What went wrong? - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

Killer Instinct · 03-19-2006, 05:58 PM

Hello everyone. I'm new to the forum and I have a concern I wanted to run by you guys to see what - if I actually have one - the problem is. Here's the deal:

I have a 92 Corolla LE sedan with 70k miles on it, almost new mind you. I had it shipped with me from the US and it's still running fine. Anyway, a few days ago I accidentally nudged the automatic into N while pressing on the gas going around 70Mph and then back into D. What's more is that it happened twice on the same night. Now the engine seems to idle higher than normal for some reason. It's nearly 1.5k in P and N, while something like 1.1k in D and R. I have no idea why the idles are higher and why they differ from gear to gear, but the car used to idle at just less than 1k all around (800 - 900). The engine seems different in driving as well, when I depress the gas pedal the rpm falls much quicker than it used to. Did I break the transmission or something? Thanks in advance.

***REN69*** · 03-19-2006, 07:22 PM

Do you have a tachometer??? If not.. how do you know its idling that high?? I'd say since you took the car from a mixed climate to a climate where its HOT all the time, chances are you need to change your thermostat. Also, find your idle screw and lower the idle a little, the screw is usually on top of the intake manifold, sometimes covered with a small black round rubber cap.

Killer Instinct · 03-20-2006, 07:32 AM

Yes I do have a tach, obviously. See the car just came out of inspection at the dealership, I dropped $800 on repairs and part replacements so if the thermostat was defective I don't think they would have missed it. I just wanted to know if the shift from D to N and back at high speed could have done something that is causing this, and why it's idling higher in P and N than in other gears.

epyon22 · 03-20-2006, 06:02 PM

cause in p and n its not connected directly to the engine so theres a load on it to the point of your tourqe converter vs higher when its out of gear. are you sure its not just when you start up the car?

Flashmn · 03-21-2006, 09:16 AM

If shifting from D to N and back in speeds would be dangerous to the transmission to the point that doing it a few times would kill it, dont u think toyota would of put a safety so you couldnt do it?

Killer Instinct · 03-21-2006, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flashmn

If shifting from D to N and back in speeds would be dangerous to the transmission to the point that doing it a few times would kill it, dont u think toyota would of put a safety so you couldnt do it?

Well not kill it, but that's a good point actually. Maybe I'm being paranoid but I'm pretty sure that it's higher than usual. And to epyon, no it's not just when I start the car, I double checked. Anyway, thank you to all who answered. I'll check the idle screw as was suggested and I'll see how it goes.

Guido · 03-21-2006, 02:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flashmn

If shifting from D to N and back in speeds would be dangerous to the transmission to the point that doing it a few times would kill it, dont u think toyota would of put a safety so you couldnt do it?

Actually, allowing it to easily go into neutral is a safety feature in case there is an emergency with the engine and you need to quickly disengage it from the driveline.
If you run out of gas on a slippery surface the drive tires can actually lock up - unless you shift to neutral.

the shifter does have a reverse lockout so if you push it into neutral WITHOUT pushing the button, the lever will stop before going into reverse. This is a safety feature.

Shifting between drive and neutral should not cause any harm to your engine or transmission as long as the RPMs are kept within limits. A manual transmission goes into "neutral" at every shift, at all speeds.

My guess is if there really is a problem it's unrelated to the transmission being shifted into neutral - UNLESS you hit the redline while doing it.

freakinbox · 03-21-2006, 04:47 PM

as far as I know it doesn't hurt anything. Otherwise it wouldn't slide from drive to neutal without a stop!

igorien2k · 03-21-2006, 06:21 PM

hes got a point u know. i had an auto mitsu mirage that i accidentally did that too and it killed the end-clutch mechanism so i had to get a new tranny

Psycho_rolla · 03-22-2006, 03:01 AM

As part of Australian Design rules the auto must be able to move freely into neutral in case of an emergency much the same way as a manual.

So even tho shifting from drive to neutral once or twice will not do any damage at all if you where to do it all the time then i would recommend getting a manual.

Also automatic cars can not be towed with the drive wheels on the road as it can cause tranny damage.

so yeah i would check the idler screw and not worry to much about the tranny.

Cheers
Ben

Guido · 03-22-2006, 07:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by igorien2k

hes got a point u know. i had an auto mitsu mirage that i accidentally did that too and it killed the end-clutch mechanism so i had to get a new tranny

You must have hit reverse.

Flashmn · 03-22-2006, 11:24 AM

Or he did neutral-drops alot, those can do alot of damage.

Quote:

If you run out of gas on a slippery surface the drive tires can actually lock up - unless you shift to neutral.

I've actually had that happen with a manual car on a snowy road (the fuel gauge didnt work properly), it just coasted. Its similar to releasing the accelerator and engine braking, it isnt as dramatic as you'd think.

In alot of new cars, especially VW's, fuel injection is cut totally when the accelerator pedal is released, I suspect toyota does the same. Thats why they get so good fuel economy numbers.

Tho whats insane is a shift-lock on a RWD on ice. Go from 4th gear to 2nd and lose grip. Gots to have fast hands.... Tho it did give a new perspective to drifting when you went perpendicular to the road

Guido · 03-23-2006, 12:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flashmn

Or he did neutral-drops alot, those can do alot of damage.

Agree. That's why I said; "Shifting between drive and neutral should not cause any harm to your engine or transmission as long as the RPMs are kept within limits."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flashmn

Or he did neutral-drops alot, those can do alot of damage.
I've actually had that happen with a manual car on a snowy road (the fuel gauge didnt work properly), it just coasted. Its similar to releasing the accelerator and engine braking, it isnt as dramatic as you'd think.

Same thing happened to me - it was no big deal. But if you have high compression engine, low weight vehicle and in a low enough gear the engine could stop rotating - which would cause one or both drive wheels to skid. On a slippery surface it would happen even easier.

***kamesama980*** · 03-24-2006, 01:00 AM

neutral-drive changing on an auto is harmless at reasonable RPMs. it may wear out the clutches for the relevant gears, but wont suddenly break the tranny. if you give a tad bit of throttle to get up to the RPM it will be at in gear, its almost unoticeable. if you do it redlining, youll blow through clutches real fast, and possibly damage driveline if you do it hard/often enough. D-R switching can scrub the tranny real quick tho at anything over 3 mph.

carefull with the idle-adjust screw, they usually arent a problem...check the vacuum lines and fuel delivery. also reset your ECU. (unplug the battery or pull the ECU fuse for a minute or so)