Transmission Downshifting at 15mph or so

[Red 97 Camry]

Hi Everyone,

I own a 1997 V6 Camry with 230K miles on the ODO and I've never had a previous issues with the vehicle whatsoever. The car is well cared for, maintenance items have always been addressed relegiously on time like wires, spark plugs, fuel filter and T.P. and TB cleaning.

Also I had the timing belt changed 10K miles ago along with water pump and 2 idler ploys and the rest of belts.

Recently When I come to a gradual slowing down/stop from about 40-55 mph, I can feel the transmission downshifts into gear around 15mph. All other shifting appears to be fine, it's just the downshift at 15 mph range.

I did a manual T.P. cleaning as well as a seafoam to the T.B. thru the brake booster line without any luck.

What's the possible problem and how do I solve it?

Thanks in Advance.

Al.

[touringcamry]

When was the last time the transmission fluid was changed?

[geoff5093]

Isnt that normal anyways? My tranny downshifts around 30mph and around 15mph.

[hassanbigboss]

Red 97 CAMRY....I have a 1998 V6 and has about 134xxx miles...i flushed the transmission about 10,xxx miles ago....then again drained and refilled about 1000 miles ago and drained and refilled again about 100 miles ago...why you ask? because I was experiencing the exact same thing you are experiencing....it still shifts down just like it should...but after doing all that...its not as hard that i notice it anymore....so maybe do some drains and refills....but be very very careful about one thing....make sure that when the car has been standing over night....the transmission oil is topping out where it says "Cold" on the dipstick....I had the transmission oil topping out about an inch higher than the "Hot" mark after standing all night which did not give me the smooth shifts I was expecting. For some reason...our cars sometimes get real sensitive to extra oil...might not be true for everyone...but this is something I know was giving me rough upshifts and downshifts....so make sure that when you flush or drain and refill your transmission oil...make sure its leveled. I hope this helps...peace

[V6LE_CAMRY]

check trans fluid, mine started doing that a bit when it was a bit low.

[Red 97 Camry]

Thanks to everyone who responded. Also apologies for not mentioning earlier that I normally drain and refill the tranny every 10K-15K miles....and the Diff. Fluid every 30K miles.

I have been filling up both with Mobile 1 Synthetic Dext III fluid. The fluid color is as red as it can be.....maybe darker red sometimes when I drain and re-fill but not all the time.

Also please note that I actually had the transmission flushed through a Toyota dealer when the car had 140K miles and I did it as a preventative maintenance item and I had no issues with the tranny at the time.

Regarding filling the tranny: I believe there are multiple school of thoughts on this, I have been adding 2.1 quarts upon servicing it, In the past I tried and called multiple Toyota service dept.'s and they all varied as to how much you should add after you drain, some said 2 and others were saying not more than 3.7 quarts of oil according to the service manual.

So the fluid level currently is at the hot mark after normal operation.

Thanks Al.