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2007 just lost it's transaxle

Discussion in 'Newbie Forum' started by ca2007, Aug 7, 2013.

  1. ca2007

    ca2007 New Member

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    I'm just searching for information about the transaxle. I have a 2007 prius, purchased and housed in California, with just under 100,000 miles and the transaxle just failed. I have a quote from the Toyota dealer for $6000 for the repair. I have read many threads about the same problem from others. I am wanting to find out more about the California Emissions Warranty for this problem in hopes that it may cover the cost for repairs. Can anyone help with this?
     
    #1 ca2007, Aug 7, 2013
  2. JMD

    JMD 2012 Prius 4 Solar Roof

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    The transaxle warranty is 6 years 60,000 Miles.

    Best to look at a Independent garage to install a scrap tranny.

    A tranny from a car that was totaled can be purchased cheap maybe $600-$900. Parts sold on ebay, etc.

    The garage will charge parts and labor maybe another $1,000.

    If your in LA call Avi's they are Prius experts but better than dealer

    Avi's Advanced Auto Homepage

    There is another type place in the Bay Area if your north.
     
    #2 JMD, Aug 7, 2013
    bisco likes this.
  3. ca2007

    ca2007 New Member

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    Thanks for the info. Definitely going to check with the local hybrid shop here in town, Chico, CA. Auto-Metrics is the name, anyone have any experience doing business with them?
     
    #3 ca2007, Aug 7, 2013
    JMD likes this.
  4. massparanoia

    massparanoia Active Member

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    $6k for a tranny swap? Holy crap!
     
    #4 massparanoia, Aug 7, 2013
  5. JMD

    JMD 2012 Prius 4 Solar Roof

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    #5 JMD, Aug 7, 2013
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  6. ca2007

    ca2007 New Member

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    JMD, thanks for the additional info. We are looking at all the options. Unfortunately when all is said and done probably not going to keep the Prius. With a young family breakdowns are not an option, what a hassle!
     
    #6 ca2007, Aug 8, 2013
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  7. JMD

    JMD 2012 Prius 4 Solar Roof

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    I hear you my last car a BMW was 7 years old but plenty of troubles. I just got annoyed with the car. I finally gave up on repairing and traded it in. In retrospect it may have been cheaper to fix than replacing with a new car payment but I just could not stand every 6 months bam another few grand in repairs
     
    #7 JMD, Aug 8, 2013
  8. vskid3

    vskid3 Active Member

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    If you can get it replaced for approximately $2300 like in JMD's link, you're really not doing too bad compared to a regular automatic transmission getting replaced. Getting rid of your Prius over this seems a little extreme, you'll be hard pressed to find another car as reliable as it, not to mention the fuel economy. Every car is going to break sometime.
     
    #8 vskid3, Aug 8, 2013
  9. jdcollins5

    jdcollins5 Senior Member

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    Just curious, did you ever have the transaxle fluid changed?

    There has been a lot of good discussion on here about whether the transaxle fluid needs to be changed on a periodic basis.
     
    #9 jdcollins5, Aug 8, 2013
  10. ca2007

    ca2007 New Member

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    Yes, I agree if it can be fixed for $2300 that would be great. The one problem I see in the future is that not all shops where I live are hybrid certified so sometimes the only option for repairs is the dealership, which always seems to be very expensive. I never have had the transaxle fluid changed I just followed Toyota's recommendations on service, however with the transaxle problems that would be a good idea.
     
    #10 ca2007, Aug 8, 2013
  11. SteveLee

    SteveLee Active Member

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    Hybrid capable is enough for some repairs and even a good regular mechanic can do lots of the fairly typical maintenance and repairs on the Prius. So while all are not hybrid certified, finding one or two really good regular auto shops in the area may be enough most of the time.
     
    #11 SteveLee, Aug 8, 2013
  12. ca2007

    ca2007 New Member

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    Just want to post an update on my 2007 Prius and it's transaxle problem. After research and the info from posts I discovered that the transaxle could be covered under the CA Emissions Warranty. Spoke to the Toyota dealer where the car was for service and the service manager said that it wasn't covered under this warranty. The quote to replace the transaxle was $5200 plus. I contacted an independent garage and they located a rebuild for $1500 but due to the fact that it is a high voltage job their shop couldn't do it. Their manager got involved and asked for the vin on the Prius and permission to call the Toyota service department. The manager did some research on the vin and validated that it did indeed fall under the CA Emissions Warranty so they called Toyota and spoke to them about this. So guess what Toyota back peddled and said yes it is covered. Toyota did the job for $0 out of my pocket!! I'm sending a huge thank-you and gift card to the manager of the independent garage. Talk about customer service and they had no financial gain at interest. There are some wonderful people in this world! One last comment the other alternative was to salvage the car for about $5000, and the manager was willing to work on that angle if need be.
     
    #12 ca2007, Aug 23, 2013
    F8L, vskid3, JMD and 1 other person like this.
  13. JMD

    JMD 2012 Prius 4 Solar Roof

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    ^^^^^^

    That is an amazing story. The lesson here is the Dealer may not be your advocate
     
    #13 JMD, Aug 23, 2013
  14. El Dobro

    El Dobro A Member

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    Next time you need some maintenance done, bring the car to the indy shop that helped you out.
     
    #14 El Dobro, Aug 23, 2013
  15. KA8

    KA8 Junior Member

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    Wow nice! But what does emission warranty has to do with transaxle?
     
    #15 KA8, Aug 28, 2013
  16. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    What is the name of the independent shop? Our daughter just started at Chico and her Honda Civic is a pile. I would like to know the name of a good shop that she can take it to in the event I can't get up there to fix it. :)

    Congrats on getting your car covered under warranty!
     
    #16 F8L, Aug 28, 2013
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