Hey,
I bought a new '09 Scion TC (Manual Transmission) in March of '09.
Within 8k miles i started to have problems with the tranny. It made a whine noise when going down the road. it would sometimes lock me out of gear when trying to drive (didnt matter if i was shifting down the road or getting ready to back up out of my driveway) It also grinded into 2nd, 3rd, and reverse. I also noticed when sitting idle when the AC fan would kick on its really loud and rattles. The Toyota Dealership inspected it and replaced the entire transmission and also claimed that the noise is a typical 4 cylinder ac compressor and its nothing to be concerned. They didnt provide me any reason to the problem just stated it was maybe built on a friday and the asian workers got lazy. So I got the car back and after a few weeks it started to grind into gear again. Not as much as it was before but it was still doing it. I also noticed a burning smell as i was going down the road. (smelled like oil was burning) I took the car into the dealership several times over the past several months for these problems they stated they "could not duplicate the problem" on their repair orders however when verbally talking to them one occurance they stated that it was normal for the gears to grind this was just the way toyota was and we just didnt know any better.
Then they compared the Scion to JEEP stating their gears also grind.
Then they said well maybe we just dont know how to drive a clutch and they went on Wikipedia and printed out "how to drive a manual transmission" of course this just ____ed me off even more.
Then they said "i dont know what the problem is, you have alot of warranty left its still a new car, just keep driving it til it completely breaks and then well fix it."
Then they said another time that there was no clutch adjustment on the vehicle when we asked but in the inspection paperwork they said they checked the clutch adjustment. so does it have one or not??. I am now to the point of a Lemon Law Hearing which is this week. Any responses before thursday would greatly be appreciated. I am going aginst toyotas lawyer in front of 3 florida arbitrators. I feel that theyre going to just dismiss the whole case due to their lack of proper documenting anything besides. "operating as designed" Toyota knows what theyre doing i feel that im helpless in this case. Im not sure what else to do? This car is frustrating me! :

 

First question: Have you tried another dealer? You don't have to always take it to the dealer you bought it from?

I mean, going as far as arbitration and lawyers after only going to one dealer for service seems like kind of a waste.

Also, how long have you been driving a manual? I know people get a bit butthurt when being questioned about their driving ability, but it is a serious question... the dealer was actually right to question you if you continue to have transmission issues.

Also, have you tried to call Scion Corporate and explain your dealership problems to them? It is usually worth a try as they often may send a special tech out to take a look if needed.

 

My husband and I both drive the car and experience the same problem. Ive been operating MT vehicles since i had a drivers permit when I was a kid and same goes for him, this is nothing new to us. The fact of the matter is they already changed the transmission once. There is an apparent problem here and they always seem to make smart remarks to us.

The car has gone to the dealership 6 times for the same problem. I already had my final inspection done. I already talked to corporate. The problem has been going on since I first purchased the vehicle on March of 2009. Corporate did nothing but schedule a final inspection. They did nothing further and closed my case with them. A manager would not speakt to me. The inspector would not speak to me. I could get no answers from anyone. Toyota never responded to by BBB complaint. I already when thru the NCDS arbitration hearing with no resolution. (they based their case on documentation only)

My questions is does anyone else have these problems? Does the Scion TC have a clutch adjustment on it? Why would the dealership tell me its normal for the transmission to grind into gear? Why would they compare it to JEEP?

 

well new cars are all hydro clutches to there is no major adjustments avalible on them but there is a way to make small adjustments
http://www.club-tc.com/forums/genera...djustment.html

 

Also note that in the final inspection they found the oil to be overserviced and the tranny fluid to be slightly low.(..Good Job Toyota) im not sure if this may have caused the oil burning smell as im driving down the road but i dont know what else would cause it.

 

sorry to here your pain,but i been reading a few threads that people are having issues with the newer tc's similar to you........im not sure whats goin on,only thing i would do is try another dealership, it sucks when you buy a car then you have problems,then you have no one to turn to for help,

 

I havent been able to find any threads on the newer TC's but I have found an abundance of threads on the older TC's ranging from years 2005-2007. I can tell that I am not the only one with tranny issues. Of course alot of people mod their cars which voids their warranty, or they've been shifting at high RPM's which makes an obvious indicator when they tear apart the tranny that its been abused. My Scions just a daily commuter car to and from work everyday and it's bone stock.

 

I'm sorry to hear about the troubles you are having. If you plan on keeping it, i would recommend swapping the tranny AND the clutch. To me, it sounds like a clutch problem. If the clutch isn't fully disengaging it grinds the synchros.

 

If i can get them to change the transmission and clutch again i would. they just changed the tranny and clutch last year in september. The car is only a year old. Problem now is Toyota dosent make anything out to be an issue as they did before. Now they said the transmission grinding is normal and wont take any action towards it. So its like what do they expect me to do?.. deal with it til the warranty runs out then with my luck things will really start breaking.. thats how it always works dosent it? everything starts breaking after waranty? lol. then have bills up to my eyeballs in debt..

 

LOL they actually printed out "How to drive a MT"?






Thats hilarious. Someone at that dealership is a jokester.

 

modding a car doesnt void the warrenty unless they can provide proof that what cause the issue was something you put on (aftermarket)but they would blame it on that any how or you would put it back to stock before bringing it to the dealer,but any how even going at higher rpms wont do damage, now i can understand if your racing the car everyday or even tracking it,thats different,but in your case its something different...

ive read the main issues were on the 2007-2009..i think 2005-2006 were actually the better years for these cars......

 

lol. yes. and they also compared the Scion TC to JEEP manufacture. lol. how the hell do they relate? ...
But then when I mentioned Mitsubishi or Honda hes like no no they are completely different from Toyota. "You just dont know how a Toyota drives."

 

Sorry to hear you've been having problems with the newer tc's. I've bought mine in 08 but was considered a 09' only problem i've had is that i can hear the ac fan going on and off. Dont know if its a problem or not but it hasnt affected the car or the way it runs.

Hope you get everything solved.