99 Solara torque converter bad?

[sistersue]

I have a 99 Solara SLE V6 with 74k miles. My check engine light came on recently so I took it to my mechanic. He ran a scan and received indication that the problem was in the transmission. He doesn't work on transmissions in his shop, but has a shop that he partnerships with to do this kind of work.

The mechanic at this shop said that my solenoid needed to be replaced and that it was what had caused the light to come on. Additionally, he had found aluminum in my transmission fluid. He claims that the torque converters put into the engines back in 99 often break down. He said that the aluminum was the first sign of this problem, but that eventually it would release bits of metal that would damage the transmission. He further claims that Toyota became aware of this problem and have redesigned the torque converters as a solution.

I have looked and looked and can find nothing anywhere to support this claim. He says that he needs to overhaul the transmission and replace the converter, which combined with replacing the solenoid will run at least $3200. Has anyone out there had a similar problem or know anything about this?

Thanks,
sistersue

p.s. Oh, and a couple hours after he told me all of this, he called to tell me my shifter cable was stretched out and needed to be replaced too. I was suprised to hear this since I've not experienced any shifting problems. He said that he would not warranty his work unless I elected to overhaul the transmission.

[Sp33d]

i would do two things,

get at least two other opinions from different shops and do NOT tell them what the previous shop thought what the potential problem is.

secondly, put into retrospect that IF replacing the solenoid will solve the problem, 3200 will most likely buy you half of the down payment on a 03 or older toyota solara.

-mark

[DatSRBoi]

I thinik your the only one in the world with this problem. Never heard of tranny issue other then members who boosted their motor and over worked the tranny.

Goodluck. Sounds like the guys throwing a bunch of stuff at you that you dont need. And how can he warrant you tranny if he is getting another shop to do it?

[MCOjerry]

If all that work were truly needed, I don't know if I'd thow $3200 into a 99. You may be better off doing what Sp33d said, and using that money to buy a newer car.

I have never heard of this problem, but I don't keep cars long, so I'm not surprised.

I wish you the best of luck with this problem...and welcome to SG!

[NeFaRiOuS_SLE]

If so, Welcome to SolaraGuy; glad to see that there are more females joining... You may introduce yourself in the "Introductions" section and post pics of your car too.

Anyway, you might have visited a mechanic that'll probably tell you it's the headlight fluid (and push for Halogen fluid), the tires aren't properly rotated (e.g. the right is in the left), and offering 2 transmissions that are missing from your car without a reverse gear. In other words something like this:

http://www.audiocomedy.net/pranks/regular/mechanic.shtml

So, go to a place where your friends recommend (preferably a guy friend), or better yet, bring a guy friend along and have him do all the talking.

I remember a few years back my ex went to the mechanics for a burnt out blinker (which as you may or may not know it's programmed to blink faster when it's out), and they had the nerve to suggest a new regulator and turn signal ballast (no such thing) when all I did was buy a $3 2-pack of bulbs and had no problems ever since... Then I tore them a new one the next day and demanded that they paid for the bulbs.

[sistersue]

Thanks for all of the feedback. I've looked through all of Toyota's service bulletins and have found no references to the torque converter.

There is a bit more to the story than I originally submitted. When the mechanic gave me the initial diagnosis as I stated before, I asked him if he only fixed the solenoid would the check engine light go off. My thinking was that if the check engine light problem was solved, I could take the car and trade it in on a new one. Just to be sure, my husband called him up also and confirmed that I had correct understanding of all that had been explained to me. The mechanic additionally told him that if he only replaced the solenoid the car could be driven and so long a we didn't take it up to highway speed we had time to decide whether to have the transmission rebuilt or not. My husband gave him authorization to fix the transmission. The transmission mechanic said the car would be ready on the next day.

Within an hour, my mechanic, not the transmission mechanic, called me to tell me that the shifter cable was stretched out and needed to be replaced. I thought it was strange that it hadn't been mentioned before, but I just told him to go ahead and fix it. He said that the cable had to be ordered from Toyota so the car would not be ready when originally stated. This was on Monday afternoon (the car had been dropped off late Sunday evening). We didn't hear anything from either mechanic, so my husband called our mechanic on Wednesday. He wasn't in the shop so he left a message. We went to our local Toyota dealership to begin shopping for a new car. We saw our mechanic there while pulling into the driveway. My husband got his attention and the mechanic said he would have to call the transmission shop when he got back to his office. He told my husband he would call him later in the day. He never called.

On Thursday late afternoon, my husband call the transmission shop to find out what was happening with our repair. He was told that the part had been ordered and that they had just been notified that it was in backorder. Since we had had no problems with shifting prior to bringing the car into his shop, I asked my husband to see if the original cable could be reinstalled until a replacement could be located. The mechanic told him that the shifting was completely not working and the cable was not usable. My husband asked him if it was possible that a dealership might have the cable on hand and had he checked. Apparently not. After the phone call, he did as my husband asked. He called the next morning and said he had located a cable at a dealership in New York. He said it was being shipped overnight and he would have our car for us on Monday.

