NewHilux.net

So it turns out my 2011 Hilux has spat all the oil out the front seal. Just rang a transmission place and have been told that the housing wears at the rear and will need machining and the torque converter is rubbish in them and also hard to get. Quoted $5500 to rebuild. No chance I am spending that.
So are these transmissions just a piece of crap in general?
Do I take a chance on a second hand one or just sell the whole Hilux to the wreckers?
It’s the last Hilux I will own, hired a new one when this one died, and it had less power and was basically a horrible vehicle.
Quoted $78000 for a new SR5 with tray and Tuff bull bar. Another $5K and you can step into a RAM. Has Toyota lost the plot and just turned the Hilux into an expensive around town car?

Every shop will insert some drama into their story to justify and expensive rebuild. I had the same problem with my old bmw... every shop added their take on the problems with the ZF 6speed (there were 7.5 million produced and in everything from the XR6, BMWs to landrover discoverys etc etc... so something must have been good about them). One shop quoted me $12k for a rebuild. I bought a box off ebay for $1500 and had it going the next day.

As suggested in your other thread, install a low km box from a wrecker, add some new oil and go. While we have seen a couple of threads here on this box, these are generally a good box for a 4speed.

wbute what do you expect from a 10 year old vehicle with 370,000km on the clock? Hilux is still a great 4x4 and if they weren't I'm sure they wouldn't be still the top selling vehicle in Australia, not just utes but ALL vehicles! By all means buy a ram, I'm sure you will be happy, for a while

I guess I expect a bit more than I got. There has been absolutely no issue with the transmission up till now. Then a bearing let’s go and destroys the torque converter? If it was built in China you might expect that.
Anyway, apparently they all do it at about 300000km, so if you own one getting up there, get rid of it. They wreck the oil cooler by filling them up with iron fillings too. So don’t just whack a second hand one in without getting a new radiator or bypassing it.
I guess by the time you fit a the new radiator and reco trans you won’t get much change out of 10K.
Anyway, I am back to driving my 84 WB Kingswood. More smiles per mile in it. It’s pushing 40 years old and still plugging away, touch wood.

wbute, I've had several dodge/Chrysler vehicles including 2 jeeps and their advertising that guarantees "we'll get you home" they didn't add.... On the back of a tilt tray! My 2nd jeep didn't make it home from the dealership with an engine light and limp mode. They took it back to the dealership and 3 months later it was still in bits all over the workshop! I asked for a refund and walked across the road and bought a Hilux! From what I hear jeep/dodge is the most complained about vehicle in Oz.

Yeah I wouldn’t touch a Jeep. However the RAM is priced in the same bracket as a Hilux. You get a proper V8 and a full sized vehicle. The point is the Hilux is about 20K too dear.

Yeah, I agree - the hilux is 20k too dear.

lets not talk about the 2nd hand market

Hiluxxury you in Tassie now? lucky so and so... Were stuck in NSW forever it seems got our only daughter and grandkids there and haven't seen them for 2 years

I'm temporarily back in CBR... had the opportunity to feel my first earthquake this morning. Busting to get back to Tas though.

2 years is a very long time. Hope you get to see them soon.

Temporary CBR? So Tassie now called home? Thanks for your understanding. It's very hard when son-in-law not doing well

PM'ed

WB,
Can I ask you what sort of maintenance you have done in the 300k the box has done?
Asking because mine is approaching 260k.
Fluid change? What type of fluid? Extra cooler?
Inline transmission filter?
Has the transmission ever been over heated, ie warning light come on?
Done much heavy towing?

I am banking the extra maintenance I have done over the years will prove worth while.

I have fitted a oil cooler. The transmission did get hot once when I first got it, towing a trailer.
It has done a fair amount of towing a dual axle table top trailer. It’s had a couple of oil changes in the transmission.
From all the auto repair places I have talked to the general consensus is they all blow up at around 300000km regardless of how they are treated.

wbute, I reckon that's their sales pitch and while some may have a problem, its not all of them... I did a quick search of hiluxs with the 4spd on carsales and there are 29 of them with kms higher than 300,000

https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/?q=(An ... odel.Hilux.)_.(C.GenericGearType.Automatic._.Gears.4+speed.)_.Odometer.range(300000..)._.Year.range(2005..).)&sort=Odometer&offset=12

A couple of example have around 400,000km on them. Their histories are unknown but it does indicate the 4spd auto will go for a while.

I am counting on the inline filter keeping the suspended particles out of the equation.
10k is still a cheap vehicle with all the extras yow want.

I have rung many different places and they all say the same thing. It’s a very weak transmission with inbuilt issues. They are expensive to fix and hard to get as a result.
There may be many on car sales but they are all a ticking time bomb.