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Engine & DrivetrainDiscussions about the engine and drivetrain of your vehicle.
This is a discussion thread titled "01 Tundra Transmission Problems", within the Engine & Drivetrain forum, part of the Technical & Vehicle Assistance Forums category.
It shows the '00/'01 transmissions are capable of lasting beyond 200K miles if the owner drives and / or maintains it right.
In the case at hand, is the "pounding into 3rd & 4th gear" a symptom of a failing planetary gear set or a symptom of a faulty electronic shift solenoid? It would be a costly mistake to condemn the transmission when it might be capable of delivering another 100K miles if the shift solenoids were replaced.
And search here on TS, it also shows that the transmissions are capable of failing at 60k even when they are driven and maintained correctly.
No one is telling him to change a tranny that is still operating. Simply telling him to research it, and don't be surprised if it fails in the near future. Look at his first post, he mentions shavings and metal chunks. That's why I said before, depending on how many shavings and the size of the chunks, he may be in early stages of a tranny failure.
Stop taking PART of what I say out of context and trying to address only those points which you've taken out of context. You may fool a lot of the new people on this board, but anyone who has read 10 or more of your posts can clearly see who/what you are. Give me a break.
/Mike
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2001 2WD Silver Tundra: 4x4 TRD springs, Daystar 1", Carson AAL, red/blue Bilsteins, 265/75 Revo's, IS kit(minus bumper) and rims(hand polished), RF851X amp, Alpine HU, JL 6.5"XR comps, Qlogic with JL 8W3V2 subs. 176k miles and counting......
2005 Silver Sienna LE with 12" Overhead DVD
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Stop taking PART of what I say out of context and trying to address only those points which you've taken out of context. You may fool a lot of the new people on this board, but anyone who has read 10 or more of your posts can clearly see who/what you are. Give me a break.
/Mike
You said it man! What diff. does it make to the OP that other early 1st Gen's can run up to whatever miles the Bot says they might. Little consolation for the OP.
Here's a thought, KRTB, give me just one personal experience about a premature failure of a Toy engine or tranny or whatever else. Just one.
And some '00/'01 Tundra owners have gotten 200,000+ miles and counting on their transmissions.
Including me. Well almost... I'm at 190k and still going strong including towing my 22' Cuddy frequently.
If a transmission has a structural defect &/or is driven abusively (taxi is a perfect example of extreme duty along with towing regularly), it's likely going to fail at some point regardless of the care & maintenance procedures used. A sound one driven prudently and taken care of with at least some diligence should meet or exceed its service life. Let's be realistic here, that's what TS is known & respected for.
I have heard of 1st generation tundras that have had OD planetary gear problems, but it was not as frequent or as widespread as the brake vibration TSB for instance. In my research and many transmission searches here on TS, many OD problems were from towing with OD on, something the owner's manual says NOT to do or other neglegence of the driver.
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- JD
2000 Toyota Tundra Limited 4x4 w/ TRD Package
Thunder Grey Metallic
Factory Options: Leather Captain's Chairs, Color Keyed Running Boards, tow package
Aftermarket Additions: JVC KDSHX900 w/ HD, Sirius S50 Satellite Radio, JL Audio Stealthbox, Eclipse 500W 5-channel Amp, MB Quart Ref Components w/ 1.5" tweeters up front, Coax rears, Peel & Seal sound deadening, Trenz Billet Grill, Tailgate Extender, Sylvania Silverstar headlights, Hella SuperTone Twin Horns, Ivan Stewart Body kit sprayed with Duplicolor bedliner
Modifications: JBA Titanium coated headers, Hellwig Anti-Sway Bar, TRD Dual Side Exit Exhaust, TRD IS Wheels Polished and Powdercoated Gunmetal Grey, shod w/ 285/75R16 Bridgestone Dueler A/T REVO, RaceRunner Sway-A-Way Coilovers & Daystar Add-A-Leafs, Front Porterfield Brake Pads, Power Outlet Mod, Rear Seat Mod, NGK iridium plugs
Latest modifications: Sirius S50 Satellite Radio, Unichip, Powertrax No-Slip Rear, grey bumpers, G tech
And search here on TS, it also shows that the transmissions are capable of failing at 60k even when they are driven and maintained correctly.... he mentions shavings and metal chunks.
