Lubegard Red

[Mark_S]

I have a 1999 Toyota Avalon which I purchased new. In 2007, the transmission developed a hard shift. I took it to the Toyota dealership and they told me I needed a new transmission. I decided if that were the case, I would continue driving it until it broke. In 2009, I did a transmission flush using Max Life Dex/Merc, and installed a Wix inline filter. Still had the hard shift. Last fall, I took it to a local transmission shop that was recommended to me. The guy test drove it and said he couldn't tell if if was clutch or solenoid. His advice was to drive it until it broke and he would rebuild it (my kind of guy).

I have been reading about Lubegard Red here, so yesterday I went to O'Reily's and bought a couple of bottles. Today I did another transmission flush (60,000 miles since the last one). Replaced the filter and the inline filter. Used Max Life and the two bottles of Lubegard Red.

When I took it for a test run, the hard shifts were gone. I couldn't believe it, so I kept driving - stop & go, interstate, around town... no hard shifts. This stuff is the real deal.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Lubegard ATF transmission additives, red included, are very good. I usually go with the lowest cost to see if it can fix or reduce the problem first before spend real money on it. In this case you may found a solution that costs less than 20 bucks.

 

[LeakySeals]

Put real transmission fluid in there with the red. Should be even better.

 

[EricF]

my sister in law has a 97 avalon, same issue.. unfortunately lubegard didn't help. :-(

What I did do was upon recommendation from a buddy, swapped the throttle position sensor.
The hard shifting is still noticable, but isn't as harsh as before. it feels so much more better I'm happy I did it.

His explanation was that the car computer wasn't aware of where the throttle plate was so it thinking the engine was slightly revved and the transmission compensated accordingly and shifted hard.

his theory actually has merit, although pretty unheard of.

 

[Old Mustang Guy]

Maxlife ATF is about as good as it gets. My 01 Escape with 180k still shifts like new with it.

 

[Trav]

Anything issues with the throttle position will effect the transmission shifting. A poorly running engine can cause shifting issues also, so its important to eliminate these before doing a transmission diagnosis.

 

[CourierDriver]

Originally Posted By: Mark_S

I have a 1999 Toyota Avalon which I purchased new. In 2007, the transmission developed a hard shift. I took it to the Toyota dealership and they told me I needed a new transmission. I decided if that were the case, I would continue driving it until it broke. In 2009, I did a transmission flush using Max Life Dex/Merc, and installed a Wix inline filter. Still had the hard shift. Last fall, I took it to a local transmission shop that was recommended to me. The guy test drove it and said he couldn't tell if if was clutch or solenoid. His advice was to drive it until it broke and he would rebuild it (my kind of guy).

I have been reading about Lubegard Red here, so yesterday I went to O'Reily's and bought a couple of bottles. Today I did another transmission flush (60,000 miles since the last one). Replaced the filter and the inline filter. Used Max Life and the two bottles of Lubegard Red.

When I took it for a test run, the hard shifts were gone. I couldn't believe it, so I kept driving - stop & go, interstate, around town... no hard shifts. This stuff is the real deal.
I found out about Lubegard to late, but my rebuilt transmission on the old van has it in there now. I use it in my buick and doing great.

 

[Vikas]

Originally Posted By: LeakySeals
Put real transmission fluid in there with the red. Should be even better.


Is something wrong with MaxLife? It is DexIII compatible fluid and from what I have heard, it has excellent reviews in the older Toyota applications.

 

[Boss302fan]

Originally Posted By: LeakySeals
Put real transmission fluid in there with the red. Should be even better.


Not a very intelligent response... Most of us here know that Maxlife is a very good ATF and it works very well with Lubegard Red.

 

[sciphi]

Originally Posted By: Boss302fan
Originally Posted By: LeakySeals
Put real transmission fluid in there with the red. Should be even better.


Not a very intelligent response... Most of us here know that Maxlife is a very good ATF and it works very well with Lubegard Red.


I used that combination in my old Buick with good results. I still ended up replacing the broken component, as eventually the ATF/LG Red couldn't cover up for a solenoid that was truly broken. It did buy me a bit more time.