That night, Friday, we got a call from our mechanic who told us our car was ready. My husband made special arrangements to meet his at his shop on Saturday morning. He said that due our inconvenience caused by the problem getting the cable that he was not charging us for that portion of the repairs.

When my husband arrived to pick up the car he was told that if was broken down again. When our mechanic was driving the car from the transmission shop to his shop that morning it had quit running. He said it was a fuel problem. He said when he spray quick start into the fuel compartment(?) the car started running again but didn't stay running. Additionally, the check engine light was back on and he claimed that the DTC no. indicated that the transmission still has a problem. He said that " the patch hadn't taken." He was also told that the cable installed in our car was a used cable. We had not been informed that a used cable was being used. Our mechanic has always told us that he uses only new Toyota parts for repairs. He didn't know exactly what was causing the fuel problem, but he showed my husband a part that might be the culprit. He said the part ran about $500.

So, I'm still without my vehicle. I have no idea where to take my car because I've been using this mechanic for about 8 years and have always been able to trust him up to now. There are a few service bulletins that relate to fuel injection problems and one that state that the warrenty on the Air Fuel Ratio Sensor has been extended because of a faulty part.

I know this a really long story, but I'm at a loss. I think the issue with the cable and the lack of corroborating evidence relating to the torque convertor are red flags. But my car isn't running and I'm hesitant to have it towed anywhere. As you may be able to imagine my confidence in the integrity of automobile repair shops right now is at an all time low.

Thanks to anyone that has had the patience to read this story. Any additional suggestions or feedback would be appreciated.

[NeFaRiOuS_SLE]

Where are you located? If it's around here in Southern California (Pomona area), I have connections with a few local mechanics.

[sistersue]

I am in Orange, not too far from the Anaheim Stadium.

[Sp33d]

there are ALOT of SG members down south. most of which are active online users primarily during the weekday.

this is a call for HELP SO CAL guys! if you can help, please do so.

-mark

[sistersue]

Thanks for the all of the advice so far. I reread my monster post and saw that I'd stated that my husband had authorized the transmission overhaul. In fact, he authorized only for the solenoid to be replaced. This was supposed to take care of the check engine like, but apparently he was mistaken. So far, we haven't paid anyone any money.

Would I be better off having my car towed to a reputable dealership. Is there such a thing? Any suggestions for a location close to Orange, California?

Thanks again to all,
SisterSue

[Hefty]

I'm sorry to say this but your story really sounds like you're being had. Transmissions shops are by far one of the worst con jobs you will find in the automotive repair industry. Always have your BS meter on ultra high gain sensitivity whenever dealing with a dedicated transmission repair center. I know first hand that they will take random parts out of a bucket of busted up stuff they have in the back and show it to you like it came out of your car. Since most, even halfway, experienced shade tree mechanics couldn't tell apart a good sprag from a bad sprag its easy for them to get away with it.

If this were a GM product I might believe that the shifter cable was stretched. But this is Toyota, they have robot arms that do nothing but pull those shift levers so many times to simulate 20 years of usage and they know exactly how long it should last. The fact that they then eventually said that they put a used cable in there means that there wasn't anything wrong with your original they just went through the motions of doing the labor with a part that cost them nothing to begin with. They probably just ran into problems getting it swapped out smoothly and ended up "graciously" waving the charge because their attempt at padding the bill was becoming increasingly suspect from the added delays it imposed. With only 74,000 miles that sounds highly unlikely that a relatively straight forward component would wear out already.

Also, its normal to have metal in the tranny pan when doing a fluid change. In fact Toyota put magnets on the inside of the tranny pan just for that reason to collect the metal fillings that are produced from normal operation. Its not that the transmission produces any more metal then the engine even does. However, the tranny oil is changed far less often and therefore has more time to collect that debris. Those magnets are placed in such a way around the transmission's oil pan that it controls the metal debris in the fluid by keeping it all in one spot instead of endlessly cycling back through the tranmission all the time.

But too bad, looks like you've already signed off on the work and the deal is done. Not sure what you can do at this point. Just make certain in the future to heed the advice of others in here that suggest you should get a 2nd or 3rd opinion with stuff like this to protect yourself. In some ways getting a fair deal on a repair job is the same as buying the car itself. You don't get the absolute best honest deal until you have one foot out the door.

[NRDriver]

sounds like a bunch of crap. i rebuild trannies for a living and this sounds really suspicious. if the torque converter is bad a replacement should take care of the problem, the trannie shouldnt have to be rebuilt unless the clutches are burnt up or the vavle body has debris in it. in either case, it sound like he f****ing with you