I have a 1999 Toyota V6 AT Camry 118,000 miles. I have the Transmission fluid changed regularly. However, the last time they changed it. The car would hang in 3rd until the transmission warms up. (Also, the fluid level always seems high on the stick.) Does not happen when it's 70+ outside. Any ideas? What brand or type of AT Fluid do you use?
PS: they car was built in Japan. There seems to be different parts for this vs the American made versions.
Thank you in advance.
iQuack
DMB Jax FLA
I have a number of questions (and some comments):
1. Was the service a drain-and-fill, or a flush? If it was a flush, that's worse than doing nothing;
2. Was it done at a transmission shop, dealership or independent shop?
3. What kind of ATF was used? Was it OEM? Dexron VI?
4. What ATF was used in prior services?
5. Has the screen/filter been changed?
6. Are you reading the dipstick correctly?
Because the new fluid is thin, tranny dipsticks can be notoriously hard to read. See this short article on how to read a transmission dipstick (with pictures):
http://www.agcoauto.com/content/news/p2_articleid/89
2. The services have always been at the dealerships. This has happened before and at that time it was the winter I had it changed.
1. (Always heard to have a flush done. Flush was done before as well no issues.)
So the second time I had fluid change only and it did this very thing it's doing now. But like i said, that was in the winter and I took the car back and they fixed the issue (changed fluid again, I assumed, was no indication of anything else done.) They were surprised about this issue at the time.
1. This last service was over a year ago and I never drove on any cold days until this year. So the issue returned.
3. & 4. OEM fluid or what ever the dealerships use.
5. They have never indicated a screen needed to be replaced. (hence the flush) If you flush the tranny, this supposedly take care of that?
6. Yes, I'm sure I read it correctly. The fluid is thin and runny as well. It's always read overfull though. {black}:blushed: Dealers have said it's supposed to read that way. Yes I bought the car new. Just snapped a Pict of the stick, the car is cold.
Thank you so much for your reply.
DMB
Well, it's best to read it on both sides, and take the lowest reading, according to the AgcoAuto page. If it is overfilled, your transmission seals are going to leak. See Scotty's explanation, here.
As for transmission flushes, THEY ARE BAD, BAD, BAD. In fact, they may be the cause of your tranny problems.
See here for more details: http://www.agcoauto.com/content/news/p2_articleid/168
Thank you so much for the link. I will definitely not do the flush again! Other than the fluid level being high the tranny runs normal when hot. Anything above 50 °F and it wont hesitate to shift into OD. BTW the photo there is wrong, I am uploading the correct photo with the car running and checking the fluid. As it is Cold the fluid level reads 1/4 inch above Hot. Cold being 78 °F.
Two questions:
1. You say that the engine is cold? You won't get an accurate reading if it's cold. You have to take the reading when the engine is hot, after the fans start cooling. (See the agcoauto link, in a previous reply).
2. Is that reading the lowest point on either side of the dipstick?