Gearstick Buzzing

[PDT]

Hi everyone, I have a 56 plate Avensis 1.8 T3-X. At 3000 RPM in 2nd gear I get a vibration through the gearstick that makes the gearknob buzz. It is also noticeable in 1st and 3rd. If I apply some backward pressure to the stick whilst in 2nd the noise dissapears. The dealer has changed the 'transmission shroud' but this has made no difference, they are going to fit some new cables in a couple of weeks. They are confident that the noise is external to the gearbox.

This work will all be done under warranty but I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem, I might then be able to advise the dealer on what to try next.

Apart from this I am pleased with the car, although the dashboard reflection in the windscreen was a bit of a let down as was the limited nightime illumination of certain switches.

Thanks for any advice.

[PDT]

Hi everyone, I have a 56 plate Avensis 1.8 T3-X. At 3000 RPM in 2nd gear I get a vibration through the gearstick that makes the gearknob buzz. It is also noticeable in 1st and 3rd. If I apply some backward pressure to the stick whilst in 2nd the noise dissapears. The dealer has changed the 'transmission shroud' but this has made no difference, they are going to fit some new cables in a couple of weeks. They are confident that the noise is external to the gearbox.

This work will all be done under warranty but I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem, I might then be able to advise the dealer on what to try next.

Apart from this I am pleased with the car, although the dashboard reflection in the windscreen was a bit of a let down as was the limited nightime illumination of certain switches.

Thanks for any advice.

The car was in last week for new gear linkage cables. When I collected the car nothing had been changed. The Toyota dealer had got so far and realised that they would run out of time, at which point they put everything back as it was.

Surely there is a guide that specifies how long the job should take, if there is does anyone know how long it should take to change the gear linkage?

I still like the car despite these problems.

[cmia]

what year ?

[PDT]

what year ?

The car is a 2006, 56 plate. I am actually inclined to think that they had overbooked and did no work at all on the car.

[batch]

Did you ever resolve this PDT?

My Avensis 1.8 T-3x (March 2007) is doing the same thing. Only picked it up Saturday and it started a the next day - seems intermittent so explains why I missed it on the test drive.

Thankfully in my case the problem starts at just under 3k and ends just after 3k, so I can live with it. Also it happens in any gear as far as I can tell.

Will ask Mr T to take a look at the 20K service/December unless it gets worse. Unless you found a serious issue. Should be under warranty though, right?

[PDT]

Did you ever resolve this PDT?

My Avensis 1.8 T-3x (March 2007) is doing the same thing. Only picked it up Saturday and it started a the next day - seems intermittent so explains why I missed it on the test drive.

Thankfully in my case the problem starts at just under 3k and ends just after 3k, so I can live with it. Also it happens in any gear as far as I can tell.

Will ask Mr T to take a look at the 20K service/December unless it gets worse. Unless you found a serious issue. Should be under warranty though, right?

The problem is now fixed.

The dealer replaced the gear linkage cable, takes at least a day so just as well it was under waranty.

I hope you enjoy your Avensis. Mines been great so far, I have just come back from a weeks holiday where it didn't miss a beat.

[batch]

Thanks so much for taking time to reply!

Goo news on the fix. Mine isn't so bad, but I'll get them to look next service. It's what warranty is for!

Love my Avensis so far.

[batch]

Just a quick update on this in case it can help anyone in the future.

The car broke! I could not reliably select 1st, 2nd or reverse. Sometimes it went in fine. Sometimes it resisted and I ended up going into e.g.) 3rd instead of 1st.

I have taken it to Mr T, they have replaced the 'gear selection cables' (presumably same as gear linkage cable) free under warranty. The buzzing gear stick has gone away.

Special well done to Toyota Swindon (Fish Bros). Phoned on Thursday, booked in Friday, diagnosed and loan car arranged, fixed by lunchtime today. Top service.

[Steve84]

I had same problem with my selector cables on my t180 it was hard to find any gears, new cables and job done.

[Deakin]

I had same problem with my selector cables on my t180 it was hard to find any gears, new cables and job done.

Hi guys the Deakin here just wanted to let you know this problem is in the gearbox i have had this problem for months and the car dealer i bought the car from told me that it was the gear knob so i let i go untill the car ran out of warranty and then i got talking to a very clever man one night who trains all toyota mechanics and he told me that it was a fault with the gearbox,but toyota will not admit to this for the simple reason it will cost them millions.Hope this helps

[PDT]

I had same problem with my selector cables on my t180 it was hard to find any gears, new cables and job done.

