[onsknht]

Yup, I figured it out, it's a real simple fix anyone can do it.

It's a little pricey but not to bad overall and I feel I got my $ out of it.

For those that don't know... I was told by SD there's a revision to TSB TC-008-06, it hasn't taken root yet in an "official revision" but confirmed by his FTS, cars built after 07/2006 require a replacement transmission if the flare is present. My car initially did this only upon cold start, but after about 3500 miles I've noticed it slipping/flaring other times as well. Apparently if built before 07/2006, the original TSB for valve body fixes the problem.

So, all you need to fix your problem is a sticker (that is if you're anything like me), I would not tollerate such an intrusive repair to my 09/2006 built CLAMry... I bought a new car not some rebuilt used heap (like a trans replacement wouldn't show on CarFax???)

The sticker looks like this...

So far I'm liking the replacement, no need to "retrofit" HIDs and all that BS, got mud flaps too and all over better build quality it appears, I even got navigation... I will say though, that JBL sounds tits compared to whatever this thing is... But I think I can live with that, at least it's not a rebuilt POS.

I'll still check in on progress of the tranny problem... Plus I really like some things the CLAMry did, hopefully it will (and Toyota for that matter) once again be viable transportation, for now having experienced this and the troubles I had with my Sequoia... I'm rating Toyota right up there with Chrysler.

15 years and 8 brand new Toyotas, I'm done being a brand whore for a company that cannot deliver.

 

[Joe B]

Feel better now?
Nothing like a good rant to get the blood pressure down.
I guess I would feel the same if I had that trans problem.
So far..so good for me.
I don't have any complaints at all with my months of ownership.

 

[BlackCamSe]

so u got a new car?

 

[akira751]

How much did they give you for your Camry???

 

[onsknht]

Yup, I feel better... Yes I gotta new car. The Acura is definitely weird to me, but in a good way, I think.

I'm cool with a problem like a wiring harness that can be pinched or a brake adjustment even a rattle... That's a TSB.

A transmission replacement is a total failure.

Waaaay too intrusive.

I did OK on the trade, don't expect much more that 24,000 GWs on a loaded V6 SE without Nav... Wholesaler was there and came up 1,000 less than the call to Toyota. Since Toyota will actually buy the car from the Acura dealer, I got Toyota's price. FWIW - I think you'd do maybe a 1,000-1,500 more on a private sale, but is it worth it? My Toyota dealer's used car guy said he would give me the same amount in cash 2 weeks earlier that I traded it for on the TL... The TL with Nav was $1500 below invoice brand new, which I understand is uncommon pricing, but it may pay to shop on the last car selling business day of the year?

 

[moeharri]

Gonna post some sweet pics of the TL? I was (and still am) considering that car too

 

[onsknht]

Gonna post some sweet pics of the TL? I was (and still am) considering that car too

Will do, in the daylight and I get the plugs for the front license bracket? <<<--- Looks kinda shabby without them, they also shorted me the little door to the shift unlock mechanism. It was late on New Years w/e and I still owe them keys and floormats!

BTW - FOR SALE!

1 set of black WeatherTech floor liners front to back for Gen 6 Camry, slightly used but still mint! $100 + shipping.

 

[wireless]

...The TL with Nav was $1500 below invoice brand new, which I understand is uncommon pricing, but it may pay to shop on the last car selling business day of the year?

Nope, below invoice isn't uncommon on the TL even w/Nav. I was going to pick one up before I drove the SE V6. Even below invoice, it was $3800 more than my Camry and I couldn't jsutify the diff.

Glad you found a solution you are comfortable with.

 

[thoots]

Yup, I figured it out, it's a real simple fix anyone can do it.

Hehehe, that's what I figured this would be.

I wrote a similar "I fixed ALL of my Accord rattles!" thread on a Honda Accord forum about nine months ago, finally bailing out of a 2004 Accord EX-L coupe that rattled like a 30-year-old, clapped-out farm pickup truck after less than 20,000 miles.

I hear you about the transmission being a major component, but when you get right down to it, you can "replace" a transmission, but you just plain can't fix "abysmal build quality."

Here's hoping that your Honda product might be screwed together better than my hopeless rattletrap was -- good luck with it!

