Should I pay $4500 for transmission repairs in my 04 Toyota Sienna?
Posted by Emily_6@reddit | askcarguys | View on Reddit | 40 comments
I have 233k miles on my FWD 2004 Toyota Sienna and the transmission blew out last week. The mechanic quoted us for $4500 to put another one in. Should I repair or replace the vehicle? I doubt I would be able to get anything else for that amount of money, but I also don't know what other repair costs I would be looking at in the near future given its age, but I also put less than 5k miles per year on it.
owlwise13@reddit
It's a 20 yr old car, things will break down, that car will be able to drink legally in all 50 states soon. As others have said, check with a transmission shop, you might get a better deal. But you need to plan on replacing that vehicle, sooner than later.
SignificantLiving938@reddit
I didn’t read all the responses so I’m hoping I’m saying something that already has been said. But at 4500 bucks that’s about 5 months with the avg car payment these days. You drive 5000 miles a year. Spending 4500 now will should save you tens of thousands over the next 10 years because you won’t out drive a properly rebuilt transmission. Even if it lasts another year you’re in the black. Assuming there isn’t a bunch of other delayed work that has been put off.
Zbinxsy@reddit
I just looked and you can get a 09 sienna with 150k for about 5k. Unless Your financials are that tight where a new car is not in the cards I would not not bother. Any 20 year old car over 200k miles is 5 grand or less all day mostly.
shrout1@reddit
Yeah I think this is the answer. Sell the current van for scrap and then buy something with this sort of mileage.
Imcheapasf@reddit
If the body isn't rusted I'd fix and keep the Sienna. Go to an independent car mechanic shop instead of the dealership(if your quote was from a dealership). Keep the van as long as possible.
Nichia519@reddit
If I were in that situation, I think these are the options I’d be deciding on:
Pay the $4500, and get another 100k+ miles out of the car
Call other shops in the area and get price quotes for the same job, $4500 does seem a little high
Search for a shop that rebuilds transmissions
Sell the car and spend the 4500 towards an upgrade
Personally, I’d start with options 2 and 3
Hersbird@reddit
1 probably won't happen with 266k on the engine. You could drop $4500 on a tranmission and then need another $5k on an engine tomorrow which you will feel obligated to spend so you don't feel like you lost $4500.
Junkyard transmission is the way to go on anything this old.
Nichia519@reddit
It’s a Toyota. With either the 3.3l or 3.5l motor in it, If he’s taken care of it, I’d bet that motor probably has another 200k on it at least
Hersbird@reddit
It's the 3.3 which has been known to sludge and needs a timing belt every 90k. It's not getting to 433k without attention. At least my "POS" Jeep had 308k on its original motor and automatic transmission going strong when I sold it, this Toyota didn't get 250k on its transmission. Everything gets hit and miss past 300k.
icanfly2026@reddit
Take it somewhere it gets rebuilt and not a place that just throws in a trans they already have on the shelf.
born_zynner@reddit
She's given it her all. Let her rest
retardrabbit@reddit
I had a sienna of that generation and it was junk. It even had a theme song:
🎵 Mechanical Nightmare!!!!!🎶
My dad's and sister's tundras from the same era? Flawless (ok, rust on my sister's roof, but the truck sat for five years).
My mom's 04 Prius, no prob.
My 2013 Taco, no prob.
That's my experience.
BigJim32962@reddit
Seems high to me. I would shop around at other places. They may be trying to pull a fast one past you. I have seen this happen.
ukyman95@reddit
Any rust ? Ask yourself is it worth $4500 when you are done ? Will this be the last repair in 2025 ? Or is it the first of many . 240000 miles is a lot of miles . I would say NO.
Hersbird@reddit
Find a used transmission from a junk yard, probably $900-$1400. Pay somebody $500-$1200 to install it. $1400-$2600, not $4600. The van isn't worth $4500, but it is worth $2600.
