I have a 2008 Toyota Sequoia at 265918 miles with an automatic transmission that’s failing to shift into 3rd gear on a cold start which will sometimes cause the check engine, VCS and track off lights to come on simultaneously.

When the problem first occurred, all I noticed were the lights and not the actual shifting problem. I took it to get scanned which came back with a shift solenoid failure. I’ve had the solenoid replaced only for the lights to come back on three days later. When I took it back to the mechanic, the didn’t see a shifting problem either so the reset the codes and just ask me to return if the lights came back on again.

It took a month later for the lights to come back on which when I payed attention to the drive and noticed the car failing to shift into 3rd gear. Since then, I’ve noticed that when this happens car will get stuck at 2000 - 3000 RPMs driving at 20-30mph until it eventually shifts and the problem will not occur again for the rest of the day. I’ve reset the car by removing the battery and will warm it up at the start of the day before driving. When driving at the start of the day, I won’t go past 25mph until I notice the shift I to 3rd gear which keeps the lights from triggering. The car will drive and shift perfectly fine for the rest of the day. Again, this issue only occurs on a cold start. 

I haven’t taken it back to the mechanic as I’m reluctant to spend another grand on something that won’t fix the issue. Checking if y’all have any idea of what the exact issue could be. Thanks