hi all, my '95 V6 Camry shifts fine when the whether is warm. But when it is cold it has trouble shifting. After a couple of miles when the engine temp warms up it starts shifting normal. I did a transmisison fluid /filter change and replaced with dextron III transmission fluid I think. and I still have trouble. A co-worker suggested that something called a crankshaft position sensor may be failing. Wanted to check here before doing anything. Any thoughts??? Thanks
transmission trouble in cold temp
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My camry had that problem in reverse gear, I'm getting rid of instead of fixing it.
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check the fluid level. as the car warms up the fluid level raises and maybe that is why your car is having trouble. just curious, is the trouble you are talking about the car not shifting into overdrive until after the car is warmed up? if so, that is normal.
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THIS IS NORMAL OPERATION!
it will not shift into 4th (the final) gear ... keeping it in 3rd makes the engine rev higher when cold so that it will warm up faster
once the t-stat opens and you see the water temps rise, thats about when its warm enough to start using 4th gear
it will not shift into 4th (the final) gear ... keeping it in 3rd makes the engine rev higher when cold so that it will warm up faster
once the t-stat opens and you see the water temps rise, thats about when its warm enough to start using 4th gear
You didnt read his last post good. He said it tries to stay in first gear. Mine does the same thing when it is cold. It SHOULD NOT stay in first gear until it reaches a certain temp. It should shift from gears 1 through 3 until it is warmed up enough to shift into overdrive, but this is NOT what happening.
^thanks for clearing that up for me xtremeskier97. I have told this problem to several people and they all tell me that it is normal, but I know its not. I have had 3 other 95 camrys and none of them ever did that.
Normally it is not too too bad, but lately here in Baltimore it has been very cold. Yesterday morning was the coldest yet. my car was parked on an slightly upwards sloping hill. I applied pressure to the gas and the RPMs revved up but the car only moved slower then a turtle (I am NOT exaggerating!) The rpms went up to 2000, then 2500, then 3000, 3300, but i barely moved. I didnt want to rev it up too much since the engine was still cold so I sat parked in the street while I waited for the engine to warm up. I dont think that is not normal.
Also, I checked and the fluid level is fine.
Normally it is not too too bad, but lately here in Baltimore it has been very cold. Yesterday morning was the coldest yet. my car was parked on an slightly upwards sloping hill. I applied pressure to the gas and the RPMs revved up but the car only moved slower then a turtle (I am NOT exaggerating!) The rpms went up to 2000, then 2500, then 3000, 3300, but i barely moved. I didnt want to rev it up too much since the engine was still cold so I sat parked in the street while I waited for the engine to warm up. I dont think that is not normal.
Also, I checked and the fluid level is fine.
What you just described about it barely moving up the hill, is a slipping transmission, possibly caused by low tranny fluid. Get your car up to normal operating temps (drive on the interstate for about 10 minutes) and check your tranny fluid level on a flat surface. If it below the full line, add some. My wife's camry did the same thing, and it was low on fluid (leaking gasket).
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do you use your parking brake? on really cold days with some moisture in the air, they can freeze even though the lever is released.
I dont use mine.
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I am having the same issue when its very cold it barely moves did you find the cause ?
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When was the last time you checked your transmission fluid level? And you don't check it like you would engine oil. The car needs about 20-30 miles driven, then parked on a flat level surface, engine remains running, then the dipstick pulled to read transmission fluid level properly. Also, you are looking at a 14 year old thread here.
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Easy fix. Keep draining and filling your transmission with new fluid, driving it a few miles between drain and fills, until the fluid draining out is absolutely indistinguishable from the new fluid you are putting in, and you will have no more cold weather problems. I have seen this happen on two of my cars and fixed them in this way. I know the factory says you do not have to drain and fill that often, but if you live in a climate that gets very cold, as I do on the Great Lakes, then you have to do this at least once each year, and preferably once in the spring and once in the fall if you really want to keep on top of it. If anyone wants their transmission and engine on any car to last hundreds of thousands of miles, then ignore manufacturer's recommendations and change your tranny fluid every year, and change your engine oil every 2500 to 3000 miles max.
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We can't check transmission fluid level on Camry 2011 It seems to be sealed transmission so there is no gauge to contrôle the level I guess I will have to take it to the garage to change the fluid and see if it works
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This thread started out with a 1995 V6 Camry. When you posted, you didn't say what you owned, so one can only assume then. Maybe should should start a new thread?
