6spd owners-synchros?misshift? Help out by joining the new database!

[Tony01Gts]

All I have heard about lately is tranny/synchro problems in the 6 spd transmission. There's even still a misshift every now and then. We all hate the hassel of going to our service department and they have never heard of these problems and look at you like you're crazy. There are also a few of us that have had SO many problems we are going to arbitration with toyota or lemonlaw. I want to compile a list of names and info that we can present to our dealer or arbitration to show that this is a widespread problem. We are going to do this just like David Draper's petition, just reply here with your name and info. The info needed is as follows:

name
email
year and model
VIN (this is for real proof you own the vehicle)
Your Dealer
Transmission synchro problems - yes or no (give a little detail if you want)
Mis-shift - yes or no
Comment: (nothing rude, crude, or obscene please and make it short and relavent)

Once we have a decent number of people, we can print this from right here and use it as necessary. If you have a question or comment do not reply here, PM me or email me tones321@yahoo.com
PLEASE USE THE REPLY BUTTON AND NOT THE QUICK REPLY AND DISABLE YOUR SIG!

[TRD Liquid Silver]

if you look under the warranty booklet they have the right to refuse if they see that the car has been abused. if anything people should be thanking toyota for covering "our" mistakes. it's not a toyota problem it's the people who buy celica's and how they drive them problem. i'll be the first to admit that i don't drive it like a grandmother, but how can you take easy on it. when it begs to be driven hard. i think there's a lot of us that think that if it's a toyota it's unbreakable, this car wasn't built by god. things break and things go wrong.

what we have to do is look at how we drive the car. recall how many times you've launched the car at 4,5,6000rpms and how many times you've missed and grinded 2nd gear because you wanted to stay in the 2nd cam. how many times did you miss a gear cause you were speed shifting. $hit, if you do it all the time then take a look in the mirror. it's always a lot easier to blame someone else for a problem than blaming ourselves.

also look at how you sit when driving the car.

a: while driving is your left leg completely straight to press all the way into the clutch or do you have to lunge your left side to get into the clutch? if you do, get closer. there should be a slight bent to the left knee when the clutch is all the way to the floor board.

b: are you able to place your right wrist on top of the steering wheel while your back is completely resting on the seat? if you have to lean foward to get your wrist up there. pull the seatback lever and adjust it. you should be able to lay your right wrist on the top of the steering wheel w/o leaning foward.

this is the proper way to drive a manual transmission car. now if you drive all gangsta style then don't drive this car. get an automatic.

one last thing. most mis-shifts occur in the 3rd to 4th shift. backhand the shift instead of ham-fisting it and if you have to downshift, double clutch it. especially from 5th to 4th instead of shifting into 4th cause there's a greater chance of you pulling it into 2nd. if you d/c 5th to 4th, for a brief second the shifter is resting in between 3rd and 4th so it's a simple click down into 4th from 5th. you'll find by using these techniques you won't have to worry about mis-shifting.

here's a link for the 3rd to 4th shift.shortshifting (http://www.shortshifter.com/techniques2.htm)

[Tony01Gts]

name: Anthony Possnett
email: tones321@yahoo.com
Year&model: 2001 6spd GT-S
VIN: JTDDY38T710042824
Dealer: Sun Toyota, New Port Richey, FL
Tranny/Synchro: Yes, car was in shop for 2 1/2 weeks
Mis-shift: Yes
Comment: Vehicle has 25,000 miles on it and has been in the shop for a total of 40+ days since I have owned it.

[RedNOSceli]

name:
email: RedNOSceli@yahoo.com
Year&model: 2000 6spd GT-S
VIN: NA
Dealer:
Tranny/Synchro: Once at 15,000 miles, rebuilt, it started up again at around 30k and now its going in the shop at 40l
Mis-shift: Yes
Comment: Love the car, hate the tranny

[2kcarbonblue]

name: Michael Graham
email: tarheelsfan@triad.rr.com
year & model: 2000 6spd GT-S
VIN: JTDDY32TOY0034535
dealer: Modern Toyota, Winston Salem, NC
tranny/synchro: no, just the clutch
misshift: yes
comment: in shop for over a month, got it back for a day and then was back in the shop for another week. runs good now. has 13800 miles on it.

