I recently bought a 2006 Sienna and have a question about the transmission. It frequently seems that the gears are slipping when I accelerate. I took it back and they assured me that it won’t hurt anything. They adjusted the “computer” and it seemed to work better for awhile but they indicated it would probably return. Even if it’s not hurting anything I can’t help but feel that it might be affecting my gas mileage. Is this a common problem?
I don’t thinkany transmission should slip at anytime. I don’t know anything about the Sienns, but the fact that they are saying “it does not hurt anything” would mean to me that as long as they don’t have to dig into it, it won’t hurt. But if they sold the car with some kind of warrnaty, when that is over it will hurt you pocket.
I hope you got a receipt that described your problem. That is how you document the date if the repair is covered under warranty. I agree with wizard that the transmission should never slip. It sounds like your transmission needs work. It seems like you bought it at a car dealer. The factory warranty is 5 years or 60,000 miles on the drive train. Unless you are over 60,000 miles, this should be covered. If you are over 60,000 miles, a dealer often has a short-term warranty like 90 days or so.
I agree with Wizard in this case. Think about it like this, when was the last time you opened up your PC to make an adjustment. It ain’t happening! I bet you took your car to either a dealership or the corner convenience/chain shop. It will take some time and patients but you should be able to find a reputable independant shop somewhere in your area. Do you want me to describe what a reputable independant shop looks like?
I’m not sure what you mean by “slipping”, our 2006 Sienna’s 5 spd. auto transmission shifts so smoothly that it’s hard to tell when a shift occurs. The only quirk I’ve noticed is a slight hesitation before down shifting when the gas pedal is pressed hard. Perhaps the dealer reprogrammed the computer to firm up the shifts. I believe the computer adjusts the transmission shift point to reflect one’s style of driving.
I suggest test driving another Sienna to see how that one shifts compared to yours. Keep track of any work you have done under warranty.
Ed B.