Scotty,
CAR: 2012 Toyota Camry LE, 2.5-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine, U760E SIX-SPEED AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION.
MILEAGE: 95,850 (you are seeing this correct a one owner Toyota Camry with less than 100K miles that needs a new transmission)
AGE: 8.5 YEARS (I bought it new in 2012)
PROBLEM: 2012 Toyota Camry Transmission Shudder (diagnosed at Principle Toyota by the dealers service department)(they also ran a glycol test which was negative).
SOLUTIONS: Torque Converter Replacement at Toyota Service Department $2310.25 includes tax (warranty 1yr 12K miles).
Transmission Replacement (remanufactured) at Toyota Service Department $7116.09 includes tax (warranty 1yr 12K miles).
Rebuild existing Transmission at local transmission shop $3800 (only called on phone and got approximate estimate) includes tax (warranty 2yr 24K miles).
Hindsight 20/20: If you have a 2012 - 2014 Toyota Camry you will not be able to tell that your car has an issue unless you are a mechanic yourself and if you are you may still not realize it as the shudder is very slight. I am just realizing that my car had this issue when I bought it new. I took it to the dealer at 25K and they only did the software update and did not replace the torque converter. If you have one of these cars that is less than 8 years old and with less than 150K call the dealer ASAP and force them to replace the torque converter as it is under warranty (no matter what the dealer tells you). If your Camry is older than 8 years or has more than 150K miles go to the dealer ASAP and get them to change the transmission fluid and filter (no matter what the dealer tells you). Unfortunately the service manual for this car says that the transmission has lifetime fluid and there is no service intervals for changing the fluid and filter on this transmission. You will have to take this into your own hands and start getting the fluid and filter changed on the transmission every 30K miles (no matter what the dealer tells you). Save all of your service receipts on this vehicle and never throw them away even if you no longer own this car. Keep a copy of the title if you sale the car. Start a file and make detailed notes of your experience with this vehicle and put all documents related to this vehicle in the file and never throw them away (I believe that this issue will become a class action lawsuit). You should also start to save $4000 to get the transmission rebuild as there is nothing that will help this transmission in the long-term (keep your receipts and put them in your file).
I hope that you will leave this posted on your web-site as is. I believe that the transmission issue that I am having with my 2012 Toyota Camry is larger than just the 795K 2012 - 2014 Camry's that Toyota is saying it effects and that it is a not an issue but a bad design that is effecting approximately 15 million Toyota's that are on the road today with the U760E, U760F, U660E, and U660F.
I wish I could drive my 2012 Toyota Camry to you but I am not sure it would make it. I live in Memphis, TN and while I know it is a little far for you to come from where you now live in TN I think you need to drive a few of these cars and post a video telling your viewers and letting them know that there is an issue with the 2012 - 2014 Camry Transmission. You also have a video telling them to buy one of these 2012 - 2014 Toyota Camry's with the U760E SIX-SPEED AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION. I hope you will take it down until you get the chance to research this issue and drive these cars. I think if you do some research online and check the Toyota forums you will find this popping up on all of the Toyota's with these transmissions from 2010 to 2019. I wish you could drive my 2012 Toyota Camry to you but I am not sure it will make it. Maybe we could meet in the middle somewhere. I am up for trying to get the car to you if it helps to save just one person some money on the Shell Game Toyota is running on their customers.
Reason for the shell game at Toyota: 795,000 Camry's effected per LSC E03
Replace all 795,000 torque converters = $1,836,648,750.00 (billion)
Replace all transmissions with a remanufactured transmission = $5,657,291,550.00 (billion)
Below in bold is the exact letter that I emailed to the service director at the dealership and to Toyota corporate:
Toyota new spin on an old favorite, "The Shell Game"!
I was curious last night what transmission my Toyota Camry has on it. From my few hours research online last night I found it was the U760E. I attached some rough numbers I looked up on Wikipedia last night on the potential total vehicles that could have this U760E. This seems to be more than likely the most common transmission on all of the Toyotas that were 4 cylinders. However, I will concede that some do have the U760F, U660E, and U660F. However, from my limited research I believe that all four of these transmissions are somewhat similar and share many of the same attributes. I did not pull the numbers on potential cars that have the U760F, U660E, and U660F as it would have just added to the already surprising number of vehicles this transmission shudder probably actually effects. The Toyota on-line forums are filled with this transmission shudder issue on all the Toyota's year and model that are on this spread sheet. I now understand why I got the shell game ran on me in 2015 and how it was done.