[Ntence99]

Ill have to get the rest of my info 2 morro but the synchos went out,so toyota replaced them.The thing is in doing so they messed up my axle.Right afterthat all the motor mount went bad.They orderd one...when they put that one in,they noticed the transmount bracket was broke!It had a peice od the transmission block still on it.Now they are wanting to charge me 3,000 dollars for a new transmission!I have never mis-shifted,and i dont launch my car hard often..its got 20000 miles on it,and its a 2002 model.This seriously makes me think of buying a different car as for right now im having to drive my pride and joy with no connection to the transmission-mount(by the way toyota said it would be ok even though I know they r full of it)im gonna fight em to the end!!! Becouse of a recent lay-off at my job im falling behind on payments insurence,ect.I damn sure dont have enough money to buy a new trans.So ill be sure to have my info up tomoro..And for as the way I drive my car..NOTHING should be able to break off a peice of my trans, like it did.Dont make a car that revs 7800 rpm if it cant handle it!!
:angry:

[Tony01Gts]

No you've got it backwards... if there are problems with the transmission, then that makes it 10 times more likely for a mis-shift. This isn't a chit-chat thread. I would appreciate it if you delete your post so we can print this out and use it when needed. You too TRD Liquid Silver. Your opinions are fine and I see reason to them, but this is for those of us that need this info to deal with Toyota. Thanks guys.

[2kcarbonblue]

tony01gts, the misshift was our fault. there is nothing wrong with the transmission. it didnt make you or me or anyone else **** up our shift. im glad toyota covered it, but they really dont have to if they dont want to.

[Tony01Gts]

You guys don't get it... the service tech TOLD me that if it weren't for the way my tranny was, I would not have mis-shifted. He stated this for the 4th to 3rd instead of 5th mis-shift, which is why they replaced the shifter rod with a new and revised one that is more S shaped (which makes it easier to tell 5th from 3rd. I always thought it was 100% my fault before too, but seriously the head tech at my dealership told me. Why would he bullsh*t? You guys can believe what you want, but I'm gonna take the highly trained toyota mechanics word above yours because he works on these cars all the time. Anyhow, this thread has become a waste of time, it was only supposed to be a list of names and info and now it's a public debate.

[Oo DaRk StAr oO]

Good job Tony.

[GTS LAID]

i have the database already and those who have requested it in the past i've faxed it to them...

[Tony01Gts]

Yeah but it's only misshifts, not transmission too right? I know it's not 100% related but I am sure that in some cases (such as mine) that there is a relation to the tranny problems and the misshift. I am going to try to get the tech to sign a statement, but I doubt he will. Are they allowed to do that? I think it's probably a no no for them huh?
GTS LAID can you send me what you do have anyways?

[GTS LAID]

sure PM me a fax number

[cruzerz545]

name Jim Burnett
email jimburnett@ntelos.net
year and model: 2000 Celica GTS 6speed
VIN N/A
Your Dealer McDonough Toyota, Staunton VA
Transmission synchro problems - yes or no (give a little detail if you want) Yes, syncro problems from day 1.
Mis-shift - yes
Comment: The celica was poorly built. The tranny whines and grinds way to much for a new car. I am on my 2nd tranny and motor and it grinds and whines like my old one. The GT is much better built I think.

[ProToolsKid]

I'm having my 3rd gear syncro replaced as we speak
name: Josiah Smith
email: ProToolsKid@TexasCelicaClub.com
year & model: 2001 GT 5speed
VIN: N/A at the moment
dealer: Jay Marks Toyota, Houston TX
tranny/synchro: 3rd Gear Syncro grinding while shifting in to 3rd.
misshift: none
Grinding started around 24,000 miles had gear oil changed and sound went away for a short while and came back car is now at 30,000 miles.

[Tony01Gts]

Thanks for the contributions guys.

[LaW]

questions : When I shift fast at 8200 or so it grinds, but when i shift slowly hitting 8300 and falling down to 5900 it goes in fine. Is this the syncro problem? I am assuming so. Anyone that got theirs covered also have a shortshifter of some kind on their car? I would rather not put the stock one back in if I don't have to. I have the twm right now.

[2kcarbonblue]

with my misshift, mods were not an issue.

[Tony01Gts]

Put the stock one back on before you take it in... PM me and I will give you my info and a copy of the work order from my synchros. This is definitely the same synchro problem. Please post your info here as subject says... I can use your case as well. Thanks!

[larryd]

please dont sticky this again whoever did it.. these posts come up from time to time and just turn into arguments of whose fault it is.. having a dbase of it isnt gonna change anything..

[Brett]

I agree with Larry

[Tony01Gts]

Don't you think that if you go to your dealer and say "Hey I have this problem" and the dealer has never heard of it, and you whip out names and info of 10 other people with the same problem, that it makes it a lot easier to get the work done under warranty. Brett, I find it ironic that you wanted me to keep you posted on arbitration because you're going through the same thing yet you say what you said in the above post. I agree with Larry on the fact that people in here have a problem with keeping on subject, but I think that Celica owners working together IS a good idea.

