Late fall last year, our 2012 Toyota RAV4 started developing a grinding sound around 2000 RPM. We could push past it or stay under it, and it was “fine”. But we knew something was wrong, and I took it to our regular mechanic who we trust and have had great service. He said, “sounds like your transmission - I don’t touch those. Head over to Joe’s.” So off to Joe’s I went. They took a few days, and came back with “we’ve gotten a lot of RAV4s with this issue in the last year - it’s a $6000 fix.”
I’m terrible with cars, I really am. I’m very bad at follow-up questions, and avoid major repair work as much as I can. As such, I didn’t ask how long we can expect that fix to solve things. Or really what “fix the transmission” meant . I think at that price, it means “put a new one in”.
I’m currently shopping around for a 2nd opinion, and would like to be armed with a bit more knowledge than none. Any general advice here? Any thoughts on spending $6k on a transmission for a 10 year old car?
I wouldn’t spend $6k on a 10yr old Rav4 and I own a Rav 4 and like it.
You don’t mention the mileage and overall condition of the vehicle.
Have you had any other issues with it?
I would look into the repair cost as opposed to replacement. But no matter what, I think Toyota itself will replace your transmission for $4,000 or less, so something fishy with Joe’s.
Just backing up What_Exit here, a little poking around suggests a RAV-4 transmission replacement costs up to $3400, and up to $1400 to install it, for $4800.
Your $6000 is on the expensive side. If he’s offering a guarantee that’s another matter, though. It may be worth it if you plan on wringing many more years out of your car, which would really only be viable if the rest of it was in really good condition.
I’m not familiar with the Toyota RAV4, but I’ll say two things then you can have a big ol’ horse-laugh at my expense:
Years ago, my Mom had a car with a tach that began to make a grinding sound and the needle would bury itself, oscillate a bit, then go to zero. Sometimes it would stop that nonsense altogether and operate normally, then without warning repeat the malfunction. Is it possible you have a bad tach (if it’s one of those with a needle and not one of those digital dealies)?
If the problem seems to be at the same RPM point, is it possible the transmission has one bad gear and could the trans be rebuilt (do they rebuild transmissions anymore)? And would rebuilding be cheaper than replacing the whole trans?
A used transmission could be an option, too. I assume Joe must be quoting the price for a new one. The guys on Car Talk used to say every other part of your car is 10 years old, so why put a brand new transmission in it. See if Joe is willing to source a source a transmission from a salvage yard for you, and put that in. Of course, if it’s really true that a lot of RAV4s have this issue, there’s a risk that it will develop the same problem.
It’s in decent shape. Has about 130,000 miles on it, and it’s treated us well. No other issues. We have a 3rd child on the way, and it won’t fit them all with car seats - so if we were to fix it, it would be to get another year out of it, and sell it for a decent amount.
I told my wife about this thread, and she said I got the amount wrong - they actually asked for exactly $4800. So it doesn’t sound like Joe’s is far off on price - and they did mention a guarantee on it.
They mentioned that as an option, but didn’t recommend it, because they were worried about the condition that part would be in.
Thanks for all the advice. I’m thinking of going to Carmax to get a quote on what they’d buy it from me for, just to add some information to the equation.
I would take it somewhere to get a 2nd opinion. Usually when a noise is happening at a certain RPM it’s something vibrating because of the harmonics of the engine. Something like a heat shield, or the engine is sagging because of worn transmission mount and it’s vibrating against something else. Things like that that aren’t terribly expensive.
If it’s something internal to the transmission like your primary mechanic thinks, then replacing the transmission fluid might help prolong the life of it.
This doesn’t seem like a “shop for a new car” type of situation. If your second opinion says that the transmission needs to be replaced, find out exactly what the issue is and why it can’t be repaired by a transmission specialist. Like, maybe there’s a worn clutch pack inside the transmission that’s vibrating and causing the grinding sound… maybe. If so, that’s gonna be expensive, but not $4800.
As an automobile mechanic in a former life he can pretty much rest assured that. If they have to delve into a 9 year old high mileage trans he’s getting the works. Sure, stranger things happen but I would not count on it. By all means though get a 2nd opinion
Presuming the local dealership in your area has a decent reputation they will certainly “know” the vehicle. If they have to drop the pan and it’s “silvery” then you’ll likely have big issues.
Does it happen if you put the car in neutral and get it to 2000? Is it a CVT or conventional AT (or manual)? If it is the trans and you are getting a new one or a junkyard o anyway , might try something like Lucas and it might just buy you a year or so.
In my opnion, if you are only keeping the car for another year it would be a better odea to trade that in for a new one now, or just keep driving it and hope that it makes it to the point where you want to sell.
A $9000 RAV-4 with a six thousand dollar new transmission is still going to be close to $9,000 in value a year from now. You might get $1,000 of that back in resale value, but not much more, I would guess.
The other option: call some wreckers and see if they have the transmission and what they cost. Then go to a mechanic who will pick up and install the used transmission. I’m seeing a lot of used RAV 4 transmissions on ebay for roughly $1000. With install you’d be under $3,000, which is reasonable.
I would not put $6,000 in a 10 year old vehicle I’m planning to sell soon.