Knackered Gearbox Nightmare!

April 28, 2008

Hi all, I had my 99 V reg Yaris last Oct ever since then it's been a lovely drive until last week, when I found it impossible to shift gear, in particular movin from 3rd to 4th gear, more than often the whole thing completely stuck in the neotrual position, it jammed up a few times in the middle of road during rush hours.

I took the car to the local Toyota specialist and addressed them the problem I suffered from, they checked and then claimed the vehicle's gearbox has no mechnical fault or lack of fluid or whatsoever, ridiculously the way I drove it back home from the dealer it failed to shift gear in the busy traffic again!

The car is only doing 46000m and properly serviced through out all these years, I really didn't expect the gearbox to be knackered and probably on its course for a replacement this soon, is there any other possible cause to the problem? Thx.

April 28, 2008

could be the clutch.

You could always try for a second opinion from a different mechanic. How often does it play up?

April 29, 2008

could be the clutch.
You could always try for a second opinion from a different mechanic. How often does it play up?

Thx 4 the reply, it's a freetronic model actually with no clutch, leaving the vehicle for a few hours say overnight for instance, then switch the engine on and drive, the first 30 or 40 mins is when the gear mess around the most frequently, after the whole thing gotten all warmed up the gear'd be back on its norm again,,,,

May 3, 2008

could be the clutch.
You could always try for a second opinion from a different mechanic. How often does it play up?
Thx 4 the reply, it's a freetronic model actually with no clutch, leaving the vehicle for a few hours say overnight for instance, then switch the engine on and drive, the first 30 or 40 mins is when the gear mess around the most frequently, after the whole thing gotten all warmed up the gear'd be back on its norm again,,,,

I take it it is an early model as they made a proper auto box on later ones.

The freetronic is a well known pain in the donkey! (Geddit) and as it is no longer a warrenty issue, i would try an independant Toyota specialist rather than a main dealer as they will charge fortunes to fit a new box. i would advise ANYONE who wants an automatic Yaris to get a proper automatic, not e freetronic. As they get older, you may find a used replacement if you can find someone to test it and swap them but it is just a matter of time before you get the thing go wrong again!

Sorry! :(

May 3, 2008

could be the clutch.
You could always try for a second opinion from a different mechanic. How often does it play up?
Thx 4 the reply, it's a freetronic model actually with no clutch, leaving the vehicle for a few hours say overnight for instance, then switch the engine on and drive, the first 30 or 40 mins is when the gear mess around the most frequently, after the whole thing gotten all warmed up the gear'd be back on its norm again,,,,
I take it it is an early model as they made a proper auto box on later ones.
The freetronic is a well known pain in the donkey! (Geddit) and as it is no longer a warrenty issue, i would try an independant Toyota specialist rather than a main dealer as they will charge fortunes to fit a new box. i would advise ANYONE who wants an automatic Yaris to get a proper automatic, not e freetronic. As they get older, you may find a used replacement if you can find someone to test it and swap them but it is just a matter of time before you get the thing go wrong again!
Sorry! :(

The later version of the Freetronic was called MMT (Multi Mode Transmission)

On the Yaris the MMT box has proven to be extreemly reliable, even after considerable mileage.

I am not sure if the earlier Freetronic unit can be swapped for a later MMT box as the MMT incorporated several improvements.