Stop taking PART of what I say out of context
As CATiger pointed out towing in Overdrive = abuse. The planetary gear on the '00/'01 might not be strong enough to take alot of that kind of abuse. CATiger's testimonial + many others = proof the transmission on the '00/'01 Tundras is capable of lasting at least 200,000 miles if driven and maintained correctly.
With regard to quoting out of context, you did something worse - you misquoted what the original poster said...he said "shavings and small chips" were found on the magnets not "metal chunks".
Here's a thought, KRTB, give me just one personal experience about a premature failure of a Toy engine or tranny or whatever else. Just one.
It's hard to think of any since they are so few and far between and nearly all could be mitigated by frequent oil changes. Example: the first year (1998) the Corolla 1ZZ-FE engine was in production, some engines developed stuck piston rings if the owner wasn't good about changing the oil frequently. When the rings stuck, oil consumption would suddenly increase dramatically causing the oil to run low on oil if the owner was the type that never checked the oil level inbetween oil changes. As usual, these owners blamed Toyota for "defective engines". But the owners who following the time tested 3 month / 3,000 mile oil change rule drove these "defective engines" 300,000 miles or more.
It's hard to think of any since they are so few and far between and nearly all could be mitigated by frequent oil changes. Example: the first year (1998) the Corolla 1ZZ-FE engine was in production, some engines developed stuck piston rings if the owner wasn't good about changing the oil frequently. When the rings stuck, oil consumption would suddenly increase dramatically causing the oil to run low on oil if the owner was the type that never checked the oil level inbetween oil changes. As usual, these owners blamed Toyota for "defective engines". But the owners who following the time tested 3 month / 3,000 mile oil change rule drove these "defective engines" 300,000 miles or more.
So anybody want to weigh in on the '02 transmission? Is it really different than '00 & '01 as far as the OD gear?
The 2002 should have the same planetary gear set as the early models. The change took effect sometime during the 03 model run and I'm not sure if it was at the beginning or not.
Larry
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2004 Tundra V8 Limited Access Cab 4X4, Michelin 265/65/R17 ATX2 tires, Auto Dim Comp/Temp Mirror, Aero Turbine #2525 muffler, Access Roll Up Cover, Optima D31A battery, Multi-Vex adaptive outside mirrors, Eclipse AVN5510 Nav unit and Sirius SIR-ECL1 tuner as of 10/07 pictures in my photo gallery
If a combo of all these whizz bangs met their claims you'd have to syphon gas out of your tank every second day and sell the excess horsepower on the third????
It's hard to think of any since they are so few and far between and nearly all could be mitigated by frequent oil changes. Example: the first year (1998) the Corolla 1ZZ-FE engine was in production, some engines developed stuck piston rings if the owner wasn't good about changing the oil frequently. When the rings stuck, oil consumption would suddenly increase dramatically causing the oil to run low on oil if the owner was the type that never checked the oil level inbetween oil changes. As usual, these owners blamed Toyota for "defective engines". But the owners who following the time tested 3 month / 3,000 mile oil change rule drove these "defective engines" 300,000 miles or more.
Ah yes, the ever oil-burning Corollas. My father has one. I have PERSONALLY done the maintenance myself since day one of ownership, so I KNOW its been done on time, and correctly, and using DINO oil the entire stretch, except one time I used synthetic. I even have the maintenance records on my computer at home. The engine has over 200,000 on it now and runs great, almost like new. But it has been burning about a quart a month since about 3 years after he got it. He keeps 2-3 quarts in his trunk for when he travels. Sorry to further scrape your ever broken record, but this engine *IS* defective. My financial advisor has one of the forementioned Corollas he uses as a backup to his Jag, and takes meticulous care of all of his several other cars. Same problem with his Corolla. BIG oil burner.
