Slips into neutral-Update

[SandyF]

Thank-you all for your quick responses. Since my last post, (My daughter has been complaining that her 2001 Camry (4 cyl, auto, 122K) has been slipping into neutral. Usually when she comes to a stop. I've never been able to duplicate the issue but I was in the car with her driving and it happened a couple times when she hit the brakes fairly hard. She moves the shifter to Neutral and back to Drive to reengage. I tried the same with no results. She says that some days it doesn't do it at all but on the days that it does, it happens frequently. She also says it is becoming more frequent. I had her take it to a mechanic where she lives. No problems were found. She has a "Check Engine" light on but the electronic diagnosis performed identified it as a catalytic converter issue. The car's maintenance has been consistant and seems to be in excellent condition, very tight and smooth and the transmission shifts fine. Any ideas on what the shifting issue is?) my daughter has returned from college and I have driven with her for several hours and can now provide more detailed info. After going several places and parking, stopping, starting, etc. without issue, it happened. This time we were in a parking lot preparing to park. We turned into the parking lane going slowly and the transmission (gear?) disengaged. You're not aware of this until you push on the accelerator and the engine just revs. The shifter itself did not move. She had to move the shifter to neutral and back into drive to re-engage. Then we turned into the parking place and it happened again. This time, I tried moving the shifter the other way to 2nd and back to Drive, it re-engaged. After returning to the car I had her drive around the parking lot for a half an hour or so trying to recreate the problem. No such luck. The two mechanics who have looked into this are mystified. If anyone else has had this problem and had it fixed (short of buying a new car) I hope you read this and let me know what was done or that this additional info helps someone determine what the problem is and help in resolving this maddening issue.

[J_Phu]

Have you check the fluid or fluid level

[Kep]

Any chance that her Overdrive OFF light is flashing? (Make sure the light is working by seeing it light up when you start the car) If it is, there is a trouble code stored in the computer.

Otherwise it sounds like a transmission wearing out and about to fail. However, a 2001 with under 150,000 shouldn't be in that situation unless someone was extremely hard on the car. Do you have the service records showing when the transmission fluid has been changed out?

Ask your mechanics if they have a local transmission shop that they recommend. A transmission specialist is more likely to be able to analyze this accurately for you. Before they convince you to do any major work get it in writing a post it back here.

Kep