Shell Game
Toyota admits there is a problem with the transmission by issuing in October 2014 Limited Service Campaign E03 to only update the software. Then the next month in November 2014 start mailing letters to the customer saying we have just issued Warranty Enhancement Notification - ZE5 to do three things, put in a new torque converter, additional transmission pan magnets, and update the software. This puts both LSC E03 and WEN ZE5 in play at the same time for the same transmission issue. I received my letter for WEN ZE5 in the mail. I call and set up an appointment for WEN ZE5 and in good faith walk into my local Toyota service department Principal Toyota Memphis, TN in March of 2015 with my WEN ZE5 letter in my hand and say I am here to get WEN ZE5 taken care of. In good faith I pick up my car thinking that WEN ZE5 has been taken care of. However, it turns out that what was done was LSC E03 and not WEN ZE5.
You should probably hurry up and reach your verdict as in only a few days of research online and a few hours spent calculating numbers on the attached Excel Spreadsheet I am starting to uncover something that seems to have been going on for some time and is still going on today as there are plenty of cars still on the road with U760E that are covered under WEN ZE5 and are currently still getting the Shell Game ran on them.
What I am starting to find out as I call other transmission repair shops today and start to do more research is that with the transmission shudder issue that occurs in the U760E replacing the torque converter is only a patch and not a proper repair. The proper repair should be rebuilt or replaced the transmission on all vehicles with U760E that experience this issue as well as on my 2012 Toyota Camry.
I am sure if I research more it will be the same with the other transmissions in this series U760F, U660E, and U660F.
I am going to post this on all Toyota/vehicle forums that I can find to help get the word out. My plan is to spend the $4000 and get the transmission rebuilt this week or next (then file in small claims court to try to recover this expense). This is my wives garage kept car that she needs to go to her job as a nurse. Right now I am driving her to work in my more reliable 2003 Chevy Trailblazer with 165K miles on it that I bought new in 2003. It has never had to have the transmission or engine replaced. If you want to drive this 2012 Camry please contact me quickly so we can speak about a date and time before I get the transmission rebuilt. Whatever you do please make a video about this issue as it is my belief that you will be able to reach millions of people and save a lot of people thousands of dollars each.
Regards,
Live Free or buy a New Toyota
The extended warranty is good for 8 years (2022) or 150,000 miles.
What is their excuse for not honoring it?
Did you get the software update?
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2018/MC-10129984-9999.pdf
Tried, but they said depend on the vin# and they said that warranty isn’t covered for that 2014 Toyota Camry🤦🏽♂️which makes no sense because they were all made in the same assembly line in Georgetown Kentucky. It also doesn’t make any sense on how the Camry v6 doesn’t have that problem but it also has the same transmission.
Many 2015 owners are complaining that their 2015 Camry is experiencing exactly the same torque converter shudder issues described in the 2012-2014 models that were covered under a recall.
The problem in 2012-2014: Affected Toyota cars may exhibit a transmission shudder while driving under light loads between 25 and 50 mph. This is due to a combination of an engine control module software glitch and a faulty torque converter in the vehicle.
Corrective action then: Toyota dealers will replace the torque converter and update the ECM software.
Helpful links:
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2017/MC-10146516-9999.pdf
http://carspecmn.com/2012-2014-toyota-camry-shudders-when-accelerating-new-warranty-ze5/
https://www.toyotaofwestcounty.com/service/2012-2014-toyota-camry-software-recall/
Unfortunetly with that generation torque converter and transmission slipping/shudder are extremly common at low miles for a Toyota. I have seen many people on this forum have the same issues. Even Scotty has seen it and the owners who reported it were also more than you'd expect.
I feel your pain times 2. Have a 2014 and daughter has a 2012. Hers is already messing up.
There is no such thing as a V4. You have an i4 and it's attached to a U760E 6-speed automatic transmission.
The V6 model also has a 6-speed but, it's a heavier duty U660E transmission which doesn't have the problem.
Unfortunately , there are a LOT of pissed off owners with your Camry , who have this shudder. Toyota is refusing to fix what is obviously a defective or badly designed transmission. Shame on Toyota. I wish Scotty and other would talk about this more, before recommending Toyota to everybody. I don' t know what to you tell you. You can try to fight them if your have lawyers or the patience for it. If the shudder isn't too bad then you can try to live with it , change the fluid often, and put some extra magnets in the pan. The really sad part is, there's no real fix. Apparently if you change the torque converter the problem comes back. You could replace the transmission, but if you get the same defectively designed one, then who's to say it won't shudder again later down the road.