[larryd]

OMG whoever stickies this next time is losing their moderatorship or adminship.. i said NO STICKY on this..

[GTS LAID]

Originally posted by larryd
OMG whoever stickies this next time is losing their moderatorship or adminship.. i said NO STICKY on this..

hahaha.. who's doing it? reply in Mods of course

[Tony01Gts]

whatever... this topic is dead

[OfficeMonkey]

I misshifted it was my fault I see no reason but to thank Toyota for fixing it under warrenty there is no reason to go after them for the misshift issue. Of course I can admit my mistake and I will now take extra care with the 3 to 4 shift.

[Tony01Gts]

dead

[Brett]

Theres a difference. Im not trying to inflat my situation with the celica crowd. I honestly dont think thats the way to go. I've never had a problem personally with getting Warrenty work done, though I never blew my engine either.

I agree with Larry because this is more of a personal issue with you, and the topic has been discussed multiple times. From my understanding you didnt have trouble getting warrenty work either. I could understand if you needed the information to get warrenty work done when you were unfairly denied. Anyhow, the topic is pretty much dead.

[Tony01Gts]

The idea WAS... I could use the info at arbitration, and other could use it if they got denied warranty work, or had to go to arbitration. Why do I care if my situation is "inflated"? I'm just trying to get the wrongs I've been done righted, and I believe that everyone else has a right to the info I have worked hard to compile. It's not the fact that I got warranty work done, it's the fact that my car was in the shop for 37 days of 1 1/2 years... I've figured this out to 7% of the time I have owned the car. If any of this info helps anyone else out not to be screwed over by a dealer or Toyota then it is worth it to me. Toyota just tried me on the whole arbitration thing... they called and said "We're sorry about the problems with your car, how about we offer you this extended warranty". I already SPENT 1200 on an extended warranty, and what good would it do. My car would be in shop for another 7% of the time I've owned it. I told them to shove it up there @ss and that they can give me a new car at arbitration, or I'll lemon law, and get a lawyer.

[2kcarbonblue]

tony01gts, of the 37 days, how many was your car in the shop because of YOUR misshift?

[Tony01Gts]

2kcarbonblue-- 10 days... and this has been gone over, the tech told me my 4th to 3rd instead of 5th misshift was caused by a warped shift fork and the poor design of the shifter... cased closed...

[Tony01Gts]

Oh and they still have work to do... replace the rest of my interior... which has been delayed 5 months now... they've sent the wrong seat covers 4 times... therefore I qualify for the 30 days down area of florida lemon law and the three times to fix it... so there... lol

[santana2]

This is my 31 car , 13 of those were standards
It is probably one of the worst shifting in modern times because normally it shifts great than wham no first at the light, or no reverse without multiple tries. I usually double clutch to get reverse ( stopped car ). The TRD short shifter helped a bit but have zinged more gears in this car. It has to be as bad as my 69 alfa romeo was. At lights it is always second gear first then first. Even then sometimes it doesn't work

In 14 years of honda prelude driving I have missed less shifts then one month with my 2000 GTS

[spaldam]

Seth Hollist

spaldam@scottclan.org

2000 GT-S

JTDDY38T7Y0030358

Karl Malone Toyota, Sandy, UT

Transmission synchro problems - yes - I have problems with 5th gear gringing when shifting from 4th and 6th, and occationaly have problems on quick shifts from 1st to 2nd, but even on slow shifts between 1st and 2nd it occationally has some resistance.

Mis-shift - I'm a better driver then that, and have always owned manual transmitions, so no.

Comment: I'm getting my clutch replaced after only 30k miles. It's not strong enough to handle moderate performace driving. This is the first clutch I have ever had go out on me, and I've owned this car about as long a time as most other cars I've owned. I've also had a lot of small problems fixed under warranty, but all my dealer was willing to do when I complained about grinding gears was to "make ajustments" to the clutch. I'm also supprised that a car with such performace minded marketing wouldn't come standard with a Limited Slip Differential.

[santana2]

all these tranny problem posts are starting to scare me

[Griffin]

Originally posted by santana2
all these tranny problem posts are starting to scare me

don't let em scare ya too much. I abuse the hell out of my Celi and have never had a problem.

Griffin

[santana2]

Perhaps you are right. It is better than a porsche tranny or an alfa tranny . BUt it is much worse than a 1970 nissan ( datsun back then ) tranny. Definately inferior to a recent Honda trannies.
It binds inconsistantly which is the problem. Toyota can do better.

