21st Jun 2010, 05:41

Firstly, cars made in South Africa are often of higher quality than those made in the USA. This is true for many manufacturers, not just Toyota. The problem is in fact with the design work done on the MMT gearbox, which as far as I know was done almost entirely in Japan. From my own experience in the electronics industry and with a Corolla with the MMT gearbox, I am fairly certain that it is a control system problem that results in the MMT being a less than desirable gearbox.

26th Jun 2010, 23:37

Hi all, am having serious issues with these Toyota South African models, particularly the Corolla version. How does one get to program the key fobs and keys to the vehicle? I tried with Toyota TechStream and it request for Seedkey, which I provided, but it tells me it failed renewing immo. Meanwhile , where is the Immo data located, ECU or Immo box? What's the eeprom number?

28th Jun 2010, 10:28

Got it, it's behind the evaporator.

21st Dec 2010, 08:11

I am considering on buying one of these cars. After hearing this I have a bit of doubt. Generally Toyota is a good car to have.

17th Oct 2011, 09:40

Hi all, thanks for all your comments. I was about to buy a 2009 MMT Corolla for my wife. The wise choice would be to get her the new Polo 2011 manual.

Cliff G, South Africa.

27th Jun 2014, 21:51

I have a Toyota Corolla 2009, South Africa spec.

The car stopped on me on the road. The engine refuse to rev when you pushed the pedal. I contacted an engineer who said that the problem did not register in the brain box. In fact the car refused to start again. The engineer also said that there is no current in coils 1 and 2.

Please, I need a solution. Thanks, my e-mail address is iykenuel@yahoo.com

18th Oct 2016, 14:46

Hello.

It has been a long time since the last comment, but since I've owned a 2007 Corolla 1.4L D4D (Diesel) with MMT for about a year now, I would like to clarify a few things for anyone that needs any information on this:

Let me first say that this car is AMAZING! The engine is die hard and the gearbox is as advanced as it can be.

Don't be put off by anyone complaining about the gearbox; most of them have never even driven a manual before. You need to learn how to drive it.

I live in Thessaloniki Greece where traffic in the city center is a nightmare, and this makes you pay attention to what the gearbox is doing and why.

The MMT gearbox is essentially a manual gearbox with a robotic clutch. NOT an automatic. It works as a manual, but there isn't a clutch pedal. If you have never driven a manual before of course you'll complain because it works in a different way.

Now that we clarified that:

1. For smoother gear changes you need to get your foot off the accelerator when these occur, just like you would on a manual. You don't have to though. After a while you get used to it.

2. Since there is a clutch, it is always slipping just a tiny bit, that's how MMT works, so it's good idea to put it in N (neutral) when in heavy traffic or traffic lights or whenever the car is idle for a while.

3. When starting on hill the car will roll backwards. Use the handbrake or even better the brake with your left foot (not easy to do if you're not used to it, but I mastered it :)) to start moving or else the clutch will unnecessary wear.

4. To kickdown all you have to do is to press the accelerator fast. There also is a button right under the accelerator, so if you floor it, it goes into ES mode (Easy Sport). The same thing happens when you press the ES button. ES mode keeps higher RPM in each gear, but also makes the accelerator and gearbox respond faster and more aggressively (this is what I have personally noticed - if anyone has more information on this please enlighten us). ES mode also uses more fuel as the engine behaves more aggressively. So when you want to overtake, all you have to do is press the gas pedal suddenly. The speed that you press the pedal is more important than the position of the pedal.

5. As I have been told, you shouldn't change from E to M while the car is moving (I am still looking on clarification on this but haven't found any). So as you approach a steep hill, the best thing to do is press the accelerator suddenly so as to kickdown, or press the ES button, instead of changing to M. That's what I do. Again if anyone knows a better way or if this is true, please let us know.

6. The MMT gearbox adapts to your driving style and this translates to fuel consumption. But it cannot anticipate a steep hill, a sudden stop, an overtake etc. So give the robotic clutch time to think. It's a computer calculating everything that is happening a few times per second, so even if it gets confused and make the wrong decisions, it will quickly make corrections and adapt to the conditions at hand.

That's my two cents on the MMT gearbox. The Corolla, Yaris and Aygo with MMT, combined with VSC and TRC are a delight to drive and live with, and even make great winter cars for areas with harsh winters. They need little maintenance and are very happy to serve you.

I intend on keeping my Corolla forever, but if I need to, my next car would be of the same configuration - except when flying cars arrive...

9th May 2022, 12:43

Dear Eng. Chadi Mamdouh

Is there any way to contact with you on WhatsApp Messenger or email?

I need to ask you about the MMT transmission.

24th Mar 2023, 04:32

I am using a Corolla 2009 MMT, could you please give me a contact address (email, phone,...) so that I can ask you for more experience with this model. Thanks so much!