Question about Transmission Function

[BuckeyeGuy]

A couple of days ago I was traveling down the highway. I noticed something that was in the passenger floor that I needed to move. Without thinking, I unbuckled, and then leaned over to get it (I know not smart). This is where it gets a little fuzzy because I scared myself a little. When I moved the item, and went to press on the gas pedel the engine just reved. I thought "Oh crap" I'm in netural. So I shifted down once and pressed on the gas again and still the engin reved. From what I RECALL, I looked up at the dash saw it in netural and then shifted down again into drive and all was good.

So here's the question. I now know that I must have bent over so much that I shifted the gears. Good to know NEVER to lean over like that again. Is it possible that I had shifted into reverse, but since I was traveling at highway speeds the transmission knew not to go into reverse?? I've replayed what happened in my mind lots of times and from what I can remember, there were two rev ups and two shifts. It's possible there was a rev, my mind thinking "O crap" another rev then a shift from N into D. Thoughts?

[toyomoho]

You need to press the button on the side to shifter arm to shift into R. Try this when the car is at a full stop.

You must have shifted the trans into neutral with your body (very easy to do), then the engine revved up. Should not be a problem. The lock out on the transmission gear shifter (column system inside the car) prevented the shifter arm from moving into reverse.

[BuckeyeGuy]

Originally Posted by toyomoho

You need to press the button on the side to shifter arm to shift into R. Try this when the car is at a full stop.

You must have shifted the trans into neutral with your body (very easy to do), then the engine revved up. Should not be a problem. The lock out on the transmission gear shifter (column system inside the car) prevented the shifter arm from moving into reverse.

On a '10 Camry there's no button to press to go into reverse. You can easily go from park, to reverse to netural to drive. You foot does need to be on the brake to move out of park though.

[JohnGD]

I thought at least the (slightly) older U-series still have manual valves for non-forward gears. The forward gears in just about all transmissions these days are computer controlled. Shift-by-Wire transmissions have been used on trucks for ages for obvious reasons, so that's nothing new. However, its application in small automobiles was the first when BMW introduced its Shift-by-Wire transmission.

But at least you can still shift into neutral if (heaven forbid) the ECU goes haywire, as a lawsuit claimed, and the engine accelerates out of control.

However, if the computer fails and you can't shift into neutral that would be another story.

Originally Posted by BuckeyeGuy

A couple of days ago I was traveling down the highway. I noticed something that was in the passenger floor that I needed to move. Without thinking, I unbuckled, and then leaned over to get it (I know not smart). This is where it gets a little fuzzy because I scared myself a little. When I moved the item, and went to press on the gas pedel the engine just reved. I thought "Oh crap" I'm in netural. So I shifted down once and pressed on the gas again and still the engin reved. From what I RECALL, I looked up at the dash saw it in netural and then shifted down again into drive and all was good.

So here's the question. I now know that I must have bent over so much that I shifted the gears. Good to know NEVER to lean over like that again. Is it possible that I had shifted into reverse, but since I was traveling at highway speeds the transmission knew not to go into reverse?? I've replayed what happened in my mind lots of times and from what I can remember, there were two rev ups and two shifts. It's possible there was a rev, my mind thinking "O crap" another rev then a shift from N into D. Thoughts?