HELP! Transmission suddenly won't shift

P

pearlj10

Member
When I left for work this morning I noticed that the center differential light in the dash was "half" illuminated. As I drove off, the truck would go into reverse, neutral, and drive fine but once in drive would not shift out of first gear. Then the CEL come on. I tried manually shifting from 1-2-3, etc. and still no gear change. So I parked it after driving a few hundred feet. I disconnected the negative battery for 4 hours to reset the ECM, still no change. I did change tranny fluid about 2k ago with Toyota brand for non-sealed (I have the dipstick) but have not done any electrical or other modifications as of late (other than CBI bumpers!). I'd appreciate any insight anyone might have. A bit concerned about this one...
Thanks
 
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Yea. That sounds like either your shift computer died or some other pretty serious electrical issue.

That cannot be diagnosed here. You need to take it in.
 
pearlj10 said:
When I left for work this morning I noticed that the center differential light in the dash was "half" illuminated. As I drove off, the truck would go into reverse, neutral, and drive fine but once in drive would not shift out of first gear. Then the CEL come on. I tried manually shifting from 1-2-3, etc. and still no gear change. So I parked it after driving a few hundred feet. I disconnected the negative battery for 4 hours to reset the ECM, still no change. I did change tranny fluid about 2k ago with Toyota brand for non-sealed (I have the dipstick) but have not done any electrical or other modifications as of late (other than CBI bumpers!). I'd appreciate any insight anyone might have. A bit concerned about this one...
Thanks
Click to expand...

Did you try turn on and off the differential lock button? And see what happens. Trying putting it in neutral and try changing from 4Lo to 4Hi and vice versa, basically all the different 4wheel drive options and cycle through them to see if anything is stuck.
 
I would say bring it to the shop at this point, you dont want to be messing with anything transmission related. It could end up costing you big bucks if you mess up.
 
agreed, could be something simple but probably should be towed to a shop at this point. what year/miles?
 
Help?





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Thanks for the responses and diagnostic table. I found that by driving it (on the way to dealer) in 4 high with the center diff locked the vehicle will shift fine (?!). After a few times of engaging/disengaging 4WD while driving it... it started to shift properly again in 2WD (??!!). The check engine and VSC lights were on so I got a scan that read code P0705. After having the truck scanned the CEL and VSC lights went back to normal. Everything seems to be working fine now. Should I be relieved?
 
The FSM has a complete diagnostic procedure but if everything is ok now it probably wouldn't tell you anything meaningful. The FSM pdf file name is 028005.pdf or you can find it by searching the all file contents for p0705.
 

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pearlj10 said:
Should I be relieved?
Click to expand...

I wouldn't be. If your on warranty then I would have the dealership replace something, even if its not a sure fix, there is/was obviously a problem and not a glitch since reseting (disconnecting the battery) the ECM didn't fix it. If your not on warranty then I would just monitor it closely and not take it on any long trips or to the boonies for a bit just to make sure it doesn't happen again.
 
What I have come across here lately is the transmission connector getting full of moisture. Might be something to check while you wait for it to happen again.
 
mine is a 3rd gen but I had a similar problem recently. The transmission Range sensor and the neutral safety switch is the same part on my rig.. Nobody around here knew that. I tried the new range sensor. BINGO! Problem solved.. And everybody was telling me it sounds like "a big electrical problem".. nope.
 
Good to know! Thanks for the info. I just did a nasty weekend trip and had no problem at all except the AT oil temp light lit up for the first time ever so I shut it off and let it cool, and all was well. But maybe I'll look up the price on the range sensor to be safe
 
Fyi. when the at temp light comes on, you pull over and place the car in park but leave it running. The fluid being pumped through the cooling system with the fan will cool the fluid much quicker and is safer. Shutting the truck off will shut the pump and just trap the overheated fluid in the transmission. so, next time just pull over and place in park...on. in a few minutes or less the temp light will go away....that said...unless you are towering these trannys should not be popping that high of a temp. You need to have it lookedat.
 
Definitely solenoid but maybe in addition to the transmission wiring harness. This happened to my 06' and the harness ended up having major corrosion in it. This is after the dealer told me without a doubt that I needed to drop a $4k transmission in.
 
Yea. I would like the OP to give an update. I am very curious. These transmissions are very strong and I seriously doubt these would ever overheat unless there was a malfunction, unless you were towing at your max in an extreme situation.
 
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