I own a 2002 Prius which has been having periodic problems with a jerky transmission for some time now. On two previous visits to a Toyota dealer, things were attempted like changing the transmission oil, which turned out be be a temporary fix. The dealer was going to put in a rebuilt transmission under the Toyata Extended Warranty, but the 'Tech Line' department vetoed that. The want to put in a new 'start clutch' requiring a dismantling of the transmission. The dealer was skeptical that this was a sure fix, but went ahead with it. My question is are there any technical updates to this transmission which were not done by simply replacing the start clutch? Would a factory rebuilt transmission have given me a better chance of reliability and success?
There is a 'breakaway clutch', but it has no function related to starting the vehicle. Its sole function is to fail if the opposing sides want to turn in opposite directions. Perplexing that replacing the fluid would have temporarily helped - are you quite certain of that? More info is needed here. Is this jerking more than we might feel when the gas engine is shutting off and makes a few more spins, for instance? If there is a failure that is 'setting' a diagnostic trouble code, there should be no (major) obstacle getting the unit replaced under a (Toyota) extended warrnty. Absent a DTC, I am not sure how you ought to proceed. If you have any additional info, please post it. DAS
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(sherwin @ Jan 21 2007, 01:05 AM) [snapback]378585[/snapback]</div> The 'jerking' would be consistent with the 'torque limiting' plate slipping but this begs the question, why? If it had gotten oil on it from one of the seals that would be bad. However, it could be associated with a lot of high-power operation. There was one German owner who has had a similar problem and my speculation is that the higher speeds driven there may have led to more stress and wearing of the plate. BTW, yours is the second report of a symptom like this. Bob Wilson
