Transmission Replacement Cost: What Owners Paid, What Makers Print

What will it cost? Owners who wrote their own bills into safety complaints report a median of $4,600 for a transmission replacement they paid or were billed for (78 figures), and a median of $6,000 for a replacement they were quoted; the middle half of the quotes runs from $4,200 to $8,900. The makers' own labor times for taking a transmission out and putting another in are 3.0 to 17.3 hours on the models whose documents print hours, so labor is a real part of every bill. Is replacement even the answer? Often not on the first visit: makers print a test, a software update, a fluid service or a cheaper part before the unit, and some forbid a replacement for specific codes. Who pays? Sometimes the maker, by VIN; 125 of the 798 owners who say their transmission was replaced say the maker, a warranty or a program paid in whole or part.

A transmission replacement is five different bills with one name: a cheaper repair sold as a replacement, a replacement the maker or a warranty pays for, a used unit, a remanufactured unit (or a rebuild of your own), and a new unit from the dealer. The word on the quote is the same in all five; the unit, the warranty and the price are not.

We went through NHTSA's index of manufacturer communications for documents whose summaries name a transmission replacement, a remanufactured unit or a warranty or coverage for the transmission, and a second, separate search added what the first had missed: 976 distinct documents: 705 manufacturer communications from Ford, GM, Honda and Acura, Toyota and Lexus, Nissan and Infiniti, Chrysler, Ram and Jeep, Hyundai and Kia, Subaru, Mazda, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Land Rover and others, and 271 files from 26 recall campaigns found by a separate search of recall files. No maker treats a transmission replacement the same way: some replace the unit outright for one named fault, some replace it only when a test fails, and some forbid it for a fault a part fixes.

Then we took the complaints NHTSA received from 2015 to 4 October 2026 that describe a transmission being replaced, rebuilt, quoted or called for: 14,125 match our wording, and we went through a random sample of 3,000 of them. Of the 3,000, 2,561 were about the whole transmission of the owner's own vehicle. Owners who wrote down what they were quoted or paid give 544 dollar figures, 418 of them for a whole-unit replacement. Every number from the complaints in this guide is from that sample of 3,000, except one check of the search wording described in the limits; it is not a count of all the complaints NHTSA holds.

By the end you will know which of five routes your car is on, what each costs in the owners' own numbers, how many labor hours makers print for the swap, what your maker prints about testing before replacing, and the cheap cause that gets skipped when a replacement is sold first.

Claims marked 🟢 rest on a document listed in the Sources section. Claims marked ⚪ are price ranges from a seller's or a shop's page, with the date we read it. Owner-reported figures are what people told NHTSA, published with ODI numbers, and every complaint count here, except that check, comes from the 3,000 complaints sorted and published. An ODI number is the complaint's NHTSA reference number. Our guides on transmission repair cost and torque converter replacement cost cover the cheaper rungs and the converter; this one is about the unit.

I built PulsCar, an app that works with an OBDLink MX+ scanner; nothing in this guide needs it, and a code read at a parts store, which many do at no charge, does the same job for the check below. I started it after a $380 "full diagnostic" in Phuket in 2025 led to roughly $6,000 over six months across several shops (the story is on the About page). A transmission quote is that pattern in one line: a single part name that can mean a diagnosis at a median of $142.50, a part or software repair at a median of $1,600, or a unit that owners report at $4,600 paid and $6,000 quoted.

What is on a transmission replacement bill

A replacement bill is a unit, a core, labor, and a list of things around the unit that quotes often leave out. The unit is the part everyone quotes. The rest is where two quotes for "the same job" diverge.

The unit. The makers' own price lists show the spread. 🟢 Subaru's May 2026 announcement of a remanufactured CVT for the 2020 to 2024 Legacy and Outback and 2019 to 2023 Crosstrek prints a dealer cost of "$4,222.50" and an "MSRP: $6,032.14" for the unit (SubaruNet announcement 11033056). 🟢 Lexus's March 2023 parts bulletin for the LX600 prints "OE MSRP: $10,768.06 (without converter)" for the new transmission and "MSRP: $$8502.53 (With Torque Converter)" for the remanufactured one, as printed (2023-11, 10234308). Those are list prices for the part alone; no labor, fluid or tax.

The core. A remanufactured unit is sold against your old one. 🟢 Subaru adds "a $500 core charge" and says full credit is not given if the converter, its hold-down bracket, the wiring harness, the valve body or the extension case is missing. Lexus prints a core value of $1000. Honda's exchange bulletin for older Acuras debits the dealer $1,000 for a core lost or returned taken apart, and $1,000 when a returned unit shows no trouble found (90-009, 10117865). Ask who keeps the core and whether the credit is on the invoice.

The labor. Taking a transmission out is a day of work. 🟢 The makers' printed labor times for a whole replacement run from 3.0 hours (a Kia Soul IVT, Kia's name for its CVT) to 17.3 hours (a 2023 to 2024 Chevrolet Corvette program), and most of the models we read sit between 5 and 14. The table below lists them. One independent shop's page, dated 21 September 2026, says "Most passenger vehicle swaps require between 6 and 14 billed flat-rate hours" (Mercedes Mike, read 4 November 2026), which sits inside the makers' range.

