from auto news:
http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071022/ANA03/710220350/1018LOS ANGELES — Toyota's Tundra pickup was hit with a double whammy last week.
Angry consumers are peppering the Internet with complaints that the torque converter in the 2007 Tundra's six-speed transmission has problems disengaging during gearshifts — a problem that Toyota acknowledges.
Meanwhile, the Tundra 4x4 model took a broadside from Consumer Reports magazine, which rated it "below average" in projected reliability.
Toyota thought it had put the redesigned Tundra's teething problems in the rearview mirror. First there was a batch of defective camshafts. Then it received a four-star rating in NHTSA crash tests, one star less than its Detroit rivals.
The latest quality snarl involves a vibration coming from the transmission when changing gears under gentle acceleration or deceleration.
Toyota Motor Sales officials have nicknamed the problem "the rumble strip" because the slippage causes vibration similar to the sensation of driving over the wake-up strips at the side of highways.
The rumbling usually lasts several seconds. But the problem sometimes worsens to the point that some owners can't shift into certain gears.
The problem has been reported only in six-speed transmissions, which are linked to the popular 5.7-liter V-8 engine. Since the 2007 Tundra's February launch, the 5.7-liter engine has been installed in 70 percent of about 135,000 Tundras sold. That means the problem could affect nearly 100,000 vehicles.
Tundra travails
Since its February launch, Toyota’s full-sized pickup has taken some hits related to quality.
* Bad batch of camshafts
* Crash rating below rivals’
* Consumer Reports snub
* Faulty torque converters
Bad torque converter
Before Toyota's technical service department traced the problem to the torque converter, some Toyota dealers replaced entire transmissions, said Toyota spokesman John Hanson. If the vibration occurs now, likely only the torque converter will be replaced.
Toyota still is trying to trace what exactly is wrong with the torque converter.
Internal field reports have yet to show anyone stranded by the problem, Hanson said. But Tundra owners in several Internet chat rooms say their transmissions quit shifting properly, forcing them to limp the truck to a dealership. The rumble-strip effect often occurs within the first 1,000 miles of ownership.
Isolated instances
Pickup owners are especially particular about vehicle reliability, says Mike Levine, editor of the consumer Internet site pickuptruck.com.
Since Toyota staked its reputation on reliability, any problem makes it tougher for Toyota to persuade domestic loyalists to switch allegiances, Levine said.
Reports of the problem have been sporadic. Large dealers in northern California, Texas and Ohio said they had no reported owner complaints about Tundra transmissions. An executive for a group of Midwestern dealerships, speaking anonymously, said his mechanics had seen one or two instances.
Craig Whetter, executive vice president of Wilson Automotive Group, says the group's six Toyota stores in California and Arizona have sold 2,236 Tundras this year but have not seen a single bad torque converter.
"These guys haven't turned a bolt on one, let alone replaced one," Whetter said.
Of bigger concern to Toyota is the number of vehicles affected.
The faulty camshaft problem was limited to several hundred early-build vehicles, but owners of Tundras built as recently as September have complained of defective transmissions.
The torque converter for the six-speed transmission used with the 5.7-liter V-8 is built at an Aisin AW plant in Durham, N.C. Aisin officials declined to comment, referring interview requests to Toyota.
