1. Home
  2. General Toyota Forum
  3. 03 Matrix Tranny repair/rebuild advice needed...

03 Matrix Tranny repair/rebuild advice needed...

Greetings,

I'm looking for useful advice on the cost/value of a replace new or replace used versus a rebuilt tranny on an '03 Matrix XR w/ about

83,000 miles on it... I do try and take good care of my car but this one snuck up on me, had it not been for the high temps/humidity the last few weeks leading my to push my windows up I'd have not even noticed the grinding at 2500+RPM on the highway (5th gear runs about 2800RPM at 65MPH). Not 20 minutes after I called my wife to say I needed to have it looked at, was I sitting on the side of the road waiting for a Tow. In the end I'm not sure that catching it early would have lead to a different result save the cost/time spent with the tow.

Dealership quotes about $3200 and change for a replace new...not exactly what I want to put into the car. Had a mechanic try and pickup a used one but that fell through, now the mechanic is looking at a rebuild. The mechanic already has $800 from me towards buying a used tranny (half the quoted price on the job).

Beyond the cost/value question, should I be taking my car to a Toyota transmission specialist for this work? Is there a resource where I can find a reputable local person to do the work... Angie's List has not been helpful for my area.

Thanks for the help in advance.

Reply to
smalder73
Loading thread data ...

If it is a manual transmission, ask your local Toyota dealer for quotes on repair/rebuild. Without knowing exactly what is wrong with the transmission, it is difficult to say what is wrong, but a manual transmission repair is generally less expensive than a replacement.

If it is an automatic transmission, go for a factory remanufactured unit. It will be worth the money if you are going to keep it.

Reply to
Ray O

I'll concur with Ray, assuming that you have the manual trans. The failure that you describe, in combination with the relatively low mileage of your transmission, probably means that while relatively low cost parts such as bearings, thrust washers and synchros will need to be replaced. The high-cost gears themselves are probably OK.

This won't make it *cheap* of course - and no telling what your mechanic will find after actually tearing it down, but on a cost/value basis might bring it closer in line to what you want to spend.

One other possibility - I'm not familiar with the Matrix so don't know what else shares that gearbox - nor do I know where you live. However, in the United States many of your local wrecking yards will have parts cross-match indexes and finder networks to help you locate something that will fit.

-- Mike Harris Austin, TX

Reply to
Mike Harris

Mike and Ray, thanks for the info.

On the replacement end of it, the mechanic who has the car now, stated they were using parts finding services...although they weren't specific about it...I'm going to assume they know what they're doing in that regard as they seem to have a yard full of salvage vehicles. Though, I wonder if Corolla and Pontiac Vibe parts might be compatible and available but were overlooked.

Aside from that, am I generally safe with having any transmission mechanic do the job or should I be seeking one specializing in Toyota (or foreign) makes?

Reply to
s/war/peace/g;

I am not familiar with salvage vehicle part finding services, but I'll assume that they are pretty effective in urban areas.

The majority of passenger vehicles sold these days have automatic transmissions so if you have a manual transmission, used replacements may be difficult to find.

You still have not confirmed whether you have a manual or automatic transmission.

Manual transmissions are not difficult to repair, and any competent technician with an ASE certification in manual transmission repair should be able to handle the repair satisfactorily, although a Toyota dealer technician will be more familiar than an independent technician.

If it is an automatic transmission, as I mentioned before, go with a factory remanufactured one.

Reply to
Ray O

oo sorry, it's manual. The mechanic I have it at has taken the tranny out and sent it to another shop for the rebuild.

Thanks mucho for the advice.

Ray O wrote:

Reply to
s/war/peace/g;

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.