What else is on a proper bill. The unit does not come with everything. ⚪ One shop-software company's page, last updated July 2026, says a transmission assembly "does not" include the torque converter, flywheel or flexplate, mount, shift linkage, wiring harness or cooler lines (ShopEarl). The makers add to that list:

• Cooler and lines. 🟢 Ford, in the recall letter for the 2020 Super Duty 10R140: "The transmission cooling system (cooler and lines) MUST be flushed every time the transmission is overhauled or replaced in order to minimize the likelihood of repeat repairs." (RCMN-20V365-4031) Subaru's remanufactured-CVT bulletin says "The transmission oil cooler must be properly flushed per Subaru" instructions (03-67-12R, 10093129). A cooler left dirty can shorten the life of a new unit.
• The converter. Lexus's reman price includes it; the new-unit price does not. Toyota's tech tip for the 2024 Tacoma says that when a transmission is replaced and debris is in the pan, the converter must be replaced too (T-TT-0758-24, 11006152). Ask whether it is in the quote.
• Programming and relearning. 🟢 The recalls print adaptation and learning steps after the swap: FCA's Gladiator recall spends pages on resetting adaptation values, Subaru prints "Perform the Clear Memory 2 operation" and "Perform the applicable Learning Control procedure" (RCMN-13V336-9345), and Volkswagen's recall says "Perform the transmission basic settings" (RCRIT-25V081-9857).

If the quote shows "transmission, labor" and nothing else, it has not priced the job. 🟢 Maker labor times:

These are maker labor times, not a shop's hourly charge: multiply the hours you are quoted by the rate on your own quote, and ask for both.

First: does it need replacing, or is something cheaper wearing its symptom?

"You need a new transmission" is sometimes a diagnosis and sometimes a way of saying "we did not find it." The first question is not "how much is a unit" but "who says it is the unit, and what did they test".

Makers do not agree on what a replacement is for. They print several different positions, and which ones apply to your fault tell you a lot about your bill.

Replace the unit outright for one named fault. 🟢 Volkswagen's recall for 2025 Atlas models says: "Corrective Action Replace the transmission in the affected vehicles." (RCRIT-25V081-9857) FCA's Gladiator recall: "Replace the transmission." with "Transmission core return is required." Subaru's 2013 parking-rod campaign replaces the assembly with a unit it calls "NEW, not re-manufactured."

Test first, replace only if the test fails. 🟢 Many documents we read work this way. Ford's 25SB3 recall of remanufactured 10R80 units inspects with a borescope and replaces "Vehicles found with a missing T10 bearing" (RCMN-25E070-4583). Nissan's 2025 Sentra campaign says the CVT "should ONLY be replaced if the Front LH Drive Shaft had movement" when pried. Land Rover's plug-in hybrid recall: "Any transmissions which fail the test will be replaced." Honda's 9-speed warmer bulletins pressure-test the warmer and say "If there are no bubbles coming from the warmer, the 9-speed transmission warmer is OK," in which case there is no replacement (17-026, 10134518). Hyundai's 8-speed dual-clutch recall replaces the unit when code P1C2D03 is stored, and otherwise only if problems remain after a software update and detailed diagnosis (RCRIT-22V746-7209).

Repair inside, or replace a part, instead. 🟢 Hyundai's bulletin 18-AT-016 begins "Do not replace the transmission for any of the solenoid DTC listed below. Instead, follow the Service Procedure on Page 2 and replace the related part." (10151894) Nissan's bulletin for 2012 to 2015 Versas and 2013 to 2015 Sentras: "NOTE: Do not replace CVT," replace the valve body (NTB15-037a, 10192625). Ford's service message for a 2022 Super Duty noise: "Replacement of the transmission or other components will not resolve this condition" (SSM 50712, 10210800). Hyundai's automatic transmission policy tells dealers "DO NOT REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION." for a listed set of part failures (solenoids, sensors, a position switch, seals) (20-AT-016H, 10174807), and Chrysler's tech tip for some 2017 vehicles (model code RU) says "Valve body and/or transmission replacement WILL NOT correct these concerns" (9004310, 10184379). Ford's 10R80 clutch-cylinder bulletins (25-2474, 11024872) remove the transmission and repair it on the bench in 10.4 to 14.2 hours, which is more labor than the 5.7 to 9.3 hours Ford prints for replacing the units in its 25B01 program.

Replace, but the cost-conscious route first. 🟢 GM's repair-or-replace policy tells dealers to perform "the most cost economical repair," with approval steps before an assembly is replaced; it is a dealer warranty rule and does not say what a customer-pay shop does (20-NA-138, 10178288). Hyundai's automatic transmission policy requires an approval request before any unit is ordered, and a case number for a second replacement on the same VIN (20-AT-016H, 10174807).

The maker changed its mind (GM). 🟢 GM's 2020 bulletin for low-mileage codes on the 9T65 told dealers to "replace the transmission assembly" and said "The intent of this pilot is to favor replacement" (20-NA-136 version 1, 10178286). By version 8 in November 2021 it read "Pilot Has Ended." and sent dealers to bulletin 20-NA-138 (10205541). The lesson is not that either version was wrong; it is that a quote that follows last year's procedure can be this year's wrong repair.

The test is not decoration. Acura's 2015 TLX park recall tells the dealer that "you may be directed to either flush the transmission or replace the A/T assembly" by the inspection result: a 0.9-hour inspect-and-flush against 5.8 or 6.4 hours to inspect and replace (14-050, RCRIT-14V779-8415; hours in version 4, RCRIT-14V779-8179).

The cheap cause that gets skipped is the one the maker prints first for your fault. For a CVT with a valve-body code it is the valve body; for a solenoid code it is the solenoid; for a leaking warmer on a 9-speed it is a 70 psi pressure test; for a hard shift it can be a software update. The sister guides on transmission repair cost and transmission slipping cover these rungs.

The checks before you sign for a replacement

Five questions, answered before any replacement quote is accepted.

