Hi guys.

I have a 2001 4Runner, 2WD, SR5 with a V6. It has 200,000 miles on it. I had some idiot lights pop up, and the code says it is the shifter solenoid. Should I try to fix that, or is a tranny pretty much ready for replacement at 200K?

Thanks.

Mine popped that code once about a year ago, seemed random cuz the tranny worked just fine, so i cleared it and it hasn't returned.

How does your tranny feel to you, shift on schedule and firmly? Drain/fill tranny fluid? That helps a lot of folks.

Don't scrap the whole tranny! Shift and lockup solenoids go bad, you can replace them for whole hell of a lot less than a new tranny. If you decide to replace the solenoids, buy the kit on Amazon then either pay a mechanic to install them or just drop the tranny pan, pull the filter off and you will see the three solenoids. Unplug and replace them put it back together and replace fluid.

I did all three of mine on a 97 with 380,000 miles on it. That was like 15,000 miles ago and my transmission runs great.

Can you provide links to the ones on Amazon?

Also, the 01-02 transmissions are not as stout as the older ones.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00FQ...ie=UTF8&psc=1B

These are the ones I used on my 97 Ltd. I know they changed the valve body on later model runners to accommodate the throttle cable being removed.

I think this kit came with an extra bracket so it could be fitted to the later styles. Not sure though.

Mine gave shift solenoid E codes when my torque converter went out. The trans slipped like crazy and sounded like it was full of marbles. If yours sounds normal, give replacing the solenoids a try like @StreetCreeper suggested

It's been a while and I can't remember the exact code, but my '97 gave a solenoid related code once. Whatever the code was, when the guy at the shop pulled it it told us exactly which solenoid was bad. I got a replacement from the dealer and replaced only that solenoid. Probably put another 75,000 on the truck after that before I sold it recently, never gave any more problems.

Of course that one solenoid from Toyota cost more than the whole kit from Amazon.

Also if you're dropping the pan might as well do the filter while your in there.

It wasn't difficult to do at all really. Just drove it on some ramps to give me working room. There are write ups you can find on it.

Mine had noticeable symptoms too though. It wouldn't down shift out of drive. So i would have to manually shift into first and second gear when taking off from a stop. It did it intermittently until it got bad enough that I needed to fix it.

It works OK, but it has developed a whine in the past few weeks. I depend on that truck too much to hope, so I will be doing the filter and all three solenoids on Monday. Better safe than very sorry.

When you drop the pan, check and clean the magnets located inside the pan. If you see big slivers of metal or other things beside a little bit of metallic sludge, you may have bigger issues than malfunctioning solenoid(s).

Here is a pic of mine. It had about 380k on the tranny at the time and I was the first person to ever drop the pan. You can see the black metallic sludge on the magnets, but nothing big.

Rather than spending the money on Amazon you should contact someone in the classified section. You can usually get some good OEM ones for about $50 each. I'd rather go OEM than some aftermarket ones.

What emperical data do we have to support this statement?

My '02 Tacoma gave the shift solenoid E code. I replaced it and about 1k miles later it died a horrible sounding death. When I had dropped the pan to replace the solenoid there were no obvious metal chunks or anything. After it died the fluid looked like someone dumped glitter in it. I would say replace the solenoid, but start saving money now incase that doesn't work. I ended up getting a tranny from a wrecker for about $1300 shipped. You can get one from Camelback for less than $1700 with a $1000 core.

Any details on as to why that is the case? I'm not disputing it, since I hear of those years failing most often.

I don't have any empirical data.

When you are well connected with people that fix Toyotas all the time you hear about stuff like this. I have a friend that owns a junkyard, body shop, and mechanic shop. About 90% of what he does is Toyotas. He told me that the 01-04 Taco and 01-02 4Runner autos for some reason have more issues than the older ones. He told me that the typical life is about 200,000 miles. He has a ton of the older ones from totaled out trucks, and they are all good. He rarely sells the 96-00' auto trannys.

Sorry but I gotta say that's a load of bull crap on info about the 01-02 transmissions. They didn't only come and tacos and 4r, but other vehicles as well.