First I'd like to apologize for creating a new thread about something that I'm sure has been posted before. I cannot find anything that matches my exact issues and most of the threads I have found are really old.
So, my issues go a little bit like this: Say I am turning from a main road into a parking lot and I have to adjust my speed naturally, to about 5-10mph. When I am at these low speeds I mostly idle through with very slight acceleration, the problem appears when I need to speed back up a bit and I push the accelerator the RPMs go to about 1500 and it shifts into the next gear. It isn't really a clunk into the next gear just a delay. I can tell it is unnatural because the engine revs up an entire 500 (or more) RPMs before going into the next gear.
I do not notice the problem when I am going speeds 25 or higher
However, when I am going down a hill at say 45 MPH and I coast through it with my foot off the gas my RPMs drop, like they should, and when I go to accelerate after the hill I once again rev it back up to have it catch into the next gear.
very very occasionally I will come to a complete stop at a light and after sitting for about 5 seconds my tranny will CLUNK down into a lower gear. This happens very infrequently but when it does, it happens multiple times a day or for a few days and then goes away from weeks or months.
Just a little backstory,
I have had my 4runner for about two years and I mostly took it to NTB for the 19.99 oil change because its just cheaper than buying the stuff myself. The first time I tried to change it myself I accidentally drained the transmission fluid but I didn't catch it because my fluid was black. I did not notice until I added oil on top of the old oil what I had done. So I figured out by pouring my pan of transmission fluid into a container that I had drained 3qts, bought 3 quarts of the automatic transmission fluid and siphoned it into my transmission. Since I measured and added that same amount back I did not set it into the fluid checking mode or whatever or anything I just put it in there and was done with it, irresponsible, I know.
If you are with my this far I appreciate it so much and apologize for the wall of text but I will break down each concern I have and maybe it will be easier to answer them in the comments if they are numbered.
1. I may have not gotten 100% of the 3qts back into the tranny because its hard to get the last tiny bit of fluid in there because at some point there isnt any fluid to push the last bit up against gravity. Also, I had 3.5 qts of fluid in pan after draining and removing oil filter but I counted the .5 as just oil from the filter since the pan holds 3 qts at all times it just made logical sense.
2. I still have the old tranny fluid in my drip pan mixed in with a bunch of oil. Would it be worth looking at to see if there are metal shards? Its been sitting there for months.
3. Should I have toyota change my trans fluid and see if its too bad to get a flush because I am worried about gear slippage?
4. Could it be the throttle position sensor or a shift control solenoid? I have about 177k miles and I have heard that these issues come up around that time
5. I have seen multiple users say they had some sort of "flash" done at the dealership to refresh the computer or something..idk it was mostly in 5th gen threads - is this applicable to my situation?
Once again, if you read this entire wall of text thank you so much I seriously appreciate that. I feel so ashamed at my carelessness I am a college student and I do not have a super extensive tool collection and it is hard to come up with a bunch of spare cash to get a flush/change so I have put off taking it to a professional. I drive it a lot for my job and really really love the thing so I want it to go for 200k more miles at least without having to rebuild shit ya know.
TL;DR: engine revs up a few hundred RPMs before trans switches into next gear at low speeds. occasionally clunks down into first gear while at stop light after about 3-5 seconds. Did a few stupid things before issues. Seriously difficult to make a TL;DR for such a hairy post
Looking forward to the comments
Thanks y'all
So, my issues go a little bit like this: Say I am turning from a main road into a parking lot and I have to adjust my speed naturally, to about 5-10mph. When I am at these low speeds I mostly idle through with very slight acceleration, the problem appears when I need to speed back up a bit and I push the accelerator the RPMs go to about 1500 and it shifts into the next gear. It isn't really a clunk into the next gear just a delay. I can tell it is unnatural because the engine revs up an entire 500 (or more) RPMs before going into the next gear.
I do not notice the problem when I am going speeds 25 or higher
However, when I am going down a hill at say 45 MPH and I coast through it with my foot off the gas my RPMs drop, like they should, and when I go to accelerate after the hill I once again rev it back up to have it catch into the next gear.
very very occasionally I will come to a complete stop at a light and after sitting for about 5 seconds my tranny will CLUNK down into a lower gear. This happens very infrequently but when it does, it happens multiple times a day or for a few days and then goes away from weeks or months.
Just a little backstory,
I have had my 4runner for about two years and I mostly took it to NTB for the 19.99 oil change because its just cheaper than buying the stuff myself. The first time I tried to change it myself I accidentally drained the transmission fluid but I didn't catch it because my fluid was black. I did not notice until I added oil on top of the old oil what I had done. So I figured out by pouring my pan of transmission fluid into a container that I had drained 3qts, bought 3 quarts of the automatic transmission fluid and siphoned it into my transmission. Since I measured and added that same amount back I did not set it into the fluid checking mode or whatever or anything I just put it in there and was done with it, irresponsible, I know.
If you are with my this far I appreciate it so much and apologize for the wall of text but I will break down each concern I have and maybe it will be easier to answer them in the comments if they are numbered.
1. I may have not gotten 100% of the 3qts back into the tranny because its hard to get the last tiny bit of fluid in there because at some point there isnt any fluid to push the last bit up against gravity. Also, I had 3.5 qts of fluid in pan after draining and removing oil filter but I counted the .5 as just oil from the filter since the pan holds 3 qts at all times it just made logical sense.
2. I still have the old tranny fluid in my drip pan mixed in with a bunch of oil. Would it be worth looking at to see if there are metal shards? Its been sitting there for months.
3. Should I have toyota change my trans fluid and see if its too bad to get a flush because I am worried about gear slippage?
4. Could it be the throttle position sensor or a shift control solenoid? I have about 177k miles and I have heard that these issues come up around that time
5. I have seen multiple users say they had some sort of "flash" done at the dealership to refresh the computer or something..idk it was mostly in 5th gen threads - is this applicable to my situation?
Once again, if you read this entire wall of text thank you so much I seriously appreciate that. I feel so ashamed at my carelessness I am a college student and I do not have a super extensive tool collection and it is hard to come up with a bunch of spare cash to get a flush/change so I have put off taking it to a professional. I drive it a lot for my job and really really love the thing so I want it to go for 200k more miles at least without having to rebuild shit ya know.
TL;DR: engine revs up a few hundred RPMs before trans switches into next gear at low speeds. occasionally clunks down into first gear while at stop light after about 3-5 seconds. Did a few stupid things before issues. Seriously difficult to make a TL;DR for such a hairy post
Looking forward to the comments
Thanks y'all
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