Transmission Oil Cooler - Not Rehashing The Same BS

Not here to start more dialog on the tranny cooler debate although I completely agree Toyota absolutely lied to their customers the way their Monroney Label suggests a cooler IS installed.

I know a ton of you have installed an aftermarket trans cooler and some have even said they had Toyota install it. I have spoken to three dealers in the East Valley of Phoenix and none of them will tackle this job so my warranty is covered.

I realize there are laws that protect a person when installing aftermarket parts but bottom line is your still hiring an attorney to try and fight Toyota. Good luck with that.

Question is, "Does anyone know for a fact whether or not the warranty will be covered if an aftermarket cooler is installed"? I purchased an 8year/125,000 warranty through Toyota and just want to make sure all will be good.
Thanks as usual.

 

My understanding is there's no way to know officially. That being said, 3 local dealers are all refusing to do the install and offer a warranty. If you were to have an issue with your trans and had installed a separate trans cooler, then reason suggests that the dealer would deny the claim, citing an aftermarket cooler. They're likely to look for a way out of warranty work.

You can't void a warranty, but you can get your claim denied. Some options:
1) keep the warranty and do trans fluid changes more often to preserve the trans. install the cooler once the warranty runs out
2) install the cooler and accept the risk that if the trans had a problem, there's a chance it won't be covered by the warranty.
3) Keep the warranty and trust Toyota's decision to remove the cooler

 

I’m rolling with a combination of 1 and 3. Trusting but verifying.

 

My suggestion if you have the ability to install cooler, car paid off you have no other debts and want a cooler install one. IF you have a transmission issue remove it before taking to dealer. Probably take an hour to remove cooler. 95% of transmission failures not caused by excessive heat or abuse is a shift solenoid. Drop pan and replace. Transmission needs a cooler, bad call on Toyota part but we all make bad decisions and that fine just don't repeat the same bad decision....

As far as not covered by warranty I call BS. You signed a piece of paper when you bought your truck you would do forced arbitration. You have to arbitrate it was in the stack of papers at dealer..........

 

I’m rolling with #3. If it turns out that my transmission fails and it seems overheating was the culprit, then I will have bought my last Toyota truck.

 

After telling myself and others I would not install the trans cooler and would just let it run hot, I ordered a kit from genuinecoolingsystems.com this morning. Going to be a fun afternoon project for me and my dad to do together and who knows how many projects we have left to do together, so there's that.

 

In theory they could deny a warranty on your transmission for the cooler being installed but if your radio dies they can’t claim it is not covered because you installed a transmission part. So if you install you are putting part of your warranty at risk but not voiding the entire thing.

 

Talk to Ben at AZ Toy Pros in Mesa. He was a former Toyota tech at one of the dealerships and knows his way around a lot of these issues. He can get you straightened out on what you can and can't do, and he's also able to do warranty work at his shop. (480) 687-4118

 

I detect a rehash.

 

with a side of same BS

 

I hope that's not the case. It would be the end of a long run of Toyota truck ownership for ya!

I still don't get how we can keep all of these posts going with the same topic but the question is delivered differently. Everyone has their opinions on the cooler or lack thereof before reading or starting these threads. Do what you want @737fixer. It's your truck and that's all that matters.

 

Those are great kits that he put together. I installed the Hayden kit on mine. @2020Platinum has an excellent installation video. I pulled my TT after installing mine and my average trans temp was 192. Did you already order the Bluetooth module that monitors the temps? You will need it for servicing after the install as well. I got the fluid pump from AutoZone.

 

Why do you need the bluetooth module for servicing?

 

The trans temp when servicing has to be between 99 and 111 when you pull the overfill plug.

 

No, you're not.

Read the info linked in the first post here. https://www.tundras.com/threads/if-you-are-asking-can-this-void-my-warranty-please-read.60493/
You don't try to take Toyota on in court. You report their violation of the law. You don't have to try and fight it. It also explains how your warranty CANNOT be "Void" for a mod. You make a claim, and it can be approved or denied. Worst case scenario, you wouldn't be able to get your transmission warrantied, but everything else would still be covered as normal. Odds of a transmission failure with or without the cooler are really low.

 

Do you buy the extended warranty and then trade your truck in once the warranty is up? If so, I maybe wouldn’t worry about a cooler.

If you’re like me, and you want to get to 300k or even 500k miles (supposing people are still allowed to put gasoline in their v8 trucks by the time it would take to reach those milestones), I would definitely install one. Not telling you what to do; just telling you what I’d do.

I haul heavy loads infrequently, off-road regularly in 4Lo, and tow a boat regularly (twice a month or more?) in season. You might use your truck differently than me, but I would not want 125k miles of my kind of use with no cooler, especially if those miles were racked up in your climate (I’m assuming you’re in AZ since you mention Phoenix dealers).

First thing you could do before deciding to install the cooler is start regularly monitoring your temps. That might help you decide one way or the other.

 

I also installed the kit with the Hayden heat exchanger. I had a similar experience towing camper. Last summer I saw temps in the 230s just commuting without it.

 

As mentioned above, they can’t void a warranty by installing an aftermarket part, but a claim can be denied if they can prove it was related to the addition of said part...this debate will go on forever, but all I know is I definitely was not comfortable with the temps I saw before install, and they’re WAY better after...here’s my install video if it would help, shoot me a message if ya have any questions!

Transmission Cooler Install On 2020 Toyota Tundra
https://youtu.be/5DLkja6vXvc

 

Yes, I have the Veepeak reader and the OBD Fusion app.