MR-S gearbox questions ...

[Buddha]

Just a question for MR-S owners ... can you tell us some more about the gearbox in this model? How are the shifts (feel/speed) and what issues do people have with them? Cheers.

[MRSWISO]

You asking about the smt? just recently brought a 2000 model spyder and did some research on them. most common problem is the clutch goes between 130,000-140,000k mark but if driven hard all the time sooner and than gearbox may need a rebuild which ive been told.so if the car has about the k mark check if the clutch or gearbox has been done, also some people dont realize the gearbox is your normal 5 speed and no special clutch but the hydraulics controls the clutch for you so they put the wrong fluid in the gearbox. another issues is with the ecu if you disconnect the battery for more than a certain amount of time (not sure yet :/) it resets it self and only toyota can reprogram it :/ if you go to spyderchat.com they have heaps of stuff on spyders, hence the name lol

Shifting is sweet, you have to like any manual when changing gears take your foot off the accelerator pedal and shift and if you do it right its a nice ride.

hope this helps a bit but the car and how it handles and drives out ways all the problems but all cars have problems.

[chewbacca888]

Had to replace the ECU in my car and also the HPU.

The Hydraulic Power Unit controls the gear changes.

Painful to get parts but also expensive. Usually Ex Japan.

The HPU sits under the Air FIlter box. If that leaks and your unit doesnt pressure, you wont be able to shift gears or the car will stall

[chris1991119]

any other known problems with the sw30s?

[chewbacca888]

Yes, my Spyder died 2 weeks ago (stuck in gear and wouldnt disengage or start) and to date, they have told me that the issue is not mechanical.

A call yesterday advised me that it may be something called the Servo housing which controls all the moving parts of the transmission and allows gear shifting. Part alone is $3000 if that is, indeed, the fault

[(mr2)]

$3,000!!! really

I'm sure there will be a couple of second hand ones floating around from people that have done a 2ZZ upgrade. Maybe try Road and Track in QLD.

With the ECU "resetting" after being disconnected that doesn't sound right... What issues are they causing?

[chewbacca888]

Yep and that is only for the top half of the Servo Housing.

Ive never experienced the ECU reset issue and I have, on many ocassions, disconnected my battery and gone away for 6 or so months.