I had the the transmission fluid purged and added an additive. Also replaced a seal. Basically, the mechanic (a good friend of mine) said that if a seal is old that there can't be enough pressure to change the gear like its supposed to but when you hit the gas it pumps more pressure in until it switches gears which was the big clinch sound.

Good as new.

Pritch, can you tell me exactly which seal he replaced and also which additive he used?

I am having issues shifting out of 1st when cold. Once it's warmed up, the tranny works perfect.

Thanks

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Hello, I know this is an older board, but I just very recently am having trouble with my 99 4R (auto) getting out of 1st gear for the first shift after it’s been parked for a few hours. Works perfectly after that. Engine will rev over 4,000rpms before finally kicking out of 1st. No problems shifting from Park to Drive, etc. and shifts perfectly after it goes through that first shift. Any thoughts what’s happening before I have a mechanic look at it? Strange issue since it shifts smooth (and doesn’t shift hard at high rpm when it sticks).

It's a temperature thing, Toyota designed it this way. Mine does it too but I don't rev it to 4k rpms, just go easy on it until the temp rises. Can be a pain when pulling out in traffic when cold but it's just one of those things you have to get used to. When cold mine will go to 2nd gear fine but not want to shift to 3rd until the temp rises...can take up to 2-3 minutes.

I'm going to do a filter cleaning and fluid change soon, I'll let you know if that seems to help it out some. The other 2 4runners that I've had experience with in the past shifted out of first and second fairly quickly, a couple minutes faster than mine anyways. Not sure if that's good, bad, or irrelevant

It is normal for our trucks not to shift out of 2nd gear until the engine reaches approximately 120 degrees, it's an emissions things and is totally normal.

Noonan, you said your truck will not shift out of 1st gear until it warms up after a few minutes, that is not normal and exactly what happened to my truck.

Give us some more history on your truck (year, mileage, tranny service history etc). Also, when it is stuck in 1st on a cold start up, have you tried manually shifting through the gears to see if it will shift? There is even a procedure in the FSM where you disconnect the solenoid plugs on the outside of the tranny and then try driving it again (cold start up like normal). If it shifts when you manually go through the gears, then its a problem with a solenoid or the valve body (won't always throw a code).

Unfortunately, I tried everything to fix mine and but ultimately had to put a different transmission in it. I cannot say for certain what caused it but I think the pump may have been on its way out. Oh and btw, my bad tranny once it was warmed up would work perfect. No slipping, harsh shifting or anything other than the stuck in 1st gear until it warmed up for a while. It did get progressively worse as the weeks went by (took longer and longer before it would finally shift out of 1st).

About a month prior to the stuck in 1st shifting problem, my truck would make a whine on start up almost like a PS whine. After about 30 seconds, it would go away. Eventually I figured out it was coming from my tranny. I dropped the pan and found that the filter was completely plugged up with a brown clay like sludge. Once I cleaned the filter, the whine never came back but I think it damaged the pump in the process.

The sludge was most likely broken down clutch pack material from when I got a pink milk shake in my tranny (coolant breaks down the clutch material and destroys the tranny). I did my best to flush it out after the PMS but the damage was already done. The transmission lasted about 12k miles before I got the whine and ultimately the stuck in 1st symptom. I tried everything from snake oil to new solenoids but the tranny was toast.

Lets hope yours is something simple like your fluid level is low (BTW, check that).

Thanks for the info! This is indeed a separate issue with it staying in 1st, not the 2nd gear warm up program. I did have the transmission flushed a few months ago but my vehicle is at 218k, SR5 V6 4wd, auto. I’m thinking some seals have hardened and that’s the issue, which unfortunately requires a rebuild. I’ve had pretty poor luck with this 4Runner so I might just move on and get a newer truck or SUV. I purchased a Center console last week and the 4R doesn’t pull it all that great even though it’s 3,200lbs max. Not that the engine being able to handle it, but the tongue weight makes the back end sit low and doesn’t handle all that great down the road. Pulls my bass boat no problem which is probably 2,000lbs and not a lot of tongue weight. I’ll see what a transmission swap or rebuild costs and make the call. I have a good mechanic here locally that knows these vehicles inside and out so I’ll share what he finds out.

Transmission has been flushed a few times over the years and the fluid/magnets in the pan showed no signs of wear in March. I tow literally less than 10 total miles and always disable overdrive.

Did you try shifting it manually?

It may still be something simple like a plugged filter or a bad solenoid. I would at least try the manual shifting test as I described before and drop the pan. That won't cost you anything other than time and some new fluid. If the pan/filter are fine and it still won't shift even when you try it manually (like mine was) then pursue a replacement if that's the route you wanna go.

Keep us posted.

I dropped it off this morning and should know more tomorrow morning. I asked them to leave it overnight so they could see it worst case. I’ve read that cheap filters can cause problems so hopefully that’s all it is. I think I tried manually moving the gear shifter and it didn’t help. I’ll keep you all posted!

So I don't know if anyone had commented or posted about a manual Transmission in this blog, but I thought I'd ask for myself. So on my 97 4Runner, second third fourth and fifth gears wind from 2000 to 4000 RPMs while moving but the vehicle doesn't accelerate. I believe these are the symptoms of a clutch that is going out. Please correct me if I'm wrong or assure me if I am correct. Thanks.

I would say you are correct. Check your fluid level, maybe even drop your pan and clean your filter but things aren't sounding good.

I ended up flushing the transmission and everything is great now. Maybe a valve was sticking? Anyways, good as new again

Go buy a lottery ticket, you got lucky! How far did you drive it?

Sorry to jack the thread however, i been scouring all weekend and unable to come up with a definitive answer... A few threads discussed similar issues but no closure was given. This weekend i was driving on the highway and felt a few rumble strip sensations on accelerating uphill shortly after it downshifted and then i smelled trans fluid. I quickly lost power and speed and pulled over. I let it run to circulate fluid. I went up and down the tree and received nothing it just revved. While waiting i decided to try again in 4wd and it worked. But still sat it aside finally after it cooled i tried in 2wd and it was fine. I let it sit until the next morning and drove it to the grocery store nearby. Within 3 miles it started slipping profusely. The trans fluid is a little low and fairly brown its been burned pretty badly. I've only owned the truck for 2 months sadly so my knowledge with its history is limited but have done over 2000 miles on it in that time. I believe its the Torque Converter however. I took it to a reputable trans shop 5 miles away and it drove fine if i took it easy. Anyway they havent been able to communicate with the ecm yet... thoughts anyone?

I forgot to mention that it was a 2000 Toyota 4Runner Limited 4x4 with 138k miles on it. Thanks.

Hey guys,
I have A 19994Runner V6 4WD with an A340F transmission, i've noticed that the transmission is slipping. High rpms, no power (also 4WD no longer engages). The fluid seems fine (not burnt), there are no diagnostic codes (other than an 02 sensor). The garage says it needs a full transmission replacement however where i live that'll be expensive. Just wondering what transmissions are compatible for the 99. Can I use a trans from a 4th gen runner? or Tacoma? Or should i try and rebuild what I have? It could be a simple solenoid or a transmission band. I don't know yet. Please help,
Thank you,
Toby.