Help Needed... Trans Problems - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

Dadx5 · 11-08-2007, 12:44 AM

First off, Im new to the forum. I bought my son a 93 Camry LE V6 Auto about a year ago. It has really been a great car until last week. It was getting "slow" to shift into gear when you went from Park to Drive. Then, today, reverse said goodbye. Now, my question is, will I be looking at a rebuild or is there an adjustment that could fix the problem? The car has 190,000 miles on it and still looks new. I guess the problem could be that it also looks like the trans pan has never been off. Im in high hopes that a trans service could cure the problem. Any advice is WELCOME. I don't know of any trustworthy trans shop in my town, and I have a bad feeling that any place I take it to will say, REBUILD.

Now, if it dose require a rebuild, anyone have any idea what a Toyota rebuild will set me back? Thanks in advance!

Dave's · 11-08-2007, 01:06 AM

There's a method for checking the tranny for error codes using the O/D light and the OBD connection. Good place to start but it sounds like rebuild or replace time to me. Rebuilt is probably 1.5-1.8K at a private shop and perhaps as much as 4-5K at Toyota. (Been awhile since I checked prices, they may be a bit less.) That's to the best of my knowledge, sure others here can tell you more. Could go the usually cheaper salvage route but you never know what you're getting of course.

kocho · 11-09-2007, 09:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dadx5

First off, Im new to the forum. I bought my son a 93 Camry LE V6 Auto about a year ago. It has really been a great car until last week. It was getting "slow" to shift into gear when you went from Park to Drive. Then, today, reverse said goodbye. Now, my question is, will I be looking at a rebuild or is there an adjustment that could fix the problem? The car has 190,000 miles on it and still looks new. I guess the problem could be that it also looks like the trans pan has never been off. Im in high hopes that a trans service could cure the problem. Any advice is WELCOME. I don't know of any trustworthy trans shop in my town, and I have a bad feeling that any place I take it to will say, REBUILD.

Now, if it dose require a rebuild, anyone have any idea what a Toyota rebuild will set me back? Thanks in advance!

I'm by no means an expert but my '00 recently lost its reverse gear at about 120K miles (all others were fine thoug and no sluggishenss in forward even after the reverse gear was gone).

You can try dropping the pan, cleaning it, then refilling with good fluid. Not too $$$ but I doubt it would help much if your current fluid is OK and at level. Check the level first - at hot running engine (after several miles driving) at the top mark.

In my case I measured the resistance of various solenoids for the heck of it, though I do not think they control the reverse gear.

Another thing to to first is to check the neutral/park position switch and make sure it is properly adjusted. Other than that - I have no clues...

Most internet forums I asked why is my reverse gone suggested that it is a hardware problems but none could be more specific without diagnosing the transmission further. In my case they were right - the new transmission fixed my issue.

I got a used tranny off a local junk yard. Comes with warranty but that does not cover labor costs so not sure how much use that would have been if it did not work right... Remanufactured would probably cost double the junk yard transmission but will have better warranty. Going to Toyota probably would cost more than your car...

Dadx5 · 11-09-2007, 10:14 PM

I called 3 trans shops in my area. The prices were as low as $2400 for a rebuild with a 12/12 warranty and as high as $4,000. The problem with the lowest bid was their "entry" quote was that "it could be higher depending on the problem". To me, that was their way to get my car on the rack and then at the end of the job, give me a $4k bill. After talking with a friend who was in the trans business for several years, he advised me to go the junk yard route and buy one from a wrecked car. He said that too many rebuild shops make stupid mistakes that could go undected until the warranty expires. Then I would be doing it all over again. That made me remember 10 years ago when I had a trans rebuilt in my wifes Suburban. Worked great for a few miles and got towed back to be done over again and again after 2 months!
This afternoon, I bought a "used" trans out of a rolled Camry. Has 100,000 miles on it but it was $600. I have a place that will R&R the complete job for $450. That will put my car back on the road for $1050. plus filter and fluid. Yes, it is a crap shoot, but the thought of $4k in a car I paid $2200 for, makes my head spin. If I get 50 to 100k more miles out if it, I will consider myself very lucky. With this in mind, this is a "Kid" car that could get wrecked at any time. We all know how kids can be. Ill now have a total of $3400 in the car which is mid blue book. After it gets installed and drives down the road, Ill be happy again.
Thanks for the replies guys!

wahed3001 · 11-09-2007, 11:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dadx5

I called 3 trans shops in my area. The prices were as low as $2400 for a rebuild with a 12/12 warranty and as high as $4,000. The problem with the lowest bid was their "entry" quote was that "it could be higher depending on the problem". To me, that was their way to get my car on the rack and then at the end of the job, give me a $4k bill. After talking with a friend who was in the trans business for several years, he advised me to go the junk yard route and buy one from a wrecked car. He said that too many rebuild shops make stupid mistakes that could go undected until the warranty expires. Then I would be doing it all over again. That made me remember 10 years ago when I had a trans rebuilt in my wifes Suburban. Worked great for a few miles and got towed back to be done over again and again after 2 months!
This afternoon, I bought a "used" trans out of a rolled Camry. Has 100,000 miles on it but it was $600. I have a place that will R&R the complete job for $450. That will put my car back on the road for $1050. plus filter and fluid. Yes, it is a crap shoot, but the thought of $4k in a car I paid $2200 for, makes my head spin. If I get 50 to 100k more miles out if it, I will consider myself very lucky. With this in mind, this is a "Kid" car that could get wrecked at any time. We all know how kids can be. Ill now have a total of $3400 in the car which is mid blue book. After it gets installed and drives down the road, Ill be happy again.
Thanks for the replies guys!

Sounds like a plan. Let us know how it goes. Good luck!