Hey all!
picked up a 2012 Toyota rav4 2.5L AWD on the cheap. Car has 200k miles and drives fine outside this one issue. Cold starts and 30 or so minutes into a drive, no issues. When the transmission warms up and get to operating temperature engagement into reverse is delayed/rough. On inclines it can buckle but eventually fully engages (3-5 seconds). It is much more prevalent when the engine is under load (ie AC on and fans on high). Had the transmission serviced when first purchased (drain and fill with new filter). Fluid was black but not burnt and the filter has no signs of metal flakes. Normal up shifts and downshifts are normal regardless of temperature. Since it only does this once the transmission is fully warmed I was leaning towards and faulty solenoid or valve body. No codes but I don’t have a tool that can scan the TCM (blue driver). Any tips would be helpful.
thanks!
Well, reverse is often the first gear that goes bad and you said the fluid was black so it hadn't been maintained. I would just assume there's wear inside the transmission and as long as it drove okay if I were you, I'd live with it. You might put some chemicals in that are made for helping clunking shifting. There's a bunch of model parts stores sell. Sometimes it helps, but on those normally that's how it happens when they wear when they weren't maintained, right?