1. What exactly was found? A stored code, a pressure reading, metal on the magnet, a borescope video, a failed test. Infiniti's PC501 campaign (and Nissan's PC500) requires a continuous video of the chain inspection before a CVT is replaced (10120542), and Honda's warmer bulletin requires photos with every transmission replacement claim (17-026); a shop with no evidence has only an opinion. At the shop, say this: "What test shows the unit has failed, and can you show me the code, the fluid and the pan magnet?"

2. What are the codes? Read them yourself with any scanner. A shift-solenoid or pressure code does not say the unit is dead; several makers fix those codes with a part. Fix it yourself: many parts stores will read the codes at no charge (ask first), and a look at the fluid on a white towel costs nothing.

3. What kind of unit, and what warranty? New, remanufactured, rebuilt or used; the part number; whether the converter is in it; and whether the warranty covers labor and travels nationwide. A used unit and a reman unit are different products with different protection, as the routes below show.

4. Is your VIN in a program? Honda prints "Check the iN VIN status for eligibility" in its warmer extensions; Ford, Toyota, FCA and GM programs run by VIN. A warranty extension is not a safety recall, so a recall search may not list it; ask the dealer to run your VIN.

5. Does the quote name the work around the unit? Converter, cooler flush, fluid, programming, alignment, core. A quote that lists only the unit and "labor" is missing items the makers' own procedures add.

What a transmission replacement costs in 2026: the price ladder

There are three kinds of numbers below. The owner figures are what people wrote in complaints to NHTSA, counted once per figure. The maker figures are labor times and parts prices printed in the makers' own documents. The ⚪ ranges are from sellers' and shops' pages we could read, with the date we read them; they are marketing pages, they disagree with each other, and none of them is a quote for your car.

How much does a transmission replacement cost in 2026? In the 3,000 federal complaints PulsCar went through, 418 dollar figures describe a whole-unit replacement, 78 of them paid or billed. Those run from $1,000 to $10,000 with a median of $4,600, and the 295 quotes have a median of $6,000. Owners who name the unit give lower numbers for a remanufactured one ($3,837) than a new one ($5,000), on small counts. Makers print 3.0 to 17.3 labor hours because the transmission comes out. We could not read a national shop price source, so these are owners' numbers, not a typical shop price: get one written quote that names the unit, the warranty, the converter, the cooler flush and the programming. The warranty, and whether it pays for labor, matters as much as the price.

The owner figures are from complaints received from 2015 to 2026 and are not adjusted for inflation. The other 45 of the 418 replacement figures are offers (17) or amounts whose status the owner does not state (28). The paid figures run from $1,000 to $10,000, with a middle half of $3,584 to $6,119. The bottom of that range is not a price list: at $1,000 an owner of a 2016 Kia Sorento chose a "slightly used unit" over a new one quoted at $1,800 plus about $2,500 for a transfer case (ODI 11316972). The top is a $10,000 bill for a dealer replacement and several at $8,000. In the middle half sit mostly Nissans, Fords and Chevrolets, from model years 2004 to 2024. Five paid figures are partly someone else's money, a deposit, or unclear about who paid; we left them out of these medians and list them with the cases below.

Why the quotes sit above the paid figures. We cannot tell from the complaints; one possible reason is that a quote bundles the unit with labor, fluid and the work around it, and the person quoted does not always go ahead. The two columns are not a before and after for the same job, and the samples are small: 16 paid figures for a new unit, 12 for a remanufactured one, 5 for a used one.

What seller pages say. ⚪ Three pages we could read give ranges that overlap the owners' numbers. Monster Transmission, a seller of rebuilt and remanufactured units (undated page, read 4 November 2026), calls its figures "planning ranges" and lists used or salvage at $800 to $2,500 or more, rebuilt at $1,800 to $4,000 or more, remanufactured at $2,800 to $5,500 or more and new at $4,000 to $8,000 or more (page). ShopEarl, a shop-software company (last updated July 2026), puts a mainstream shop rebuild at $1,500 to $3,500 and a full replacement "all-in" at $5,800 to $6,300 (page). An independent Mercedes shop's blog (21 September 2026) gives installed totals of $1,000 to $3,000 used, $2,500 to $5,000 remanufactured and $4,000 to $8,000 or more new, although the parts and labor columns beside them do not add up to those totals (page).

The maker price lists are the firmest numbers. 🟢 Subaru's reman CVT: dealer cost $4,222.50, MSRP $6,032.14, plus a $500 core (11033056). Lexus's LX600: remanufactured unit with converter $8,502.53 (the printed price includes a $1,000 core) against $10,768.06 for the new one without the converter, a difference of $2,265.53 between the two printed prices (10234308). Add the labor in the table above and the fluid to see what a dealer replacement can come to.

Transmission replacement cost: the five routes

Roughly from the cheapest for you to the dearest. Each route is a situation, not a recommendation.

Route 1: It is a cheaper repair sold as a replacement

What it is. The symptom is a harsh shift, a slip, a whine or a code, and the quote says "new transmission". The cheaper step is a test, a part, a software update or a fluid service that the maker prints first.

What the documents say. 🟢 The same maker documents that prescribe a replacement for one fault forbid it for another. Hyundai: "Do not replace the transmission for any of the solenoid DTC listed below" (18-AT-016, 10151894). Nissan, for a CVT valve-body code: "NOTE: Do not replace CVT" (NTB15-037a, 10192625). Toyota's Corolla CVT campaign sends only the cars with code P2820 to a whole CVT, and expects "a majority of vehicles WILL NOT require CVT valve body assembly replacement" (JSD, 10149185). Ford's service message for a 2022 Super Duty grinding noise: "Replacement of the transmission or other components will not resolve this condition" (SSM 50712, 10210800). Hyundai's table, in the same bulletin, still ends with a replacement if the code returns: "P074100 Replace the transmission."

