Toyota is Replacing My Transmission
 

Since car was new, 1st to 2nd shift was always balky. At higher RPM, shift into 4th, either from 3rd or 5th, would result in a really disturbing metallic crunching noise. Could be cruising at 50mph in 5th gear, clutch to the floor and 4th would crunch.

Tried replacing fluid with Redline, no improvement. Car has between 7500 and 8000 miles.

Anyway, my Dad just got a new FR-S, and the shifting is perfectly smooth. I took it into my local dealership on Saturday and told them about the issue. Basically it started as a "this must just be how the transmission is," and changed to "something is totally FUBAR" after comparing to the new car.

The dealership put in a call to corporate Toyota, who asked them to drive my car back-to-back with another FR-S to check for a difference. Service department called me back today to say they were told to replace the transmission and that it had been ordered. Should have the car back later this week.

I too have this issue. I should be calling my dealer soon!

Had mine replaced about 8 months ago for the same issue. If anything it helped me with my lemon law case.

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what was the issue or cause for malfunction?

Going to the dealership today. I'm tired of the crunchy gears. Thanks for the heads up.

For all the people who got their transmission replaced under warranty, what is the last 4 of your VIN#?

I have a less than 1000 VIN and trans no problems so far at 15k street miles, not exactly granny shifted

How is the "metallic crunching noise" different from the "balky" quality of the 1-2 shift? Is there a sound associated with it, or just a feel?

I had my transmission replaced by longo toyota a few months ago as well. It was the same issue as the OP; metallic crunching sounds shifting into 4th from either 3rd or 5th gear. The crunching was definitely more prevalent when shifting above 6k rpm, but you could feel it at lower rpms as well. They said that my transmission had a deformed synchro ring and replaced the entire tranny free of charge.

Hmmm... time to go test drive an FRS and make comparisons....

Don't know. 4th was grinding out loud. They were prepared to charge me for a new transmission if they found my clutch was burnt. It was not. Toyota corporate had them replace clutch flywheel and tranny.

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Should I have the syncro rings checked before 30,000 miles?

Are the syncro rings replaceable instead of the whole transmission?

Balky just meant that the shift had resistance to it; it wouldn't smoothly engage 2nd gear. The crunching noise in 4th gear was definitely a loud metal-on-metal noise. 2nd didn't have a noise.

Sooo those of us that may have done a burnout or two won't get transmission warranty work? Cute.

EDIT**

No need. You'll know if they're dying.

Yes, but toyota opted to just replace the entire tranny and send the defective one back to HQ so they could take a look at the entire unit

I purchased my FRS at longo, should I contact the sales rep who helped me purchase the car or should I be speaking with a different department? @waterbison777

Service. Sales is just there to make money for the dealership.

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If you contact a sales rep he'll just transfer you to the service department anyway, save yourself the 1 minute conversation.

^what they all said

Thanks!!

When did you buy your FRS? I have an occasional grind in some gears but almost always have a little bit of grind going into 5th at freeway speeds (downshifting and upshifting). Not sure if it's the same issue but it is worriesome

I'm also having this issue. A noticeable amount of resistance shifting from 1st to 2nd. However, no weird sounds or resistance on any other gears. Not sure what the deal is...

1st to 2nd is pretty normal. I don't recall anyone not having this issue at one point or another?

I'm having this and I'm really annoyed with it considering I took it in the other day and they didn't do anything about it.

If I shift from 3rd to 4th very quickly at high RPM I can sometimes feel and hear a slight grind. I hope it's not the start of a bad syncro...

What did your dealership say? I'm taking mine in on Wednesday. I hope it's not a waste of time.

That it is fine. It's not fine. Something I want to know is how many people with this issue followed the break in procedure.

same issue, but mostly with 5th gear. With both down-shifting to slow down or to accelerate harder, if i don't make sure that i shove it into 5th gear, than there is a pretty bad grind. Even with the shove, it still does make an unpleasant sound, as well as feeling it through the shifter. This is with rev matching of course.

I was just checking this the other day; resistance on the 4-5 shift at higher RPMs is very high. Enough so, that I was "driving in Mexico" and about to do a quick 4-5, but met with enough resistance that I kept the clutch down and popped it back in 4th to try again.

I need to pay attention more when driving. I do have the metallic clunk but thought it was normal. Hmmmmm...

I have this exact issue from time to time.

i took it to the dealership once already, but they just told me that they were unable to replicate the issue and asked if i would take their tech for a ride along. He had already gone home though, so i need to make an apt. to go back. problem is that he has the same work hours that i do :iono:

However, since then i have installed the perrin rear-shift bushing and the whiteline positive shift kit. The problem has certainly improved. It doesn't happen EVERY time now, just occasionally. But when it does happen, it is a pretty severe crunch and has even refused to go into 5th. Luckily i keep the clutch in and re-tried from 4th-->5th. hopefully some better transmission oil will help some more.

on a side note: The only negatives i have with the shifter bushing/positive shift kit are that my trans in now pretty noisy when creeping along, such as in a parking lot. Also have a bit of a gear whine noise accelerating through lower RPMs. As to be expected though. And Unfortunately, i put them both in at the same time, so i couldn't tell you how they affect the car separately.

Same here. 5th gear always grind. When your driving highway speed on 6th gear, pop it to neautral and waite until rpm drops and try to put in 5th gear. It will grind 100% of the time. I dont know if this is normal.

I just got my car back from the dealership and they said they couldn't replicate the issue. However, magically, shifting is now smooth as butter. Not sure what they did but on the downside I now have crickets. Didn't have that before taking it to dealer. So one problem seemingly solved only to gain another. *sigh*. F it. I'm just drive this thing and try not to care.

Seems likke a lot of people have the same 5th gear problem; is this a normal or something we should all be worried about.. ?

I'm dropping mine off tomorrow night i get a syncro grind/crunch going from 3-4 WoT under heavy load 5500 rpm and up everytime. I'll let you know what the they tell me hopefull on wednesday :(

Did they actually drive the car and report that either: A. there was no issue or B. the issue is too minor to be considered an issue? Or did they just listen to your story and laugh you out of the service department?

I'm sure your problem is real, because you're not the only one having the exact same issue. I am, and so are other folks on this forum. I say you try a different dealer...don't live with a crunchy tranny.

This is my exact problem too; the higher above 5000RPM, the harder it is to get it cleanly into 4th. At 7000, it's virtually impossible not to grind it.

I've just been super reluctant to take mine in. I don't doubt they'll fix it (I actually work at a sister dealership to Toyota), but it's nice to have the reassurance, so post your experience :thumbsup:

I'm dissapointed with all the factory defect problems with the BRZ. Glad I have the automatic transmission for now at least ;/

,.,.,

I call the dealership and they say they could not duplicate the concern, then they say the conditions were hard to meet without speeding. so did they not duplicate it or not actually try to duplicate it? The dealership is not even 5 minutes from a highway. Being a tech I don't understand how hard it is to duplicate a concern that is described as much as I described it. they didn't perform the LOF i asked for because they said it was too early... I told them that's why I asked for it and said I would pay. So the only thing they did was order a fuel filter for my crickets. So now I have another appointment at another dealership. I hope I get a survey for the first dealer so I can destroy their CSI

Nice. my clutch has been making noise for a long time now and the trans also likes to grind at times (and yes I do know how to drive a manual, clutch will be all the way in and not trying to speed shift). It's done that since new more or less. :shrug: I'll just deal with all of these things at 30k.