I just take off for work asusual and the trans won't shift into O/D until the car warms up. I recently put aused transmission in but the old tranny had the same issue so I think this is obviously a pretty common problem. Drained all the fluids and replaced the trans filter when I did the swap as well. Anyonehave a fix for this or is it just a high mileage Camry thing that Im going to have to deal with?

Thanks a million...

Vito

 

I'm pretty sure that is normal. Most electrically operated transmissions will delay OD until engine warms. I haven't really paid much attention to mine and when it shifts when cold/warm/hot. How hot does the engine have to be before it will shift to OD?

 

Well normaloperating temp on my Camry is around half way on my guage. The car usually has to get up to about the 1/4 mark to start getting into O/D. I've owned several other automatic economy cars and this is the first one I have experienced this with... It's not a huge deal to me... just irritating... Especially when you get on the highway and your running high rpms for awhile until it warms up...

 

Very common and normal for toyotas to act like this. I had this same issue with my 00 celica gts....Its to prevent any damage done till the fluid is warm enough to shift into overdrive. Ive also noticed this with my 05 camry le....
My suggestion is to wait 1 min atleast for the engine to warm up and allow the oils to move...Putting the transmission in the N position should help the fluid move around when you 1st start it. Most engine damage is caused when the engine is cold and not properly warmed up. I usually wait till the temp gauge has atleast moved just a little bit. You dont have to wait for it to fully warm itself up. But better safe than sorry.

 

what you're experiencing is common for new/old cars. it just might be more noticible in some cars than others, especially depending on driver's style or demand of the vehicle.

 

sounds good guys thanks for the info... I would like to let the car sit and warm up but I'm just too lazy for that... Besides, I'm usually in a haste when I leave in the morning. Atleast now I know its not uncommon for this to happen... Ill just make sure I go easy on it while it's cold. Thanks again, Vito.

 

vzehler, I have the same problem with my 95 corolla. BUT it just started this fall when the weather started getting a bit cooler. I own this puppy for 8 years andalways ran beautifully (still does when warm)without any problems even in cold weather. Before I didn't have to warm up my corolla as much as I do now to get to OD, soooo I can't really accept the idea that "It's normal". For the rest, don't get me wrong, because what you say is logical and I somewhat believe you have a point. But I can't accept the idea since my car recently started with this issue (haaa...or probably never noticed it until now). I have not taken it to the shop yet until I do some research. I found one site that posted the same problem but with a 4rd Runner and how they found a solution. I hope is useful. And if in the near future someone has an advice I will appreciate it! Thanks all!

 

ooops... here's the site I was talking about..

http://www.4x4review.com/discussions2/robots/2524.asp

 

From your link.

"Finally, I called in to Pat Goss, a well-known local radio talk show host who specializes in advice on car repairs. His advice can be summarized below: • The problem is probably not the transmission. It is more likely associated with the engine not warming up properly. The computer relies on coolant temperature to control things, including the shifting in an automatic transmission. If the engine isn’t warm, it isn’t supposed to shift into high gear. The computer blocks overdrive intentionally for environment pollution reasons. • Check to see if the thermostat is closing properly. • Check to see if there is a bad coolant temperature sensor. • Concentrate on the actual engine temperature and what the computer thinks the engine is doing because of temperature."

"I took the info below back to the garage that replaced the radiator. They replaced the thermostat with no charge. I paid for replacement of the coolant temperature sensor. That did the trick."

So no OD when cold IS normal, but the engine cooling system may not be operating normally and taking too long to heat.

 

This is stricly for emission reasons. Preventing OD will keep the engine at a higher RPM thus speeding up warm up times. The faster the engine achieves closed loop control, the better as far as pollution.

JJ