What the owners report. Sixteen of the 2,561 complaints say a different remedy was applied or tried (a software update, a solenoid, a valve body, a cooler) instead of a replacement, and that is a small group; the complaints cannot tell us how many owners tried the cheap step first. Owners who paid for a diagnosis give a median of $142.50 (10 figures), and owners who paid for a part, solenoid or software give a median of $1,600 (5 figures).

The cheap cause that gets skipped. The test. A scan with the code in hand, the fluid on a white towel, metal on the pan magnet, a pressure reading. Makers ask for them: Infiniti's PC501 wants a video of the chain inspection before a CVT is replaced, Honda's warmer program photos with every replacement claim, Land Rover a diagnostic result.

Fix it yourself. Read the codes at a parts store (many do it at no charge; ask first), look at the fluid if your car has a dipstick, and ask the shop to show you the fluid and any metal on the pan magnet. Do not let the shop's first answer be your only answer; a second shop's diagnosis is cheaper than a unit.

At the shop, say this: "Before a replacement, what test shows the unit has failed, and what does the maker's bulletin for these codes say to try first?"

Route 2: A replacement the maker or a warranty pays for

What it is. The maker, a recall, a warranty extension, a goodwill program or a service contract pays for the unit, the labor or part of them.

What the documents say. 🟢 Programs are by VIN and they end. Honda's warmer extension for the 9-speed runs "10 years from the original date of purchase" with unlimited mileage for the 2016 and 2017 MDX in its bulletin (17-026, 10134518), with sister bulletins for the Pilot and the TLX, and applies when the warmer fails the pressure test; its HR-V CVT extension is "7 years from the original date of purchase or 150,000 miles" (21-047, 10200409). Nissan extended CVT coverage on Versas from 2012, Sentras from 2013 and others to 84 months or 84,000 miles, with pre-approval from its call center for a CVT replacement above the dealer's authorization limit (10176204); on the 2015 to 2018 Infiniti QX60 to 96 months or 94,000 miles (10218702). Hyundai's powertrain warranty is 10 years or 100,000 miles "For original owners only," and covers the "Case and all internal parts" of the transmission (2026 handbook). Programs end; the table in the coverage section lists end dates. Refunds are not always allowed: Ford's 2020 Super Duty recall says "Refunds are not approved for this program."

What the owners report. Of the 798 complaints in which the owner says the transmission was replaced, 125 say the maker, a warranty or a program paid in whole or part, and 87 say they asked and were refused or were told it was not covered. Of the 1,455 that only have a quote, 258 say they were refused. A 2017 Honda HR-V owner wrote that the cost of the new transmission was $7,667.77 and that the dealer did not tell them about Honda's reimbursement (ODI 11634757).

The cheap cause that gets skipped. The VIN lookup. A warranty extension is not a safety recall, so the free recall search may not show it. Ask the dealer to run the VIN against every open program and write the answer down.

Fix it yourself. Search your VIN on NHTSA's recall page, then ask the maker's customer line by VIN for open campaigns and extensions. Keep the maintenance records; service contracts can require them, and the FTC lists the maintenance schedule and records among the questions to ask before you buy one (FTC).

At the shop, say this: "Please run my VIN for every campaign, warranty extension and special coverage on the transmission, and give me the answer in writing before any work."

Route 3: A used unit, installed

What it is. A transmission pulled from another car, bought through a recycler or a shop and installed in yours.

What the documents say. ⚪ Jasper, a remanufacturer, describes used units as "pulled directly from a vehicle – typically a junkyard vehicle" with no cleaning, disassembly or inspection, sold "without a warranty" (page); that is a competitor's view. AAMCO's pre-owned transmission warranty is 90 days at the center that issued it (page). Used units are the one route where we found no maker document: makers print new and remanufactured units.

What the owners report. Twenty of the 798 replacement complaints name a used unit. Owners who paid give 5 figures from $1,000 to $4,600, median $3,300. An owner of a 2011 Nissan Cube paid $3,000 for a used transmission, and wrote that a new one "would have been over $4,000" and that the extended warranty "would not pay for it" (ODI 11192693). A 2015 Dodge Grand Caravan owner paid $4,600 for a used transmission and wrote that the drive was uncomfortable afterwards (ODI 11449560).

The cheap cause that gets skipped. The mileage and the paperwork. A used unit with a documented mileage, a donor car's VIN and a written warranty that names labor is a repair; one without them is a gamble that has already cost you the labor once.

At the shop, say this: "What is the donor's mileage, who stands behind the unit, and does the warranty pay for labor to take it out again?"

Route 4: A remanufactured unit, or a rebuild of your own

What it is. A remanufactured unit is an exchange transmission rebuilt to a specification; a rebuild is your own unit taken apart and repaired. The words are not regulated, and owners use them loosely.

What the documents say. 🟢 Makers print the reman route as a rule in places. Honda's old exchange bulletin for Acuras, when an internal failure under warranty calls for disassembly: "You are required to install a remanufactured A/T" and "American Honda does not allow any disassembly of an A/T under warranty" (90-009, 10117865). Subaru's reman CVT bulletin says "Retailers are required to use" a remanufactured unit for the major repairs it reimburses (03-67-12R, 10093129); its May 2026 announcement prints a 2-year or 24,000-mile warranty on the unit, a one-year parts warranty with no mileage limit, or the balance of the new-vehicle warranty, whichever is greatest (11033056). Lexus prints 12 months unlimited mileage, or the balance of the new powertrain warranty, whichever is greater. ⚪ Jasper's remanufactured units carry "UP TO 3 YEAR | 100,000 MILE Parts & Labor" warranty that is "Nationwide Transferable" (page); AAMCO's automatic remanufactured or custom rebuilt units carry 36 months and 50,000 or 100,000 miles, with the term on the invoice (page). Reman units can themselves be recalled: Ford's 25SB3 covers 34,481 remanufactured 10R80 units that may be missing a bearing (RCMN-25E070-4583).

