lexus4all

So I finally did the LED backlighting mod for my gauges, and on my way home checking it out, I got stuck in traffic.

When the car in front of me started moving, my engine revved up to 7000 rpm and I realized I was not on any gear.

I immediately turned off the car. When I turned it back on, less than 1 minute later, I was able to drive the car forward as normal. As soon as I stopped, the same thing happened again. I shifted down to 2, and to L, and neither gear gave me any traction. 7 more times of doing what I just did got me home. I had to wait for traffic to pass so I wouldn't stop on the freeway.

Based on my limited knowledge of transmissions, I would say gear 1 is shot. Currently the car is parked outside my house, does anyone have any suggestions about what I can do? I'm really sad about this car. I bought it as a fixer upper, but didn't expect the tranny to die so soon.

LeX2K

Have you checked the fluid level? When was the last time the transmission was serviced?

StuckInVA

Fair chance it's the level of the fluid, but driving it around like that is not good for the transmission. My GFs oldsmobile's trans leaks and did this once when we were going across Black Mountain.

Thankfully we were near the top, I had to put it down in first so the trans would lock itself in that gear till we got to the top, where I promptly put it in neutral. It's still going, but every time I'm in the thing I expect to get stranded.

Then again, A/Ts can go a surprisingly long time on little fluid until something inside breaks. Had a chevy 1500 do that.

I didn't see your year anywhere, if it's shot, are you going to sell or repair?
Saw year as soon as I posted

lexus4all

I changed the tranny fluid 4 times, drain and fill about a month ago with 100 mile drives (over several days) in between each change. I used the Toyota specified tranny fluid.

I did a quick look this morning. Started the car up, shifted between all the gears. Did this for about 3 minutes total. Should I have done this longer?

I pulled out the tranny dipstick. It was dark brownish red fluid, wiped it off, stuck it back in and when I pulled it out, the fluid was over the full mark. 2 days before this occured, I did go in to have my oil changed, and the guy said he topped off my fluids, didn't specify which though.

mitmaks

You should check trans fluid when it's hot, as in after you drive it for a few miles so it's up to the temp. You have to shift through all the gears and then back into park and leave engine running. Make sure car is sitting level, then proceed to check fluid level.

lexus4all

I will have a chance to do that today, I will report back my findings. I sincerely hope it was just a tranny fluid issue. Just got this car 2 months ago!

lexus4all

Alright, here are updates

I got home fairly late last evening so I just went into the car let it idle for awhile until the engine temp was at its normal level. I cycled between the gears while holding down the brake pedal several times. I checked the fluid, and it was below the HOT mark. It was about 1/5th of an inch under. I added a quarter of a quart of transmission fluid and called it good as I didn't want to slip when it was already dark out.

Early in the morning today, I took the car out for a spin to get the engine to regular temp. I drove it on flat ground, down my street and back, down my street and back. No slippage. I then took on 3 hills of gradually increasing steepness. Went up all 3 of them just fine, multiple times no problem. I repeated the above procedure several times until the engine was to regular temp and I did it again. I called it quits about 10 minutes after and went to park the car.

As I drove down my street and found street parking, my tranny slipped! Turned off the car, turned it on, several times until I got the transmission to work again and I parked. In the middle of my parking, it slipped again, and no gear worked, not even reverse. So I turned the car on/off again several times and was finally able to park properly. I got out of the car, and smelled burnt tranny fluid. I checked the fluid level and it was about quarter of an inch over the HOT mark.

Is my tranny finally dead?

mitmaks

Is your fluid brownish and smells burnt? If you you should change it.

LeX2K

Certainly possible. If it was my car I would drop the pan and clean it along with the magnets and replace the filter. Put some fresh fluid in and see how it performs. If it slips try some Lucas, if that doesn't help not much else you can do short of rebuilding or replacing.

Hayk

iTrader: (1)

Sounds like it's gone. Might be a good idea to start looking at another ES.