2012 Camry Transmission Problems, How to deal with dealership...
 

Hello all, I have a 2012 Camry with around 60,000 miles on it. This year I noticed from around 25-45mph the transmission would intermittently shift strangely. Basically, it would "rumble" under light acceleration, almost like it was a manual and I had it in too high a gear. I was right under my 60,000 warranty period and I took it in to see if anything could be done.They said it might be related to the service bulletin here: https://www.toyoheadquarters.com/thr...nsion-ze5.324/. They drove it and had a hard time replicating it but admitted there was a little bit of a rumble. The front desk person said I might need a transmission service, I asked him when they usually do that, he said something like 150,000 miles, so I feel a little cheated if that is actually the problem.

Their exact notes were:
VEH HAS SHIMMY ON LIGHT ACCEL AROUND 45MPH DRIVE BEH 10 MILES WITH SEVERAL DIFFERENT TYPES OF ACCEL CANNOT DUP CHARACTERISTICS OF FAULTY TORQ CONV. DID FEEL VIRBRATION AS THOUGH A MAN TRAN IN TOO LOW OF GEAR. OK.

I've been through this before with a ford focus with a terrible shudder from it's dual clutch transmission that the dealership refused to fix. I ended up just trading it in. To be fair, this isn't anything like that, but I do feel it is getting worse. Has anyone experienced this issue? Is the "wrong gear" type issue ever been handled by any of you? I dunno if this hesitation counts a a "shudder". Like I said, my ford focus's shudder would litterally almost stall the car out sometimes. Any advice for how to deal with the dealership on this would be appreciated. I need new tires and battery, if my tranny is going to crap out I might just trade the thing in.

Thanks!

If the dealer stated the issue might be related to the service bulletin. Did they perform the software upgrade, if not why not?

This is the place to start.

The trans service would be changing the fluid and fluid filter. There is not much else to servicing this trans.

The bulletin states secondary service bulletin coverage is 8 years and 150K miles.

If you plan on keeping the car don't wait until 150K to do this service as the fluid has finite lifetime.

I agree! I didn't really get to research the aforementioned bulletin on-the-fly, I looked it up after I got back home.

I'm also no expert but I don't really see how changing the fluid would magically make it shift right. I think my only option is to wait until another service to see if it gets worse. It seems to have good days and bad days. The main thing I'm trying to find out is what this reported "shudder" really feels like. It may be that the transmission just shifting too early isn't the same problem. It does not appear to shift clunky when I use the manual shifter, which leads me to believe it is software related.

Thanks

This trans having 60K is not much miles. Yet a common mileage for these operational issues to start popping up.

Concur a fluid and filter change is not going to be magic. Still Toyota does/did push the trans fluid as life time when its not. Thus changing the fluid before 150K is a good idea to increase trans life.

Most time a trans give the owner zero warning of failure. Then it most likely fails to shift into gear and the owner is stuck.

Can always try another dealer who may be more receptive.

Does this dealer service this car on a regular basis? If so suggest you press the issue! Dealers should be more inclined to want to please repeat customers. They do get paid for warranty repairs, just less money.

Not sure waiting is a good idea. Software upgrades for Toyota trans (Camry included) are not uncommon. Some owners have found out not getting the upgrade resulted in damage to the trans.

It could be a software issue, or the torque converter (also common).

Again don't understand if the dealer pointed to the service bulletin why they didn't do the upgrade and for free. Was this upgrade done already? Dealers keep records of all service by VIN on a central data base.

Might spend a little time researching this issue. Your symptoms were the center of much discussion a few years ago by owners.

I did call Toyota directly and acknowledge the bulletin and pulled up my records. No real help other than telling me to get a second opinion. I don't go there regularly because the toyo dealerships are few and far between, its a 45 minute drive to get there. The next one is an hour and a half. Really, we have a bunch of Kia, Chevy Ford and Mopar dealerships around me. I think I will need to monitor and see if it gets worse. The extended warranty on the bulletin is for 150,000, so I have some slack. As long as the transmission doesn't break, I can deal with the annoyance. I wish I could get in a car and determine a "shudder" vs a "rumble" lol.

Can always try an auto trans repair place. Caution, they do tend to steer you towards a trans rebuild though.