Hi guys the Deakin here just wanted to let you know this problem is in the gearbox i have had this problem for months and the car dealer i bought the car from told me that it was the gear knob so i let i go untill the car ran out of warranty and then i got talking to a very clever man one night who trains all toyota mechanics and he told me that it was a fault with the gearbox,but toyota will not admit to this for the simple reason it will cost them millions.Hope this helps

After nearly a year the fault has returned, gearstick buzzing at arounf 3000 RPM in 2nd gear. Backward pressure on the gearstick causes noise to stop. The car has one year left of its manufacturers warranty. Any ideas on what I should expect the dealer to suggest?

Obviously changing the linkage cables will just mask the fault for another year, then it will start again after the warranty has run out.

I have not been totally happy with the gearchange since the cables were changed, going from 5th to 4th is notchy and can't be rushed. Selecting reverse can also often require declutching.

Any advice appreciated.

[Q.S.]

I had same problem with my selector cables on my t180 it was hard to find any gears, new cables and job done.

Hi guys the Deakin here just wanted to let you know this problem is in the gearbox i have had this problem for months and the car dealer i bought the car from told me that it was the gear knob so i let i go untill the car ran out of warranty and then i got talking to a very clever man one night who trains all toyota mechanics and he told me that it was a fault with the gearbox,but toyota will not admit to this for the simple reason it will cost them millions.Hope this helps

After nearly a year the fault has returned, gearstick buzzing at arounf 3000 RPM in 2nd gear. Backward pressure on the gearstick causes noise to stop. The car has one year left of its manufacturers warranty. Any ideas on what I should expect the dealer to suggest?

Obviously changing the linkage cables will just mask the fault for another year, then it will start again after the warranty has run out.

I have not been totally happy with the gearchange since the cables were changed, going from 5th to 4th is notchy and can't be rushed. Selecting reverse can also often require declutching.

Any advice appreciated.

Usually the cause of buzzing gearlevers is down to wear in the gear selector fork inside the gearbox, caused by people who drive with their hand resting on the gearstick. This puts pressure on the gear selector fork and wears it away against the synchro hub.

[PDT]

I had same problem with my selector cables on my t180 it was hard to find any gears, new cables and job done.

Hi guys the Deakin here just wanted to let you know this problem is in the gearbox i have had this problem for months and the car dealer i bought the car from told me that it was the gear knob so i let i go untill the car ran out of warranty and then i got talking to a very clever man one night who trains all toyota mechanics and he told me that it was a fault with the gearbox,but toyota will not admit to this for the simple reason it will cost them millions.Hope this helps

After nearly a year the fault has returned, gearstick buzzing at arounf 3000 RPM in 2nd gear. Backward pressure on the gearstick causes noise to stop. The car has one year left of its manufacturers warranty. Any ideas on what I should expect the dealer to suggest?

Obviously changing the linkage cables will just mask the fault for another year, then it will start again after the warranty has run out.

I have not been totally happy with the gearchange since the cables were changed, going from 5th to 4th is notchy and can't be rushed. Selecting reverse can also often require declutching.

Any advice appreciated.

Usually the cause of buzzing gearlevers is down to wear in the gear selector fork inside the gearbox, caused by people who drive with their hand resting on the gearstick. This puts pressure on the gear selector fork and wears it away against the synchro hub.

Thanks Q.S.

This ties up with Penfolds comments elsewhere on this newsgroup. I've booked the car into the garage in April. How big a job is a new slector fork?

[Q.S.]

I had same problem with my selector cables on my t180 it was hard to find any gears, new cables and job done.

Hi guys the Deakin here just wanted to let you know this problem is in the gearbox i have had this problem for months and the car dealer i bought the car from told me that it was the gear knob so i let i go untill the car ran out of warranty and then i got talking to a very clever man one night who trains all toyota mechanics and he told me that it was a fault with the gearbox,but toyota will not admit to this for the simple reason it will cost them millions.Hope this helps

After nearly a year the fault has returned, gearstick buzzing at arounf 3000 RPM in 2nd gear. Backward pressure on the gearstick causes noise to stop. The car has one year left of its manufacturers warranty. Any ideas on what I should expect the dealer to suggest?

Obviously changing the linkage cables will just mask the fault for another year, then it will start again after the warranty has run out.

