Wont Move Forward in Drive When Cold

R

rernst

New member
I just purchased a 1999 4Runner SR5 4WD for my Wife. Super clean, 95,125 miles.

Problem - when backing out of the driveway in reverse (about 15 seconds), the car will not move forward in Drive, or in 2nd (automatic trans). If placed in L, it will move forward. Feels like the drivetrain is bound up when in D or 2nd.

This problem is repeatable when the car is has been sitting for several hours and is cold. Problem not experienced when car is warmed up.

Can drive the car up up the hill and out of the drive way in L, and by then, D or 2nd function properly

After car warms up (about 10 min). No problems at all in D, 2nd, or Low.

Any and all suggestions welcome,

Thanks
 
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When you shift from R to D do you hear or feel it go into a foward gear, or does it just shift into neutral in all but L?

While it is in D or 2 and you press the gas does it behave like it is in neutral?

So you are also saying that if you got into your car while it's cold and just placed it in D and tried to drive, it wouldn't move. Just rev like in neutral, right?

So the backing up part may not play any part in this since it happens anytime it is cold.

Just hoped you could clear up the kind of things that happen when you shift and give the car gas.
 
Cause of this problem is the ecu or ect.

When you put the shifter inDrive, the ect is programmed to put the transmission in 4th gear and then in 1st gear to prevent harsh gear engagement. When your truck is cold, it stays in 4th gear, the ect dosen't send the signal to put it back in 1st gear.
 
I was reading my last post. ect is not a good abbreviation for what I meant, ecu is what you should read. Sorry about that...
 
David - Transmission is shifting into some state other than Neutral, eg, when I shift into D or 2nd, and try to move forward, the engine is presented with a heavy load. Acts as if the brakes are being applied 100%. Obviously, the brakes are not being applied, but the point is that the engine is laboring against a huge resistance, and the vehicle will not move.

So I would rule out the the tranny is in Nuetral.

Charlee, I guess if the tranny was in 4th gear and I where trying to drive forward, it would feel like it was under a huge load - in trying to figure out what was going on I pushed it a little (~ 1/2 throttle and only briefly) but didnt want to push it too hard for fear of causing damage. This morning I let the car warm up for about 10 minutes. No problem at all. You mention an ECU. Is this the same ECU for the engine or is this a transmission ECU? Also, why do you think it would be temperature sensitive? One more question, is there a way to check error codes on this ECU? (I know that most of the ECU's output OBD II codes).

Thank you for your response
 
If you push it hard enough, it will fell like a huge load. You don't need to be afraid to break something since your truck works good when it's hot.
In this model, the ECU controls the engine and the transmission. I cannot tell you why it's temperature sensitive but I've seen this case 2 times before you and each time I would check voltage at the ECU for the 1st gear and nothing was coming out. Sorry but I don't remind the wire, I will try to check today. At first, I didn't suspected the ECU because I had no check engine light or codes, I was thinking about the solenoid in the transmission but we tested it and it was fine, we then checked the wiring, again it was fine, that's when we checked the ECU.
After doing the check, I replaced the ECU and problem was gone...
 
Me Too!!!

Hey, this used to happen to me too. in the winter when i first get in the car (cold) I would give it gas, on the snow the rear wheels just spin like I was doing a brake torque. I don't notice it happening on pavement. So yeah its like you have your brakes on 100%. It doesn't happen all the time. I have 178k miles on my "99 LTD and it has probably happened 5 to 6 times since i've had it. The toyota master mechanic knew nothing of this as a possibility. its always been a mystery. If I felt it was going to be a problem, I would just put it in 4wd cause it just seems you have the brakes on.
 
Could it be the ECU is checking the temp of the trans fluid and not wanting to let it run until it is warm (less viscous) enough? Not sure if there even is a thermocouple that even checks it, but since there is a transmission cooler maybe?
 
I agree with Charlee, if it is not historically a solenoid problem I would go with the ecu. There is probably a different way the transmission holds shift points while it warms up when its cold out normally. I have seen this on many cars. There is obviously something wrong with that part of the memory in your ecu that controls those shifts.

You could let your car warm up and move into the normal shift pattern in the ecu or replace the ecu like Charlee said.
 
I had this same thing happen to my '99 Limited 4x2 with 75K on it about nine months ago. I had the tranny fluid flushed and changed and it's been fine ever since.

BTW From what I understand the ECU monitors the coolant temperature and prohibits the trans from shifting into O/D (fourth) until it reaches normal temp. Though I don't think that's related to the problem you're having.

HTH :)

--Kevin
 
Kev250R said:
I had this same thing happen to my '99 Limited 4x2 with 75K on it about nine months ago. I had the tranny fluid flushed and changed and it's been fine ever since.

BTW From what I understand the ECU monitors the coolant temperature and prohibits the trans from shifting into O/D (fourth) until it reaches normal temp. Though I don't think that's related to the problem you're having.

HTH :)

--Kevin
Click to expand...

I HAD the EXACT same thing happen to me.
So I drained my fluid and refilled then added some Lucas (not sure if I should have done that).
Now sometimes, if shifts hard but if goes in gear.

I thought that were adviced not to flush our tranny??

Please someone correct me if I am wrong.
 
drop the trans pan and see if the filter is clogged this is what happened to me new filter and fluid and 100%
 
if it s clogged replace it for you may as well replace it anyway i think it's like $20 and since you have it apart anyway may as well
 
another symptom is that the trans will hold in low gear for a while and wind out, but that won't happen until the the filter is really clogged ... I had to drop the pan and try and clean the filter on a long ride home, no fun on the side of the road :bash:
 
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