pro710

Opening my own thread for this issue and looking for advice/assistance please...

I was totally unaware that Toyota/Scion put out a TSB for the clutch growling due to defective throwout bearing way back in February of 2013. I bought my car in March 2013 brand new.

So the noise was apparent the first year and got progressively louder each hear. Car only has 38K on the odometer (well under the maximum mileage for warranty) but we are 2 months out of the powertrain warranty as stated by Toyota on the TSB. My main complaints are that the TSB was issued before I even bought the car brand new, yet 5 years later I was still never notified of the TSB. That is total BS in my opinion. Had I know that the noise was from a defective part and was covered under warranty, I would have had the necessary repairs done when it was in warranty.

I called the TOYOTA USA service center. After 45 mins on the phone and stating the above facts, they did absolutely nothing for me. Cannot believe that is Toyota's service.

Since then I called the 2 most closest dealerships: Same outcome. I am out of warranty and I would have to pay for the full repair (about $1800) even if it was due to the defective throwout bearing as outlined in the TSB.

What a bunch of Horse SH*****!!!!

Help Please, has anyone had their dealership honor the TSB and covered the repair just outside of their warranty (I am only 2 months out of the warranty period per Toyota and the TSB)?

S-SB-0008-13 February 14, 2013
Growling Noise With Clutch Pedal Released

APPLICABLE WARRANTY
• This repair is covered under the Toyota Powertrain Warranty. This warranty is in effect for 60
months or 60,000 miles, whichever occurs first, from the vehicle’s in-service date.
• Warranty application is limited to occurrence of the specified condition described in this
bulletin.
I have this same thing on my '13 tC. I had no idea what it was and it got progressively louder.

I only have about 35K on the clock and took it in to the dealer only to be told that the 5 year 60K warranty is expired and would have to pay out of pocket!! WTF??????

I am only 3 months out of warranty as it was bought in February and they offered to do nothing free of charge.

Has anyone had any luck with TOTOTA covering this being just out of the warranty guidelines????

drizzoh

Did you bring it to the attention of the dealer prior to knowing of the TSB? If so, it should be documented in your file and you should be able to use that in your argument. If not, you might be SOL in this matter. A throwout bearing isn't a bad install, just takes a lot of time and is more work than most people want to do. It's essentially just separating the transmission from the engine and replacing the bearing that goes between where the clutch fork is.

pro710

Hey Drizz, unfortunately no.

I didn't know that the loudness was actually a problem until I found the TSB online, which at that point was 2 months out of the said 5 year 60K powertrain warranty

Still, I cannot believe that Toyota customer service wouldn't take care of me? I mean I thought the Japanese companies were were far above the American car companies in terms of loyalty and taking care of their customers (customer service issues)?

JeffLange

Have you been going to a dealer for all of your services, etc.? If so, I would speak with them regarding your concerns. If there is a history and a good relationship with the dealer, they may be able to get some goodwill assistance for your case.


Jeff

pro710

That's just it Jeff. That's exactly what they stated. I didn't come in enough, in other words they didn't get enough money from me to change my oil, rotate my tires etc. which are all things I do myself; obviously to save money since the dealer rates are sky high for everything, and secondary to make sure it's done right without any damage to the vehicle (which I've encountered just about every time I have to take one of my cars into the dealership). So for lack of spending all that extra money, they take the stance that they will not help me out, even though the issue is related to a defective part which was illustrated and spelled out by the TSB: That is utter BULLSHI**********!!!!

The decision to cover the repair or not should stem from their liability of the issue in the first place, not how many dollars they can possibly squeeze from each customer!

pro710

Update. Still no assistance from the local dealer end or Toyota Customer Service

Called another local dealer and explained my situation. He also advised that if I had brought my car in for regular service (oil changes etc) they probably would be able to help. What a bunch of CRAP!!!!!!! I do my own basic service so I can keep costs down AND to make sure it's done right with NO damage to my vehicle. 3 valid reason to not bring it in to the local dealer for routine maintenance.

Placed another call in to the 800 TOYOTA customer service relation and once again was told, sorry you are responsible for the entire repair!!!

The local dealers and Toyota Customer Service denied giving me contact information for the regional District Managers. Another crock of CRAP.. I know that they have to power to help me out but they are refusing to let me get through to them and stone walling me.

Anyone in the Illinois are have contact information for a District Manager? I might be able to get somewhere if I could get one on the phone..

StatuSCheckA

iTrader: (1)

Hey man, I just wanted to chime in..I did not read all your posts, but I got my bearing replaced VIA the Technical Service Bulletin, and 3 months later it was growling again. I just is not worth the effort to get it replaced unless your car is not drivable because of it.

They won't want to do it cause it takes like 8 labor hours, and it's just a bunch of work for a part that just costs like $100.

Note: I was well within warranty when I confronted them with the TSB in-hand.
I do not know the legalities about Toyota fixing a TSB outside of warranty. This is handled way differently than a recall. Any smart service manager would find a way to turn you away unfortunately.

pro710

WHOA Really??? This is completely disturbing!

I was lucky enough to take it to another dealer. I paid for an hour diagnosis fee and they went back to Toyota through the system and as part of a one time loyalty gesture, they are replacing the bearing through the TSB free of charge.

So doesn't the TSB state that they replace the old defective part with a new part? Read this line from the TSB below:
"Changes have been made to the input shaft rear bearing"

I mean what good is it to replace the part with the same exact thing so that the inherent problem just returns in time?

