Cold Trans - Delay into Forward Gear, Not Reverse.

[Turk]

Hey,

I drove my Wife's '97 Camry several times recently in cold Mn. weather. It has 181,000 miles.

Tranny history: Original, unopened tranny AFAIK. She bought it w/90,000 miles 5 years ago. I did a few drains & fills a couple times with Amsoil ATF. Oil is Pink, but not bright Pink.

There's a ~4-5 second wait when I put the shifter into "D" only when it sits in cold weather for several hours. After warm, no delay.

There's no delay going into "R" and backing it up first though.

What could that be?

Thanks!

 

[skyship]

When was the last time you changed the fluid and checked the level? If it's been a while then change it again, BUT make certain you use the correct fluid grade, if in doubt go buy it from your dealer.
If changing the fluid doesn't solve the problem then it might be bad news, as the only repairs to an auto box worth trying are electrical or shift lever connections.
Don't experiment with fluid additives until after changing the fluid and doing some real good homework first. Some do work sometimes, but all you will be doing is buying time before the box fails in most cases.

 

[LargeCarManX2]

Fluid level?

 

[Trav]

Originally Posted By: Turk
I did a few drains & fills a couple times with Amsoil ATF. Oil is Pink, but not bright Pink.

Did you do the filter? It probably has a rock catcher in there and some clutch/band sludge may have gotten into the valve body. If its full..

Drive it 30 min then drain and drop the pan (IIRC this one has a drain plug).
Replace the filter and fill to the full cold mark, do a line off exchange before circulating the fluid.

IRC the unit takes Dex III so Maxlife will be fine for it, put a bottle of Lubegurd Red in there also.

When you say pink is it pink or red? Red is good pink is water or moisture in the fluid.
If its pink you have a real problem.

 

[Turk]

The fluid level is right on & checked correctly.

Yea, I guess more Red than Pink, sorry, just woke up at original posting time.

Last set of drain & fills was this Summer, all with Amsoil ATF. It does have a bottle of Lubegard Red in it.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

My Taurus would do this on cold days. First shift into drive would take 2 or 3 seconds to engage drive.

 

[bigjl]

I wouldn't be overlay concerned with a transmission with that many miles on it if it only does it when really cold.

Fluid will be thicker at that time and will exaggerate any minor issue with the gearbox.

 

[rshaw125]

Taking a bit for the valve body to wake up. My old Intrepid has done this for years. I just let it warm up a little extra.

 

[LeakySeals]

Initial thought is its not the fluid causing the issue. But I've found that Toyota transmissions get picky as they get older. Some are ok with change, some are not. So its worth asking... How long have you been using Amsoil ATF prior to this issue? Is the last drain and fill a change, or what you have been using? When is the last time you changed the filter?

 

[Turk]

Originally Posted By: LeakySeals
Initial thought is its not the fluid causing the issue. But I've found that Toyota transmissions get picky as they get older. Some are ok with change, some are not. So its worth asking... How long have you been using Amsoil ATF prior to this issue? Is the last drain and fill a change, or what you have been using? When is the last time you changed the filter?


She/we do want to keep this car for up to about 300,000 miles as it runs/looks great with lots of newer items already replaced.

Amsoil ATF has been in for about 2 years.

I have only done drain & fills and never dropped the pan.

I do not know if a fluid change was done by the PO, but I doubt it. I do bet that it has the original filter...

Sounds like I could just leave it or drop the pan & change the filter.

 

[HerrStig]

Last time my 99 with 300K was a little slow in shifting onto 1st gear on a cold start I did the drain and fill thing with some Supertech I had handy. Problem solved. We have had some single digit days since.

 

[LeakySeals]

I would guess the fluid change could be indirectly responsible. If the transmission was neglected by prior owner, deposits could be present. Introduce a quality fluid like Amsoil, perhaps some cleaning went on partially clogging the filter. Cold thicker fluid could cause hydraulic issues until the fluid warms up, thins out, and flows more freely through the partially clogged filter.

Something like that...

 

[hsd]

The internal o-rings and seals get brittle with age and dont seal well when cold so the hydraulic pressure is slow to build up and engage the clutches. Apparently the D seals are leaking worse than the R seals. Sometimes a seal conditioner additive will help.