Anyway, yes you can check the fluid level on your 2011 Camry automatic transmission. Your approach is different though. First elevate the vehicle (so you can get under it safely - needs to be level when elevated. Open the fill plug (need to remove front left wheel and splash guard nearest transmission to access). You need to have an infrared thermometer to measure the temperature of the transmission fluid pan. Start the engine, work through all the gear with the shifter (don't move the car) several times.Monitor the temperature of the fluid pan, when it gets to 102-105 deg F, open the drain plug at the bottom of the pan. A little bit of fluid will drain out. If nothing more that a little drains out, be prepared to add fluid at the fill plug until fluid starts draining out (you would be well served to have a funnel with a 2-3 ft. long clear tube on it that you can drop the tube down from the battery area to put into the fill plug). Add fluid until it drains more at a rate more than a trickle out the drain plug. Wait until the fluid draining slows down to a trickle. Replace the drain plug. Turn off the engine. Replace the fill plug, the splash guard, the left front wheel, and let the car down to the floor.
Note: If what drains out is dark, you should be flushing the transmission fluid as the fluid may not have been changed routinely as needed.
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Ok thank you I will have it done. Hope it works.
But its more difficult to estimate the right level of fluid. They should have kept the gauge as before, its much more convenient....
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It was never changed I have 140 000 miles on it since 2011
Does that mean transmission has been a little damaged?
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I think you will be fine. It is not a big job. If the fluid has never been changed, then just go to the auto-parts store and get a filter and gasket for the pan and then drop the pan, clean the inside of it and put it back on with the new filter. The owner's manual for these cars tells you how much fluid to put back in for a drain and fill. You may have to drain and fill it a half-dozen times give or take before the fluid is clear. There is a drain plug on the tranny pans for these cars so it is super-easy to just undo the plug, drain the fluid out and then refill it with the amount the owner's manual says your car needs.
I had two 4cyl automatics that were both slipping in really cold weather when they were cold, and after I did this to them their transmissions have worked perfectly for years, but both of them had very dirty fluid in them which was probably never changed. Transmission fluid is very often not thought about by automobile owners, and I suspect that quite a large percentage of transmission failures in automobiles could have been prevented by a simple yearly drain and fill. It does not take a lot of fluid to do each drain and fill, so it is not going to break the bank, and of course it is an insignificant cost compared to getting a transmission replaced or rebuilt, or having to buy another automobile.
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Dropping the pan for fluid removal only gets about 20-25% of the old out. That wouldn't be very significant for fluid that has been in a transmission as long as the OP's. I prefer the flush method to get almost all of it out (using the trans fluid cooler hose to pump out while fresh is added) and planning to add about 200% of the total fluid capacity of the transmission to get a majority of the old out. There are many, many different thoughts on this. All I know is I never ever had any kind of transmission issue with my vehicles, and given I'm in my upper 60's now, at least I know my thoughts are working - for me at least.
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Check your owner's manual and put in the type of fluid it calls for, and be sure you put in the proper fluid.
I am not sure what kind of filtration system your particular transmission has, some have a metal screen that does not really filter but just blocks debris from getting sucked up into the trans and when you shut the engine off the fluid flows back down and flushes the screen clean again, so does not have to be changed, but some can begin to deteriorate over time if the fluid becomes acidic. So worth dropping the pan to at least inspect its condition. Then there are flat filters with cloth-like filter material, they do not get clogged very easily, they are a very low-pressure system, no real PSI pressure pushing fluid through, more just suction from the pickup tube, they can go a very long time without being changed, But 140K and never had the fluid changed? I would go ahead and change that out as it has had dirtier than normal fluid to deal with. Then some transmissions do have a second actual filter, like a tiny version of what you use for your engine oil. That should for sure be changed out. So I would for sure drop the pan, clean it up, check the magnets for any metal chunks etc. I would do a couple more drain and fills before dropping the pan and changing the filter/filters so they can start out with clean fluid. Hopefully, the clutch material is still in good shape and not depending on dirty fluid for friction, removing all that dirty fluid could cause you to experience some slippage, but that just means your clutch material is pretty much gone already. Stay up on the trans fluid changes in the future.
I am not sure what kind of filtration system your particular transmission has, some have a metal screen that does not really filter but just blocks debris from getting sucked up into the trans and when you shut the engine off the fluid flows back down and flushes the screen clean again, so does not have to be changed, but some can begin to deteriorate over time if the fluid becomes acidic. So worth dropping the pan to at least inspect its condition. Then there are flat filters with cloth-like filter material, they do not get clogged very easily, they are a very low-pressure system, no real PSI pressure pushing fluid through, more just suction from the pickup tube, they can go a very long time without being changed, But 140K and never had the fluid changed? I would go ahead and change that out as it has had dirtier than normal fluid to deal with. Then some transmissions do have a second actual filter, like a tiny version of what you use for your engine oil. That should for sure be changed out. So I would for sure drop the pan, clean it up, check the magnets for any metal chunks etc. I would do a couple more drain and fills before dropping the pan and changing the filter/filters so they can start out with clean fluid. Hopefully, the clutch material is still in good shape and not depending on dirty fluid for friction, removing all that dirty fluid could cause you to experience some slippage, but that just means your clutch material is pretty much gone already. Stay up on the trans fluid changes in the future.
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