Amazing Tranny Discovery
05-11-2018, 05:12 PM
#1
Junior Member
SL Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 4
Amazing Tranny Discovery
2010. Scion xD with 270K miles.Automatic.
Recently I've had the car hesitate slightly, be slow to respond when I give the car mixed messages. For example, I'll hesitate, pause as I enter a freeway ramp, press the gas - and the car aces in neutral before shifting into gear. Then, today, I suddenly get both my check engine and traction control light on.
Within 5 miles of this happening, I pull into my dealer. As I type, the tech is checking to see if he fixed the problem.
What has been found so far? The sealed transmission - NO dipstick, NO drips or signs of leakage - was bone dry. Not a drop of ATF.
I'm to believe that I drove over a quarter million miles with a dry transmission? Wow. If so, this is one neck of an engineering feat - an manufacturing defect!
I'll post more as I learn more.
Recently I've had the car hesitate slightly, be slow to respond when I give the car mixed messages. For example, I'll hesitate, pause as I enter a freeway ramp, press the gas - and the car aces in neutral before shifting into gear. Then, today, I suddenly get both my check engine and traction control light on.
Within 5 miles of this happening, I pull into my dealer. As I type, the tech is checking to see if he fixed the problem.
What has been found so far? The sealed transmission - NO dipstick, NO drips or signs of leakage - was bone dry. Not a drop of ATF.
I'm to believe that I drove over a quarter million miles with a dry transmission? Wow. If so, this is one neck of an engineering feat - an manufacturing defect!
I'll post more as I learn more.
05-11-2018, 08:01 PM
#2
Junior Member
SL Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 4
Follow-up:
YES there is a dipstick.
Once filled, the Tranny had definite leak at axle seal. Axle had tool marks from being beat into place. Burned fluid residue on exhaust pipe.
Almost certainly this happened when car had accident repair (hit to side at front tire). Axle had been removed to replace suspension parts.
Shop that did front end work last January will replace seal and axle. Dealer may have been overly pessimistic.
YES there is a dipstick.
Once filled, the Tranny had definite leak at axle seal. Axle had tool marks from being beat into place. Burned fluid residue on exhaust pipe.
Almost certainly this happened when car had accident repair (hit to side at front tire). Axle had been removed to replace suspension parts.
Shop that did front end work last January will replace seal and axle. Dealer may have been overly pessimistic.
05-14-2018, 10:10 PM
#3
Junior Member
SL Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 4
The shop that had worked on the car after my accident have repaired it. I am told the seal and axle were replaced.
Over the weekend I drove nearly 1000 miles on the bad seal. No drips on my driveway and the fluid level remained full. I suspect the dealer put too much fluid in, and the excess is what leaked.
The front-end shop speculates they may not have topped off the fluid during the initial repair. The burnt residue on the exhaust pipe suggests a very small amount leaked out in the past four months.
Maybe no one checked the fluid level in the THREE times I've had routine maintenance performed since the accident. (I drive 350 miles daily) .
Only recently did I occasionally hear a gurgling sound. I thought my water pump was going bad. Instead, my Tranny was low on fluid. There is no such sound now.
I don't know what triggered the check engine light, but it appears the light prevented serious damage.
I am disappointed in the dealer, and may write them in detail. Bad diagnosis followed by excessively negative prognosis.
Now that the shop has returned the car, it feels like they replaced my solid mare with a frisky pony$
Over the weekend I drove nearly 1000 miles on the bad seal. No drips on my driveway and the fluid level remained full. I suspect the dealer put too much fluid in, and the excess is what leaked.
The front-end shop speculates they may not have topped off the fluid during the initial repair. The burnt residue on the exhaust pipe suggests a very small amount leaked out in the past four months.
Maybe no one checked the fluid level in the THREE times I've had routine maintenance performed since the accident. (I drive 350 miles daily) .
Only recently did I occasionally hear a gurgling sound. I thought my water pump was going bad. Instead, my Tranny was low on fluid. There is no such sound now.
I don't know what triggered the check engine light, but it appears the light prevented serious damage.
I am disappointed in the dealer, and may write them in detail. Bad diagnosis followed by excessively negative prognosis.
Now that the shop has returned the car, it feels like they replaced my solid mare with a frisky pony$
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
RnB180
Scion tC 1G Owners Lounge
4
08-07-2008 07:35 PM