I have not been totally happy with the gearchange since the cables were changed, going from 5th to 4th is notchy and can't be rushed. Selecting reverse can also often require declutching.

Any advice appreciated.

Usually the cause of buzzing gearlevers is down to wear in the gear selector fork inside the gearbox, caused by people who drive with their hand resting on the gearstick. This puts pressure on the gear selector fork and wears it away against the synchro hub.

Thanks Q.S.

This ties up with Penfolds comments elsewhere on this newsgroup. I've booked the car into the garage in April. How big a job is a new slector fork?

Gearbox stripdown I'm afraid. Personally I would just live with it.

[PDT]

I had same problem with my selector cables on my t180 it was hard to find any gears, new cables and job done.

Hi guys the Deakin here just wanted to let you know this problem is in the gearbox i have had this problem for months and the car dealer i bought the car from told me that it was the gear knob so i let i go untill the car ran out of warranty and then i got talking to a very clever man one night who trains all toyota mechanics and he told me that it was a fault with the gearbox,but toyota will not admit to this for the simple reason it will cost them millions.Hope this helps

After nearly a year the fault has returned, gearstick buzzing at arounf 3000 RPM in 2nd gear. Backward pressure on the gearstick causes noise to stop. The car has one year left of its manufacturers warranty. Any ideas on what I should expect the dealer to suggest?

Obviously changing the linkage cables will just mask the fault for another year, then it will start again after the warranty has run out.

I have not been totally happy with the gearchange since the cables were changed, going from 5th to 4th is notchy and can't be rushed. Selecting reverse can also often require declutching.

Any advice appreciated.

Usually the cause of buzzing gearlevers is down to wear in the gear selector fork inside the gearbox, caused by people who drive with their hand resting on the gearstick. This puts pressure on the gear selector fork and wears it away against the synchro hub.

Thanks Q.S.

This ties up with Penfolds comments elsewhere on this newsgroup. I've booked the car into the garage in April. How big a job is a new slector fork?

Gearbox stripdown I'm afraid. Personally I would just live with it.

The car has a years warranty left, I am worried that it could get worse or be the sign of a more serious fault which develops once the warranty is over. Will the garage actually strip down the gearbox or will they fit a replacement?

[Q.S.]

I had same problem with my selector cables on my t180 it was hard to find any gears, new cables and job done.

Hi guys the Deakin here just wanted to let you know this problem is in the gearbox i have had this problem for months and the car dealer i bought the car from told me that it was the gear knob so i let i go untill the car ran out of warranty and then i got talking to a very clever man one night who trains all toyota mechanics and he told me that it was a fault with the gearbox,but toyota will not admit to this for the simple reason it will cost them millions.Hope this helps

After nearly a year the fault has returned, gearstick buzzing at arounf 3000 RPM in 2nd gear. Backward pressure on the gearstick causes noise to stop. The car has one year left of its manufacturers warranty. Any ideas on what I should expect the dealer to suggest?

Obviously changing the linkage cables will just mask the fault for another year, then it will start again after the warranty has run out.

I have not been totally happy with the gearchange since the cables were changed, going from 5th to 4th is notchy and can't be rushed. Selecting reverse can also often require declutching.

Any advice appreciated.

Usually the cause of buzzing gearlevers is down to wear in the gear selector fork inside the gearbox, caused by people who drive with their hand resting on the gearstick. This puts pressure on the gear selector fork and wears it away against the synchro hub.

Thanks Q.S.

This ties up with Penfolds comments elsewhere on this newsgroup. I've booked the car into the garage in April. How big a job is a new slector fork?

Gearbox stripdown I'm afraid. Personally I would just live with it.

The car has a years warranty left, I am worried that it could get worse or be the sign of a more serious fault which develops once the warranty is over. Will the garage actually strip down the gearbox or will they fit a replacement?

If it's still under warranty, let them sort it. They will do which ever is most cost effective - no doubt, which in time terms is replacement box, in parts terms is a repair.

[PDT]

I had same problem with my selector cables on my t180 it was hard to find any gears, new cables and job done.

Hi guys the Deakin here just wanted to let you know this problem is in the gearbox i have had this problem for months and the car dealer i bought the car from told me that it was the gear knob so i let i go untill the car ran out of warranty and then i got talking to a very clever man one night who trains all toyota mechanics and he told me that it was a fault with the gearbox,but toyota will not admit to this for the simple reason it will cost them millions.Hope this helps

After nearly a year the fault has returned, gearstick buzzing at arounf 3000 RPM in 2nd gear. Backward pressure on the gearstick causes noise to stop. The car has one year left of its manufacturers warranty. Any ideas on what I should expect the dealer to suggest?

