Wings5

My 1996 ES300 bangs, bucks, or kicks when I shift from any gear into reverse. This happens first thing in the morning or when the car has not been driven for a while. It has done this for a while now, so I always pull through to park and don't really use reverse.

In 2012 I had the transmission checked and the mechanic said it was not a transmission problem. I took it to Pep Boys, where they suggested new engine mounts, which did not fix the problem. No big deal, I just won't use reverse.

Over the last year a new issue has come up. On my morning drive or when the car has sat for a while, it will slightly kick when it downshifts from 2nd to 1st as I come to a stop.

Has anyone experienced this, or have any suggestions about what it might be? I have had the car for almost 8 years; bought with 70,xxx miles and it just reached 140,xxx. Otherwise it runs very well and I would like to keep it as long as possible.

Jolzer

I have this same issue with my 1995 es. I had the top and front motor mounts replaced by a trusted mechanic and told me the transmission mount and rear mount were okay. He said that the clunking is just due to age and my transmission runs fine.

Wings5

That is somewhat comforting to know. I haven't treated it as a car that needs to be in perfect shape but I want to keep the drivetrain functioning. Do you do anything in particular when driving, shifting, etc. to alleviate stress on it? I generally put the cruise control on at 60-65 and stay there. Oil changes every 5,000 miles. It drives maybe 80 miles per week.

vintagelex

Engine and transmission mounts would be my first guess. When is the last time the transmission fluid was changed? How about the filter?

Also, I read on the SC forum once that somebody had this type of problem and it turned out the front subframe bolts were loose, and needed to be tightened. Not to freak anybody out - but that might be worth a look (it's easy to try tightening a few bolts before trying to replace transmission mounts).

worldforgo

I had this same problem. Replaced the top mount and still had problems. Turns out as mentioned above it was loose subframe bolts. In fact, one bolt had fallen out completely. Replaced and tightened bolts and the problem went away.

Jolzer

Where on the sub frame are these bolts and how hard are they to tighten?