305ls400

i have a 1992 ls400 miles somewhere close to 300k. i have replace the transmission soleniods a few month ago, also transmission fluid and filter were change at the same time. my problem now is that the transmission wont go into reverse or drive when the car is cold, i have to turn it on and leave it on for 10 to 15 minutes to warm it up and them everything will work, it shifts perfect. can anyone help me with this problem

timmy0tool

iTrader: (7)

are you sure you have enough transmission fluid? sounds like you are low. be aware there is a "hot" level and "cold" level on the dipstick. i've read it is best to measure when the fluid is up to temperature (hot). as the car is idling the fluid is being pumped and cycled through the cooler, torque converter, and transmission. there is more fluid in the system than just doing a drain and refill.

also did you use genuine toyota type-IV fluid? these transmissions are sensitive to other fluids. even a complete flush can affect performance.

LScowboyLS

here are the steps in order:

● drain and fill with genuine Toyota T-IV fluid, check the fluid level on very level ground with engine running in Park using cold mark to get it roughly close when initially filling, and then drive a while to get transmission good and hot - use the Hot mark on the dipstick.for final correct level.

if that doesn't fix it:

● get a genuine Toyota filter from the dealership and drop the pan and replace the filter and I recommend a Fel-Pro gasket rather than the permatex-like FIPG adhesive - be careful with re-torqueing the pan bolts, they use very little torque (around 6 ft. pds.) use a torque wrench! - refill as in step 1 above using cold mark to get it close when initially filling, then drive it until hot and top up as in above step

if that doesn't fix it:

you could have a valve body issue

305ls400

filter and fluid were change a few months back with genuine Toyota T-IV fluid and filter. it was working perfect all this time until now.



i check the fluid level and is on piont.

LScowboyLS

for a test, please add one more quart of T-IV and report back the result

if that doesn't do it, you likely have a hanging (sticking) valve in the valve body

this is not a solenoid issue, nor is it your ECU

Yamae

That is a typical problem when the fluid level is lower than the required level. I had a similar problem nearly a year ago. My car is a 98 JDM Celsior.

Although the the dipstick was showing me that the fluid level was within the range, the AT didn't shift quick enough to reverse or drive. Adding 0.5L fixed the problem completely. Now the level is slightly higher than the high-end marker but the AT works perfectly even in winter. There were several other Japanese members who had the same problem in winter season. They all added the fluid 0.3L-0.5L depending on persons, and all of us got happy results.