 

[zettahertz]

my parent's 2005 Accord V6 EX doesn't rattle... but my 2002 Camry rattles like crazy. It all varies.

 

[wireless]

...I hear you about the transmission being a major component, but when you get right down to it, you can "replace" a transmission, but you just plain can't fix "abysmal build quality."...

Nor can you recoup the $$$ it costs for the early exit.

 

[smilepak]

My was built 01/2006 in Japan. Transmission from Japan, car built in Japan and assemble in Japan. Parts from US.

So far, I haven't notice anything yet. Knock on wood.

 

[onsknht]

Nor can you recoup the $$$ it costs for the early exit.

Full tank of gas - free, said so on the sticker

New floor mats - $149

Drive through cheeseburgers on the way home from the dealer $15

Piece of mind - "PRICELESS"

FWIW - I looked at it in a way that no matter what I was going to do, I would have still had more fun lighting about 3500 GWs on fire in my family room fireplace. I think (based on some round numbers in my head) this is my true loss amount on the swap considering some "reasonable" costs for use of the Clamry the past 3.5+ months. In other words, simply using the vehicle, I need to account for some cost I cannot recoup. How much is questionable, but up front I'm popping 2500 GWs off as a "rental fee." So all told we're looking at about $6K to swap, plus I have a slightly higher residual note, but then again I got more car.

Now, fast forward 8 months to a year from now... My Clamry has likely been butchered, I'm a nervous wreck, been to dealer umpteen times with no more vacation days left and I'm now trying to pawn the Clamry off... Add in there the fact that the 08's go down without a hitch and everyone here will be complaining about the resale of the 07s because there's a flood of rebuilt trannys for 07 V6 Clamrys and ESs on CarFax.

Read the last paragraph of the description in the link...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Lexus-ES-ES350-2007-Lexus-ES350-Navigation-Blue-tooth-Save-over-new_W0QQitemZ140069492012QQihZ004QQcategoryZ6298QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Seriously fellas, the Acura dealer was real interested in the history of the Clamry... When the used market gets wind of 07 rebuilts/fried transmissions and the 08s are gems, expect to lose a little more on your 07. Had CarFax identified a trans replacement, I think I would have been out more than 3500 GWs... Basically what I'm saying, if I let Toyota goof my car up worse than it already is and I tried to get rid of it as result, the hit would be much worse.

 

[roverggm]

Congrats to "Chicken Little" on the purchase of a supposedly superior vehicle. Acura apparently needs your business!

The only issue I have is with the statement that Carfax will report any warranty repairs.....the history reporting service does not report that type of history.

The example Ebay Lexus was a manufacturer "buyback" not a repaired car. Tranny replacements will not show up in Carfax; manufacturer buybacks, severe insurance claims, salvage/rebuilt status titles and title issuance/transfers will. It is purely up to the selling dealer to disclose any repairs performed on a used vehicle prior to sale.

Anyhow, I'm glad you are happier now

 

[gdanaher]

It is noteworthy that the used car dealer in Houston is advertising 4 '07 ES350's and all of them were built in March, 2006, at the very beginning of the production run.

Also I am still of the opinion that the problem is more in the programming than in the mechanics of the transmission. I had problems with the flare but have managed to avoid the dealer thus far. During the past three weeks I have not experienced the problem though certainly I have ben looking for it. I have also driven the stink out of it and had it on a long trip involving interstate and mountain driving. My feeling is that there might in fact be a problem, and I'm wagering that Toyota will figure it out. I have something less than 60k miles to drive this before I go in and get a new tranny if I need it, and by then, they will be rock solid.

 

[tagpats]

exactly

resale on the 07 will only take a hit if they don't fix the problem, which seems highly unlikely. at least in my case, the car is perfectly driveable except for the flare, which i can avoid in manual mode anyway.

assuming they correct the problem, the issue is moot. but, if this is a lingering thing and a worst case scenario for the 07's, am i going to lose any more than if i trade it in today for a different car? at worst my depreciation is a wash with the hit i'd take now to get out from under it. i guess i'm taking the view that despite my frustration with the problem, the sky is not falling.

maybe i'd have a different view if my car was undriveable or in the shop being tinkered with unsuccessfully.

