Floored it from a complete stop the other day, and suddenly, the car just stopped going. No drive, no reverse—only neutral. When I put it in park, it made a horrible sound.
Luckily, I was close to home and had to get it towed. My mechanic flushed the transmission fluid and showed me… it was as black as my car.
They’re quoting me $2,500 to fix it with a 1-year warranty or $1,600 for a used one with a 30-day warranty. What would you do in this situation? Is this a common issue with these cars? I mean, 183k miles is a lot, but still…
Considering how expensive Toyotas are now, swapping in a used transmission for $1,600 isn’t the worst idea. The V6 is solid, and that’s way cheaper than buying another car. These transmissions usually last 150k-250k miles if they aren’t serviced regularly, so honestly, yours did okay.
Toyota says these transmissions are ‘lifetime’ sealed—which basically means 183k miles IS the lifetime if you don’t change the fluid. A simple drain-and-fill every 60-75k miles with OEM WS Fluid would have helped. No flushes, no aftermarket fluids.
Honestly, sounds like a lack of maintenance killed it. If the used transmission has less than 150k miles, go for it and start doing regular fluid changes from now on. Also, keep your cooling system in check—transmissions don’t like overheating.