Toyota Sienna LE 2006 with 72000miles automatic broke down
on the highway --- refusing to go beyond 35miles an hour and
check engine light came on. The Toyota dealer claimed that the
transmission had to be replaced at a cost of about 5500 + and
diagnosed only transmission problem. To get a second opinion, we
got the vehicle towed to AAMCO, the transmission experts.
AAMCO replaced Valve body, Torque converter, and their
standard Banner Kit + transmission cooling system flush and
clean. AAMCO asked us to be soft on the transmission for a tank
of gas. Inspite of driving slowly, we noticed that the transmission
change from about 1st to 2nd gear was very slow and the car had
like a hiccup when trying to accelerate and exhibited vibration at
higher speeds. When we took it back to AAMCO, they test drove
the same and now claim the computer (ECM?) is not learning the
gear shift and needs to be replaced. Toyota dealer claims that the
8yr/80000mile warranty on the computer is only for a
manufacturing defect and refuses to acknowledge that the
computer is misbehaving. There is no check engine light or error
code, but the vehicle remains sluggish. We are waiting for the
pricing of the ECM module and would sincerely appreciate if the
problem is acknowledged and resolved by Toyota. Gone are the
days when Toyota was a reliable car --- we are frustrated with the
whole episode and unfortunately are not confident of what else
needs to get replaced to get the car up and running.