BLAZE

iTrader: (2)

Exactly right, You need to warm up the car before you go. Ecu will not allow tranny to shift until it is warm enough. Perfectly normal.

TLcoats

iTrader: (11)

Me too. Now we kinda know what it would be like to launch with a high stall TC. I can't wait to get one!!

1QWKGS4

iTrader: (3)

I've owned my car for 11.5 years. never once happened to me.. ehh, i don't know whats up with cars doing that?

lexo98

iTrader: (2)

I had something similar happen 2 different times. The first wss at about 60k and I didn't figure out why it was happening till I had put my stock exhaust back on and it went away. The second was a little while after I had changed my tranny fluid. The mechanic didn't believe I used the right kind.

lexo98

iTrader: (2)

I had something similar happen twice. The first time it was my aftermarket exhaust and the second time was a little while after my tranny fluid change. When I had it flushed out they didn't believe that I used the right fluid.

iloveGS4xx

iTrader: (2)

jk7d

iTrader: (2)

my car does this also when cold and not warmed up - a lot of camrys have transmission pumps that fail over time and I believe these transmissions have pumps that also wear over time thus it takes longer to get transmission lubricated, once warm ie properly lubricated it seems that this goes away as well as the thunks when shifting into different gears especially reverse, I am afraid this is not normal and you have to take care of your trans going forward; for example I do not shift into reverse unless car is warm and do not step on gas while in drive while going down the street in my neighborhood until car is warm

sivikvtec

So wierd that so many people have this issue and nobody has reported a fix or dealer explanation. There is no way that these cars did this when new. I understand the ecu wants the engine to keep the revs up when cold, but why would it not keep doing it after that first shift from 1-2 until the engine/trans was warmed up?

toy4life86

iTrader: (4)

normal
my car does it every car does it when its cold

sakataj

iTrader: (182)

never noticed it felt it do this to me...if i drive it next and it does it im coming after you for jinxing me :P

sivikvtec

LOL trust me its very, very obvious when it does it. It makes the shift much harder than usual when it does it. If you haven't noticed I bet you haven't had this problem.

I notice that alot of people saying its not happening to them are from states where the car never sees extreme cold. I wonder if that is a coincidence.

This morning after the car had sat all night, it was about 55 out, I let the car run in the driveway for 3 mins or less. It didn't do it, and strangely enough (I might just be nuts though) all of the shifts throughout the entire trip felt smoother??

I know so many people are saying its normal, and I would be on board with that if the car had only done it intermittantly like it did for the first 5k miles I owned it. During spring/summer 2009 it hardly ever happened and now its every time I drive it if I don't let it warm up for a few mins.

It would be a waste of time to show the toyota/lexus dealer because the diagnosis would be the notorious "bad tranny give us $3500 kthxbye"

/sigh

BLAZE

iTrader: (2)

I bet you warm your car up when it is first started after an overnight sit, which I do as well. Try starting the car after an overnight sit and put it in gear and go around the block. It only happens to those who start and drive without letting the the engine idle kick down. There were times I was in a rush and had to start and go, and thats when the shifts were hard.

BLAZE

iTrader: (2)

There is no fix. It happens to new cars as well, you just won't feel it as much cause their mounts and bushings are all brand new. Just take 2-3 min and let the car warm up. If you start the car and the idle is high, that means the engine is running fast idle. The fast idle helps warm up the motor/trans and coolant to ideal operating temp. Look at the rpm's, if they are high, the engine isn't warm. Wait like 2-3 min and tap the gas if the idle kicks down your good to go.

jk7d

iTrader: (2)

yes newer cars shift into second hard when cold too - however on my vehicle when cold the shift from 1st to second feels more like heavy engine breaking when shifting to higher gear without rev matching, which is opposite of how a downshift should feel - let's ignore how hard or soft the shift is; and that is not normal

sleeper408

iTrader: (6)

Yes, this happens to me as well. Sometimes I'm in a hurry and only let the car warm up for about a minute instead of 2-3 minutes. If you notice when you put it into manual mode while the transmission is cold, it will not allow you to downshift to 2nd gear. Only after the transmission is warmed up will the ECU allow to downshift into 2nd.