What the owners report. Fifty-four of the 798 replacement complaints name a remanufactured or rebuilt unit, and, as a separate group, 121 describe a rebuild of the owner's own unit. Paid or billed, remanufactured units run $1,700 to $9,400 with a median of $3,837 (12 figures); rebuilds $2,700 to $6,800 with a median of about $4,000 (12). A 2011 Chevrolet Cruze owner paid $3,674 for a remanufactured transmission "with a 500,000 mile warranty" after the maker offered no help (ODI 11129492). A 2012 Ford Focus owner spent over $1,900 on a rebuilt transmission and wrote that the car kept "slipping in and out of gears" (ODI 11245454). A 2019 Ford F-150 owner paid $8,699.72 for a remanufactured unit with the improved clutch drum after the dealer said the truck was out of warranty and, as the owner relays it, that Ford had declined to issue a recall (ODI 11683931).

The cheap cause that gets skipped. The warranty terms. A three-year, nationwide parts-and-labor warranty and a one-year shop warranty are different products; get both in writing before comparing prices.

Fix it yourself. A rebuild kit is cheap and a rebuild is not a driveway job: the measuring is the work. The useful DIY is the pre-check above and the cooler flush the maker prints.

At the shop, say this: "Is this a remanufactured exchange unit or a rebuild of mine, what is the warranty on parts and labor, nationwide, and do you flush the cooler and lines?"

Route 5: A new unit from the dealer

What it is. A new transmission assembly from the maker, installed by the dealer or a shop.

What the documents say. 🟢 Some makers choose new: Ford's 25B01 says "Install a new transmission assembly," Subaru's parking-rod campaign uses a unit it calls "NEW, not re-manufactured," and Toyota's Corolla Hatchback recall replaces the CVT and converter "with new parts." Lexus prints a new LX600 unit at $10,768.06 without the converter.

What the owners report. 133 of the 798 replacement complaints name a new unit. Paid or billed, new units run $2,000 to $9,650 with a median of $5,000 (16 figures); the 81 quotes for a new unit have a median of $6,000, and middle half $4,000 to $8,000. A 2019 Ford Ranger owner paid $9,650 for "a new warrantied transmission" with a two-year warranty, "half the value of the truck" (ODI 11724978).

The cheap cause that gets skipped. Asking whether the price includes the converter. Lexus's list price for the new unit excludes it and the remanufactured price includes it.

At the shop, say this: "Please itemise the unit with its part number, the torque converter, the cooler flush, the fluid and the programming, and tell me the warranty on the unit and on the labor."

What 3,000 complaints show

14,125 complaints match our search wording; we went through a random sample of 3,000. 2,561 of the 3,000 were about the whole transmission of the owner's own vehicle, and the other 439 were not (a part, the fluid, a module, another car, a recall text pasted in).

Among the 2,561, the owners describe five situations:

• 798 say the transmission was replaced. 133 of them name a new unit, 54 a remanufactured or rebuilt unit and 20 a used one; the other 591 do not say.
• 121 say their own unit was rebuilt.
• 1,455 have only a quote or a recommendation: a dealer, shop or maker said a replacement or rebuild was needed, and the complaint does not say it was done. That is 61% of everyone who describes a replacement, a rebuild or a quote.
• 16 were sent down another road (a software update, a part, a cooler) instead of a replacement, and 171 are the owner's own belief with no shop or dealer named.

Where the owner gives a failure mileage, the middle half of the replaced cars were at 38,000 to 112,000 miles, with a median of about 79,000 (451 complaints); the quote-only group sits higher, at a median of about 89,000 (891). A replacement before 100,000 miles is not rare in this file, which is why the powertrain coverage below matters.

These counts are not failure rates. People write to NHTSA when something went wrong, so a complaint file is full of replacements that failed and quotes that stung, and nobody writes to say a replacement went well. Ford (760 of the 2,561) and Nissan (517) have the most complaints in the sample, ahead of Chevrolet (196), Toyota (156), Jeep (130) and Honda (108); that follows how many owners write to NHTSA, not which transmissions are worse. No make or model is ranked in this guide.

The coverage file: programs, extensions and refusals

Whether the maker pays can be the largest swing on the bill, and it is decided by VIN, date and mileage, not by how the car feels. Of the 798 complaints in which the transmission was replaced, 125 (about one in six) say the maker, a warranty or a program paid in whole or part; 87 say they asked and were refused or were told it was not covered. Of the 1,455 quote-only complaints, 258 say they were refused, and only 67 say the maker, a warranty or a service contract was paying.

🟢 The programs we read, with their printed terms (our end dates are computed from those terms; the dates below are as printed or computed as of 4 November 2026):

Read the table plainly: most of these programs have ended or cover a handful of vehicles, and for most owners the live coverage is the standard powertrain warranty. Among the 451 replaced cars that give a mileage, the median was about 79,000 miles, past the 60,000-mile terms of many makers. Three details decide claims. First, extensions are usually not recalls. A recall search may not list them; the Honda programs say "Check the iN VIN status for eligibility," so the dealer has to run the VIN. Second, "no charge" has edges. Ford's letters pre-approve a set number of rental days (one in 26B08, two in 22B38, 20S33 and 23S44, four in 25SB3, none pre-approved in 25B01) and ask for approval beyond that; Lexus's HS 250h recall allows two days of rental expense to a maximum of $45. Ford's 20S33, 22B38 and 26B08 say "Refunds are not approved for this program," while 25B01, 23S44 and 25SB3 offer refunds for owner-paid repairs under stated conditions. A repair you already paid for may or may not come back to you. Third, a repair done before a program may be reimbursed, or may not. Honda's 17-010 bulletin goes back to cars that already had the transmission replaced for a leaking warmer to add radiator, hose and flush work, but prints no refund of the first bill; Ford's 25B01 offered a refund with an end date. If you paid before you knew, ask in writing.