Maybe it's best to get rid of the car before it gets worse. I dunno
Totally agree with ya, I’ll see what I can do. Thank you though
Hey so our family has a 2014/2014.5 Toyota Camry LE 2.5 v4 6speed automatic transmission that has 85,000 miles and it has a weird shudder and a vibration and a laggy acceleration. We thought it was something minor. But we researched about the problem it said that it was a faulty torque converter and there were many people who complained as well with this issue. And we also saw that there was a warranty on it but we contacted Toyota and they said that we can’t do anything about it but they did say that they will still research about the problem. So we went to the dealer but the dealer said that it needs a new transmission. So I don’t know what to do now, and I’m surprised how a Toyota transmission needs to be fixed with that low of miles, I mean I thought that Toyota transmission are reliable and go well over 200k miles with no issue. But yea we are the first owners and we don’t even drive aggressively. But this Situation is really odd🤔🤔🤔.
I paid $5000 for a rebuilt transmission for my daughter's 2012 Camry. 6 months later she was rear-ended and the car was totaled by the insurance company. Woo Hoo. She just bought a 2013 Avalon with 134000 miles for $14000. Here's hoping...
Hello Scotty sure could use your help. 2015 Camry 124000 miles 2.5 4cyl that I’m having a hard time isolating what feels like a vibration/shudder in the powertrain. When engine is cold if I accelerate briskly the best way I can describe it is it feels like a misfire or a dead cylinder. I can feel it in cruise at 65/70 as well but not as harsh. I have no engine light or codes, scan shows no misfires. Replcd spark plugs, coils, air filter, cleaned induction system, eng mounts seem ok axles/ suspension tight no unusual noises either. Any help or a direction to pursue would be most appreciated!
@biguno
When was the last time you changed your transmission fluid? Dirty fluid can cause shuddering.
Should I drain and fill or do a flush?
Yes often transmission shutter will cause that have fluid filter checked first
2014 should still be under warranty WEN ZE5 to get the torque converter replaced unless you have over 150K miles. Good luck however actually getting them to do it. I have found three post on https://www.camryforums.com/ where people have taken their Camry to the dealer and the dealer refused to replace it and calling Toyota didn't help them either. If you do take the 2014 to the dealer post on here any updates you have related to the 2014 and the 2012 it could help other people in the future with these same issues.
The problem is that the 14 only has 60000 miles and has not developed the shudder yet. They won't replace it with the shudder. The 12 developed the shudder about 2 months ago with about 140000 miles. The transmission is now shifting hard into second gear.
Correction.... they won't replace it without the shudder {black}:sulky: {black}:sulky:
This is a very well-known problem. If your tranny breaks down, maybe you should find a 2016 or 2017 U760E to replace it.
I just purchased a 2014 Toyota Camry XLE with U760E. It was exhibiting a shudder and loss of power at around 40 mph on the up shift. It is at the Toyota dealership now, supposedly having the Torque Converter replaced. I am very car savvy for a woman, so I know what is going on. I communicated this to them by telling them I expected it to be replaced and not just a software update. We shall see what happens when I pick it up in the morning. I am also concerned about the possible damage this has caused to the transmission. I believe a class action lawsuit is fitting!
I had my torque converter replaced by Toyota in Dec 2019 with 115k on my one owner Camry. I barely made the service deadline. They found metal in my transmission pan and said my transmission was shot. They replaced just the torque converter and sent me on my way with a note on their service report that they recommended me replacing my transmission. Now this week with 150k on my car the transmission is shuttering again. Called Toyota and the dealer and they said its out of their 1 year warranty and I am out of luck. Do I try to have the pan cleaned out again to help it limp along or do I spend 5k on a new transmission or just junk the car? I planned on having this for 5 more years. I bought this car over a Ford thinking the Toyota would last. Andrew
I am concerned if I replace my now faulty transmission with another will it have the same issue? Is there a year of used transmission that I can find that will work for my 2012 Camry?
or just junk the car?
Unfortunately, as you can see in the other replies to this topic, and from the experience you had, there is no good solution to this issue.
Car Care Nut explains the Toyota shudder
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96wuBq9EatI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtGIUIPE6ik