Or work up the food chain at Toyota by talking to the dealers service rep, then if no satisfaction Toyota customer support.

Might read the info at the link below and try the suggested quick diagnostic test:

AGCO Automotive Repair Service - Baton Rouge, LA - Detailed Auto Topics - What is Torque Converter Shudder

2012 Toyota Camry LE Transmission (U760E) Shudder
 

I am sorry to say that like me you lost in the Toyota Shell Game. My loss is about to cost me $4000 to get the transmission rebuilt at a local transmission shop. I see your post was in 2018 which at that time you could have had Toyota replace the torque convert for free (if you could get them to actually do it). I searched online and searched and only recently found out what I should have done years ago. I even took my car to the dealer. I am posting this now everywhere I can online in hopes to help a few people save some money and push off the rebuild on this transmission for a few years. Please reply back as to what happened to this car. Did you have to get the transmission rebuilt. Is it still having the shudder. Please update mileage and status of issue it will help others. If search under my postings you should find where I have posted to others what they can do if the car is under 8 years old and has less than 150K miles. If you want to hear my whole story read all my post.

Hey I have a 2012 Toyota Camry LE made it all the way to 168k. I was originally told to get my transmission serviced and it wasn't suggested until 100k miles. when I went to another place at 75k they told me it's sealed they can't do it and then I waited till 100k and went back to toyota and was told it was supposed to be serviced at 75k and they won't service it because it could damage the transmission at this point I didn't find anyone willing to service it and it's still going got a hell of a shudder. I shudder 25-45 and 60-80. she seems to be running smooth as hell aside from that though.

Camry 2012 -100k miles same issue.
 

Hello,
I was today in my regular service and that delay was detected. The guy told me that the warranty on it was expired. The car is working well but I don't want to wait until it gets worse. Is there something I can do to get my transmission rebuilt?

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QUOTE=mdgreg101;103957]I am sorry to say that like me you lost in the Toyota Shell Game. My loss is about to cost me $4000 to get the transmission rebuilt at a local transmission shop. I see your post was in 2018 which at that time you could have had Toyota replace the torque convert for free (if you could get them to actually do it). I searched online and searched and only recently found out what I should have done years ago. I even took my car to the dealer. I am posting this now everywhere I can online in hopes to help a few people save some money and push off the rebuild on this transmission for a few years. Please reply back as to what happened to this car. Did you have to get the transmission rebuilt. Is it still having the shudder. Please update mileage and status of issue it will help others. If search under my postings you should find where I have posted to others what they can do if the car is under 8 years old and has less than 150K miles. If you want to hear my whole story read all my post.[/QUOTE]

I just bought a used 2014 Toyota Camry. It came with the torque converter shudder. I took it to the Dealership to have it diagnosed. They recommend a replacement. $4k-5k of course. Alas, there was a extended warranty to fix it, but I bought it a few months too late, so they won't work on it. After doing some research online and in person, I found that it is a computer software issue. The computer is telling the transmission to shift gears way too soon, at a lower RPM, below 2k, if you ever drove a manual stick shift, you know that shudder feel that I'm talking about. When you shift into a higher gear at a lower speed, you get a shudder because the gear ratio is higher to push at a lower speed. This is the exact same thing. So I played around using a combination of the shift paddles and the shift knob, not relying on it be completely automatic. I've noticed that by manually shifting gears, the shudder isn't there. So my torque converter isn't the problem, it's the computer software issue. They did have a recall on this software issue and I'm trying to see if they are willing to update the software. When I was testing the manual shifting, I've noticed that when the RPM is below 2k before shifting to a higher gear, there's the shudder. Going from 1st gear to 2nd, it has to be a little above 2k RPM; 2nd to 3rd gear, it has to be above 2.2k RPM; 3rd gear to 4th, it has to be above 2.5k RPM before I shift to bypass the shudder. After the 4th gear, the RPM could be anywhere from 2k-3k RPM before shifting. Little shudder here. Unfortunately, the previous owner never kept up to date on it and took it in, so the torque converter is worn out by now. I'll have to replace it and update the software or manually shift from here on until I get it replaced. I don't know if Toyota did this on purpose to provide more work, (job security), or who ever programmed the software is incompetent, either way, this shatter my opinion on Toyota being the most reliable vehicle in the market. Toyota, do better.