Auto Tranny inconsistencies

[Nelsonmd]

I need to know if other folks' auto transmissions have the same little quirks as mine.

1. When I drive on the highway, when I let off the gas, the tach doesn't dip at all. I seem to remember my other car's tach dropping a little bit when I let off the gas at highway speed. The tach usually does dip a bit when I let off the gas driving around town.

2. Sometimes, it seems like the tranny doesn't disengage right. Last night I was in stop and go traffic, and the engine was wanting to idle around 1k or so instead of 700 RPM's, and the transmission seemed to be gripping a little too much. When I let off the brakes, the idle took the vehicle to about 10mph, which seems a bit fast for no accelerator pedal (it accelerated quite slowly, but still). When I got into city driving, the idle started going back down to 700, and it didn't pull as much when I let off the brake.

3. Sometimes when the idle was at 700, when I let off the brakes and hit the gas, the engine stutters for a second before revving up. I have had this happen before, though fairly rarely. I even killed the engine once while reversing and turning into a parking space.

Any thoughts or common experiences with any of these symptoms?

 

[Nates_NW4Runner]

Nelson,

1) The "dip" in RPM may be due to the 'lock-up' torque converter staying engaged above a certain RPM/Speed (this is common on mine).

2) Mine does a similar thing... While coming to a stop, it feels like it is trying to "push" the vehicle or like it is still in 2nd gear, but when i let off the brakes it seems to drop into 1st and then all is well... i am still confused by this.

3) The stutter off the line could be your MAF sensor. Mine was hesitating pretty badly and even died in the drive-thru until a friend of mine mentioned cleaning it with CNC Mass Air Flow Cleaner available at your local auto parts store for about $6 a can. It cleaned mine up beautifully.
(this will need to be done fairly regularly... i do mine every oil change)

Nate

 

[Doubletap]

2) Mine does a similar thing... While coming to a stop, it feels like it is trying to "push" the vehicle or like it is still in 2nd gear, but when i let off the brakes it seems to drop into 1st and then all is well... i am still confused by this.

Funny, I just bought a 1999 model (sorry I haven't even introduced myself yet) and it does this same thing. I thought maybe it was an issue with the brakes grabbing or something, but it sounds just like what you describe above. I hope it's normal and not a tranny issue.

 

[theizzardking]

Nate

you got a link to a write up on how to do this?

 

[pbcolt]

4Runners.org - Cleaning Your Throttle Body and MAF

 

[Nates_NW4Runner]

Unfortunately not yet... I haven't taken the time to do so. I could try drafting something up tonight if y'all can wait for it...

Someone else might beat me to it or there might be one already written up within this site.

 

[Nates_NW4Runner]

See what I mean:lol:
pbcolt beat me to it...

Thanks!

 

[AKAndy]

1000 RPM seems like higher than normal idle. Mine normally idles around 500-700 unless it's cold. It's enough to move the truck a little, but not enough to get up to 10 mph. When the engine/tranny are still cold, it probably idles high enough to get up to 10 mph though.