Transmission rattle.. help!

[mechael]

Hi,

I am a new proud owner of a 2005 4WD Matrix XR. Just picked up the car today from the dealership. It is a used car with 59000 km on it. Loved the car, everything feels good until I slowly noticed a slight rumble from the transmission...

At first it felt like the car up-shifted and didn't have enough torque, but when I paid attention to it, I realized it wasn't the case. If I slowly accelerate, at around 60km/h, the rev would be at around 2200 rpm, and if I slightly release the gas pedal and maintain the speed at 60km/h, the gear would shift and it would stay at around 1900 rpm, and at that moment there was a subtle but noticeable rumble / vibration / shake in the car that you can actually hear the rumble and feel the shake at the shift knob. If I maintain the speed, the rumble would not stop, and if I press down the pedal harder to accelerate, it would down-shift and the rev would jump back to 2200 rpm, and then the shake is gone. I tried it many times and it's repeatable at the same km/h every time.

- Does anybody have had similar problem?
- What is the problem? How do I describe to the dealership? I worry that they won't honor the warranty.


Thanks so much.

[notmytrix]

It's not a problem, as I am told, it's quite normal when you hit over 60km/h at least for the 4WD and hold speed around before 70km/h. It's not a rattle but rather feels like the engine is struggling right? You should be okay. Saves you fuel.

[naamassage]

Originally Posted by mechael

Hi,

I am a new proud owner of a 2005 4WD Matrix XR. Just picked up the car today from the dealership. It is a used car with 59000 km on it. Loved the car, everything feels good until I slowly noticed a slight rumble from the transmission...

At first it felt like the car up-shifted and didn't have enough torque, but when I paid attention to it, I realized it wasn't the case. If I slowly accelerate, at around 60km/h, the rev would be at around 2200 rpm, and if I slightly release the gas pedal and maintain the speed at 60km/h, the gear would shift and it would stay at around 1900 rpm, and at that moment there was a subtle but noticeable rumble / vibration / shake in the car that you can actually hear the rumble and feel the shake at the shift knob. If I maintain the speed, the rumble would not stop, and if I press down the pedal harder to accelerate, it would down-shift and the rev would jump back to 2200 rpm, and then the shake is gone. I tried it many times and it's repeatable at the same km/h every time.

- Does anybody have had similar problem?
- What is the problem? How do I describe to the dealership? I worry that they won't honor the warranty.


Thanks so much.

Better get it checked. My 2003 toyota matrix's transmission just went out. I heard a "rattle" too and was told it was nothing to worry about.

[syang1983]

My 2003 AWD does it too but only at 35-40 mph. It kinda vibrate when i hold the speed at 35-40 but once i give it a little gas the vibration goes away. Still trying to find a solution. I think it has something to do with the rear differential because it seems that a lot of AWD models encounter the same problem. I am waiting until it's warm and change the rear differential fluid to see if it helps.