lost1nceaga1n

i know the life of my auto transmission is slowly but surely comming to an end. When the auto transmission breaks down I was wondering would it be cheaper to just get a transmission swap or get a new auto transmission.
The reason I ask is because i know that my xA is already @ its half life. I dont want to pay a grip of money for an auto replacement if the manual would be a lot cheaper.

anyone know how much it would cost? any ideas? thanks!

TheScionicMan

Most people just get it repaired. What makes you think it's used up?

How many miles do you have? Are you doing something to cause it's death besides driving it?

There's more parts and issues to a swap than just the cost of the tranny, but that's another thread, literally...

Wreck

I don''t know exactly what to say to you but how the hell did you messed up your trans with a half-life to go?

Well it really depends on how you feel about your car, you can buy a New, Rebuild or Used "if you can find a used one right now". If you love your car so much i would just wait until the trans blow up then buy a New one (if the engine is still good).

Its funny that your trans is messed up, you ask me i don't know? No offense but you probably don't care about your car, you just have to take an easy on your car bro!

ONE ADVICE: (EVEN THOUGH I DRIVE A MANUAL TRANSMISSION)
Don't change your gear while the car is moving, your have to wait until the car is completely stop. For Example: Getting out or parking in any parking area, you have to first press the brake all the way in then put in to any gear to Reverse or Drive. Maybe you always changing your gear to D-2-L while your driving. This little things can really mess up your trans. SO PLEASE DON'T DO ANY OF THIS TASK FOR ALL THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION DRIVERS!

lost1nceaga1n

sorry i guess i made it sound like its messed up. right now my transmission is running great... im just thinking in the future. right now my xA is a little over 150,000 miles. It stills runs great, i take care of my car! but knowing its an auto transmission im sure it wont last another 150,000 miles.
my granpda drives an echo and it now has over 300,000 miles, well it did until he crashed it a few weeks ago. He abuses that thing though, so im surprise it got that much. thats toyota for you, dependable.
Im just wondering in the future if my transmission goes out would it be cheaper to change it to manuel. My dad had a civic 4-door and the transmission went out, it cost him, if i remember right, around $3000 to fix. I over heard some people saying that a swap would only cost about 1000 (not on the civic, this was another car). So im just wondering if its the same for the xA. Also since im sure there arnt that many parts going around for the scion xa yet since the car has only been around in the US for 2 years.

my question was would it more inexpensive to just get a swap or get a new transmission auto. I know NOTHING about transmissions... =\ If anyone knows the price ranges it would be great. thanks!

bubblemyster

i would like to know as well. Wow. 150k miles. I plan on keeping my tC until it becomes a rusty pile of crap. Its sentimental value. First car. What can I say.

djct_watt

Just so you know, you don't have to push the brake pedal "all the way" when shifting. You only need to push so much as to prevent the vehicle from moving.

And on shifting from D-2-L. . . mechanically, this no different in any shape, form, or manner than when the transmission does it on its own, when you step on the gas. However, miss-shifting will result in damage (which is impossible in most newer cars, as electronic safety control prevent you from doing this). But those who tend to use the shifter usually use it often, which equates to more shifts than average. If you were to constantly brake and slam on the gas, you would do EXACTLY the same kind of damage.

djct_watt

To maintain the longevity of your auto tranny

1. Avoid aggressive driving behavior
2. ALWAYS use the parking brake when parking. . . that's why it is called a parking brake. Using the park gear only rest the weight of the car on a tiny peg in the tranny.
A. Stop the car (hold foot on the brake)
B. Shift into park (still holding the brake)
C. Apply parking brake
D. Release brake pedal
3. Never shift to any of the following gears while moving:
Park, Reverse, or Drive.
4. Avoid shifting into neutral, unless the vehicle is stopped for a long period, or as necessary.
5. Avoid burning the auto tranny fluid, and change it often. This is usually caused from aggressive driving and/or using both feet to drive (T/C wear on launch).
6. Never do any of the following:
power braking, neutral dropping, and otherwise abusive behavior

this is all considering that you actually WANT to make your tranny last longer.

bblhed

150,000 Miles! Where did you go? I hope you had fun. I only put like 20,000 a year on my car and I drive 60 miles a day round trip for work.

Best advice, read the manual and folow the instructions on maintance and care. Odvously anything will last longer if you take care of it and don't abuse it.

As for the Automatic to Manual swap, there are a lot of isues with that swap you may not be ready for, the worst being you may not have a pilot bushing holder in your crank shaft. On the other hand the Automatic transmition has come a long way over the years and can last as long as a stick. Clutches are another mater, you are looking at changeing those about every 100,000 to 150,000 miles unless you do all highway driving.

My advice is to stick with the Automatic, keep up with the maintance and get it rebuilt when it dies. No mater what you hear it is nearly imposable to get your hands on a brand new transmition, this is mostly because the housings are cast and auto makers just don't want to cast a lot of extras.

Good Luck. 150,00 Miles on an 04, WOW!

TheScionicMan

There's no way a tranny swap would be cheaper unless you bought an entire wrecked manual tranny car for next to nothing. Besides the tranny, you need the ECU and pedal mechanisms, cabling,etc. as opposed to someone cracking open the tranny finding THE failed part and fixing it. There's enough labor invloved in a repair, you don't want to start paying someone hourly to customize your car to save money...

bbcrud

If you're taking care of your car, especially all scheduled maintenance, I don't know why you can't take your car out to 3 or 4 hundred thousand miles. We (almost routinely) take trade-in Toyotas with 250-300K on them and, in most cases, they've been driven by multiple drivers.