5th & 6th Generation (2002-2006 & 2007-2011)Toyota Camry Discussion for years: 2002-2006 & 2007-2011
Topics of discussion range from fuel economy, safety, modifications, performance all involving America's favorite family car, the Toyota Camry.
Does anyone have any complaints or have any experience with shifts with their 4cyl. Gen 5 Camrys? My girlfriend got a 2004 and ever since it was new (now has 2500 miles) the 1-2 has been really weak. What I mean is it seems to shift out of first, and takes a bit (perhaps up to 1/2 second) before shifting into 2nd.
It's very disconcerting to me, but it might be normal. It seems like it'd be hard on the transmission as you pushed on it harder. I don't even like to push it up to a 2800 RPM 1-2 shift because it feels like it's going to rev up when it lets go of 1st and snap into 2nd. I can't even imagine a full throttle 1-2 shift. 2nd to 3rd seems ok, it's just basically a bump without the momentary loss of acceleration that the 1-2 shift has.
I have a 1992 4cyl camry that shift relatively instantly from 1-2 with just a slight bump which seems more like what I'd expect. I know there are more electronic controls on the 2004, but this isn't just a smoothed out shift, but more of a delayed shift.
I've read about some 2002 issues that were fixed with a 2003 computer or something, but that doesn't sound like a fix for this 2004. I just don't know if I'm complaining over nothing, as my girlfriend didn't even notice anything until I mentioned it and even then I have to point it out.
Well, I just test drove another 4cyl automatic and it clicks off the 1/2 shift nice and quickly like the old 1992. It appears that trannie needs work. Wish me luck... it sounds like it will not be easy convincing them there is anything wrong.
There gonna tell you this is normal. If you have a J in the begining of your VIN, there is a TSB for shift enhancement, they have to update the ECU. They did this for me, didn't really make a difference. My Gen5 does the same thing, kinda use to it already...
The VIN starts with a 4, which I guess means it was built in the U.S. Does your shift get progressively worse feeling as you push it harder? I can imagine (never tried it) that a wide open throttle 1-2 shift would be destructive.
I'm going to call the dealer today in about 20 minutes...
Once in awhile if I catch it while it shifting and I hit the gas it would slip for a second. There going to tell you it's a feature in the Electronic controlled Transmission.
Originally posted by mtnet2000 There gonna tell you this is normal. If you have a J in the begining of your VIN, there is a TSB for shift enhancement, they have to update the ECU. They did this for me, didn't really make a difference. My Gen5 does the same thing, kinda use to it already...
DO you have a copy of this TSB? Our Gen5 shifted really nicely but now it seems to be not smooth as before. The tranny fluid is starting to change colour now, and it only has 50000km which is only half way to the 96000km recommended transmission service interval?
Originally posted by mtnet2000 Once in awhile if I catch it while it shifting and I hit the gas it would slip for a second. There going to tell you it's a feature in the Electronic controlled Transmission.
I can see sometimes catching it offguard by changing the throttle... it's funny though that this transmission seems to be worse when you've got it perfectly at one throttle position. If you accelerate lightly and evenly it will shift at abou 15 or so MPH and the shift will be a long drawn out. The new 2004 I tried out last night just clicks off a 1-2 shift quickly with little more than a slight bump felt and no hesitation or "stumbling."
I turned around halfway to the dealership this morning because Irealized we couldn't live without it at the moment and the dealership wouldn't drive me the 8 or so miles to work so I guess it will wait until the 5,000 mile oil change to have them look at it. I'm going to tell them, that I'll accept the way it shifts if they can find one of their 50 or so Camrys on the lot that shifts like this one.
i'm kinda confused what do u guys mean by...well what ur talking about... cuz i'm not sure if i'm experiencing the same thing in my '03 4 cyl.... when i'm going at about 25-35 and i hit the gas, it hesitates for a bit then the rpm's skyrocket and then after about a second it shifts down or somethin and the torque kicks in.... that may be completely different' from what ur talking about but i just wanted to throw it out there cuz it seems kind of weird... oh yea... if i just hit the gas from a stop then it goes fine
Originally posted by aznJ i'm kinda confused what do u guys mean by...well what ur talking about... cuz i'm not sure if i'm experiencing the same thing in my '03 4 cyl.... when i'm going at about 25-35 and i hit the gas, it hesitates for a bit then the rpm's skyrocket and then after about a second it shifts down or somethin and the torque kicks in.... that may be completely different' from what ur talking about but i just wanted to throw it out there cuz it seems kind of weird... oh yea... if i just hit the gas from a stop then it goes fine
Your situation sounds a bit different as you're changing throttle position which is a more dynamic situation.
Anyway, if you mean when you hit the gas that the engine revs up without any significant acceleration, then all of a sudden the RPMs drop (as the gear catches) and the car then accelerates that would a bad thing. I haven't tried that with this car. I guess if you hit the gas hard enough that'd be a 2-1 shift instead of a 1-2 shift.
oh... well sorry to thread jack... but no has posted on thsi for a while anyways... So are u saying this could be bad for my engine or tran? I don't hear any bad tran noises and it's not shaky or anything... it's just one big smooth motion... i'm goin at about 2000 rpms then i hit the gas and the rpms rise slowly for a sec and then they just fly up there to about 4000 and then drop down quickly and the accel kicks in really hard... i really hope this isnt' bad
Originally posted by aznJ oh... well sorry to thread jack... but no has posted on thsi for a while anyways... So are u saying this could be bad for my engine or tran? I don't hear any bad tran noises and it's not shaky or anything... it's just one big smooth motion... i'm goin at about 2000 rpms then i hit the gas and the rpms rise slowly for a sec and then they just fly up there to about 4000 and then drop down quickly and the accel kicks in really hard... i really hope this isnt' bad
Oh ok, that's sounding right. When you first hit the gas it stays in the same gear (or some tall gear) and pushes hard against the torque converter which is going to allow your engine to rev. up a bit but not too much power. Then, when the transmission/computer figures out you really mean business it will shift into 1st and then the car will accelerate much harder. At first when I read your note it sounded like it reved up to say 5,000 RPM then first gear fully engaged and it bounced down to 4000 RPM and accelerated hard.
I don't think for this Camry market Toyota has ever been too worried about the speed fo the downshifts in these situations. I'm sure they could make that kick down to 1st gear faster. I drove an old GM compact rental car with a 4T40 3 speed automatic transmission once. If you were cruising along in D (3rd) at 30mph and slammed the gas down the transmission would be in 1st gear by the time your gas pedal/foot hit the floor board. Basically instantly with no bumps just solid acceleration, which is a nice thing if you're in a hurry. I'm not hoping for this kind of performance from 2004 Camry of course, I just want it to shift as well as the old 1992 with 185k miles.
This might not pertain to this thread, but on the '04 V6 SE (3MZ), the transmission jerks between first and second. It only happens when you slow down and coast to a stop like approaching a stop sign or traffic light and accelerate again (i.e. rolling through the stop sign or when the light changes). There's a jerk between that gear change.
The TSB is for V6 (1MZ) models.
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'04 Camry SE V6
'05 Tacoma PreRunner DC TRD Off-Road
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