Transmission Noise problems of the 2003 Toyota Corolla

Hi, I am from puerto rico. I have a Toyota Corolla 2003 1. 8l, type s. The transmission of my car is manual and it is making an internal noise that has been increasing little by little. The noise is similar to a ball bearing when damaged. For the current price in the market, the mechanic recommended me to change the transmission for another used one that is in good condition. I have always maintained my car and I am surprised that a manual transmission car is failing. This model has present problems in the trasmition? thanks, lisa hernandez.

I was driving down freeway at 55mph and without any warning transmission made loud noise and then locked up, since car is front wheel drive I had no steering as front wheels locked up. Car then started to go into a spin, but I was able to fight the wheel and steer car to side of road. It was only by luck that there were no other cars or tractor trailers along side or in back of me, after all said and done with towing cost and having to rent a car for work, I am out $645. 00 and still no car! I had two transmission repair shops look at car, both said the same thing that some part came loose in transmission and destroyed it, it would need to be completely replace at a cost of $2700 -$3300 in the meantime I started doing research on that transmission and what I was told by the repair shops and from my own research it is very clear that the #Toyota Corolla and other models that used that manual transmission have had the very same problems. Please demand a recall !!!.

At just over 91000 miles my very well maintained 2003 Corolla with a manual transmission had a complete transmission failure at highway speeds. While accelerating the transmission suddenly made a loud grinding noise followed by a "thud" and completely locked up on me. I ended up stuck on a busy highway with my two young boys in the back seat. In researching this problem I have found that it is a well documented occurance with this specific year and model of Toyota Corolla. Untimately I will be putting in a new transmission in from a different model of Toyota and trading the car in with the hope that this will not happen to the next owner.

The c-59 five speed manual transmissions in the 2003 Corolla model year, both Corolla and matrix, are known to be prone to early bearing failure, due apparently to a faulty batch of bearings. I was driving on a freeway when I first heard bearing noise from my transmission. I took it to a transmission shop that confirmed the noise was from one or more bearings in the transmission and offered me a choice of replacing just the bearings, a full transmission rebuild, or a new transmission. Should the bearing have failed on the highway and blown up my transmission, I could easily have lost control of the vehicle resulting in a nasty accident. Toyota refuses to do a recall, but there are dozens if not hundreds of anecdotal reports of this exact scenario scattered online. The earliest symptoms are a grinding or whirring noise coming from the transmission (or more generally, from the engine compartment). If the faulty bearings are not replaced, they will eventually grenade (shatter and act as shrapnel, destroying your transmission) and you'll need a new transmission. My vehicle has been maintained by Toyota dealers for its entire life, save a single oil change while on a road trip. There is no reason a manual transmission should fail this early in its life. I've never raced it or abused it it any way.

Vehicle began making a grinding or chatter type noise when in any gear. Took the vehicle to private mechanic and found the issue to be the transmission. While looking for replacement transmission found a site where many other 2003 Toyota Corolla owners with manual transmission were having the same issues. All have had to have the transmissions replaced. This does not eliminate the issue as the replacement transmissions seem to be having the same problems.

I was driving home from work when the transmission locked up. I pulled over turned the car off and back on. I managed to put the car in first gear and make it back home even though the transmission was making this loud grinding noise. I brought the car for repair and they tell me I need a new transmission. Just 6 weeks ago I had the clutch replaced. After investigating this issue I have learned this is a very common problem. Something must be done about this.

2003 Corolla s & manual transmission with under 90k miles. Driving at approximately 25 mph in third gear. Car began making a grinding noise and the car stopped completely in the middle of a busy 3 lane street nearly causing an accident. It was still running, but couldn't get it to drive. Almost felt as if something was holding it back or stuck under the car. Had to manually move car to the side of the road. Car has not been officially diagnosed yet, but all indications point to the transmission. This seems to be a common theme with this year, make & model.

After making some noise on the highway I pulled off the road to realize that I had no reverse gear in my Corolla. It was difficult to get the car in first gear also. I limped my way to the mechanic who told me the next day that the transmission was completely broken. He said that a component came loose and destroyed the transmission further by interfering with other parts. He said that it would cost $3,800 to fix. This was completely unexpected and dangerous.

One year ago my 2003 Toyota Corolla began to make a high-pitched whirring noise when the transmission was engaged. The sound continued to become louder until while driving down the street my car began to make a crunching noise. After I pulled to the side of the road I was unable to put the car back into gear. I had the transmission rebuilt in Nov. 2010. I began hearing the same high-pitched whirring noise again recently (Nov. 2011).

While driving my car made a weird noise as I got on the freeway. Car was screaming until I got off of freeway. Parked the car and called aaa. Car would not go into reverse. Tow truck driver had trouble pushing car out of parking space. Got to transmission shop and car would not back off of tow truck. Transmission shop took apart transmission and states the pinion bearing went bad and that the vehicle had locked in 5th gear. They stated that the bearings have been known to go bad in Toyota's manual transmissions and rebuilt my transmission with a new aftermarket bearing kit. Repairs cost approximately $1800.

The contact owns a 2003 Toyota Corolla. The contact stated that the check engine warning lamp illuminated and the vehicle exhibited an abnormal noise. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic who diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 120,000 and the current mileage was 150,000.

I was driving and heard loud noise. Pull into a gas station and called husband. When he got to me he tried to put car in reverse and it just made a grinding noise. It wouldn't do anything. I had the transmission rebuilt. Now just 3 years later June 4, 2012 I was driving and heard same noise. I got home turned off car and when tried to put car in reverse it just made a grinding noise and wouldn't move.