Toyota being Sued for Missing Trans Cooler

So do you have these parts?
Trans Oil Cooler for 2020 Toyota Tundra | Sparks Parts

I'm not trying to be a dick, I'm just wanting to understand why there is a lawsuit.

 

I do indeed

 

I have a '21 Pro, and it does not annotate a trans cooler on the window sticker....

 

This is what mine says

 

I got an email from that law firm today
specifically notated that the suit is about '19 and '20 Tundras...no mention of '21 because the sticker wasn't misleading, no cooler advertised and no cooler delivered

 

I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to sign up for participation…..at worst it sounds like I would have to pay 40% for an external cooler which I was thinking about purchasing anyway. What are everyone’s thoughts?

 

Buy and install the external cooler. The Toyota OEM is a joke and total POS - it does a better job heating than cooling. Seriously - do the aftermarket external cooler.

 

Just got an email back from the law office that is handling this lawsuit, they wanted me to sign something saying I was aware that I could be responsible essentially for thousands of dollars in fees. I didn't sign it obviously and have no plans to, wondering if anyone else will sign. I didn't thoroughly read it because it was pages and pages of legal mumbo jumbo and quite frankly the 50 dollars us peons will likely get in the end is just not worth taking a risk!

 

For arguments sake...how many transmissions have prematurely failed out of the 220,876 due to Yota's design change?

 

Probably zero.

and, since the truck has a payload equivalent to a box of snickers they can always say we overload our trucks

 

Just checked my 21 sticker also, no mention of cooler. I really wish they picked something else to cut corners on rather than something that could reduce the life of the transmission. It is the only thing I don’t like about the truck. I have had my 2021 so far 2 years and it is an outstanding vehicle other than transmission temp getting to 250 deg F pulling a stupid 2000# pop up camper.

 

My Toyota dealer originally said they would install the aftermarket cooler kit then called me later to tell me they can’t do it. The explanation was strange and it sounds like the service writer escalated request and got told no. This is a Toyota dealer that will do lifts and other upgrades but won’t do a transmission cooler.

 

weve seen plenty installed aftermarket though. I put the down payment on mine through the shop, waiting for the parts to arrive... interesting.

 

That's Toyota's claim.

 

Before 2019 that was called a warmer.

 

I don't have a dog in this fight since mine is a '21, but this would be my concern...

A crap ton of us have concluded that we can no longer trust 'most' Toyota dealerships to even handle a basic oil change w/o risking damage, carelessness, or other problems. I'm not sure I'd want a dealership I don't trust doing that type of an install

 

Mine still shows a trans cooler online when I put in the VIN

 

this is not the puck.

this is the thermostat that runs to the external cooler.

this is the part- among others - that I had to buy to install aftermarket cooler. to mimic the original cooler.


I'll add some color to this...

my '20 did not come with the external cooler. it only had the puck.

I was seeing 205-220 unladen on cruise control @ 62mph in Houston summer weather.
I don't tow. folks that do see 230-250. in the pan!

I installed the external cooler - genuine systems- and that brought the temp down to 195-ish.

then.....wait for it....I pinned the thermostat.

now I run 175-ish.

the trans heats up the same way it always did...via the puck -- which somehow gets its heat from the radiator.


so - removing the ext cooler was not good.
no matter what all you culty Toyota folks think.
all it accomplished was to make the trans run much hotter.


will anyone win this one. no.
the puck still qualifies as a cooler.
because it limits the trans temp via the radiator.

 

I got the kit, had it installed for about 1200 bucks = piece of mind for the past two years, til the day she dies. I'm good. Hope the lawsuit brings relief to those seeking it.

My towing temps never exceed 200°, I do not pin it open.

 

I agree that heat in general is bad for longevity but have we heard of any transmissions failing 5 years after this change was made?

 

agreed.

Transmissions are very robust these days.


<read this part in an agreeing tone>
And,

if I just need to install the original cooler to lower the temp back to 195

or

after installing the original cooler - push a TOYOTA designed button(pin the thermostat) and I can run it @ 175 degrees.

then I will gladly do that, because I'm cheap & want to keep this thing at least 10 years.



to sue Toyota because they took off the cooler & left a puck is not a game anyone should play.
you won't get a true remedy - the lawyers will.

 

I wonder if this is the reason our trans fluid is always very dark even when doing drain and fills at 30k or 60k. I'm wondering if that darkness of the fluid (even at low service intervals) is due to a 'burning' of the fluid a result of the high temps

Current days transmissions are built very well, but if we are grenading the fluid w/a constant 'overheating' are we also losing the lubrication properties of the fluid and thus causing early wear.

I've only put 10k miles on my '21 so far (no towing), so I wouldn't know...

what I do know is that my '08 has nearly 300k on it w/some fairly heavy tow for a few years of its life and it's still good

 

If Toyotas “fix” is to install the factory cooler at dealer labor rates and at dealer parts prices, then the “value” or cost of that fix could be in the $2-3k range. That means you would have to pay the legal fees to the lawyers out of your pocket at a cost of $800-1200 dollars. Not worth it when you can get the same stuff for about that without giving the sheister lawyers any money. It’s a no for me dawg

 

How much heat transfer could possibly be occurring inside that little puck?

 

Just and heads-up to everyone after reading the law firm's "Online Agreement". And as full disclosure, I'm not a lawyer, but the document is clear on this point: As a couple of other people have commented earlier (as in the Knabores quote above) if the law firm negotiates a non-monetary settlement with Toyota, you will be responsible to pay the law firm the fees and expenses spelled out in the contract. If you sign the contract you could be committing yourself to pay an amount you cannot identify at this time, so beware.

 

from my experience, during a cold start - it transfers initial heat enough to heat the transmission to 130 degrees in 10 minutes.
and will continue to heat the transmission to 174 degrees.
it does this on mine - as I get on the hwy quite quickly & cruise in TC lockup.


question is....how much could it cool the transmission? I say not much.
how much heat can 195 degree radiator coolant take away...especially at such small surface area.

the Culty Toyota folks will tell you the engineers are way smarter than us, and they know better.


I was raised to believe heat is bad. My cognitive dissonance will not let me think otherwise.

 

Zero to none would be my guess. The coolant runs at 195 -205 and the trans at 210-220.

 

It almost seems like the puck is technically a cooler in theory, but not in practice. Seems like a stretch for a judge to rule against a global corporation when its hard to prove damage