Another transmission problem ... please help

Hi folks,

Sorry for the long post. Quite frankly, it hasn't been a great day. It's 2:30 in the morning and I'm trying to research this problem which I'm sure has been addressed a million times here, but my quick searching isn't giving me the specific results I'm looking for. If you'd be so kind, please advise me on my transmission problem.

The car: 2007 Prius Touring with only 71,000 miles, purchased new by myself. I've pretty much had zero problems except the HID bulbs and some pump that I had replaced last November - can't remember which one.

Currently, Keyes Toyota in Van Nuys, CA has my car and they say that they are pretty sure that all, or part of my transmission is bad, and that it could cost $6000. (car's only gotta be worth $10-12k, right?) So here's what happened:

I recently took my car to a Jiffy Lube just to get an oil change, but they convinced me I needed to change the transmission fluid. Stupid me!!! 3 days and 111 miles later, I lost power on the highway (on a HOT day, going 75mph, on a slight uphill grade with A/C blowing) and the gas engine cut off, sputtered, surged and sputtered. Got off to a side street. When trying to slowly accelerate, the car violently shook with the engine never actually starting - just shuttered rather quickly. Had the car towed to Toyota dealership in Pasadena. I normally don't like to go to dealerships, but I was in slight panic mode, and at the time, was thinking that this was hybrid related, and I wanted someone who for sure knew hybrids. After replacing the 12v battery (which I had just personally replaced about 2.5 years ago) and cleaning the throttle bottle, the dealership THOUGHT they had fixed it. 11 miles later, I was stranded again on the side of the highway. This time, the engine also began making an obnoxious rattly type sound. Towed to another dealer (closer to my home) and they said that they strongly believe that there is a transmission problem and that that could cost $6000!!! Ummm, I don't have that right now. They were getting NO codes. I also didn't experience any engine lights with the exception of the last break down, when the traction control light flashed during the sputtering. No red triangle, nothing. The dealer said that they thought they smelled a burning smell in the transmission fluid (new only 111 miles ago) and that's why they think the transmission is messed up. Anyway, I suspect Jiffy Lube did something wrong, and I'll try to get them to pay (doubt it).

In the meantime, I'm trying to educate myself on what actually could have gone wrong - incorrect fluid type? should have or should NOT have been flushed, etc.

Am I correct in thinking that this is WAY too early for transmission problems?

Any thoughts on what to ask Jiffy Lube to see if they did it correctly?

Anyway, I'm exhausted and not thinking clearly, but if you have any thoughts or suggestions on how to proceed, I'd genuinely appreciate it.

Also, if you have an indy shop that could install a used or refurb transmission in the Van Nuys, CA area that you like, please let me know that as well.


Thanks and happy motoring!

Matthew

 

very interesting. I haven't heard of this. I will return to the dealer in a few short hours and ask them to check this. I'm not sure what an MAF sensor is, but I'll google it now. THANKS and have a great day!

 

after a quick search, a few threads note that their dashboards lit up. In my case, NO idiot lights or messages appeared during my problems (with the exception being the flashing traction control light during the last sputtering of the engine.)

 

When I went to that first dealer, I honestly had no idea what the problem was - could have been a computer failing or many other things. I DID mention to them that I had recently had the oil and transmission fluid changed to give them potential areas to look at. But honestly, based on the car seemingly just losing power and jerking, I wouldn't have guessed that that was transmission related.

 

*** UPDATE ***

THANKS for all the responses by the way!!! I really appreciate it.

Went to the dealership in the morning to talk out some of these potential problems and feel out the situation. And also to ask what types of things could Jiffy Lube had done wrong and how could I prove it. One option was (as folks pointed out) that the wrong fluid was put in. I asked how could we PROVE that they put in the wrong stuff. They said they could give me a sample and I'd have to find a lab to test it. I said, "ok, I can stop by next morning if you could pull me a sample."

A few hours later, dealership calls and says, "I have good news (really bad news, but proof that they screwed up) ... we went to drain some transmission fluid for the sample, AND THERE WAS ONLY 3 TO 4 OUNCES IN THERE!"

Armed with this knowledge, I spoke to a manager at Jiffy Lube, they seemed to indicate that yes, they probably had made a mistake, and we filled out an "incident report". From there, we go to his boss and we'll see what happens. I'm really hoping that Jiffy Lube does the right thing and corrects their mistake. We'll see ...

 

oh yikes. I thought I was sharing relatively good news (given the circumstances) but the responses look like I could still be in trouble.

Sounds like techs at both Toyota dealers should have discovered transmission problems earlier. Not sure why they didn't. As to why I didn't have dealer change transmission fluid right away, I'm still negotiating what Jiffy Lube will pay for and I don't want to start stuff that they aren't going to pay for. Keep in mind, I didn't know at the first dealership visit that this was indeed a transmission problem. It could have been multiple things, such as a hybrid component not functioning properly.

As far as the burnt smell. To be honest, there's so many conversations back and forth, and they're done while I'm at work in the middle of 1000 things. I can't be certain that they said they smelled in the fluid vs. near the transmission vs. anything else. I'm pretty sure they said they smelled it in the fluid. I guess I'm ignorant in how the transmission fluid is serviced. I assume it's similar to regular oil in that there's a fill cap on the top and a drain on the bottom, but that might be incorrect. But it seems correct that based on what I told them, they SHOULD have checked the level at that moment. As far as changing the fluid, I think they were assuming that the transmission was screwed, based on the loud noise it was making, and that both failures occurred during highway speeds.

The other thing is, is that I give lots of details. The service writers then write what they THINK is relevant. I suppose it's possible that they didn't write down that I said that oil and transmission fluids were recently serviced.

So again, I thought things were moving in the right direction. The service writer actually seems pretty knowledgable. But maybe I'm just being a sucker.

I'm really frustrated with myself with my lack of knowledge, but that's why I came here. I appreciate all of your input!

 

Update #2 (for those interested or in a similar boat):

So post #14 above was written in the wee hours of the morning (sometime after midnight) technically on July the 14th. So then on the 14th around 9am, I gave the boss above the boss at the local Jiffy Lube another shot on trying to get them to give me a NEW transmission, and it was clear that they weren't intending on doing that. My car had 70,000 miles and they were proposing a few options to get my car back to a 'similar' condition.

In the interim, my local Toyota dealer had sourced a used transmission with 60,000 miles which is supposedly "bench tested" at the supplier's place that would come with a 3 month warranty. So after feeling that I couldn't get a new transmission from Jiffy Lube, I proposed that Jiffy Lube pay for the used transmission, my previous unsuccessful repair at another Toyota dealer, my cheap rental car of 2 days, and my original service that messed this whole thing up from Jiffy Lube, and they agreed to it.

I called my Toyota dealership before noon, and I had my car back THE NEXT DAY, a Saturday, by around 3pm. So, I've had my car back for about 2 weeks and the transmission so far appears to working just fine. I'll try to drive it hard before the warranty runs out to be sure it's up to the task.

Crossing my fingers and hoping for the best!

Happy motoring!