Scion tC Manual Transmission Problem
 

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

watching...

Re: Scion TC Manual Transmission Problem
 

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.

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?

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.

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.

Re: Scion TC Manual Transmission Problem
 

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.

'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

Re: Scion TC Manual Transmission Problem
 

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.

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.

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

Re: Scion TC Manual Transmission Problem
 

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.

Re: Scion TC Manual Transmission Problem
 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 ?

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?

^ 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

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

hmm i always have my hand on my shifter.... whys that bad?

too lazy to read

synchro's?

lol so my hand which isnt like pushing it up or down and just resting is going to affect synchros...... i doubt it show me a study done on this or im calling BS

^ not aslong as ur not pressing down on it hard i dont do that more like resting it on to like shift or sumthing

You may call it bs, I have no control over what you believe/don't believe on the forums. Manuals from previous German/import cars that I have owned stated in bold letters to not put any body weight on the shifter for long periods of time.

The weight of your arm, unconscious movements, imo can wear any moving parts inside the transmission. Myth or not, I would simply play it safe and use the arm rest which was put there for a reason.

A couple days ago I went to Toyota concerning rough and 'noisy' shifts. They looked it over for an hour or so. In the mean time, the mechanic at the service desk commented on the number of Scion tC owners concerned about their transmissions. Supposedly there has been an abnormal amount of customers with this complaint. I guess that was good news and bad news at the same time. Anywho, I got my car back and the service man at the desk asked me whether I race or put a lot of in-town miles on. Never race and I am only on the highway 24/7. Turns out at 6,500 miles I needed a transmission fluid change. Horrible viscosity with an extremely dark color. Mechanics were pretty confused but didn't have much of a reason as to why this happened. Drove off with my car shifting smoother than I did 2 hours earlier...

I had my trans fluid changed a month ago and i still once in awhile get it to grind from 2nd to 3rd, i dont want to bring it in yet because i cant make it happen everytime.... sometimes it does and other times it doesnt :/ so eventually it will get worse and hopefully i can show a technician what happens

on a side note i do rest my hand on the shifter and the armrest because thats whats comfortable to me :/ i dont shake my are or jerk it while driving, but if anything bad comes from it ehhh whatever ill learn then :)

my tranny has been doing this the last 500 mile or so, i've got a 2007 and 35k miles on it. i drive the car about 1 or 2 days a week. i press the clutch all the way down and it grinds as if you let go to soon.

yeah i grind from 1st to 2nd. i took it into the dealer and what do you know, the car didn't make the noise. as soon as i drove it off the lot and shifted into 2nd, it grinded. son of a b!tch car.

I noticed it only happens after a cold start, like i wake up in the morning and drive to work and if i shift quickly i get it 2nd to 3rd but it has never happened after the car was running for awhile :(

Well I guess i am not alone on this one, My transmission is ____ed I believe and I SOOOOOO hope it is, because the representative at Toyota told me that if it was the clutch my extended warranty wouldn't cover it because that would be considered normal wear. I am sitting at 43,258 miles or so and my car is a 2007 tC. If it is my clutch, then I call it bull____!!! My old 86 Accord clutched lasted waaaaaaaay longer than that 140,000 miles to be exact. So right now I'm waiting to the dealership to call me back to see what's up with my car. If it is, in fact, my transmission then I give a -10 to Toyota for poor quality and will soon get rid of the car and go to a competitor. but then again we will have to wait and see.

Symptoms:

-Clutch feels normal and so does the shifting
-When I let the clutch go to launch the car, the car will not move and you can hear a grinding sound coming from the tranny.
-And last but not least.... the car simply won't GO

o wow mine doesnt do that and my clutch is at 80k stock. i noticed on cold days shifting to 3rd feels a bit rougher but goes away

mhh idk... kinda disappointed right now... my car made it to the dealership so they will call me later... today, tomorrow, whenever to see what's up

i feel like this is one of those support groups for addictions lol
[stands up] "hi my names dan and my trans sucks and toyota screwed me."
[monotone response from crowd] "hi dan"

lol

wow, i totally forgot about this thread lol.... well it turned out to be my clutch, the ____er broke, literally broke, the center piece of the clutch broke off the friction plate, so it would take gear just fine, but when it was time to launch only the center piece would spin, that was the grinding noise I was hearing...oh and my fly wheel had too many burnt spots so they claimed the could not resurface it... oh well... well this is the shocker... they wanted 1600 to replace the bad parts including labor and all that funky jazz, this is with stock clutch, I called turbochargers.com and they would have charged me 1300 with a stage 3 clutch and a lightweight flywheel... well, when I came to pick up my car, my car from the dealership to take it to turbochargers, my front suspension was just being held by 2x4s axles hanging and such, i didn't realize that to get to the clutch, you gotta remove the tranny... duh!!!! lol, and they wanted 600 already for the labor, and like 300 to put it all back together (with the broken parts) so I said screw it, too much money already, so I ended up leaving it there at the dealership and I had them do what they needed to do, I just wanted my car back and running at that point, but I told them I wanted the TRD clutch put on the car instead of the stock one, so the total price for all that mess was a little over $2100 so they not only fingered me, they fisted me with sandpaper, and of course warranty did not cover the clutch, reason is because my extended warranty does not cover wear and tear/parts, even though I have never ever seen a clutch break like that, obviously manufacturer deffect. I have several friends with turbo and still with the stock clutch, no problem, only the normal wear from the clutch whenever it slips.... I guess Imy case was a special case... so lesson learned and 2100 bucks poor.

for those who had change to the redline gear oil is probably causing the grinding i say that cause when you go from oem to redline..it doesnt mix very well at first you feel a difference but after about 2k miles problems start to arise it happen to me i talk to a few people who had the same problems that couldnt get into gears and grinding and i found out to use eneos gear oil it works much much better then redline you feel the difference 100x better then the redline and mixes better with the oem but after awhile the oem or redline will eventually disappear....then you can continue using it..

quit racing, and down shifting.. end of story, honda style powershifting not letting off on the gas thats whatsup

manual falls out of 5th
 

I have nearly 67K on my '05 TC. I had noticed the 'movement' of the gear shifter knob when in 5th gear but never thought much about it. Then today, I was on the highway with my cruise set at 70mph and out of nowhere it just slipped out of 5th gear into neutral. Since I was in cruise, my car was trying to keep the speed at 70mph, so my RPMs start soaring until I disengage cruise. Since then, I haven't been able to keep the car in 5th gear unless I physically hold the gear shift in 5th gear. If I take my hand off and press the gas, it will fall into neutral. I'm going to take it to the dealer tomorrow and see what they have to say. 1-4 gears are all good, it's just 5th. For those of you who have noticed the movement in 5th when you press the gas, I would take it seriously and have it checked out. You may end up with the same problem as me.

glad i have an 07! I have only grinded 3rd cause i wasnt in gear fully when i let off the clutch. Other than that I dotn like the extreme torqueyness(< LOL) of 1st gear! But i do need to switch to eneos if there is a big improvement over stock.

I have an 05 tC with 130K miles, I have gone through 3 transmissions, the first one would grind into 5th gear at high RPM's, the second one would grind into second and now the one I have now grinds when down shifting into 3rd gear, WTF?.....I guess the 05's tranny is just a piece of junk due to cheap synchros.