Check this out.
My 2010 Corolla (1.8L) is shifting a little funny. It has 132,xxx miles on it. The original owner never changed the transmission fluid, so it had it's first change at 128,000 miles. The fluid was pretty dark. Now that I've run it 5000 miles, It seems to have some performance issues and doesn't seem to be shifting correctly in certain situations.
My daily route is through some mountain terrain in Western Pennsylvania. Sometimes when I come down some steep grades, I have to use the brake to slow the vehicle down, but this car will downshift into 3rd gear in that situation. Is that normal for these things? It makes sense to me to drop a gear and use the extra torque to slow the car down, but that doesn't seem like what an automatic does. Most cars seem to slip into neutral when coasting, but this car doesn't do that. It will stay in 4th when I'm coasting, but I step on the break, it will downshift to 3rd. Shift from 3-4 feels sluggish. Shift from 2-3 is also sluggish.
The computer is not throwing any codes, and after watching a lot of Scotty's video's, I realized that I need a deep scan tool to access the data from the tranny.
Does it sound like it needs a new solenoid?
Any advice would be great.
On one of my cars a butchered oil change fully killed the transmission. (Hyundai Accent 107,000 miles) - make sure it’s the correct amount and fluid type (I think it is Toyota ATF Type T-IV)
computer codes only appear when something is really out of wack.
Your transmission (AISIN AW90-40LS) is one of the best transmission made.
They used these trannies in camries and land cruises so a mechanical failure at only 130k miles is almost unheard of.
I’d personally just unplug the battery and reset it to see if that’s just a computer issue
(this may cause it to shift worse or idle bad at first)
Tried disconnecting the battery for 30 minutes. It didn't seem to effect the ide. Haven't taken it out yet, so we'll see if it helped.
I’d love to hear an update.
It's still doing the same thing. Drove it a night on my trip.
There's no way out of it. I'm going to need a deep scan tool to get a look at what's going on.
Make sure you use WS fluid and the fluid level level is good. If these check out, have a pro to scan the transmission. Those 4 speed automatic transmissions are bulletproof and I doubt that fluid change did any harm.
No that isn't normal, you probably shouldn't have changed it in the first place if the fluid was dark. Though the transmission on those is pretty good, that generation Corolla does have a weaker transmission and a lot of tranmission complaints on the forum and on carcomplaints. I wish you the best of luck. (and bump)
I disagree with you on this. The fluid has to be kept clean, and even though it had never been done, leaving it alone would make things worse in the long-term.
@covid-19labguy
You should have changed it at half the mileage you are at now. Now it comes down to luck.
If you want to change it, here is a tip:
do a drain+fill, not a flush, enough to keep the transmission going. But keep the old fluid somewhere in the garage.
If the transmissions start having different problems, put the old one black because the transmission is used to the friction sealing it with the oil one.
In the FAQ, there is a page called "should i change my transmission fluid" check it out its very in-depth
You can also try lucas transmission fix if it gets really bad
Adding to what @Kerem said on the forum. Take my claim with a grain of salt. The reason you don't change the fluid when it's dark because it's gonna cause more friction in the transmission. This will cause hard shifts and can wear out your transmission faster. I think you should add Lucas transmission fix fluid if the transmission acts worse than normal. @Mod_Man and others can help you more on this.
"I think you should add Lucas transmission fix fluid if the transmission acts worse than normal."
This is actually what Scotty recommends btw
@Kerem Yep lol. Would this be effective in this situation in your opinion? Gotta learn from Scotty and others as I get older.
Nvm that I said about "Would this be effective in this situation in your opinion?"
Alright then... If the transmission starts slipping or the issues get worse, then it would be worth a shot. Now? No.
@Kerem I assume it's not for this situation since it should be barely worn on the Corollas.
@alvin
All cars need maintenance. Corollas can last a long time IF maintained. If not, they don't go beyond 150 200k miles. The transmisssion fluid should have been changed <70k on this but it hasn't, now its dark, and if it starts slipping and Lucas stop slip doesn't work, then goodbye transmission.
But yeah, "not for this situation" *yet*
@Kerem You made your point. It's common sense.