StatuSCheckA

iTrader: (1)

I understand, I don't care if it's a $20,000 car or a $800 TV. If there is documentation that there is a failed part, it should be replaced in or out out of warranty, recall or not.

As far as the part goes, I don't think it was higher quality. But I don't want them tearing my car apart again so I'll leave it since the car drives fine. (Just a bit noisy at warm idle.) I am glad they give you a loyalty gesture!

FreedomPenguin

What is this growl? I have 140k on my 13 tC. Got mine in August of 12. I mean, its always had this whine when in reverse or when I downshift at higher rpms, but to me I thought it was just the sound of the transmission.

Edit. I would get it serviced for free, but I have zero driveability issues, I believe my car is going to last 200k original clutch and all parts, I'll just have this part replaced when I get a new clutch installed one day.
Feels the same as the day I got it.

pro710

I would say if you don't hear any noise, then you don't have an issue. Drive your car and enjoy it.

UPDATE: car came out of the dealership completely wrecked. Scratches all over the car, both sides, doors, fenders and tops of headlamps scratched beyond belief. I can't believe this much damage occurred during a 1 day repair. They obviously do not care about other people's property and did not use any preventative material on the engine bay etc.

Adding insult to injury is the fact that clutch now has shuttering on initial start; like something is loose inside. The gears are now notchy and hard to put into gear where as they were smooth as butter prior to the repair. Only the noise/growling is gone, but the other symptoms appearing make us think that the repair was not performed correctly and will need additional repairs in the near future.

Anyone else experience anything like this??? Extremely frustrated at this point with the Dealer

pro710

UPDATE:

I've been using Meguire's products to get rid of most of the scratches and it's a work in progress. I've also been using Meguires plastic polish on the tops of the headlight housing. What a slow process. I have about 75% removed but the remaining scratches are deep and are very stubborn.

The last thing we noticed is that the steering wheel is out of alignment (cocked to the left). Does anyone know why that would be off center? Is it required to remove or loosen the steering assembly in performing the TSB? If so does anyone know how I can correct that?

drizzoh

You just need to have a front wheel alignment done. That will fix this.

pro710

But the car drove perfectly straight and was aligned when it went in.Why do I have to have an alignment done if that's the case.

I don't even want to think about an alignment as I have custom aluminum wheels on the car and there is no doubt that those will get damaged by the equipment they use to align cars.. Don't even want to run down that rabbit hole.... It's just asking for more damage to the car

drizzoh

Um... wheels should never be damaged by alignment equipment.

I don't know what you had done with the car, but if the front of the car came apart, control arms removed, steering rack unbolted, etc, it will need alignment to be perfect as it never goes back together 100% the same. You asked for a fix and that's the fix. Sometimes the steering wheel can be adjusted without affecting the rest of the alignment, but unless you know what bolts to look at on the steering rack from under the car that will change the steering wheels position, then there's not really any other way.

pro710

Drizz. Aluminum can be crushed very easy and the usual wheel alignment equipment is for stock OEM steel wheels. Most shops don't have the proper equipment to deal with the thin and fragile outer rims that are on custom wheels without damaging them.

Trust me, I've 2 different cars with 2 different dealerships: ended up with crushed and/or marred outside surfaces so been there done that. Now I don't trust any dealership, at least not with expensive custom rims mounted. Stock rims, another story.

UPDATE: I put the car up on the ramps and could feel metal on metal rattle with my hand placed on the bottom/tranmission mount during startup and when the car is turned off. Definitely a bolt or frame piece loose somewhere, but who knows where. There are literally tons of places under the hood and suspension that I believe were disassembled during the TSB; it's way tight under there.

I have to wait until Tuesday until my local dealer can get me in to check on it. I just pray they don't do more damage to the car and find and tighten whatever the hell is loose down there.

pro710

UPDATE:

Well I took it to the dealer and Thank God they found what was causing the rattle. The front engine mount cross bolt near the radiator was loose. They tightened it up and test drive revealed that was the cause of the vibration and rattling.

Only issue now is the notchiness in the shifter in all gears: was like butter and effort to move into any gear previously. They put 80W90 lube in the transmission per the work order but I read in other threads something about a 75W oil.

Does anyone know what the OEM viscosity of the 6 speed manual transmission is for a 2013 tC?

drizzoh

Damn.. never heard of that.. Sounds like incompetent alignment guys tbh. I've had a jillion alignments done on multiple vehicles/wheel types and never had so much as a scratch. I do go to an extremely legit shop though - one of the only places that can cater to slammed vehicles and exotics out here.

Glad you were able to get your issue sorted out. And yes the MTX does require 75w GL4 gear oil. I confirmed this at my Toyota dealership the other day when I was there.. but they don't stock that oil... wth? I've been looking for an alternative coz I've heard some aftermarkets don't feel as good as OEM.. can't seem to find OEM fluid anywhere though.

pro710

Thanks for that Drizz. I knew it called for 75W. I bet the notchiness would go away if it was refilled with 75W. The Toyota mechanic said the 80W oil was the OEM spec lubricant

drizzoh

Seems like Redline MTL might be a good option as well esp if you live somewhere cold. Just found this thread: https://www.scionlife.com/forums/sci...change-226663/

There's no coldness here in Phoenix, but I'm very interested if it helps with the idle dipping, that is super annoying lol.