Transmission Woes
 

Yesterday, I was driving down a regular 2 way street when I attempted to pass a slower car in front of me. When I pressed on the gas a little more, I noticed that the tach moved from 2100 to 6000 rpm's with no accelleration. It didn't dawn on my as to what was happening. I tried it again and nothing. I rolled into a nearby parking lot and noticed that I had no gears. I tried R,D,2,L and it was like the car is stuck in N. I popped the hood and checked my transmission fluid (the car was off but was at normal operating temp). THe level was normal but the fluid was dirty. When I got back in the car, it started just fine and when I put it in D, the car made a slight move foreward like it was ready to move. I put the hood down and drove the car normally up the street. It accellerated normally until I got to a red light. When the light turned green, the car felt like it was in Neutral again. I had the car towed to my house and it is just sitting there? My check enging light also came on when it wouldn't accelerate. Is there any way I can check the codes without taking it to Autozone (which is 12 miles away)? Any troubleshooting techniques that anyone knows about?

If your fluid level reads good with the engine off, the fluid is low when the engine is running in park.

Suggest you recheck you fluid level with the engine running. Add the Toyota Type IV transmission fluid purchased at a Toyota dealer; the original fluid fill.

Additionally, if you have never serviced your fluid, you may want to consult Toyota for service recommended.

You might try a "loaner" scan tool.

^ that's a 97 he uses Dexron 3, TT-IV shouldn't be used.
I would check the fluid again. I doubt it's the solenoids, as thatll throw codes. You can try unplugging the connection to the shift solenoids. At which point the transmission is controlled solely by the manual valve body (i.e. L=1, 2=2 D=3 O/D=4), and it shifts only when you bump it.

Sounds like it's slipped to death, but ya never know.

You can always drop the transmission pan & see if the filter screen is clogged too.
:(

Yesterday I had my mechanic bring a code reader and let me know what the CEL light code was. The only code he received was P0500. When I asked him what that meant, he said that basically it says I need to replace the transmission.

LoL! You are potentually about to get out so cheap.


P0500 is the speed sensor.
You are slipping, which is always quite bad, but there is the likelyhood that the computer simply can't figure out what gear it needs to be in.

E_man,

How many miles ya got on that '97?

Hmm I'm thinkin time for a new tranny? I mean, they're extremely complex lil things, and bound to eventually fail sooner or later. I know my ES is running on borrowed time......

You bunch of jerks. After as many tranny threads as I've taken part in over the last 5 years on so many forums... Mines finally toast.
Ya bunch of jinxers! LoL!

Ah well... Can't afford a transmission for along time, but that's life.

Sean, got a spare n2o tank I can borrow for a week? bawahahahahahahahaha