read today about that lol

TylerC08

I wouldn't worry so much about the shifter moving a tiny bit but resting your hand on the shift **** while in gear isn't the best thing for your transmission.