Big engine trouble (FYI)...

[Goose]

Hi everybody,

Just wanted to let y'all know that my Yaris liftback has to have its engine pulled next week. :eek:

The initial diagnosis is that the (rear?) main seal is bad and needs to be replaced. The "worst-case scenario" at this stage is that the crank is defective and requires a new short block. We'll know for sure once the tech has had a chance to pull the engine/tranny and have a better look inside the clutch housing.

All this came about when I noticed a little oil weeping out of the seam between the clutch housing and the gearbox (see pic below). I seriously doubt that this is a widespread problem; I think I just got lucky. My dealer has always been great and is attending to this issue without any questions asked. Just adding to the knowledge base here at YarisWorld.

I'll keep you all informed...

[foober]

thanks for sharing. HOw many miles did you have on it when it started leaking oil.

[ECHOKnight2000]

Yikes! That's not good! I wonder if you got a lemon? I wish you luck and keep us posted!

[07WYarisRS]

It's common with every car mfg to have a problem or two with a couple hundred or thousand cars from a year or two line up.
bummer it happened to you.

[foober]

I'd ask them for a new car if you don't have too many miles on it yet or just bought it. If you got a lemon it seems they ought to accomadate you with a new car.

[Goose]

Thanks for the support, guys. :smile: I really enjoy my little Yaris - I'm at about 7800 miles(!) My miles are normal highway stuff, nothing brutal.

This issue is no big deal, really - my dealer is very nice and is going to get things straightened out. I'm sure Toyota themselves will be interested, since this kind of thing doesn't happen too often with their cars (at least that's their reputation).

I agree with 07WYarisRS' opinion in that I was just the "lucky one" that got a dud. I still think that the Yaris is one of the best cars on the road; especially when you consider how inexpensive, practical and well-designed it is.

I'll keep you guys posted...

[as400g33k]

Cool man.. nice attitude.

[w1ngzer0]

Time for a 2zz/1zz swap? :)

[Katana]

Sorry to see that.

How did you understand that something was wrong?By the oil leak?

[Goose]

I saw a few drops of oil on the garage floor, so I slid a piece of cardboard under the engine for a while to locate the drip. The "drip" is very slow - maybe a drop or so per day (at least that's what makes it outside the bellhousing). Even though it's a slow leak, I figured I'd take it in the have it checked out.

I'll try to find out what I can when I take the car in. My dealer's service guys are always willing to chat about these things, so if there's anything to report, I'll pass it along.

The idea of an engine swap is cool, but the extra power would be just wasted on me (just a middle-aged geek). :biggrin:

[ChinoCharles]

Uh-oh... hey Goose which cornfield do you live in haha.

[Goose]

Nearest town is Fostoria (ugh).

[ChinoCharles]

Aha, I know where that is. I used to go to BGSU... definitely lots of corn out there.

[Katana]

Thanks for answering Goose

[paeko73]

It's common with every car mfg to have a problem or two with a couple hundred or thousand cars from a year or two line up.
bummer it happened to you.

That's true, but the Yaris' 1.5L engine has been around long enough in the Scion's. It's been more than "a year or two" already!

[07WYarisRS]

Still
It's completely normal.

If not you would never see any new cars in the dealership service departments.

Usually after a few bad cases they solve the problem, in this case they may have changed the seal design slightly, cracnk design slightly hell it could even be a defect from casting or tooling or robotics that put it together or damaged while installin' it. Heck it could even be operator error shoul he use a wrong oil or additive, hard driving on a cold engine etc.
Either way you will NEVER see a car line up without some minor problems like oil leaks, coolant leaks, defective parts etc.
I've been building engines for years for cars, bikes, ATV etc and 99.9% of the time everything is perfect but once in a while there is that one engine...

[Goose]

Okay - I dropped off the car today and the dealer's had a chance to get a good look (ie pull the engine and tear it apart).

