Gearbox problem?

[Mr De Angelo]

Hi guys, my Aurion has just recently hit 10,000 kms and has also seemed to develop a problem around the same time.

It doesn't happen all the time, although occasionally when I'm doing light acceleration or slowing down I can hear an audible change in engine tone and a can feel slight shuddering through the pedals. Originally I thought it was a brake problem because it only seemed to happen when I was slowing down or lifting my foot off the brakes, however after some experimentation I found that while the problem persisted, if i reved up to a little under the 1000 rpm mark it would recreate the problem. It seems that the change in tone and the shudder will persist while the rev range is around the 1000 mark.

Does anyone have any idea what it could be? I have the 15,000 km service coming up and I would like to get it rectified however due to the nature of the problem I don't think I'll be able to recreate the problem for the dealer to see.

[DJKOR]

1000RPM? You wouldn't be going very far with the revs that low.

Anyways, on topic, does this only occur at slow speeds, or at any speed where you can manage to get the revs that low?

If it's at slow speeds, I could imagine one thing that can cause that feeling/sound is when the transmission shifts from 2nd to 1st. This should only occur when the car is barely crawling or during hard acceleration however. If it occurs outside of these conditions, it's not exactly a pleasant feeling.

When you hear and feel the difference, do you notice the revs jump up? If so, to what RPM?

[fl00d]

I have a similar problem with my SX6. It feels like I was in neutral when gently touching on the accelerator at slow speeds (eg turning a corner at lights waiting for the pedestrians to clear the road, or coming off a downward slope). The engine would rev up to almost 3k rpm before it suddenly catches 1st or 2nd and jerks a bit at the same time. The problem is rather annoying but difficult to reproduce reliably.

[Mr De Angelo]

1000RPM? You wouldn't be going very far with the revs that low.

Anyways, on topic, does this only occur at slow speeds, or at any speed where you can manage to get the revs that low?

If it's at slow speeds, I could imagine one thing that can cause that feeling/sound is when the transmission shifts from 2nd to 1st. This should only occur when the car is barely crawling or during hard acceleration however. If it occurs outside of these conditions, it's not exactly a pleasant feeling.

When you hear and feel the difference, do you notice the revs jump up? If so, to what RPM?

When it does occur, it is only when the rev point is around 1000rpm and it has only happened when rolling or coming to a stop. There is no rev jump at all, I can hold the RPM on N and the pedals will vibrate the entire time it is held. I have asked passengers if they can feel/hear anything but they don't seem to notice anything, although the pedal vibration is very obvious to me

[SCOOTA44]

I have a similar problem with my SX6. It feels like I was in neutral when gently touching on the accelerator at slow speeds (eg turning a corner at lights waiting for the pedestrians to clear the road, or coming off a downward slope). The engine would rev up to almost 3k rpm before it suddenly catches 1st or 2nd and jerks a bit at the same time. The problem is rather annoying but difficult to reproduce reliably.

If your sx6 is built before 2009 and you still have warranty, get a toyota tech to travel with you and replicate this problem (usually best somewhere that you know it shows up ) and they may replace the transmision ECU as this has updated software which doesn't completely cure it but is a lot less noticable.

[450HP/tonne]

Air conditioner or vacuum mount (front engine mount)?

Best thing is to demonstrate the condition to the dealer and then allow them to drive it too. On the day of your service, go 15 minutes early and find a place you can reproduce it, close by to the dealer.

If you have no luck, see if the dealer has a demo/used vehicle you can test drive to see if it's a trait of the car that you became very aware of.

This happened for me after I started driving a different road to work, very similar sensation with pedal vibration and some booming. For me it happens in traffic at slow speeds in second (possibly third) gear, when I lift my foot off the accel pedal and rest it on the brake with no pressure (and rarely when going back to the accelerator). If it bothered me more I would watch the rpm as it happens to see what the transmission is doing and be ready to turn the air conditioner off to see if it stops. Because of other idiots on the road I decided not to play around with it during peak hour ...

[fl00d]

I have a similar problem with my SX6. It feels like I was in neutral when gently touching on the accelerator at slow speeds (eg turning a corner at lights waiting for the pedestrians to clear the road, or coming off a downward slope). The engine would rev up to almost 3k rpm before it suddenly catches 1st or 2nd and jerks a bit at the same time. The problem is rather annoying but difficult to reproduce reliably.

If your sx6 is built before 2009 and you still have warranty, get a toyota tech to travel with you and replicate this problem (usually best somewhere that you know it shows up ) and they may replace the transmision ECU as this has updated software which doesn't completely cure it but is a lot less noticable.

The Toyota factory warranty just finished last Friday! :( I have about 55,000km on the clock. I did just buy this car 2nd hand from a dealer not long ago though, I wonder if this will be covered in the 3 months statutory warranty..

[Mr De Angelo]

Air conditioner or vacuum mount (front engine mount)?

Actually now that you say that, I only notice it with other passengers in my car and that's the only time I run my air conditioner.. It might have something to do with the air conditioning running

[450HP/tonne]

Air conditioner or vacuum mount (front engine mount)?

Actually now that you say that, I only notice it with other passengers in my car and that's the only time I run my air conditioner.. It might have something to do with the air conditioning running

I noticed it 3 times on the way to work yesterday (in first or second gear at 1000rpm, using the accelerator to hold a constant speed in peak hour traffic). Two times I had the chance to turn off the A/C which, by chance or not, made the vibration go away!

Check that yours is the A/C, which is probably a common trait. If you are not worried about what it is, you probably will stop noticing it!

[Mr De Angelo]

Air conditioner or vacuum mount (front engine mount)?

Actually now that you say that, I only notice it with other passengers in my car and that's the only time I run my air conditioner.. It might have something to do with the air conditioning running

I noticed it 3 times on the way to work yesterday (in first or second gear at 1000rpm, using the accelerator to hold a constant speed in peak hour traffic). Two times I had the chance to turn off the A/C which, by chance or not, made the vibration go away!

Check that yours is the A/C, which is probably a common trait. If you are not worried about what it is, you probably will stop noticing it!

Yes, I can confirm that this definitely happens while the A/C has been running and once I turn off the A/C it will start to go away. Does anyone know the reason behind this, or should I still be talking to the Toyota service centre about it?

[SCOOTA44]

Yes, I can confirm that this definitely happens while the A/C has been running and once I turn off the A/C it will start to go away. Does anyone know the reason behind this, or should I still be talking to the Toyota service centre about it?

I think you will find that while you have the airconditioner on, the engine is working harder, especially in the low rev range, I have noted that it doesn't idol as smoothly with the aircon swiched on.

[450HP/tonne]

Yes, I can confirm that this definitely happens while the A/C has been running and once I turn off the A/C it will start to go away. Does anyone know the reason behind this, or should I still be talking to the Toyota service centre about it?

When the A/C compressor switches on (magnetic clutch in the pulley), it adds additional load to the drive belt and therefore engine. When stationary and idling, there is minimal drive load on the engine and its easy to calculate the required engine RPM to handle the load (hence idle up). When driving at slow speeds the engine can't idle up, or you'll start accelerating into the car in front.

You are welcome to show your dealer and have them explain, but its likely to be that the small vibration is more acceptable than acceleration. My previous car was a manual and I almost got caught out twice when the A/C idle up kicked in during peak hour traffic (when I was travelling closer than I should have).