Ever had a transmission fail? On what vehicle?

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First car, used ‘84 Chevy S10, trans would slip out of gear while coasting, feather the gas and it would catch again-I learned to keep it under some torque and not let it slip. Had a shop look at it; flushed and refilled it replaced the U-joints and some hardware but said a ‘fix' wasn't worth it, don't remember the mileage. Traded it in on a Dakota and they blew it up on the way to the auction!

Bought new ‘01 1500 Ram; trans slipped and failed suddenly one morning on my way to work at 32k. Dealer replaced under warranty, no further issues until sold in ‘06@78k.

Wife's ‘06 MDX developed a torque converter judder at 45-50k, replaced under warranty and zero problems to 217k when sold.
 
Broke the reverse drum in my 2001 530i BMW's ZF 5hp19. Common problem. I was stuck in snow and got careless with my rocking. Replaced it this spring but the input shaft leaks. Grrr.
 
1991 Ford Escort GT. Was heading home, light turned green and when I went to go there was a loud noise and the car wouldn't move. I got out and there was trans fluid all over the ground. Not sure exactly what let go but it put a nice big hole in the side of the transmission. I took this opportunity to get rid of the automatic transmission. I ended up finding a donor car at a junkyard and got all the parts to swap in a manual transmission for a couple hundred bucks.
 
Originally Posted by antonmnster
... Replaced it this spring but the input shaft leaks. Grrr.
You just reminded me that I forgot one failure in my previous list in this thread. At about 40k miles, the transmission input shaft seal leaked on my Subaru, causing the clutch to slip due to gear oil contaminating the lining. Repaired by dealer while I watched for $130. No further problems with that (although late in its life the clutch sometimes failed to release completely).
 
Two that I can think of.

First was my 1963 Oldsmobile Super 88. Had it rebuilt in late 70's, Aamco had to use a couple of used parts because new parts were't available for it - at least in a decent amount of time. It ran for several years after. This car had belonged to a friend of mine who was a senior citizen. It sat under a tree next to his garage for a number of years because his wife had seen a spider and refused to ever ride in it again.

Second was my 1987 Aerostar with 3.0 engine. I bought it with about 100,000 miles on it. It lost 4th gear while driving on the freeway. Had it rebuilt in a little town close to my in-laws. Big mistake. Six months later, same problem. Had to limp it about 300 miles back to the shop to have them work on it.
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After that I traded it in on the 1995 Aerostar I drove for a lot of years with no problems. The tranny in both was the A4LD IIRC.

I've had a number of friends and relatives that had early 90's Dodge Caravan tranny fail.
 
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The forward-band broke in my 4T65E-HD transmission in a 99 Regal GS a number of years back, but that was after 230k miles so I can't really complain. Hoisted the entire powertrain out and rebuilt it myself.

Also had a speed sensor start to go out on a Mercedes 722.9 7G-Tronic in a 06 SLK 350. It was a common problem that resulted in the car going into 2nd gear limp-mode when it failed to get signal from the speed sensor. Normally that required the stealership to replace the entire conductor plate for $1500 or so. I ordered the individual replacement sensors for less than $50 and managed to repair it myself which was quite a chore but worked like a charm.
 
4L60E in a 98 GMC Safari van. Owned a 24' pontoon boat at the time, was pulling it thru mountains after dark, trying (and succeeding) to maintain 75 mph uphill. Took ALOT of throttle. Noticed temp guage was higher than normal - didn't think much more of it. Got to lake after dark and discovered next morning the bimini top had fallen rearward - deployed like a parachute and was destroyed. Also trailer tongue was covered in oil (ATF). Made it 150+ miles home no issues followed by extremely harsh gear changes. GM replaced under warranty.
 
My 64 Galaxie with a 390ci-401hp used to wear out a C6 every 18,000 miles. Had it rebuilt 3 times before I sold it.
 
My 2006 3.0L Ranger with automatic 5 speed. The transmission hasn't failed yet, but it's the only one that gave me some trouble.

There was a shudder when going into or out of 5th gear. Changed fluid (which wasn't due yet) and filter (which wasn't bad), but didn't help. Ran a AT fluid flush, not better and there didn't seem to be anything dirty in there. On a Ford forum, someone suggested an additive to put in the AT fluid. Since transmissions repairs can get quite costly, I decided to try that 8$ additive which came in a small 2 oz bottle.

Well, it worked. The shudder disappeared over the next few days. I was wondering if it would last over a few weeks. That was over a year ago. I totally forgot about it until I saw this thread.
 
The 3 speed auto went out on my wife's 1999 Cavalier at 237,000 miles. We didn't have a truck at the time so we used it to tow way more than we should have, that probably contributed to its demise.

The 4 speed auto in my MIL's old '90s Camry also went out somewhere north of 200k miles. She doesn't know how to drive; she's either flooring the gas or slamming on the brakes, often times alternating between the two. I have no doubts she killed that one.

