Trans Pause from R to D?

[Steel409]

Hello all and happy new year!

I have a '03 4Runner Limited V8 with 149,000 miles. When I back out of the driveway, enter the street, brake to a stop, and shift into drive, the duration of time for the transmission to fully (note: FULLY) engage drive continues to increase. I stressed the word "fully" because when I shift into drive, and press the gas pedal to accelerate, it does start to move, however, there is a pause before it becomes obvious that the forward gears are fully engaged. This pause is what appears to be increasing.

While one may attribute this to the frigid temps in Madison, WI right now, the pause has increased little by little, over the past year.

I've religiously had the trans fluid/filter changed every 30,000 miles, and most recently did it this fall. Furthermore, there are no trans fluid leaks.

Any ideas or suggestions? If this is the beginning of an expensive transmission issue, it would be great to know!

Thanks and happy holidays.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

The temperatures could be affecting the issue, there is an inherent lag built in when you shift from Reverse to Drive and vice versa as a way to protect the transmission. As the transmission ages you may notice this gap getting a bit longer; temperature could affect the shifting as well since the fluid is going to be thicker and not as responsive in the transmission. It depends if its a second or two; or as much as 4-5 seconds.

 

[awdjunkies]

If the fluid has been religiously changed as you state, then it may be the colder temps, but more importantly, it sounds like the premature failure of a Torque Converter... But don't panic just yet.. Hopefully others can post their more/extensive knowledge as well as personal findings..
So yeah, I hope it's just temps retarding the mechanism.

EDIT;

BWI does it again lol

 

[03_4x4Runner]

What transmission fluid did you use when changing it?

 

[BlackWorksInc]

What transmission fluid did you use when changing it?

Fair point, but there are plenty of good quality Type IV transmission fluids out there so I assume the OP is using one of those.

 

[DC runner]

Kinda sounds like a slipping transmission. In an auto, that can be a couple of things: gears or torque converter. Someone above voted for torque converter as well.

Anytime you put it in gear and then have to really gas it to get it to move, it sounds like the transmission is failing to move engine power to the wheels.

 

[KingPrat]

Mine does the same thing, especially when it's cold. I back into my spot more often than not when it's cold outside. Make the trans shift once until it gets nice and warmed up.

Nothing to worry about.

 

[Steel409]

Folks,

Thanks for the feedback; greatly appreciated.

I do agree that the temperature would have some type of affect on the fluid moving through the trans on initial startup, however, I've had the vehicle for 7 years, and it's not its first Wisconsin winter. If the issue wasn't significantly more pronounced than the past 5-6 years, I wouldn't be concerned. The delay is in the 2-3 second range.

I was disinterested in the mess that is usually associated with dropping the trans-pan (not to mention potentially disassembling the exhaust crossover pipe), so I decided to take it to the stealership. Am hoping they're more than familiar enough with an '03 4Runner to put in the correct fluid type (plus, they've done all of the other trans fluid changes).

Any way to more properly diagnose torque converter vs. gears?

Torque converter replacement = $?

Assume slipping gears = trans overhaul? Any idea on $?

As always, thanks for the suggestions!

 

[BlackWorksInc]

Did you specifically ask them to drop the pan and clean the filter? Did you see either FIPG or a transmission filter assembly billed out on the RO? I ask because typically dealerships don't do that because Toyota uses a brass screen on their modern transmissions and these do not require replacement unless damaged vs. older Domestic Paper Elements.

I doubt there's enough gunk to cause issues since you changed it so frequently, but it was more or less making sure the dealership did work that you asked to be done.

But that is starting to get in the excessive range which makes me start thinking wearing torque converter or possibly slipping internal components.

 

[Steel409]

BlackWorksInc, thanks!

You're most likely correct as I just asked for the 30,000 trans fluid service.

Listed on the receipt:

QTY FP-Number Description
1 PKTF-T Trans Flush Type T
13 ATF-T Type T/WS ATF

Because the pause has increased over time, noticeably over the last year, slipping internals/TC makes sense.

Trans rebuild/overhaul if it affects driveability?

Thanks!