Instrument cluster issues or something bigger (acceleration problems)
Recently, I've been having a few issues with the instrument cluster, but they might be bigger than that, i'm not sure. I'll be driving and all of a sudden the speedo goes down to zero and comes back up. Other times, it will go down to zero and stay down for a while, and the O/d off light flashes on and off. Sometimes, the engine revs when this happens, even if the car is going at a steady speed.
EDIT: the issue has gotten worse. Now sometimes, the car will be unable to gain speed (often happens when making a turn from a stop). The speedo stays at zero and the engine will rev as if the car is in neutral. Letting off the gas, it will continue to rev until it eventually stops making the noise and is then able to accelerate. Also, I'm not sure if its my imagination, but after this happens, I will be driving and and if I let off on the gas to coast to a stop, the car will, instead of coming to a smooth stop, somewhat lurch a few times when slowing down.
I took it to the dealer THREE TIMES now and they couldn't find anything wrong... They said that they fully checked the speed sensor.
Any ideas? I have no idea what to do? I really don't want to have to buy a new car (as the dealer is hinting - apparently the car doesn't have onboard diagnostics and would be "tough and costly to diagnose")
I have an AE102 automatic (US Spec DX) with the non-tach cluster.
Sounds like there might be a problem with the speed signal. The O/D light flashing and the engine revving indicate that it's not necessarily something in the gauge cluster. The ECU uses a speed signal when controlling the transmission, so if it gets interrupted it's going to have problems. I would look for a damaged wire leading to the speed sensor and at the speed sensor itself.
My Corolla has a salvage yard instrument cluster. The dealer that I bought the car from was even boasting how easy that is to change, "it's just 2 screws" or something like that. He said something like that was happening to him too, something about the speedo needle kept jumping all around. He is a used car dealer so who knows. Actually, it's a pretty decent car tho, I got lucky.
He tricked me good on the ad but it has turned out so far to be a good car. He was posing as an individual on Craigslist. Not sure myself about having overdrive, mine's a manual, a manual is a more reliable transmission and the mileage is better.
My Corolla has a salvage yard instrument cluster. The dealer that I bought the car from was even boasting how easy that is to change, "it's just 2 screws" or something like that. He said something like that was happening to him too, something about the speedo needle kept jumping all around. He is a used car dealer so who knows. Actually, it's a pretty decent car tho, I got lucky.
He tricked me good on the ad but it has turned out so far to be a good car. He was posing as an individual on Craigslist. Not sure myself about having overdrive, mine's a manual, a manual is a more reliable transmission and the mileage is better.
The usual culprit behind speedo problems is old solder cracking in the gauges, which can be fixed pretty easily with a soldering iron and a little time (plus 6 screws). OP's case doesn't sound like that's the problem, though, because of the other symptoms. The 5 speed manual (all models) and the 4 speed auto (DX and LE) have overdrive, only the 3 speed auto (base and CE) doesn't have overdrive.
Sounds like there might be a problem with the speed signal. The O/D light flashing and the engine revving indicate that it's not necessarily something in the gauge cluster. The ECU uses a speed signal when controlling the transmission, so if it gets interrupted it's going to have problems. I would look for a damaged wire leading to the speed sensor and at the speed sensor itself.
The DX does have overdrive, btw.
thanks for the tip - I'll look for bad wiring.
Any other possibilities for this, or would the speed signal be the most likely culprit?
seems like the speed sensor is the issue...which mounts directly on top of the transmission. BUT, the fact the engine all of a sudden revs up is not a good thing. Hopefully your differential is not going out. And if it is the cluster, I suggest you swap it with one with a tach. It's pretty much plug and play. It's 6 screws and 3 connectors on the back
Also, if I remember correctly ... the canadian DX, the buyer could optionally added in the 4 speed as a custom order
The funny thing is my DX is Canadian built but purchased in US. Funny how you guys got a different car than us even though it's made there...
Quote:
Originally Posted by trife96
seems like the speed sensor is the issue...which mounts directly on top of the transmission. BUT, the fact the engine all of a sudden revs up is not a good thing. Hopefully your differential is not going out. And if it is the cluster, I suggest you swap it with one with a tach. It's pretty much plug and play. It's 6 screws and 3 connectors on the back
I'm hoping it's something simple... How bad would a bad differential be - how much would that cost? Yeah, I was thinking of throwing in a tach cluster originally since I thought the cluster was the culprit but seems its more than that.
fluid should be fine. The car is regularly maintained at the toyota dealer every 3000 miles. I'm currently around 165k miles.
they even said they changed a few fluids the first time I took it in - sajd it might fix the problem.
It ISNT the speed sensor. I have yet to see one that is intermittent. +1 on the speedo on/off for bad solder joints, but that should NOT have any effect on the engine rpm rise/fall and the sudden "neutral"
I have to ask what condition your engine mounts are in. If the engine is rocking, there can be all kinds of goofy electrical problems if the connections/wires get stressed.
Another thing to check is the TPS. make sure it works properly and has not cut outs when moved.
Older cars can be a pain sometimes!
-SP
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Instrument cluster issues or something bigger (acceleration problems)
They said that they fully checked the speed sensor.
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