 

[onsknht]

Congrats to "Chicken Little" on the purchase of a supposedly superior vehicle. Acura apparently needs your business!

The only issue I have is with the statement that Carfax will report any warranty repairs.....the history reporting service does not report that type of history.

The example Ebay Lexus was a manufacturer "buyback" not a repaired car. Tranny replacements will not show up in Carfax; manufacturer buybacks, severe insurance claims, salvage/rebuilt status titles and title issuance/transfers will. It is purely up to the selling dealer to disclose any repairs performed on a used vehicle prior to sale.

Anyhow, I'm glad you are happier now

I wouldn't necessarily say superior, I do note the V6 Camry to have better accelleration thus far than the TL... In other words, I'm pretty sure the Camry would spank the TL and is more suited to taking on the TL-S. Any perception of superiorority read into my comments stem from not owning a 'rebuilt' car and the simple fact the TL is in fact a step-up in class, there's a lot more attention to detail than the Camry at any trim level.

As for the VIN history reporting, I'm pretty sure a transmission replacement will show most of the time... Yes it is up to the dealer to report and mine obviously does because checking the VIN on my Sequoia shows TSB/Warranty work (A/C and Caliper/Rotor repairs). However these were not as intrusive repairs as the transmission, these could be overlooked as "normal history." I'm aware of the differences between titles and maintenance history.

Finally, the reference to the ebayed Lexus just proves the used car market will be aware of the transmission anomoly and that will whether liked or not decide future resale. Remember the Camry isn't that expensive of a car, considering a V6 and knowing about the transmission debacle, it would be hard to pass up just buying a new 08 when they're released. The 07s will decline in value as a result.

FWIW - another Lexus owner reports the following regarding buybacks on ebay.

"Last count on e-bay motors - six cars with transmission buy backs.

4800 miles
2400
1500
3000
1721
3425

I searched for other 2007 cars selling as buybacks - this is the most."

 

[onsknht]

resale on the 07 will only take a hit if they don't fix the problem, which seems highly unlikely. at least in my case, the car is perfectly driveable except for the flare, which i can avoid in manual mode anyway.

assuming they correct the problem, the issue is moot. but, if this is a lingering thing and a worst case scenario for the 07's, am i going to lose any more than if i trade it in today for a different car? at worst my depreciation is a wash with the hit i'd take now to get out from under it. i guess i'm taking the view that despite my frustration with the problem, the sky is not falling.

maybe i'd have a different view if my car was undriveable or in the shop being tinkered with unsuccessfully.

My core issue stems from the fact that I bought a new car that I would use... Not 4 months later end up with a used car that was rebuilt... Removal of the transaxle is a huge process that includes of all things removal of the engine.

I guess when you bring a car in to have the simplest work done and there's always something not put back right/gouged/scratched etc... It's hard to have faith it will be reassembled as well after so much "rebuilding" has been done.

Think about it, there's really not much to the car from the dash-board back... The TSB will likely be revised to require transmission replacement on all post 07/2006 build dates with the trans flare, as mine was diagnosed by the FTS based on this build date... There is not "stint" for this problem, this requires open-heart surgery.

IMO - this is huge, others may never care their transmission is replaced so long as the car drives. TSBs should be for kinked wires, shims, adjustments and the like, not rebuilds. Everyones tolerance is different, you need to do what's right for you.

 

[wireless]

They have parts to do the TSB work for the flare on my car. Mine was built in early April and has over 17k miles. The flare is rarely evident, but if there is a factory recommended fix, I am inclined to have them do it. I haven't heard of anyone getting a complete tranny swap for the flare TSB. I believe it calls for a replacement of the valve body which is more than a minor adjustment but far from a complete tranny swap w/engine extraction.

Hey, it's your car and money and your peace of mind...but I don't think it is that crazy for someone to insinuate you are being slightly 'chicken little' about this based on what we know.

 

[Joe B]

Like I stated earlier,I don't have any problems with my '07 V6.
I have the 7/100 Toyota Platimum warranty and my dealer provides loaner vehicles.
So if a trans or other problems arise,I'm fine.

There's been over 400K '07's sold.
I figure about maybe 125K-150K are V6 models.
The trans problem must be a pretty minor one as there's no media attention about one.