It isn't the rear main seal, it's the transmission. Apparently the fluid/oil is leaking from the point at which the main tranny output shaft exits the tranny case. The gasket/seal around the shaft is fine - no damage. The consensus is that the output shaft is out of tolerance and the repair requires replacing the tranny. The situation is similar to needing a new short block when the crankshaft is out of tolerance; it's easier to replace the whole unit than R & R just the shaft.

Here's the interesting part: according to Toyota, there are no new Yaris transmissions in the US. My dealer has placed a priority order with Toyota for a replacement tranny, but there's no estimate as to how long it'll take to show up. Quite a soap opera...

As always, I'll keep you guys posted. Just adding to our collective Yaris experience.

[Violin]

Not one tranny? That blows.

Thanks for the update.

[Toymaniac]

yeah :thumbdown: that what happen when you have The TPS (Toyota Production System)

they dont over produce any parts ...or barely any... so thats why you cant have a tranny right now...



and as for the 1nzfe with c150 combo its been around since 1999 in japan and 2000 in north america :wink: so its more than a year or two

in 2000 here the echo began its life and it was the same tranny and engine as the echohatchback in canada and scion xa/xb in US:thumbsup:

[Goose]

Thanks for the replies, guys. I had wondered if the tranny was an all-new design or one that had been used in the past.

I stopped by the dealer today with my camera in the hopes of getting a picture of the engine/tranny, but there wasn't much to get a picture of.

Speculation is that my car may be out of action for weeks (I hope not). More than one person at the dealer groaned at the prospect of this becoming a "technical issue" in Toyota-speak. Since this was clearly a manufacturing defect, I'm hoping Toyota will be very interested in resolving the issue so it isn't repeated with others' cars.

I'll keep you posted...

[Toymaniac]

technicaly that tranny is used since 1999...

Echo, vitz, yaris(euro), Belta Platz and many more even some country had the corolla with the same engine and tranny ...

the only thing is the 2 nd and 3 gear that are a bit different

[foober]

Thanks for the replies, guys. I had wondered if the tranny was an all-new design or one that had been used in the past.

I stopped by the dealer today with my camera in the hopes of getting a picture of the engine/tranny, but there wasn't much to get a picture of.

Speculation is that my car may be out of action for weeks (I hope not). More than one person at the dealer groaned at the prospect of this becoming a "technical issue" in Toyota-speak. Since this was clearly a manufacturing defect, I'm hoping Toyota will be very interested in resolving the issue so it isn't repeated with others' cars.

I'll keep you posted...

I am really suprised toyota just won't give you a new car. That sounds like a major error in toyota production for them not just give you a new car. If it were me and I'd just had the car for a few months i'd definetly ask for a new one.

[fearturtle44]

I am really suprised toyota just won't give you a new car. That sounds like a major error in toyota production for them not just give you a new car. If it were me and I'd just had the car for a few months i'd definetly ask for a new one.

Toyota (or any car company) is not just going to give you another new car. The car companies will "try" to do everything to get it fixed. If no success, then the person more likely will have to get an attorney and go through the lemon law. Very expensive and time consuming but there is a very good chance you can win at this one.

Kevin

[Goose]

I picked up my Yaris yesterday. Mighty impressed by the turnaround time. :smile: I asked how they found a new tranny so quick, considering the dire predictions; I guess there was a tranny lying around somewhere. Toyota's bill for the job: $2,950.00(!)

One problem though...

I have to bring the car back in 'cause there's something funky going on with the engine/tranny after the replacement. My best guess is that one of the engine mounts is binding or just isn't torqued up properly. Whenver the engine rocks on its mounts (like when changing gears or starting off the line), there's a clunking noise. Again, this description of what's going on is just my guess - it could be something totally different. All I know is that the noise wasn't there prior to the removal/replacement of the tranny. We'll see what's up.

My dealer has been great and represents Toyota well, but this is getting to be a bit of a pain. I'll keep ya'll posted...

[Kitt]

dude: IMHO you should ask for a new car...