Oh, and my friend in high school broke the trans in an old Taurus doing neutral drops after we told him not to. Not the car's fault there.
 
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two Dodge mini vans and a Dodge neon.
I will never buy any Chrysler/Dodge or whatever there name is vehicle again.
I'm all Asian now and intend to stay that way.
 
1984 S10 Blazer 700R4 tranny failed at around 70k. Occasionally plowed and kept up with fluid and filter changes. Rebuilt at Aamco and failed again shortly thereafter. Was fine after second rebuild.

1973 Gran Torino Sport 351 Cleveland FMX auto tranny. Shifted into reverse without coming to complete stop. Broke reverse band. Torn down transmission and rebuilt packs and effed it up. Never rite again. Sold car.

1974 Saab 99 LE third gear would jump out. Eventually pinion gear housing shattered. Torn down and rebuilt. Was good for year and half and started popping out again. Sold car.

2013 Hyundai Elantra 6 speed. Bought new, driving away after purchase first shift into 5 gear pops out. Shift back in pops out again. Damm! Replaced with rebuilt 2 months later.

1975 Fiat 124 Spyder driving along shift gears and shifter completely comes out of transmission! Nut on bottom of shifter came off. Easy fix. Later, claw on end of clutch petal that engages clutch cable broke off. Had to drive around for week or so with no clutch, power shifting in and out of gears. Would turn off engine at red lights and stop signs, put in gear and start engine to take off! Damm transmission was tough. Didnt hurt it a bit.

Been lucky last 20-25 years now. Much kinder to things than when I was younger.
 
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2001 Honda Accord V6 failed - Known bad transmission and no hope for it..
2006 Honda Odyssey failed - No warning , just one day started to slip and shutter..
 
Originally Posted by WyrTwister
Originally Posted by JustN89
I'm a bit surprised that no one has posted a 4T65E failure yet. I haven't had a transmission fail yet, but my 4T65E has me wondering each morning if today's the day that I'll be posting a failure in this thread.
lol.gif



Seems like I remember those letters / numbers . Is it a GM transmission ? Do they have a bad reputation ? From your post , it sounds like it does .

Thanks , :)

Yeah, the GM 4T65E transmission is notorious for throwing a P1811- Max Adapt/Long Term Shift code. The reasons for the code are numerous, but seems like most of the time replacing the Pressure Control solenoid fixes it for a bit. In most cases though, once the transmission gets this code, it's signaling the end is coming. It can last another 80k miles, or give up the next day, it's hard to tell. I dropped the pan, installed new magnets, replaced the filter, and installed a shift kit. I don't feel the hard shifts anymore, but it's only masking the problem. One day (who knows when), it will give out on me.
 
One time on my 1965 Mustang 6-cylinder 3-speed, the output shaft broke at the front end and left me with only 1st and 2nd gears. I parked it and called the transmission shop which did the rebuild 2,000 miles before. They accused me of racing and abusing it, which I had not (it's a six dude). So they brought out a flatbed, hauled it 60 miles back to their shop, and repaired it. When they were done, the guy who fixed it (who happened to be the guy who "fixed" it the first time) kindly said he never wants to see this car in their shop again, I was happy to oblige. The transmission worked fine until a few years later when it stuck in 2nd gear. I mean it was STUCK. I took out the tranny and brought it to my mechanic friend's garage, and we rebuilt it together. Worked great for years until I sold it. I should start up my own shop.
 
Never had a transmission (or engine) failure in my 47 years of driving until now. My 2016 Nissan Rogue SV's cvt went and was replaced under warranty at 30,000 miles just last month. No confidence in cvt's anymore.
 
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Originally Posted by JustN89
Originally Posted by WyrTwister
Originally Posted by JustN89
I'm a bit surprised that no one has posted a 4T65E failure yet. I haven't had a transmission fail yet, but my 4T65E has me wondering each morning if today's the day that I'll be posting a failure in this thread.
lol.gif



Seems like I remember those letters / numbers . Is it a GM transmission ? Do they have a bad reputation ? From your post , it sounds like it does .

Thanks , :)

Yeah, the GM 4T65E transmission is notorious for throwing a P1811- Max Adapt/Long Term Shift code. The reasons for the code are numerous, but seems like most of the time replacing the Pressure Control solenoid fixes it for a bit. In most cases though, once the transmission gets this code, it's signaling the end is coming. It can last another 80k miles, or give up the next day, it's hard to tell. I dropped the pan, installed new magnets, replaced the filter, and installed a shift kit. I don't feel the hard shifts anymore, but it's only masking the problem. One day (who knows when), it will give out on me.


I did the exact same thing on my 4T65E @ 100K. 40K miles later and it's still doing OK. Mine shifts pretty firm with the shift kit but seems to me hanging in there. It hasn't gotten any worse so I'm hoping I can limp it along for another few years.
 
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