I bought a new Toyota Auris in 2009 in the uk.It has an electronic MMT gearbox and a hydraulic clutch with dual controls.It has been subject to two recalls during that time and undergone major repairs to the software and oil combustion unit as well as needing new brakes when I drove it off the forecourt after buying it..
It has always been a dreadful car to drive at low speed because it has a very sluggish electronic Gear change. Very difficult to make a 'quick getaway' at roundabouts and from any stopping position.Was sold to me as an automatic but in reality is nothing of the kind as it has an electronic hydraulic clutch.
It is fitted with a paddle for manual or 'automatic' gear change.In reality the manual mode is still overridden by the electronic transmission if it senses the speed is too low or high for the road condition.
In June 2014, when the car was 4 and half years old, the MMT gearbox began to fail. Whilst driving the gear would 'slip' from the Drive position to the Neutral position.This could happen anytime and with great frequency, including motorways and at night.It was extremely frightening as I could be anywhere with fast moving vehicles behind me.
.
It caused me a great deal of anxiety and stress from frequent breakdowns in traffic as the problem began to escalate.
The Toyota main Dealer failed to diagnose that the problem was the Actuator. The days of the 'good old fashioned mechanic' have passed and now it is 'Technicians' who rely on their electronic computer systems to diagnose the problem.
In my case they diagnosed another problem,namely the clutch and flywheel.I paid the equivalent of $1500 to repair the car with them only for it to break down on the way home with the same problem.! So much for experienced Toyota Main dealers.
The upshot of that was that their diagnosis was incorrect.The second main dealer correctly assessed the problem as the Actuator.He confirmed that the MMT gearboxes were 'problematic' but would not elaborate.
I checked the internet and many people have experienced problems with this transmission but it has fell on 'deaf ears' as far as Toyota are concerned.
They have been less than helpful.To begin with they did not answer my letters and I had to recontact them several times.
They stated that they would not offer me a financial goodwill gesture because I had taken my car previously to a non Toyota main dealer for servicing. That is not a requirement of the warranty, which by the way was only three years.It was increased 7 months after I bought it to 5 years but too late for me.
My car has always been maintained by a top rated garage and well cared for.Their argument is spurious.
They just don't want to know.Shame on them for the way they have ignored my situation.I don't want their platitudes just an acknowledgement that this problem should not have happened to one of their cars after only 4 and half years.
It is unreasonable and unfair for a car of 4 and a half years old to have such a serious problem with the gear transmission.I am convinced from what I have read and experienced myself that this system has a built in fault but I do not have the money or ability to take them to court to prove it. Interestingly I note that they seem to have changed the transmission now. I wonder why if it was so good.
Yet I am $3,000 out of pocket and they are raking in billions.Where is the justice in that.?
To cap it all, the replacement Actuator is only guaranteed for a year!. so much for Toyotas promise of 'reliability and durability'.They presumably don't have enough faith in their own replacement parts to give a longer guarantee.
I now have no faith myself now in Toyota.I don't believe any of their hype anymore. I feel let down badly by them and cheated. When I buy my next car it will not be a Toyota, ever! They only get away with it because they are a big and powerful company but they forget about the little people like me who have to work hard to pay for their 'mistakes'.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
I bought a new Toyota Auris in 2009 in the uk.It has an electronic MMT gearbox and a hydraulic clutch with dual controls.It has been subject to two recalls during that time and undergone major repairs to the software and oil combustion unit as well as needing new brakes when I drove it off the forecourt after buying it..
It has always been a dreadful car to drive at low speed because it has a very sluggish electronic Gear change. Very difficult to make a 'quick getaway' at roundabouts and from any stopping position.Was sold to me as an automatic but in reality is nothing of the kind as it has an electronic hydraulic clutch.
It is fitted with a paddle for manual or 'automatic' gear change.In reality the manual mode is still overridden by the electronic transmission if it senses the speed is too low or high for the road condition.
In June 2014, when the car was 4 and half years old, the MMT gearbox began to fail. Whilst driving the gear would 'slip' from the Drive position to the Neutral position.This could happen anytime and with great frequency, including motorways and at night.It was extremely frightening as I could be anywhere with fast moving vehicles behind me. . It caused me a great deal of anxiety and stress from frequent breakdowns in traffic as the problem began to escalate. The Toyota main Dealer failed to diagnose that the problem was the Actuator. The days of the 'good old fashioned mechanic' have passed and now it is 'Technicians' who rely on their electronic computer systems to diagnose the problem. In my case they diagnosed another problem,namely the clutch and flywheel.I paid the equivalent of $1500 to repair the car with them only for it to break down on the way home with the same problem.! So much for experienced Toyota Main dealers.
The upshot of that was that their diagnosis was incorrect.The second main dealer correctly assessed the problem as the Actuator.He confirmed that the MMT gearboxes were 'problematic' but would not elaborate. I checked the internet and many people have experienced problems with this transmission but it has fell on 'deaf ears' as far as Toyota are concerned. They have been less than helpful.To begin with they did not answer my letters and I had to recontact them several times. They stated that they would not offer me a financial goodwill gesture because I had taken my car previously to a non Toyota main dealer for servicing. That is not a requirement of the warranty, which by the way was only three years.It was increased 7 months after I bought it to 5 years but too late for me.
My car has always been maintained by a top rated garage and well cared for.Their argument is spurious. They just don't want to know.Shame on them for the way they have ignored my situation.I don't want their platitudes just an acknowledgement that this problem should not have happened to one of their cars after only 4 and half years.
It is unreasonable and unfair for a car of 4 and a half years old to have such a serious problem with the gear transmission.I am convinced from what I have read and experienced myself that this system has a built in fault but I do not have the money or ability to take them to court to prove it. Interestingly I note that they seem to have changed the transmission now. I wonder why if it was so good. Yet I am $3,000 out of pocket and they are raking in billions.Where is the justice in that.?
To cap it all, the replacement Actuator is only guaranteed for a year!. so much for Toyotas promise of 'reliability and durability'.They presumably don't have enough faith in their own replacement parts to give a longer guarantee.
I now have no faith myself now in Toyota.I don't believe any of their hype anymore. I feel let down badly by them and cheated. When I buy my next car it will not be a Toyota, ever! They only get away with it because they are a big and powerful company but they forget about the little people like me who have to work hard to pay for their 'mistakes'.
- ollyhar2, Essex, UK