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02 Camry Harsh Shift into Drive When Cold

8.4K views 15 replies 13 participants last post by  Tremendous_Slouch  
#1 ·
02 Camry V6 with 47,000 mi. clunks in drive when cold. Yet smooth shift into reverse when cold. When car warms up shift into drive becomes smooth. Also when driving cold engine shifts at 3,000 rpm under very mild acceleration. Any solutions?
 
#4 ·
Let it idle longer before u drive, soft on gas until the engine and tranny warm up.

I have the common issue and i dont think it's really a problem.
x2... let the car warm up before you drive away. the car idles at a higher RPM when cold to get the car up to running temp. quicker. also, if you have been doing this all of your 47k miles, i would get your engine mounts checked, as they may be broken, hence the clunking sound.
 
#9 ·
this happens for me as well. 2002 auto.

in the morning i have the time to warm it but in the afternoon leaving the parking lot is rushed to avoid the lineup out of it. so i don't have the time to warm it....

is this damaging to the tranny?...

we should do a thread for tranny maintenence measures. that would be helpful.
 
#10 ·
the clunking might be a warn motor mount. And it shifts at a higher RPM when cold because the Camry's auto trans will not shift into over drive until the car is at normal operating temp.
 
#16 ·
Probably nothing.

Change your fluid when you get a chance. At this low miles a simple drain and fill is what i'd do. I wouldnt trouble to pull the pan as its a metal strainer inside, not a gauze filter. The strainer doesnt get changed, only cleaned. If you pull the pan anyway you'll probably find the strainer is still fairly clean.
On the 2002's be sure to use TOYOTA type IV only like it says on the dipstick. I used some other type ATF that said "T IV compatible" on the bottle and thats when mine started having the issues exactly like you described. 121, 000 miles on mine and i have changed the ATF 3 times by now.