So I have a 2007 is350 and my transmission doesn’t shift when it’s cold. And when I say cold I mean I let it idle for about 30 seconds to a minute. It’ll shift into second fine and usually third but into 4th and up it takes until the car is warmer. But then it shifts fine. I was just curious if other people do this. And I should mention I had a freak thing with my transmission happen about 2 months ago leading to me replacing it with a jasper built oem transmission. But my original transmission did it as well so that’s why I’m wondering if it’s just normal. Thanks

 

I recently got my 2012 IS250 with 65K km on it and it's also behaving the same, especially these past few days which are quite cold. Can't answer if it's normal or not as it's my first IS, but can confirm that you're not alone

 

You are correct, these transmissions don't shift past 3rd gear until they reach the operating temperature. Drive it slowly, don't rev it, it will shift to 4th and up in next few minutes. It is normal, don't worry.

 

I started typing that same response, but looks like you beat me by a few minutes! But as he said, totally normal. Even my 87 Toyota Cressida did that when it was cold.

 

This is normal operation. The reason why the transmission won't upshift when it is cold is to help the engine build heat quicker so that hot air is available as soon as possible. Toyota has been doing this for years with their engines/transmissions.....infact, Toyota used to install a BLUE temperature light in the guage cluster. If the blue light was on, you know the heater air is cold. If the blue temperature light is off, you know that the engine coolant temp is warmer than the outside air this, giving you warm air.

 

It gets in the low 20s where I live, the transmission shifts all gears. It gets a little laggy on the first minute or so, once the temp line is 1/4 or more it shifts normal.

A transmission fluid was done during the summer, not a flush, the typical drain a few quarts, drive for a while and replace a few more quarts. I did three fluid rotations within a month.

My transmission when is extremely cold, has never behaved like you mention. Maybe it needs service maintenance.
Included this past summer, differential and brake fluid change.

 

This isn't quite what I've observed when driving my '06 in sub-freezing temps. My car is always able to shift all the way up to 4th, even when first started. It won't do the 4->5 shift until the engine has warmed up a little -- usually about a mile of driving, and won't do the 5->6 shift has warmed a bit more, usually 5-10 minutes of driving. You guys that say your car won't shift to fourth -- have you actually pressed the mode button on the steering wheel to display the current gear indicator? What you think is 3rd is probably 4th.

To address GrizzlyMan's point; I took delivery of my car when new in December '05, and noticed this behavior the first morning I owned it with less than 100 miles on the clock, so no, it is programming in the ECU to get the car warmed up faster (lower emissions), and has nothing to do with the condition of the transmission.

 

I've had the 350 since July of 2017 putting 60k miles on it. When temps are in the 20/30°F range it bangs through the lower 5 gears but will not go into 6th until the engine is roughly 165°F.
I'm about 3 mi from the freeway where 6th would be useful.

On another note, if the temps are below about 38F, and you turn the heat on before the engine is at operating temp ~185F, it promotes a high idle condition that is hazardous in a RWD on icey roads. Note to self, turn off heat when coming to a stop.

 

Mine is a 2012.
It was a maybe needs servicing, no programming restriction if that is the case.
Since 2005, wow, have had mine for less than a yr. I did not even know the 350s existed until I saw a 250 at a dealership a few months ago.
This will be its first official winter with me.

 

.
Adding to this ^^^. The transmission will not go into lockup until the engine is like 175F. This prevents bucking and potential stalling.

Last little bit: my 2010 Tundra has the same A760 transmission. Car is RWD A760E, truck is 4WD A760H. It behaves exactly as the car does. Both have 100k mi on them. The truck has a deeper pan, tow package and external oil cooler diverter if the trans goes over 212F or something like that whereby fluid is diverted to an air/oil cooler front.

 

I only have that issue when its cold but up to 5th, wont shift to 6th til its some what warmed up, but then again I live in San Diego, not so cold for our "cold".

I have noticed my tranny feels like it slips if I give it WOT on cold mornings, but once the car is warmed up it doesn't slip. At 170k miles so might be old age issue o.O, I just granny drive it until my temps are warm

 

Yeah, I experienced that this morning! It was 38F which is unusually cold, windows fogged car was cold inside. Turned on the defroster/heater and as I was slowing down at a stop sign the engine was surging, causing the car to lurch forward. This happened a few times, while driving I thought maybe something was off but realized that this happened every time the compressor came on

 

Mine seems to do high idle 1200rpm until the engine is warm when ambient is below 38F. I'd like to say it's nothing to do w AC compressor coming as I disabled it and it's not in defrost mode but still jacks up the idle speed.

 

I've owned this car almost 3 years and I don't ever remember this happening, of course temps in the 30 degree range is rare. That's where I love my wife's EV, hot or cold you just get in it and drive off. The battery management keeps the battery at optimal temperature, her car has a heat pump so it warms up the cabin quickly. She runs her heater at 84/85 degrees so she loses about 5 to 7 miles of range