2000 Camry 3.0 liter V6 Transmission A541E diagnosis

[ITTRay]

Hi all,

I was wondering if a dedicated Toyota man (or woman) could help me diagnose a transmission problem. Here are the circumstances:

2000 Toyota Camry 3.0 Liter V6 with automatic (A541E) Transmission

At freeway speeds, once the engine is at operating temperature, the transmission will give a braking sensation for about half a second. This surprises me every time. It almost feels like someone is tapping my brakes for me. Remember though, this all happens within the span of about .5-1.0 seconds, then returns to normal operation. Within 30 miles drive, this occurred four times at regular intervals. This car has 145,000 miles. No light on in the dash.

My hypothesis:

The transmission is downshifting then changing its mind due to faulty throttle positioning sensor.

My proposed solution:

Check throttle positioning sensor connection. Replace sensor if necessary.

My questions to you:

• Can you think of any other possible problem and solution?
• How can I tell if the throttle positioning sensor is good or bad?
• Should I do a transmission flush and fill with filter change first?
• What do you think about Lucas Auto Trans oil additive?
• With 145,000 miles, should I just pull the transmission and rebuild it?
• Do torque converters go bad, should I replace it if rebuilding Trans?
• Would I need any special tools to take apart and reassemble the transmission?

Thanks you can respond here, or email me at rcecil@email.itt-tech.edu Thanks

[toyomoho]

Is the transmission really downshifting based on engine RPM?

When you experience the braking issue does the RPM drop?

[Eye8Pussies]

doubt that it's the tps.

could be a shift solenoid, could be the torque converter, could be other things

really hard to tell


but I'm also moving this to the gen3/4 section because your 2000 is a gen4 camry

[davemac2]

I think you are jumping to some quick conclusions. It may not be in the trans at all. I doubt it is the torque converter. It sounds like a bad connection, possibly at the TPS as you have suspected, the solenoids, or the speed sensors. It may even be your ABS brake system. It may potentially be a leaky trans valve body or solenoid, but I doubt it. As well, the engine may be missing badly causing the issue.

What happens to the RPMs when it does this? I realize it happens briefly, so this may be hard to discern.

Have you tried driving with the overdrive off to see if it still does it?
Have you checked the Toyota TSB's?

This is what I would do:

1. If the plugs and wires have never been replaced, replace them first.

2. Inspect the electrical connectors and wiring at the solenoids, speed sensors, ABS, TPS, and re-seat all connectors.

3. Get a hold of an OBDII diagnostics tool that can give you a readout on the TPS to check it for deadspots and correct calibration. Or alternatively, go buy a new one if you are able to return it if that does not fix it.


dave mc

[BamZipPow]

First...how is that transmission fluid looking? Is it the proper color? Is it at the proper level?

When the hesitation happens...is there anything else happening?

If you are so set on spending money on a new transmission...git the proper diagnostic tool instead.

There are tons of them out there...here are a few:

www.scangauge.com ($170) (30 day money back guarantee)

Requires separate hardware (computer/PocketPC/Palm) to work:
www.myscantool.com (ProScan) (30 day money back guarantee)
www.autotap.com (30 day money back guarantee)
autoenginuity.com (no money back guarantee)
www.scantool.net
www.palmerperformance.com
www.obdpros.com

Good luck!

[ITTRay]

Okay guys. I have a simple OBD2 reader, and there are no trouble codes detected.

As far as the tranny fluid goes...I am pretty sure it has never been changed or flushed.

This issue occurs so rapidy that I cannot possibly see if the RPM does anything.

Plugs and wires have been changed. I also have changed the timing belt. (just fyi)

I do not plan on buying a new tranny. I will fix this one.

I havent tried driving with O.D. off, but I will.

"Have you checked the Toyota TSB's?" <-- Whats a TSB?

Does autozone have an OBDII reader that will give me a readout on the TPS? I thought all OBDII readers were the same. Correct me if I am wrong.

I will definitely check all the connections and flush the trans fluid and install a new filter.

Is there a way to flush the trans fluid myself, or do I need to take it somewhere. I am an experienced shad tree mech, so I can do anything you guys can come up with. I just don't know all the ins and outs of this camry yet. Thanks for anymore advice!!

Thanks

[ITTRay]

Originally Posted by Eye8Pussies

doubt that it's the tps.

could be a shift solenoid, could be the torque converter, could be other things

really hard to tell


but I'm also moving this to the gen3/4 section because your 2000 is a gen4 camry

According to Wikipedia my Camry is a 5th Generation...who is wrong? You or Wikipedia?