[foober]

Toyota (or any car company) is not just going to give you another new car. The car companies will "try" to do everything to get it fixed. If no success, then the person more likely will have to get an attorney and go through the lemon law. Very expensive and time consuming but there is a very good chance you can win at this one.

Kevin

Thanx, but isn't his car under warranty for a certain amount of time. He definelty got a lemon.

If I were him i'd definelty make some phone calls up the chain of command of toyota. And record your calls if possible. I had kind of the same problem with my big screen sony t.v.. At first the people just hemmed and hawed about fixing it right even though it was under warranty still. But I started phoning up the chain of command of sony and finally found some guy that raised hell about fixing my big screen. In which they wound up gving me a new one.

[Goose]

I agree, but I'm going to give my dealer another crack at it. Unfortunately I've already racked up over 8,000 miles(!) on my Yaris since May. I doubt they'd be willing to give me a new car.

Again, I'll keep you posted. This is pretty interesting stuff (to put the best face on it) - I've never had this kind of problem with a new car before.

Thanks for the feedback. :smile:

[Yaris-TJ]

I picked up my Yaris yesterday. Mighty impressed by the turnaround time. :smile: I asked how they found a new tranny so quick, considering the dire predictions; I guess there was a tranny lying around somewhere. Toyota's bill for the job: $2,950.00(!)

One problem though...

I have to bring the car back in 'cause there's something funky going on with the engine/tranny after the replacement. My best guess is that one of the engine mounts is binding or just isn't torqued up properly. Whenver the engine rocks on its mounts (like when changing gears or starting off the line), there's a clunking noise. Again, this description of what's going on is just my guess - it could be something totally different. All I know is that the noise wasn't there prior to the removal/replacement of the tranny. We'll see what's up.

My dealer has been great and represents Toyota well, but this is getting to be a bit of a pain. I'll keep ya'll posted...

Is this charge covered by the warranty...??? I would think it is, if not, you were not so willing to give the dealer a second chance!:biggrin:

[Goose]

Just got back from the dealer. No big deal.

Neither the technician nor I could figure out why, but the problem was the manifold/a-pipe joint. Even though the engine had not been dropped from the car, this joint somehow got misaligned. The result was a squeak/clunk as the engine/tranny rocked on its mounts. A simple remove/replace and all is well. Took about fifteen minutes.

Sorry, I should have been more clear - the $2,950.00 charge was paid by Toyota (warranty). My dealer was just letting me know how much they (Toyota) were eating on this one (at least the retail price). My dealer told me that Toyota actually air-freighted a transmission from Japan(!) Very impressed by this level of service.

You guys already know this, but Toyota is a quality company!

[Jem_hadar]

Toyota is a quality company!

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: INDEED!

[foober]

Just got back from the dealer. No big deal.

Neither the technician nor I could figure out why, but the problem was the manifold/a-pipe joint. Even though the engine had not been dropped from the car, this joint somehow got misaligned. The result was a squeak/clunk as the engine/tranny rocked on its mounts. A simple remove/replace and all is well. Took about fifteen minutes.

Sorry, I should have been more clear - the $2,950.00 charge was paid by Toyota (warranty). My dealer was just letting me know how much they (Toyota) were eating on this one (at least the retail price). My dealer told me that Toyota actually air-freighted a transmission from Japan(!) Very impressed by this level of service.

You guys already know this, but Toyota is a quality company!


Sounds like you should come out of this okay. The good thing is if you have any trouble from here on they should be held very responsible. What a pain. But it was smart of you to go in right when you saw a problem.

[entreri_21]

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: INDEED!

Exactly!! I had a 94 Celica that had 80k on it when I bought it. I put another 90k on it for a total of 170k miles, and the only problem I ever had was a minor oil leak that cost me $50 to fix.

My Nissan Sentra SE-R had over 10 problems that needed fixing for over $3000 worth of repairs, all within 70k of me buying it. REDICULOUS!!!

I'm staying with Toyota from now on. I've learned my lesson about Nissan.....