I know the GTS is a Grand Touring car and can't be consistantly speed/power shifted. As a GT car it is probably the best out there. That is why I bought it.

BUt it still has a lousy tranny for a modern GT car

[FalGra]

I'm having my 2nd and 3rd gear synchros checked and hopefully replaced as we speak
name: Sergio Uriarte
email: SergioU@FalconGraphics.com
year & model: 2001 GT-S 6 - speed
VIN: N/A at the moment
dealer: Bob Tyler Toyota; Pensacola, FL
tranny/synchro: 2nd/3rd Gear Syncro grinding while shifting in to 2nd/3rd.
misshift: none
Grinding started around 7,000 miles with 2nd gear only, had it checked out, they couldn't replicate the problem, now it's worse and 3rd gear is now grinding. Finally told my dealer I'm not taking the car back until the problem is found/fixed... I can't drive the car much anymore because it's difficult and it's embarrasing, people think I can't shift... Meanwhile I've never had this problem in any other Manual car i've owned/driven... or this one till a few thousand miles ago...

[santana2]

I had three ludes before my gts never missed a shift or crunched.
With the GTS it is bad

[FalGra]

wanted to update... Called dealer today to find out what was up with my car... Finally they told me they couldn't replicate the problem... AGAIN! So I told them I'm not picking it up till it is fixed... bottom line... I'm going tomorrow to drive it with them to show them how it grinds....

[santana2]

I took mine to a dealer . Same answer can't replicate the problem. So I just double clutch now and pause between shifts.
Ususally works. This is not a power shifting car

[FalGra]

no way am I going to do that on a $25k car... They are fixing it one way or another... If I have to get my attorney's involved so be it...

[santana2]

Good luck with the lawyers. I have too many other legal problems now to fight this or the lousy paint. Mine has hundreds
of chips in it. It is the worst paint of the 31 cars that i have owned.

It is the best GT car I have ever owned.

The BMW have lousy suspension ( falls apart ), too heavy
Alfa's syncros, head gaskets, valve stem seals, dealers
Nissan ( stopped making the 510 ) SER spec V good choice
Prelude no six speed, ( daughter totaled mine )

cars I haven't owned but buds have
Porsche, worse shifting ( miss shifting common as are 7000 repairs becase of it), too heavy, performance stuff way too much money. Can't but decent tires on the ones that I could afford

Ferrari, No brakes ( Modena costs too much for a daily driver ), Maintence is otrageous ( buy a new GTS for scheduled maintence costs )

[FalGra]

just got back from taking my dealer for a spin... Incredibly the grinding started happening! WOW... ICAN"T BELIVE IT! I grinded it every shift in 2nd, he said I was shifting too fast.. so he drove it, and grinded it every time he could shift decently. The guy doesn't know anything about cars period... I was quizing him about cars, about general things then about the toyota's. This guy asked me what an LSD was and what it did, he also asked me how much horsepower and torque the celica gt-s had, and if it was a v6.. This guy is their service tech... Shouldn't he know this stuff... not to mention he could barley drive manual.. it was like riding a bucking bronco... Bottom line, they know that the problem exists now... just a matter of getting them to fix it.. One small step but one less to go...

[santana2]

keep pluggin. I guess yours is a lot worse than mine. I've only zinged it a few times. But it soungs like you made progress.

Found out that Toyota is having huge problems with their V6's also

[Griffin]

Originally posted by FalGra
just got back from taking my dealer for a spin... Incredibly the grinding started happening! WOW... ICAN"T BELIVE IT! I grinded it every shift in 2nd, he said I was shifting too fast.. so he drove it, and grinded it every time he could shift decently. The guy doesn't know anything about cars period... I was quizing him about cars, about general things then about the toyota's. This guy asked me what an LSD was and what it did, he also asked me how much horsepower and torque the celica gt-s had, and if it was a v6.. This guy is their service tech... Shouldn't he know this stuff... not to mention he could barley drive manual.. it was like riding a bucking bronco... Bottom line, they know that the problem exists now... just a matter of getting them to fix it.. One small step but one less to go...

Yes he should know all that - he sounds like a moron.

Griffin

[FalGra]

just called the dealer to check up.. the guy told me that he spoke with his manager as well as the techs working on the car and they said that I was definately shifting it too fast.. That the car isn't ment to be shifted so close at redline.. I said well why does it have a redline so high if it isn't designed to be taken that high.. I thought that was where it started being unsafe for the car.. I thought that is to let you know, this car is ment to go up to this point.. clearly indicated at 7,800rpm... And if this is also the case... why does the GT-S have such a late 2nd cam... This is going to court... the dealer is going no where with me... We are going in a redundant circle..