Suing Toyota over Warranty Issue (Synchros)

[MyGT86Yas]

Personally have been having problem with the transmission on my car for almost half year now, and whenever I posted about my problem here people always tended to blame on my driving skill and this and that, or they would tell me it's normal. But the truth is our car has shitty transmission. I'm not a mechanical engineer to explain it but the problem is well known. And after dealing with the dealership for a couple months kept telling and showing them the transmission is making weird noise when accelerating or when I let go of the gas, they agree it needs to be fixed under warranty and tomorrow they are gonna put on a new trans on my car.

I don't know if the way you used your car was the real cause of the issue or not, but I do agree our car has weak ass transmission and Toyota or Subaru should look into it.

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by humfrz

Yep, I agree. I suggest you either have the transmission rebuilt or buy a new one. Then, if you want to continue to hammer on it ...... budget for yet another one.

To my knowledge rebuilding this transmission is very rare and it's almost always replaced.

But I agree, the lawsuit is a nice moral stand but in practice I'd be hunting the junkyards and online listings for a used transmission.

$500-$1000 on ebay before shipping right now for a used transmission:
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...sion&_sacat=0#

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

To my knowledge rebuilding this transmission is very rare and it's almost always replaced.

But I agree, the lawsuit is a nice moral stand but in practice I'd be hunting the junkyards and online listings for a used transmission.

$500-$1000 on ebay before shipping right now for a used transmission:
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...sion&_sacat=0#

Yep, no doubt ...... nobody "fixes" things anymore ...... they just replace them.....

Back-in-the-day, I've rebuilt several manual transmissions ...... oh, but wait, those were simpler, they only had three gears ....... not six gears ......


humfrz

[Takumi788]

lol. Another "entitled" millennial whining bc he found out the hard way that he is, in fact, not entitled to anything. - Got my mean comment out of the way early. Now I am here to help.


There isn't anything I can say that hasn't already been said but I don't think you are going about this the right way. But I would like to help you make lemonade from your lemon.


You seem to be pretty good at the youtube. Try searching "how to replace syncros in a frs/brz". If there isn't a diy, then you should make one! Lucky for you these should be out pretty soon and they will be about $9,700 cheaper than the $10k that Toyota quoted. Now you can get more views and subscribers or whatever and have a properly functioning car!


I know this post seems like I am making fun of you (and I am a little) but I'm not kidding. Judging by your videos it looks like you live far away from me bc the weather appears to be super nice. But if you are within driving distance of NY I would gladly let you use my shop and lift to create a DIY Syncro video to benefit the community. Manual transmissions are pretty basic. It shouldn't be very hard.

Edit: Just saw that you live in Cali and probably don't want to drive to NY for a lift. lol. But the offer still stands if you do make the trip. lol

[pgranberg11]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

To my knowledge rebuilding this transmission is very rare and it's almost always replaced.

But I agree, the lawsuit is a nice moral stand but in practice I'd be hunting the junkyards and online listings for a used transmission.

$500-$1000 on ebay before shipping right now for a used transmission:
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...sion&_sacat=0#

I agree with this, buy a used transmission. Install DIY with a few tools and a jack and jack stand.... call it a day and enjoy the smiles per miles.

[Slammillionaire]

What a massive waste of money

[SuperTom]

Sue the FK out them!

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by lazyluka

Instead of wasting money (and time) to sue Toyota, why not spend it fixing your 4th gear synchro instead?

I am sure you can have it repaired for a lot less than $10K.

Originally Posted by humfrz

Yep, I agree. I suggest you either have the transmission rebuilt or buy a new one. Then, if you want to continue to hammer on it ...... budget for yet another one.
humfrz

That's where I'm at as well. 10 seconds of searching and I came up with a dozen used, low mileage 86 transmissions for under $1,000, and a brand new one with warranty for $5,200 (list price is $6,284). Obviously that doesn't include labor but I can't imagine it would be anywhere near $4,000.

[radroach]

Originally Posted by stevesnj

So suing Toyota may not help but suing the dealer may get you closer to your desired outcome. Maybe a 50/50 cost split? Anyway good luck and you are fighting and setting a precedent whatever the outcome. My opinion is clear. Some may not agree but that's okay. That's their right. But hey, why not try? :P

The 4th stage of grief is bargaining.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by stevesnj

But hey, why not try? :P

Nothing wrong with trying but his methods are way off.


It is like playing poker with your hand being broadcast on a big screen behind you.

[mazeroni]

I don't see why Toyota owes them anything in this case...

Warranties cover defects from the factory, no?

What is the % of bad synchros for people that have zero mods, only ever use the car on the street while obeying all posted laws, and they have 30K-100K miles? Assuming the original owner.

Synchros are relatively simple by design, so why would they go bad from the factory? Change of suppliers mid-production that delivered inferior materials? The assembler bunked the build?

People that race their car - my mom thinks that accelerating fast from a stoplight is racing, btw - or attend non-competitive events that encourage behavior is objectively more demanding on the car than driving on public roads (going to and from Sonic) where one would obey all road laws (not-racing) - should be 100% responsible for powertrain issues, no?

Your AC doesn't care if you go do 100 laps at Laguna Seca, but your transmission does. If you run your AC 24/7 on full blast, but it fails at 30K miles, I too would be pissed with Toyota if they didn't honor the warranty because of excessive wear as a result of living in New Mexico, or somewhere else that is excessively hot.

If the marketing material shows aggressive driving, they are showing a brand new car. A reasonable person should be capable of recognizing that aggressive driving results in excessive wear, and is thus not normal use, and therefore is not the fault of Toyota. I see any other interpretation as an intentional display of ignorance.

TL;DR - If the FR-S is second hand and developed this issue then Toyota should fix the transmission under warranty, regardless of whether the first owner beat the shit out of the car or not. But the second owner did more than go to Sonic on Saturday and should take responsibility for shit the previous owner did, and the time abusing the car that made the existing problem worse. Right?

[ajh88]

If you really do want to go through with this (I would not), then 1) get a lawyer and 2) get off the forums. The time/money of going through with this will end up being far greater than DIY replacing your synchros.

[WRBrzRX]

You've made it really clear you haven't spoken to a lawyer, not just from the horrible paper trail you've left but the assumption this would be heard in small claims. Stop posting here and to Youtube and chat with a lawyer. If he knows anything about cars he'll tell you to grab a used trans and hang up the phone.

[Beachin86]

As someone who works at a law firm (not practicing law, but very familiar with the whole process), I'd suggest you listen to your fellow 86 owners. This isn't a strong case and by posting here, you only hurt your chances of winning. Plan on spending more than you would on replacing the tranny if you go the lawsuit route with a chance of not gaining anything, or swallow your pride and end up with a new working tranny. Sorry to burst your bubble. I don't disagree that 86s do have transmission problems, but you've already gone the wrong way about it.