I'm hearing a lot of milkshakes being made with coolant getting into the transmission through a failed line in the radiator. This can result in a safety issue with transmission failure and engine overheating. Report it to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:

http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/index.cfm

If Toyota won't voluntarily do anything about it, perhaps the NHTSA can make them. If you don't report it, nothing will ever be done.

 

dude, this is a problem caused by neglect

there is no inherent defect in toyota transmission cooling setups


so...good luck with that.

 

Dude, how exactly is it neglect? Is there somewhere in the owner's that states "make sure to install aftermarket transmission cooler and block off stock cooler or transmission failure could occur" ?

Please show me.

 

Yeah I'd like to see the proof too, just one pic of a failed cooler that shows a hole from corrosion. Not saying its not from corrosion, just saying it could be a fracture or defect but no one has yet to post a pic of one.

 

1) change the coolant when stated in manual
2) ditto for transmission
3) don't have any collisions
4) will last over 300,000 miles


that is what I mean. there is no engineering or design problem.

 

exactly. lets see the holes, lets see some forensic evidence of what happens.

if it is a fracture due to a poor weld, ok you got one, lets see more

if it is a pinhole from corrosion...sorry, try again

 

I think there is indeed a problem with the design of the radiator. TONS of vehicles have an integrated tranny cooler/radiator and the 4Runner is the only vehicle I've ever heard of this happening to. Perhaps maintenance has something to do with it but that doesn't explain why all the other non-4Runner vehicles that are poorly maintained don't experience the same problem. I dunno if it is a NHTSA issue but I personally feel it is a design flaw by Toyota.

 

While I have not experienced the problem (only have 60K right now), I have been reading horror stories from many on this forum, some of which seem to be maintenance nuts.

I was dealer flushed at 40K (part of the certified vehicle program), I will be flushing it now at 60K, and plan to do so every 30K. If my coolant line ruptures, I'll be all over the NHTSA website.

BBMF, I hope you're right, but I will probably error on the side of caution and put a cooler in at 90K.

 

Dude, save yourself the headache-just do the reroute of the lines with an aftermarket cooler.

As for the other person who believes there is no problem, I respect your viewpoint, but there is clearly an issue just as there was with the oil sludge issue.

 

If something fails 10 years and 100,000 miles out is a design flaw I can name a few car brands that should be taken off the road immediately by the NHTSA for being total and complete design flaws.

 

well....

I will letcha all know when my tranny blows up.

156,000 miles 1999 4runner ltd. not gonna reroute anything.

always dealer serviced.

operated mostly in Massachusetts and Maine,

and never, ever washed.

WHEN the tranny dies from water contamination, like you all promise it will, I will
post up my results. Also, -when- it happens I will fork over the dough to have the
tranny rebuilt.

 

This one failed Oct 2007, by my math that's 5 years:

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f2/t...-burst-126886/

 

This isn't a matter of "many" having problems here. Those threads were several years old and got bumped about a week ago, making it appear as if lots of folks were having this happen at one time. It really just amounted to a handful of folks here having the same problem spaced out over several years. It's hardly an epidemic, but probably something to be mindful of.

As all agree, pics of the point(s) of failure would be immensely helpful in figuring out what went wrong.

 

that is the scary part of the forums. the ones posting, are the ones having issues. the -millions- of others who have a fault free 4runner don't post about it.

it is hard to sleep at night after reading yotatech sometimes.

 

Well, unlike leaking rear axle seals, warping rotors and sagging springs this issue can easily cause thousands of dollars in damage. Albeit the percentage of vehicles that will have this failure is probably pretty small but the consequences are not. If I can spend a couple of hundred (or easily less) now to avoid destroying a transmission that costs thousands, even if it is a low percentage risk, that is money (and peace of mind) well spent. I think we all agree that 4Runners are much more reliable than your average vehicle but that doesn't mean it is without its quirks. Certainly internet boards can instill paranoia about non-problems but this particular one is just too expensive to ignore.

 

Same thing with the sludge issue. Less than 1 in 1000 (0.1%) owners of the "design flaw" engine had issues.

 

The topic of number of posters vs. number of owners was brought up. I have found that few if any owners know about Yotatech. I see 4runners all over Parker driven by soccer moms...and I suspect the vast majority don't post here or read here.

Then there is the issue of recognizing the problem. Not everyone goes to the same source for help. Some go to AAMCO, some go to the dealer, some go to their neighborhood garage. That mechanic may not even know what is the root cause and simply may just replace the unit. More than likely, the owner may not even care... "just fix it".

It may be a certain batch of radiators that are affected or it may be most of them. If you see a problem 3 or 4 times on a forum, chances are there are a lot more instances of failure.

I don't know some so vehemently deny that there might be a problem. Who knows if they work for Toyota or feel the need to apologize for Toyota-which is weird because our 4runners have a pretty good track record. One issue here or there isn't going to change that.

Still, I have a pretty good idea what is going to go in the ter on my 4runner...and you know what? It has. Springs, brakes, driveline issues and probably the rear seals soon. My heater fan is clogging up ....gotta fix that too.

 

Yet Toyota pulled in an inspected an huge number of vehicles for this.

 

Good point, I might also note, you really didn't see a huge number of Tacoma frame rust problems on the boards before they started the recall/buyback of them.

 

I'm not convinced there is a radiator tranny cooler problem, but I'll probably re-route my tranny cooler lines and close off the radiator.

That said, one has to be careful on forums. Forums tend to attract at least three types of people:
1) Enthusiasts
2) OCD car maintenance freaks
3) Occasional users that only show up where there is a problem

The point is that posts on a forum are not a random sample. People tend to post when there is a problem, real or imagined, or just a general interest. How many posts do we see stating "no problems so far, car is running great?" It happens, but they are very rare, yet that represents the vast majority of time we have our vehicles.

I'm reminded of the cartoon that shows a drunk guy looking for his keys under a street light. When asked "where did you lose them" the drunk says "over there," pointing to a dark area. When asked "why are you looking for them over here?" he replies "because the light is better over here."

MadCityRich