Yes, even our beloved Toyota is capable of design flaws. And this is one of them, just like the early transmission planetarys.
(Although, I'm not convinced its the planetary that is the problem. It, along with the thrust bearing, may be the parts that takes the fatal blow, but are they whats causing the problem? I've wondered if improperly-or-not-at-all lubricated slide yolks on the driveshaft are binding, not letting the driveshaft length change, causing undo fore and aft movement of the transmission output yolk, putting the aft thrust bearing under excessive pressure, which eventually breaks up and lets the planetary contact the transmission case...? Just a theory, may not have any merit at all. Wondering how many people who have had the planentary explode had properly lubed driveshafts? This may not have anything to do with anything, just "thinking out loud" here...)
If I could just interrupt the arguing here for a moment to answer the original question by the thread author...
100ssp,
I experienced the overdrive planetary gear failure on my 2002 tranny at 65,000 miles. I had exactly the same symptoms and the same engine code as you had. I also went to a reputable local Transmission Shop because I was given the run around by the dealer. The specialist took my truck for a ride and announced it didn't seem too bad to him. He pulled the pan and found shavings and a few spindle bearings. He changed his opinion to "Your tranny is about to fail, any second now". I gave him the go ahead and he began the rebuild and let me see the OD gear (It was in many small pieces, he said the tranny should have been inoperable for some time now). He could not find a replacement OD gear because every parts distributor reported they could not keep them in stock. He checked and found many rebuilt trannys available for 2000-2002 Tundras on the market.
The experienced owner of this very reputable transmission shop said it was clear to him there was a serious and widespread problem with this OD planetary gear. He suggested I go after toyota even though I was 5,000 miles over warranty. He packed up the tranny and I had the truck towed to another dealer and went in to do battle with the service manager.
The service manager listened to my explanation and nodded his head patiently and admitted there was an unusually large number of these transmissions failing. He then said that he agreed with me that no one should ever be concerned about a Toyota transmission failing at 65,000 miles. Before I could argue any more, he gave me the keys to a loaner vehicle and said my new transmission would be in the truck the next day and warranteed for a year. He also informed me that the transmission was redesigned for the 2003 models because the design for 2000-2002 trannys was "crappy". Unfortunately there was no upgrade in parts for the rebuild - it's the same "crappy" parts.
The bottom line for you is whether you trust the opinion of your "local reputable Transmission Shop". ~ It sounds to me that you do, so let them rebuild it if that is cheaper than a replacement.
The transmissions are the same in 2000-2002 Tundras. The redesigned Transmissions were put into the 2003 Tundras. The 2003 transmissions will not fit the 2000-2002 Tundras. The rebuilt 2000-2002 transmissions do not have any upgraded parts or designs - they are simply rebuilt to the original condition.
I was very concerned that my transmission failure was due to the fact that I have a snowplow on my tundra. I asked the transmission guy about this and he was absolutely certain that my plowing with the Tundra had nothing to do with the transmission failure. He sees many transmission failures due to plowing and pointed out that this kind of abuse causes damage to the first gear and the reverse gear. These gears in my transmission were in fine shape. He said that the only way plowing could have damaged the OD gear was if I were plowing at about 45 to 70 mph with the OD on. I of course only plow in 1st gear and have not been able to get up to 70 mph in my driveway - more like ... 7 mph.
I asked the transmission guy what I could have done to cause this failure and he said that if I towed a heavy trailer with a lot of wind resistance, the OD gear could have been stressed to failure. He said that this could happen with a lot of towing. I told him that I have never towed anything heavier than my lawn tractor on a 5X8 flat trailer, and that was not at highway speed. He then just shrugged and said it could be a bad design, but quickly added that he was surprised that Toyota would have such a problem. He then directed my attention to his lot full of Dodges, Fords, and Chevys.
I am certain that abuse of any transmission will cause premature failure. I am also certain that my transmission did not fail due to abuse. The 2000-2002 Tundra V8 transmission may just be a "bad design".
Re: 01 Tundra Transmission Problems
