[McCallister]

And now what...? 1998 Sienna, 179XXX on van, 46XXX on engine. New battery replaced 2 weeks ago. Had a flat spot on the starter, so had that replaced. Picked the van up at 5pm. The following morning, for the first time EVER, there's a hard shift to reverse, first, and second. Downshifting is fine. No delayed or early shifting and no noticable variations in RPMs. No parts laying in the pan under the transmission. Red fluid, slight odor.

Does the new starter have something to do with ths sudden transmission problem? Can a crooked mechanic cause such a problem to occur by tinkering with something?

HELP - I need to make a decision on whether to cut my losses and run from this van, or put more $$$ into it.

 

[McCallister]

C'mon! Help a girl out here! I am wondering if they deliberately put too much transmission fluid into it. We just drove this van nearly 1700 miles in a single trip and it drove like a DREAM. Then less than 18 hours after we get it back from the garage, the transmission suddenly goes to crap? It's a moment with no engagement followed by a big thunk as it comes into gear. And it's as different as night and day from when we drove it in for that new starter.

I'm going to try syphoning off a couple of quarts to see if that will make a difference.

 

[humanoid]

Check the fluid level in the tranny and see if it's low, it could be just a coincidence.

 

[hypervish]

Yes, the starter moves a flywheel which is somewhat connected to a flexplate which can have effects on shifting. But that's only possible if the mechanic broke the flywheel or cracked it. But, first start by checking the fluid level and check it's condition, if it's red your good. If it's a little off, it's not a problem but you should get it changed because it is a maintenance item. Be sure to only do a drain and fill, NOT a FLUSH.