auto trans being annoying...

[94cylcamry]

Hey all, the car in question is my own 94 Camry LE 5SFE auto transmission.

Umm...the other day I was getting onto the highway, pulled to the end of the ramp, and realized there was nowhere to merge in. Stupid I know, I'm not the best driver. So I came to a stop, waited a bit, then when an opening finally came, I kind of floored it to get in. Pushed the pedal 3/4 of the way down, car was moving but not really...going fast. Pushed the pedal to the floor, same thing, I could hear the engine racing but the car wasn't really taking off. It sounded like it was almost redlining but I was looking at the highway, not the rpm gauge.

Anyway, I know to make it shift up sometimes you have to let off gas, so I did, the trans shifted right away and the car just completely....VROOM took off. Now that has hapenned a couple times when I've stepped on the gas suddenly, and it's sort of annoying because it's not what you are looking for when you have to floor it.

Does this happen with all 5SFE auto trans? Am I just a bad driver? Is there anything I can do to make the trans shift more smoothly, and when I actually need it to shift?

Thanks.

[bigbird]

sounds like somthing is goin bad in the tranny. maby shift solinoid or torque converter. any other symptoms?

[94cylcamry]

Hmm...nothing I can really think of. Is there anything in particular you are looking for? It's mainly just the...refusing to shift when the gas is hit suddenly. A friend of mine who was riding in the car said the car was shifting a little roughly a month or two ago...the thing is, this is my first car, so I have no basis for comparison. If it is shifting roughly, I haven't noticed myself.

EDIT: And though this probably has nothing to do with anything, the car shifts really roughly into reverse, and it vibrates a LOT in reverse. It vibrates at idle in drive also, but Seafoaming and replacing the one motor mount has cut that down. However, reverse is twice as bad.

[Venom_5]

thats typical of the 5S-FE + autotragic ... the biggest mistakes Toyota made with our cars is the 1st gear, and the lack of a 5th gear

1st gear does nothing - what you described is typical, the only thing that helps me is the kick-back cable mod posted by Toysrme a few years ago ... and then 4th gear is fine, but revs too high at 80mph, so we need another gear there (stupid auto tranny)

[94cylcamry]

Hmm...is that the mod where you are changing the nut position on that cable near the throttle body? Or something different?

[Venom_5]

yeah ... another great WTF story:

mine was already changed by a Toyota dealership or outside mechanic, because when i went to go do the mod - it wasnt in its normal position, it had already been tightened up somewhat ... but ive been driving at least 4 years with it almost fully-tightened or whatever, and i like the extra kick you get from the improved shifting

people say its harder on the transmission, but if you know how to feather the throttle to manually control shift points (which i do out of instinct, dont ask why) ... then its not so bad, and i havent seen any signs of wear or failure over the last 4 years

but really, you just have to get used to your transmission - i know that there are times when i need to use ECT/PWR Accel for highway on-ramps or passing, and times when just putting my foot down will do the trick, and times when i should Disable O/D while going up hill, and times when the transmission will downshift properly

i have a lot of hate for A-series transmissions, but theyre not impossible to live with

[94cylcamry]

I'll have to go find that guide again and try it...seems like an easy little trick.

[Maim Menu]

Originally Posted by Venom_5

yeah ... another great WTF story:

mine was already changed by a Toyota dealership or outside mechanic, because when i went to go do the mod - it wasnt in its normal position, it had already been tightened up somewhat ... but ive been driving at least 4 years with it almost fully-tightened or whatever, and i like the extra kick you get from the improved shifting

people say its harder on the transmission, but if you know how to feather the throttle to manually control shift points (which i do out of instinct, dont ask why) ... then its not so bad, and i havent seen any signs of wear or failure over the last 4 years

but really, you just have to get used to your transmission - i know that there are times when i need to use ECT/PWR Accel for highway on-ramps or passing, and times when just putting my foot down will do the trick, and times when i should Disable O/D while going up hill, and times when the transmission will downshift properly

i have a lot of hate for A-series transmissions, but theyre not impossible to live with

Yeah, I noticed quite a lot of "Sometimes" with these trannies too. They're ok but you know....sometimes it shifts smooth, sometimes the downshifts are brutal, aahh sometimes.

[xtremeskier97]

Originally Posted by Maim Menu

Yeah, I noticed quite a lot of "Sometimes" with these trannies too. They're ok but you know....sometimes it shifts smooth, sometimes the downshifts are brutal, aahh sometimes.

x2

[94cylcamry]

Haha, I'd forgotten about the ECT button. Is it ok to tighten the bolt AND hit the ect button? Or should it be one or the other?

[Dave's]

I had pretty much the same thing happen as the OP on my '04 recently. Actually looked down to see if I'd somehow knocked it out of gear when it took off.

[Venom_5]

Originally Posted by 94cylcamry

Haha, I'd forgotten about the ECT button. Is it ok to tighten the bolt AND hit the ect button? Or should it be one or the other?

wont hurt anything ... they dont do the same thing

ECT tells the transmission to wait to shift until higher in the RPM band when youre giving it extra throttle

[94cylcamry]

Hey, could this possibly help with how my ebay-intake kills my low end? I step on the gas and it just won't shift

[Quicksilver300]

with your first gear problem, how fast does the car get to in first? If I remember correctly mine gets up to 20-25mph before second. I would doubt the intake would affect anything, if the engine is revving up and not moving, it's the trans.

[94cylcamry]

I'll drive awhile and check..it's fine normally, just when I hit the pedal suddenly that it decides it doesn't want to shift...I don't know...