Catastrophic transaxle failure at 137,000 miles.

I would take this as a good reason to change the transaxle fluid on a regular basis , Toyota considers it lifetime in their maintenance .
A good write up here

Toyota Prius Hybrid eCVT Transaxle Fluid Service Maintenance

Am copying your previous posting I just read....
Hey. I have a 2012 c, changed the trans fluid at 100,000 miles, and Friday, my transaxle failed at 140,000 miles.

 

this has been a long time concern with the Prius, now looks like it can strike the PriC. Had already planned to change my transaxle fluid around 60k even though I don't drive much and Toyota for some reason does not recommend it. Sorry to hear but can I recommend seeing if you can find a mechanic to pull one out from a totaled vehicle that doesn't have many miles on it to save some cash. It's my usual M.O. for major parts like transmissions and has always worked well for me but then again, I have a great mechanic.

 

it is quite rare, i hope you play the lottery. i would take it to a private shoppe and have them install a junk yard dog. all the best!

 

Plead your case again with Toyota Corporate, they may help with a replacement or hopefully at a lower cost. Tell them that even your local repair shop said this shouldn't have happen, try to get it in writing. Good Luck to you sir, I hope it all works out!

 

bummer. i have regretted every auto purchase that didn't make it past 137k without a major failure.

 

In every decision or choice on a car, there is a probability of some failures ocurring during the service life.
I got into the excelent TrueDelta site, and saw very few trips/repairs of the 2012 Prius c, when compared to other similar sized cars.
You may regret your purchase, but I truly believe you have chosen well in the first place.
I would insist to Toyota Corp, as Fore just said.

 

I, too, would insist. Don't give up on it just yet.

Toyota may cover part of it if you keep at it considering it was a dealer maintained vehicle.

My father in law has been through something similar and was successful in getting Toyota to cover half of a Camry engine at 120k miles because it was dealer maintained and always on time for maintenance. It had a valve failure which dropped in the piston and wreaked havoc on that cylinder.

 

That could be a factor, still, pretty frustrating: routine maintenance by the dealer would have no effect on the transaxle's longevity. And then there's their stonewalling on customer's requests for transaxle fluid change...

 

Even with routine maintenance, you have to agree that you are running you car much harder than most people run their vehicles.

The difference between getting to 137,000 miles in 10 years is a lot different than getting to that amount of miles in 2 years.

 

It's too late to "regret your purchase" but if you haven't already replaced the TA then there is no way that I would pay $5K for this repair!

The C-type has been out for a few years, and there are some organ-donors sitting in junk yards right now.
This should IN NO WAY cost you more than about $1500 in parts and labor plus the inconvenience of having your car out of service for a week or so.

The real crime here is the repair cost.

You have a $20,000 econobox with 137,000 miles on the clock and a service history that will soon includes a previous major surgery.
That means that it's worth about $4.93 as a trade-in or in a private sale.

If I were you, I'd stick a used TA in this car and continue your practice of careful maintenance and try to get another 150,000 miles out of this car, or you're going to wind up spending another $20,000 on another econo-box that might go tango-uniform in another 137,000 miles.



Shake it off.
Good Luck!

 

^ What was the previous major surgery?

 

See if this person can help. Head of customer service at Toyota hq

Nancy Fein - Toyota head customer service 310-468-8290

SM-N900P ?

 

Clarified.
Thanks.

 

Best of luck! 5 pages of used ones all across the US at car-part.com a listing of all us junkyards. As low as $650. Some have as few as 7k miles.

Get a private mechanic to get one and swap it!
Chris

 

Well, it lasted a lot longer than most conventional Honda transmissions... LOL.

 

137,000 miles in two years, when did you find time to do maintenance on it? This is a commercial vehicle, not used in the manner it was intended to be used. If it had 30,000 miles and failed the warranty would be void by Toyota still, as it was used for commercial use.

 

I'm going to jump on the find a low mileage used unit and then change the hsd trans fluid at much shorter intervals. There must have been quite a bit of money saved fuel wise to help make this feasible and as pain free as possible.