Owners hit the same walls in the complaints: a 2014 Ford Escape owner wrote that Ford covered two-thirds of another customer's repair and refused theirs, so a third-party shop replaced the transmission for $4,000 at 61,000 miles (ODI 11348825).

Why a replaced unit sometimes fails again

Of the 798 complaints where the transmission was replaced, 432 say the problem came back or the new unit failed. Read that number with the filter in mind: it is the file of people who wrote because it went wrong. It is not a rate, and it does not say replacements usually fail. It does say what the failures look like, and the makers' own documents explain several of them:

• The unit itself was defective. 🟢 Ford's recall 25SB3 covers 34,481 remanufactured 10R80 transmissions, built from 30 May 2020 to 13 June 2025, that may be missing a bearing; Ford traced 9,813 of them to a vehicle, and the other 24,668 it could not trace (RCMN-25E070-4583). The unit was the repair; the repair was the defect.
• The work around the unit was skipped. 🟢 Ford repeats that flush rule in its recall letters. Honda's exchange bulletin: "Failure to clean the ATF cooler, hoses, lines, and fittings, as described in S/B 89-015, could cause damage to the remanufactured A/T." (10117865)
• A dirty cooler. 🟢 Subaru's cooler flushing bulletin and its reminder: "Contaminants left behind in the oil cooler will cause premature transmission failure." Its claims rule: "Claims for transmission replacement or repair that fail to perform this procedure are subject to rejection or debit." (16-42-90R, 10092548)
• The cause was never fixed. A transmission killed by a failed cooler, a leaking warmer or contaminated fluid can kill the next one.

A 2012 Ford Focus owner who paid over $1,900 for a rebuilt unit wrote that the car kept "slipping in and out of gears" (ODI 11245454). A 2004 Toyota RAV4 owner was billed over $4,600 for a remanufactured unit and wrote that the car was back at the shop three times in two weeks with the same problem (ODI 10947127).

Can you keep driving with a transmission that is failing?

Can you keep driving a car that needs a transmission? In the 2,561 complaints PulsCar went through, owners describe slips, harsh shifts and whines, and also cars that lost drive on a highway or would not stay in Park. A slip that comes and goes means book a diagnosis soon and keep the car light: no trailer, no hard acceleration, no highway or merging, and stop if it gets worse. A loss of drive, a car stuck in one gear, a transmission overheat or stop-safely message, a burning smell, or a car that will not hold Park on a slope is different: NHTSA's summary of Ford's recall says a missing bearing can stop a transmission "from holding the Park position," and FCA's says a part-engaged park pawl "may lead to a vehicle roll away." Our advice is to pull over at the first safe place, set the parking brake, switch the engine off, not keep driving it, and have it towed.

Should you buy a used car with a replaced transmission on its record?

Should you buy a used car that had its transmission replaced? PulsCar's reading of 3,000 complaints cannot say which history is safe, because it is a file of problems. What a replacement on the record tells you depends on the paperwork. Ask for the invoice with the unit's kind (new, remanufactured, used), its part number, the mileage when it was fitted, the warranty and whether it transfers, and whether the cooler was flushed. A unit replaced under a recall or a program, with the VIN's campaign record, is a repair with a history; a "new transmission" at 40,000 miles with no invoice is a question. Check the VIN for open programs, and treat the seller's word that it was done as a claim until the paper arrives. A price that ignores the missing warranty is not a bargain, and a seller who will not let a shop look at the fluid and the pan is a reason to walk.

Three traps that turn a quote into a bill

Trap one: authorizing the work before the VIN check. A dealer or shop that starts the replacement before running your VIN against open programs can make a covered job a paid one. Ask in writing, first.

Trap two: the cooler and converter left behind. A new or remanufactured unit bolted to a dirty cooler is a likely repeat failure, and a Toyota tech tip for the 2024 Tacoma requires a new converter when debris is found in the pan. Ford, Subaru, Honda and Hyundai print the flush as a required step in the documents we read; check it is on the invoice.

Trap three: "rebuilt" is a word, not a standard. A rebuild, a remanufactured unit and a "rebuilt unit" can be three different products. Ask whether it is your own unit or an exchange, what was replaced, what the warranty covers on labor, and where the warranty can be honored.

Two composite scenarios

These are composite scenarios, not individual customers. They are built from the patterns in the documents and complaints above.

Scenario one: a CVT sedan with a code at 70,000 miles. A dealer quotes a new CVT at about $6,000, the median owner quote above. The owner reads the code, finds the maker has a warranty extension and a valve-body route for that code, and asks the dealer to run the VIN. If a program or extension still covers the car's date and VIN (many have ended, see the table), the CVT assembly may be replaced under it with the maker's pre-approval; if it does not, the first step is the cheaper route the maker prints for that code. The saving came from two questions, not a mechanic.