Obviously changing the linkage cables will just mask the fault for another year, then it will start again after the warranty has run out.

I have not been totally happy with the gearchange since the cables were changed, going from 5th to 4th is notchy and can't be rushed. Selecting reverse can also often require declutching.

Any advice appreciated.

Usually the cause of buzzing gearlevers is down to wear in the gear selector fork inside the gearbox, caused by people who drive with their hand resting on the gearstick. This puts pressure on the gear selector fork and wears it away against the synchro hub.

Thanks Q.S.

This ties up with Penfolds comments elsewhere on this newsgroup. I've booked the car into the garage in April. How big a job is a new slector fork?

Gearbox stripdown I'm afraid. Personally I would just live with it.

The car has a years warranty left, I am worried that it could get worse or be the sign of a more serious fault which develops once the warranty is over. Will the garage actually strip down the gearbox or will they fit a replacement?

If it's still under warranty, let them sort it. They will do which ever is most cost effective - no doubt, which in time terms is replacement box, in parts terms is a repair.

Dealer will fit a new gear lever tomorrow! I am not convinced that this is getting to the root of the problem, but i'll just have to see what happens.

[PDT]

I had same problem with my selector cables on my t180 it was hard to find any gears, new cables and job done.

Hi guys the Deakin here just wanted to let you know this problem is in the gearbox i have had this problem for months and the car dealer i bought the car from told me that it was the gear knob so i let i go untill the car ran out of warranty and then i got talking to a very clever man one night who trains all toyota mechanics and he told me that it was a fault with the gearbox,but toyota will not admit to this for the simple reason it will cost them millions.Hope this helps

After nearly a year the fault has returned, gearstick buzzing at arounf 3000 RPM in 2nd gear. Backward pressure on the gearstick causes noise to stop. The car has one year left of its manufacturers warranty. Any ideas on what I should expect the dealer to suggest?

Obviously changing the linkage cables will just mask the fault for another year, then it will start again after the warranty has run out.

I have not been totally happy with the gearchange since the cables were changed, going from 5th to 4th is notchy and can't be rushed. Selecting reverse can also often require declutching.

Any advice appreciated.

Usually the cause of buzzing gearlevers is down to wear in the gear selector fork inside the gearbox, caused by people who drive with their hand resting on the gearstick. This puts pressure on the gear selector fork and wears it away against the synchro hub.

Thanks Q.S.

This ties up with Penfolds comments elsewhere on this newsgroup. I've booked the car into the garage in April. How big a job is a new slector fork?

Gearbox stripdown I'm afraid. Personally I would just live with it.

The car has a years warranty left, I am worried that it could get worse or be the sign of a more serious fault which develops once the warranty is over. Will the garage actually strip down the gearbox or will they fit a replacement?

If it's still under warranty, let them sort it. They will do which ever is most cost effective - no doubt, which in time terms is replacement box, in parts terms is a repair.

Dealer will fit a new gear lever tomorrow! I am not convinced that this is getting to the root of the problem, but i'll just have to see what happens.

New gearstick did'nt fix it. They now want to fit more new linkage cables. They phoned the Toyota technical bods and were told that the linkage cables have been modded to include additional dampening! Has anyone heard of this mod?

Even if the cables have been modded it sounds like this will only mask the underlying problem. With a good chance that the problem will recurr in 12 months time like it has just done, but the warranty will have run out by then.

I have noticed that when the buzzing happens I can depress the clutch and the noise diassapears instantly. To me this suggests its coming from the gearbox, the engine or possibly the transmission.

[Q.S.]

I had same problem with my selector cables on my t180 it was hard to find any gears, new cables and job done.

Hi guys the Deakin here just wanted to let you know this problem is in the gearbox i have had this problem for months and the car dealer i bought the car from told me that it was the gear knob so i let i go untill the car ran out of warranty and then i got talking to a very clever man one night who trains all toyota mechanics and he told me that it was a fault with the gearbox,but toyota will not admit to this for the simple reason it will cost them millions.Hope this helps

After nearly a year the fault has returned, gearstick buzzing at arounf 3000 RPM in 2nd gear. Backward pressure on the gearstick causes noise to stop. The car has one year left of its manufacturers warranty. Any ideas on what I should expect the dealer to suggest?