[davemac2]

Originally Posted by ITTRay

"Have you checked the Toyota TSB's?" <-- Whats a TSB?

Does autozone have an OBDII reader that will give me a readout on the TPS? I thought all OBDII readers were the same. Correct me if I am wrong.


Is there a way to flush the trans fluid myself, or do I need to take it somewhere.

Thanks

TSB - Toyota Service Bulletin

I doubt Autozone would let you borrow their scan tool let alone even have one with the capabilities. You need a scanner which can monitor and record engine sensors, see the shift solenoids and TPS. That's likely going to be a scanner which costs $200+ on up. Otherwise pay Toyota to put it on their scanner and test drive it. It's will cost you $200 anyways probably.

Several pan drop and fills are about the only thing you can do yourself. I have heard of someone attempting to do a flush by removing the trans cooler hoses and draining/filling from there, but I don't know if it worked well and it's kind of dangerous. Do a google newsgroup search on it.

dave mc

[Albuynp Ryeno]

Originally Posted by ITTRay

According to Wikipedia my Camry is a 5th Generation...who is wrong? You or Wikipedia?

wiki can be edited by anyone.

A 2000 usa camry is a gen 4 with a front/rear bumper/taillight revision commonly called a gen4.5 here.

[BamZipPow]

What color is the tranny fluid now? Brown? Black? Dirty red? Red?

I wouldn't do a flush...do a drain and fill. Do that over a period of a week until the color is as close to new as possible. You'll need a few gallons to work with. Just make sure you don't over tighten the drain plug and strip it.

Have you manually shifted the transmission to see if it happens at a specific RPM or gear?

The scangauge will read the TPS fer yah...but it's a basic gauge. I would lean more to the other computer based ones as they do come in handy fer doing diagnostics on yer car later on. And you can make money fer doing diagnostics on other people's car without really working on them.

[ITTRay]

I just had a thought. The car pulls to the left. I have equaled all the tire pressures in all four tires, but I havent' checked the alignment. I think I have a cv halfshaft going bad on the drivers side. If I go to a parking lot that is clear and drive about 5-10 mph, it goes left. If I lay my hand gently on the steering wheel to correct it, I notice the wheel jerks slightly with each rotation of the tire/wheel. So my question is this...could a failing cv shaft possibly have anything to do with the "braking" effect I have a higher speeds? I am going to replace the tranny fluid, struts, and driver's cv shaft this weekend. I welcome any hypotheses from you guys...I will keep posting through the job. The first thing I am going to do is the tranny fluid. Then I will drive it around and see if that cured my problem with the "braking" effect. If that doesn't, I will proceed to replace the cvshaft (and struts while I am there). And I guess the last thing I can do is check the TPS, or it could be the first thing.....I will keep you guys posted.

[ITTRay]

Okay guys. Here is what I accomplished over the weekend. First, it needed new struts, so i did that first. Then while doing the front driver side I pulled the cv shaft out and replaced it, because it was going bad. Now for the transmission. I drained it. Pulled the pan, and noticed that there was practically nothing on the magnets. That sounds good. So I wiped the pan clean, put a new filter in, and replaced the pan gasket. I filled her up with new fluid and ran it around town a little with no problems. I drained it again and filled it back up, still no problems. I will have to do a little more driving, and I will get back with you on the "braking" feeling, it might still happen when I get it out on the freeway for awhile. This isn't my daily driver so it might take a little while. Im getting new tires and an alignment this week too. Thanks

[ITTRay]

Okay guys. I drove the camry down the freeway this afternoon with no hicups. Of course I can't wait to get the new tires and alignment because it pulls pretty hard to the left. Darn fiance bumped someone in the parking lot today and put a big scratch on the fron passenger side bumper. Oh well, I think I am going to restore the car in a few years anyways. The car is the two-tone bright silver over dark silver. I might go with the lexus white pearl over dark gray, and get a set of lexus wheels. People all ready think it is a lexus because of the two tone paint job. Thanks for all your help.

[kingkhan]

Thanks for this post. I have a 2000 V6 XLE with 167K miles I just bought and I noticed the EXACT same issue. I thought it was in my mind for a while but I noticed it a couple times and knew something was amiss...

So looks like your tranny fluid change took care of the problem? Any update now?

I'll be changing the tranny fluid, filter, etc soon and will let you all know if that solves the same problem. Not sure what is fundamentally causing that 0.05 second break-tap like feeling.....