Scenario two: the 2013 pickup out of warranty with a rebuilt-unit quote. A transmission shop quotes a rebuild at $4,000 and a remanufactured exchange at $5,000, the medians of the owner quotes in the price table. The owner compares the warranties: a one-year shop warranty against three years nationwide parts and labor, asks about the converter and the cooler flush, and chooses the exchange. The extra $1,000 bought two more years of protection, and the invoice names the unit's part number.

What owners paid, case by case

These are the owners' own words to NHTSA, with the ODI number. They are what people told NHTSA, not verified invoices, and the unit is the kind the owner names.

Five figures we kept out of the medians because they are partly someone else's money, a deposit or unclear about who paid. A 2017 Honda Pilot owner paid $3,600 as their share after Honda paid roughly 60% (ODI 11659045); a 2017 Honda HR-V owner paid $2,900 after Honda offered to cover a remanufactured CVT at a cost of $4,500 to them and the dealer reduced it (ODI 11730064); a 2021 Ford F-150 owner paid $6,000 out of pocket after Ford paid half, at 66,000 miles, with 27 days in the shop (ODI 11707110); and a 2022 Toyota Highlander owner paid $5,000 before the dealer would order the transmission, a replacement they put at over $10,000 (ODI 11661699); and a $6,500 replacement cost that a 2003 Honda Pilot owner described, in an unclear sentence, as recovered after a crash caused by another driver (ODI 10706483).

What a good invoice for a replacement shows

A good invoice or quote names what was decided and what was done. The test that said the unit had failed: a code, a pressure reading, a magnet photo, a borescope video. The unit: new, remanufactured, rebuilt or used; the part number; the donor mileage if used; the core and whether it was credited. The converter: replaced or reused. The cooler and lines: flushed or replaced, and how. The fluid: the specification, not "ATF". The programming: the relearn or adaptation done, and the scan-tool report. Alignment or calibration where the maker prints it. The warranty: months and miles, parts and labor, nationwide or at one shop, transferable or not, in writing.

Your plan, in order

1. Write down the symptom exactly: speed, gear, warm or cold, any light, any stall. A loss of drive, a stuck gear or a car that will not hold Park is not a symptom to note and keep driving on: see the 60-second box at the top.
2. Read the codes with a scan tool and write them down. A code names a circuit or a result, not a dead unit.
3. Run your VIN on the maker's recall and campaign lookup, and ask the dealer for open extensions and special coverage that name your transmission.
4. Pick the route. A code or symptom a maker bulletin fixes with a part or software: Route 1. A program, extension or warranty that names your car: Route 2, where the maker pays. A confirmed failed unit out of coverage: Routes 3, 4 or 5 by budget and by how long you will keep the car. The decision of whether to keep the car is in our transmission repair guide.
5. Get one written quote that names the test, the unit, the converter, the cooler flush, the programming and the warranty. Get a second from a different kind of shop.
6. Keep the paper: the invoice, the unit's part number, the warranty terms and any case number from the maker.

What this guide cannot tell you

• It is not a shop price. The prices above are owners' own figures, maker price lists and seller pages we could read. Several price guides could not be opened from our side (listed in the Sources), so we did not use them.
• Complaints are a file of problems. The counts show what owners wrote down, not how often transmissions fail, replacements fail again or makers pay.
• The search wording misses some. A check of 400 random transmission complaints outside our pool found 17 more that describe a replacement, rebuild or quote in words our search did not match, so, scaled up, the search misses roughly 15% of relevant complaints, about one in seven (17 of 400 complaints outside the pool), on a small check.
• A sample, not the whole. Every number from the complaints, except that check, is from a random sample of 3,000 of 14,125 matching complaints.
• Kinds of unit are the owner's words. "Rebuilt" can mean a rebuild of the owner's own unit or an exchange unit; we counted a rebuilt unit installed as remanufactured.
• Maker documents are for named vehicles, and programs end: the dates above are as printed, so check your VIN today.

The sorting rules, how we did it and the list of documents are published with the complaint and amount files.

Prices verified November 2026 against the seller and shop pages and maker price lists cited above, read on 4 November 2026; the owner figures were rechecked against the complaint texts; we carry no shop-estimate ranges of our own.

Technical documents verified November 2026 against the manufacturer documents on NHTSA's servers listed in the Sources section.

Sources and documents

Manufacturer communications cited above, by the number printed on each, with the link to the copy on NHTSA's servers. The full list of the 976 distinct documents we read, with relevance and exact copies, is in the documents file.

Honda and Acura

• 90-009, automatic transmission in-warranty exchange program, remanufactured unit required. NHTSA id 10117865.
• 17-010, MDX 9-speed warmer, transmission previously replaced, version 5. NHTSA id 10134515.
• 17-026, MDX warranty extension for the 9-speed warmer, version 5. NHTSA id 10134518.
• 17-035, Pilot warranty extension for the 9-speed warmer, version 3. NHTSA id 10134501.
• 17-027, TLX warranty extension for the 9-speed warmer, version 5. NHTSA id 10134519.
• 17-011, Pilot 9-speed warmer, transmission previously replaced, version 5. NHTSA id 10134378.
• 21-047, 2016 to 2020 HR-V CVT warranty extension, version 3. NHTSA id 10200409.
• 14-050, 2015 TLX park recall, version 2, recall file RCRIT-14V779-8415; version 4, recall file RCRIT-14V779-8179.