Obviously changing the linkage cables will just mask the fault for another year, then it will start again after the warranty has run out.

I have not been totally happy with the gearchange since the cables were changed, going from 5th to 4th is notchy and can't be rushed. Selecting reverse can also often require declutching.

Any advice appreciated.

Usually the cause of buzzing gearlevers is down to wear in the gear selector fork inside the gearbox, caused by people who drive with their hand resting on the gearstick. This puts pressure on the gear selector fork and wears it away against the synchro hub.

Thanks Q.S.

This ties up with Penfolds comments elsewhere on this newsgroup. I've booked the car into the garage in April. How big a job is a new slector fork?

Gearbox stripdown I'm afraid. Personally I would just live with it.

The car has a years warranty left, I am worried that it could get worse or be the sign of a more serious fault which develops once the warranty is over. Will the garage actually strip down the gearbox or will they fit a replacement?

If it's still under warranty, let them sort it. They will do which ever is most cost effective - no doubt, which in time terms is replacement box, in parts terms is a repair.

Dealer will fit a new gear lever tomorrow! I am not convinced that this is getting to the root of the problem, but i'll just have to see what happens.

New gearstick did'nt fix it. They now want to fit more new linkage cables. They phoned the Toyota technical bods and were told that the linkage cables have been modded to include additional dampening! Has anyone heard of this mod?

Even if the cables have been modded it sounds like this will only mask the underlying problem. With a good chance that the problem will recurr in 12 months time like it has just done, but the warranty will have run out by then.

I have noticed that when the buzzing happens I can depress the clutch and the noise diassapears instantly. To me this suggests its coming from the gearbox, the engine or possibly the transmission.

I presume this is still only in 2nd gear. I stick with what I said earlier, worn gear selector fork and synchro hub caused by driver resting his hand on the gear lever when driving around town. As you say, the cables damp out the buzz when new but are only masking the underlying cause. Can't swear this is the case 100% sat at the keyboard but if I had to place a bet on the cause, that's where my money would go.

[PDT]

The buzzing became noticeable in several gears. New linkage cables, different gearknob and a dampened lever attached to the gearbox was fitted as per the Technical Service Bulletin. Still buzzing in 4th gear. Dealer waiting to see what Toyota recommend. Basically everything has been replaced from the gearknob to the lever that attaches to the gearbox. 10 sperate visits to dealers but still not fixed 15 months later. Not impressed.

[Ivan1202]

PDT How did You solve this problem in the end?

I have same problem with my Avensis 1.8, year 2008, with 45000km, here in Croatia!

I am out of warranty, and repair will cost me 700Euro. They want to change shift lever and cables.

I have this vibration of gearstick and buzz on every gear after 2900 rpm. I' ve noticed that buzz 18 months ago and reported it to Toyota service when car was under warranty. They said that plastic is working under temperature difference so I don't have to worry about it. In the start I noticed that buzz comes periodically only on 2nd gear and only on 3000 rpm. Now the buzz is on every gear from 2900 to 4000 rpm, sometimes especially on 5th gear on highway and over 4000 rpm.

Now I am really ****** because they want to charge me for 700Euro, and after one year I could espect same problem as You. And as I can conclude it is obvious that this is serial fault on Avensis.

[PDT]

Hi Ivan,

I was lucky in that all of the repairs were carried out under warranty.

The first thing they did was replace the linkage cables, this worked for 12 months and then the buzzing came back.

They then put a denser gearknob on but this didn't work. They did some other work which I can'r remember, but it made no difference.

I phoned another dealer and they looked up the sysmptons on their toyota database. They identified a kit which needed to be fitted.I think the kit contained new linkage, a new gearknob and most importantly a dampened gear linkage lever at the gear box end. This lever seemed to have extra weight added to it.

The kit was fitted in 2008 and there has been no problem since.

I hope this helps and you fix the problem without spending a fortune.

Cheers,

Pete (PDT)

[Ivan1202]

Thank You so much for informations. I will contact Toyota car service and tell them to investigate Your experiences. This buzz is really going on my nervs because car is almost new and perfectly maintained. I'm a little disappointed about quality. In fact, I bought Toyota because of its world known quality.

[Ivan1202]

PDT.....can You give me contacts of dealer who solve Your problem. I prefer e-mail adress!

Best regards

Ivan