2001 Transmission Failure

mark2119 · #1 (**permalink**) 05-03-2008, 06:09 PM

Just had to report that I had a transmission fail on a 2001 2WD extended cab Tundra SR5 at 110,000 miles. I towed a little with it, nothing too extereme just a 23' boat every couple of months. Got the tranny flushed at 60,000 by a dealer. Strange thing was the Toyota mechanics told me after the flush the fluid would look milkey and not to worry about it!!!(WTF???) I do live in South Flordia, so this truck has been through many hurricanes with salt water damage. After every hurrcane I did pressure wash then spray corrosion cleaner under the truck. I did have to replace the alternator after Hurrcane Wilma. This would be the downside of having the alternator on the bottom of the sepentine configuration. However, dummy me never flushed the tranny after all these storms. I have heard a lot of these 2001 trannys failing, so not sure if the final result was a weak tranny or salt water in the tranny. I figure if salt water did get in there it might have been through the overflow hole. One day the truck started shifting hard and slipping in 1st gear. Next day I took the day off to drive to the dealer in Miami. Got in the truck that morning and the truck wouldnt move at all while cold!!! After 30min idle, barley drove the truck 5 miles to the local shop. During the trip the check engine light did come on. We put the truck on the lift and dropped the tranny pan and the fluid look like silt. You could also smell the burned clutch. Hooked the laptop to the ECU and found tranny servo #2 in alarm. Rode my motorcycle to the local tranny shop to pick his brain. He had apperently rebuilt a half dozen tundra trannys in the last year (weak OD planitary gears) and told me to just let him rebuild it or get a rebuild. The local general mechanic advised I research Jasper Trannys. Clean rebuilds from a factory with a 100,000 mile warrenty. $500 more than the local rebuild, but the warrenty made it worth it. So I went with the Jasper tranny. Two days the shop got in the new tranny and it was ready by that afternoon. Took it out for a spin and the difference was mindblowing. It shifted perfect, smooth and no clunking at all. Felt like this was the way the truck should have drove off the showroom floor. (It was rough new, and was told thats just the way they are.)(WTF???) Keep in mind this new tranny did have the updated gears.

So why did I go through all this trouble you may ask?

Well, have you seen the price of new trucks. (unf*cking real)
Have the money to buy one, but come on.
Also not ready to drive a Prius yet, not even sure I can fit it one of the damn things LOL.

mark2119 · #2 (**permalink**) 05-08-2008, 11:24 PM

Does anyone know the failure rate on the 2001 trannys? Looks like its just not a few of us anymore.

jfrd10 · #3 (**permalink**) 05-08-2008, 11:45 PM

Are the failures in both the 2wd and 4wd's?

hilandfrog · #4 (**permalink**) 05-09-2008, 01:09 AM

My 01 went out at around 95/96K, that extended warranty I thought I paid too much for became a mote point.
The wrench stated the Torque converter went and caused the trany to be replaced.:dunno
I too did all standard maintance and flushings, minor towing a few times each year, no hard 4x4ing, top speeds of 90-100 2-3 ties total.

Would have loved to find a solid/ 6 speed replacement.

Repo

LGL002 · #5 (**permalink**) 05-09-2008, 10:19 AM

This was not a frequent issue with the 2000 to 2003 Tundras but it did happen at a rate higher than it should have been. Usually it was the planetary gear set that'd fail. Some had failures in their converter lockup area but I believe that was from planetary gear set debris. As I recall early or right away in the release of the 2003 model year the transmissions had been built with improved components and the failure rate dropped. If you look in your owners manual you'll read that towing in hilly area's or towing heavy where the transmission hunts in and out of overdrive you should lockout the overdrive mode.

Larry

dublj · #6 (**permalink**) 05-09-2008, 10:36 AM

I just got my truck back yesterday, with a new tranny. It had 135k miles on it. Planetary gear went and took the o/d with it. The difference is enormous.

I would be interested to see how many trans have gone out in our trucks.

LGL002 · #7 (**permalink**) 05-09-2008, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jfrd10

Are the failures in both the 2wd and 4wd's?

Yes, the problem does not discriminate.

Larry

skinny2 · #8 (**permalink**) 05-09-2008, 11:04 AM

Transmissions are pretty much the weak point on all vehicles these days, including Toyota. Most anything with an OD just doesn't last as long, and 5/6/7 speeds just makes it even more complicated. I believe Toyota has had some real issues with certain 6-speeds. I personally don't expect to get more than 120k miles out of any tranny. If you do, consider it a bonus. Some will go forever, but the vast majority average around 120k miles regardless of brand. Certain iterations do better than others, but I don't think the one behind the 4.7L is one of them!