Ford and Lincoln

• 25-2474, 10R80 clutch cylinder bulletin. NHTSA id 11024872.
• SSM 50712, 2022 Super Duty grinding noise. NHTSA id 10210800.
• 22B38, 2022 8F35 transmission replacement program. NHTSA id 10231021.
• 25B01, 2024 to 2025 10R80 and 10R100 transmission replacement program. NHTSA id 11014932.
• 26B08, 2025 to 2026 10R60 transmission replacement program. NHTSA id 11033578.
• 22V746, Hyundai Recall 236, 8-speed dual-clutch transmission, RCRIT-22V746-7209.
• 20S33 supplement 1, 2020 Super Duty 10R140 recall letter, RCMN-20V365-4031.
• 23S44, 2023 Bronco 10R60 recall letter, RCMN-23V546-6989.
• 25SB3, remanufactured 10R80 transmission inspection, equipment recall letter, RCMN-25E070-4583.

GM

• 20-NA-136 version 1, 9T65 low-mileage codes, replacement pilot. NHTSA id 10178286.
• 20-NA-136 version 8, the same bulletin after the pilot ended. NHTSA id 10205541.
• Corvette program N232427051, 2023 to 2024 transmission fasteners, until 31 May 2026. NHTSA id 10253522.
• 20-NA-138, repair versus replace policy, version 1. NHTSA id 10178288.
• N242467600, 2024 Silverado and Sierra HD caged pinion bearing program, until 31 October 2026. NHTSA id 11008881.
• N242473580, Traverse, Enclave and Acadia turbine shaft seal replacement program, until 31 December 2026. NHTSA id 11011699.

Toyota, Lexus, Nissan, Infiniti, Subaru, Mazda

• Toyota JSD, 2014 to 2017 Corolla, 2017 Corolla iM and 2016 Scion iM CVT special service campaign. NHTSA id 10149185.
• T-TT-0758-24, 2024 Tacoma tech tip on replacing a transmission with debris in the pan. NHTSA id 11006152.
• Toyota J07, 2019 Corolla Hatchback CVT recall letter, RCMN-18V901-7122.
• Lexus HLE, 2010 HS 250h hybrid transaxle recall letter, RCMN-17V619-3140.
• Lexus 2023-11, LX600 remanufactured transmission parts bulletin. NHTSA id 10234308.
• NTB15-037a, 2012 to 2015 Versa Sedan, 2014 to 2015 Versa Note and 2013 to 2015 Sentra CVT valve body with a confirmed code. NHTSA id 10192625.
• Nissan CVT warranty extension, 2012 to 2017 Versa Sedan, 2014 to 2017 Versa Note, 2013 to 2017 Sentra and Juke, 2013 to 2016 Altima, 11 May 2020. NHTSA id 10176204.
• Infiniti QX60 CVT warranty extension, 1 June 2022. NHTSA id 10218702.
• Infiniti PC501, 2013 JX35 and 2014 QX60 CVT voluntary campaign. NHTSA id 10120542.
• Nissan NTB26-039, 2025 Sentra drive shaft and CVT campaign, RCRIT-26V410-0135.
• Subaru 03-67-12R, remanufactured CVT program, revised 28 September 2015. NHTSA id 10093129.
• Subaru 16-42-90R, cooler flushing bulletin with the August 2015 reminder (NHTSA index label 16-42-90RA). NHTSA id 10092548.
• Subarunet announcement, CVT warranty extension, 22 June 2017. NHTSA id 10187319.
• SubaruNet announcement, remanufactured CVT expansion with dealer cost, MSRP and core, 4 May 2026. NHTSA id 11033056.
• Subaru WQJ-46, 2013 Tribeca and 2014 Legacy and Outback 5EAT parking rod campaign, RCMN-13V336-9345.
• Mazda SA-058/19, returned transmission cores. NHTSA id 10169513.

Hyundai, Kia, Volkswagen, Chrysler, Land Rover

• 18-AT-016, Hyundai 8-speed solenoid codes, do not replace the transmission. NHTSA id 10151894.
• 20-AT-016H, Hyundai automatic transmission policy. NHTSA id 10174807.
• TRA 102, Kia Forte, Soul and Seltos IVT software and replacement, version 1. NHTSA id 10238485.
• VW 37HT, 2026 Atlas transmission differential race service action. NHTSA id 11033521.
• VW 38CX, 2025 Atlas recall instructions, RCRIT-25V081-9857.
• Chrysler 9004310, 2017 minivan tech tip, valve body or transmission replacement will not correct harsh shifts. NHTSA id 10184379.
• FCA 44A, 2019 to 2021 ProMaster park engagement recall, revision 9, RCRIT-23V301-8896.
• FCA Z84, 2022 Gladiator transmission recall, RCRIT-22V639-0757.
• Land Rover N903, 2024 Range Rover and Range Rover Sport plug-in hybrid recall, RCRIT-24V380-3800.

Maker warranty pages and books read on 4 November 2026

• Hyundai, 2026 Owner's Handbook and Warranty Information, Section 7, powertrain limited warranty.
• Kia, warranty page. Toyota, warranty page. Honda, 2024 warranty handbook. Nissan, 2023 warranty booklet. Chevrolet, 2025 warranty manual.
• Federal Trade Commission, auto warranties and auto service contracts, page dated April 2024.

Seller and shop pages, read on 4 November 2026

• Jasper, why Jasper, undated. Monster Transmission, how much is a transmission, undated. ShopEarl, transmission rebuild cost, last updated July 2026. Mercedes Mike, transmission replacement cost guide, 21 September 2026. AAMCO, 36 month warranty and 90 day pre-owned warranty.

Not read. J.D. Power, Lemonade, ConsumerAffairs, Kelley Blue Book, Edmunds, Angi, CARFAX, AutoZone, GM's parts catalog, Ford's powertrain warranty page, LKQ's used-transmission posts and Subaru's and Mopar's warranty pages could not be opened from our side; we did not use them.

Owner complaints are cited by ODI number in the text and listed in the complaints file; amounts are in the owner-reported amounts file.