Sea-Affect8379@reddit
You'd get a lower price with a used transmission but those may have been compromised in a frontal crash. You're also looking at a $500 belt replacement soon (every 90k) and who knows if your engine can last 300k. My old Lexus had the same engine and it's still going strong at 250k but I'm glad I got rid of it.
questfornewlearning@reddit
you are entering a high risk period for additional failures. Let it go to rest and spend the 5k towards an upgrade.
iMakeUrGrannyCheat69@reddit
Agreed
voidsarcastic@reddit
Just shop around a bit before you pay but i think as long as there are no other obvious major repairs needed in the near future it is not a bad idea to swap/rebuild trans.
eeyorespiglet@reddit
Id buy something else
Brother-Algea@reddit
Ah hell no!
Internal-Art-2114@reddit
What condition is it in and have you maintained it well? No rust and scheduled maintenance it should last a while longer. I would think you could also do it for less.
elonrocks@reddit
I had no idea that an 04 sienna with 233k was worth over 4,500 usd on the open market. That's wild
Eighteen64@reddit
depends on the overall condition of van.
1453_@reddit
Tech here. The concern is that you'll be replacing a faulty transmission with one from the junkyard with unknown mileage or service history. The replacement transmission could end up also failing within a short period of time. These are old vehicles so the chances of getting a low mileage donor vehicle are slim to none. Your best option is to have it rebuilt.
PollutionOld9327@reddit
$4500 is probubly more than the car is even worth, and you still have a car with 200,000+ miles on it, what's going out next ...
Direct_Cabinet_4564@reddit
A lot depends on the overall condition of the van. If you live where they salt the roads I’d take a hard look at the underside of the van first.
theriibirdun@reddit
No lol. Not only is that car not worth that much with a fixed transmission but eventually you have to realize that continuing to dump money into a car north of 200k miles is a bad bet. Take what ever car max or the dealer will give you for the car, and put the 5k towards a down payment.
Cpolo88@reddit
My mom had a 2000 one. Lasted her 20 years. 3 different engine replacements. Never a tranny funny enough. Had a fuck ton of miles. She finally didn’t want to spend money on repairs and got a newer 2020 Nissan. Ugh. But that’s Toyota lasted her 20 years. Put it to good use 😆
Ok-Anteater-384@reddit
You know its history and the way you've maintained it so unless you have a long-time history with your mechanic, I'd recommend going to a transmission shop.
Top_Issue_4166@reddit
Well, you need a van. It’s worth zero right now and if you spend $4500 on this one, you have a van worth $4500.
Seems clear to me you fix the van
Pinkninja11@reddit
I'd advise you to look for someone who specializes in repairing transmissions. It's way cheaper and also better since those guys usually know what they're doing.
PossibleMechanic89@reddit
My local experts will rebuild with warranty or swap from a junkyard for about $1,500 all in. This was years ago, so maybe 2K now, but I’d agree $4,500 is way too much.
Pinkninja11@reddit
Yep. It depends on the damage and the parts that need replacing. My father in law recycled a VW DSG for about 500$ last year.
Hour-Marketing8609@reddit
What!??? A Toyota transmission died? No way
Pinkninja11@reddit
Probably still had the original fluid.
TucsonTank@reddit
Your car has an approximate value of 1500-3000 dollars. How many miles do you think it should last?
CharacterAd5474@reddit
At that mileage and generation, you also need to start looking at some of your belts and seals in the engine.
Timing belt, oil seal, crank seal. I got a quote from one of my good mechanics at work for all of this done at once (easier that way for them) and it was around $2k.
Good news if you get that all taken care of and if youve taken care of the vehicle, you can probably get another 70k miles out of it.
Impressive-Sky-7006@reddit
You don’t know what will fail on your next car. It really depends on the condition of the sienna. Is it clean in and out? Is it rusted below? What is the overall condition.
LittleRubberDucky4@reddit
No lol