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Toyota 4Runner Transmission Problems

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Comments

  • jonartzjonartz Member Posts: 2
    Oh make sure its not just the linkage first. I'd hate to see someone buying a trans and have it be the shifter. Have someone move the shifter Back and forth (With the parking break set) while someone is underneath looking to see if the shifter is moving the lever on the trans. It could be stuck in Neutral with a broken shifter. Then again it could be the transfer case. Make sure the Its not just the 4x4 lever just got kicked into neutral.
  • greggtfarmgreggtfarm Member Posts: 1
    my 92 4 runner can't decide if it needs to be in drive or OD first it wont shift into OD then it keeps shifting between drive and OD all other gears seam to shift fine and tranny isent sliping just wont pic a gear whats up?
  • cruzin95619cruzin95619 Member Posts: 1
    when I put my 4runner in reverse it feels like its in neutral. I checked the tranny fluid and it looks too full. Can this be as bad as too low? The truck has 244,000 miles on it.
  • daddyhall2011daddyhall2011 Member Posts: 2
    I have a 2006 4runner 4.7 8 cylinder engine, 125,000 miles. I starting to get a high pitch whining noise on acceleration. Will fluids help my problem? I really need the advice please, I don't have 4,000 dollars for a new transmission.
  • daddyhall2011daddyhall2011 Member Posts: 2
    I'm sorry I forgot to ask, do you have exact Web sites that I can find help on how to add fluids to my transmission, and info on sensors and other things for this closed automatic transmission? I have to drive 50 to a 100 miles a day and it's my only car.
  • daverochesterdaverochester Member Posts: 1
    My 4runner has been perfect until lately. I try to put the car in drive and it does not seem to go into gear. Sometimes when I am driving it I will push on the gas and only rev the engine instead of accelerating. Does anyone know what the problem is or has had the unfortunante experience. It happened a few months ago and then stopped. Now it has started and seems to be worse.
  • roadrunner73roadrunner73 Member Posts: 3
    My 09 4-Runner Sport Edition has the same transmission problem that apparently a lot of us are having. I back out of a parking space, put it in drive and rev the engine and it goes nowhere for several seconds until it lunges forward with a jerk! If it doesn't do that, the traction control kicks in on perfectly dry pavement with vehicle sitting still and still goes nowhere. The ABS when engaged also acts a little strange. I bought it in Jan and had it at the dealership in Feb. Have had it there two more times since. First 2 times, they could not find anything wrong of course. The third time, I told them to keep it for a week and not to give it back until they got it to act up and FIX it. I also told them I didn't trust the computer to alert me or them with any codes whatsoever. They told me that all 3 issues were related. When I picked it up a week later, they said Toyota told them to download new software in the computer and they will leave the ticket open to wait to hear from me. Said if that didn't work they would replace the computer. It has now been 3 weeks and at first I could tell a definate improvement but has gradually gotten back to it's old tricks. I called today and had them check with Toyota to get the computer ordered. They told me to bring it in Mon and that they couldn't order it yet. Toyota wants them to get it back in and see if they can get it to act up. I told them they could have it for 2 days. If they don't replace computer, I am going to trade it. They know they have a problem and should stand behind their warranty!
  • dooley13dooley13 Member Posts: 7
    You're wasting your time. My 09 4-runner does the same thing. They all do it! Also, when trying to merge it hesitates when you accelerate and starts searching for the next gear - much like a standard transmission would do with a bad clutch. It revs to around 3500rpm but goes NOWHERE! The dealer reset the computer and she ran perfectly for 2 weeks and then went back to the way it was. It's a dangerous machine when the computer tells you when you can accelerate and when you can't however Transport Canada Safety Division don't think so.
    I went as far as I could go with Toyota Canada and I took them to arbitration. I had a board of 3 Toyota Canada reps and an arbitrator. After 60 minutes he decided that the truck was running as it should and sided with Toyota. That's as far as I can go with it. Just waiting for the esp warranty to expire so I can get rid of it. Piece of junk! I would have been better off buying 2 Kia's for $47,000.00 that I paid, at least they can accelerate when you want them to!

    BTW: I told the Toyota Canada rep that the internet is FULL of people having the same problem and that he should investigate. He told me that he's not wasting his time following up concerns on the internet. So, there you go. If you can trade it now you should, if you don't you're just wasting your time. I'll never buy another one and I've had 4 of them, brand new off the showroom floor. Never again!

    Donny
  • roadrunner73roadrunner73 Member Posts: 3
    Thanks for the info. I had read all of your earlier posts. Mine also does the hesitant acceleration thing. I am going to take it this week for the last time. I have already decided to trade it. It has 39K miles on it and is worth more right now than it will be in the next 6 months. I put lots of miles on it in a short period of time. This is my second 4-runner and I guess my last. I LOVED my 2002 Sport edition. I traded a 2005 Highlander for this 4-Runner. It was beginning to have tranny problems too. Although it had 170K miles on it. It always had a tiny bit of hesitation but I thought it was because it was a 4 cyl. which I hated. Anyway, thanks again for the info. Good Luck.....
  • roadrunner73roadrunner73 Member Posts: 3
    I took my 4-Runner to the dealer again last Thursday 9/15, and they kept it for 2 days this time. I was very reluctant that they would get anything accomplished this time either. They decided to check the fluid level this time and it was low! How on earth is a sealed transmission low unless there is a leak? They flushed and refilled the fluid and sealed back to factory standard. I asked how this could be and the rep thinks it was low from the factory. Could be.... Well, so far, so good. The truck drives better than it ever has and has not messed up. I have 40k miles on the truck and warranty is good til 60K so I will be watching it closely.
  • adistudent87adistudent87 Member Posts: 1
    the problem you are having with you 4runner making a clank sound when going into or out of gear is the result of bad U-joints on ur drive shaft..will cause unusual vibrations at driving speeds
  • mrfu2nflymrfu2nfly Member Posts: 1
    when I'm in 4 high or 4 low, it sometimes make a grinding noise when climbing steeper hills. Is this normal?
  • tahoe2baytahoe2bay Member Posts: 1
    Hello bmurad,

    It is now December 26,2011. I have a 1998 4Runner with 170,000 miles. I am having identical intermittent problems with my truck. When starting the car on some mornings, the idle will hesitate and the car will stall out if I do not hold the accelerator pedal down. I let it warm up with the accelerator depressed and the problem seems to be resolved. This problem happens every month or so. On top of that I am starting to have transmission problems. I have experienced problems putting the car into reverse on three separate times over the past 2 months. It will refuse, then grind and back up slowly. Not good. In addition I have a clicking and clacking noise in behind the glove box. Could this be the mass air flow sensor? I suspect that it is time to rebuild the transmission. However my forward gears shift perfectly. Power in the Sierra Mtns around Lake Tahoe has gone downhill. I find that I need to shift down to low drive to get up the steep grades with power. Did you find out what the issue was with your tranny? With the click and clack noise behind the glove box?
  • 4runner124runner12 Member Posts: 5
    I saw your post on the Edmunds forum. I have a 2001 toyota 4runner and the transmission has gone out. The mechanic has quoted me $2000 for a used or $3200 for rebuilt factory. Just wondered if you have any advice. Im not sure if I should invest the money or get a new car....

    Thanks,
  • 4runner124runner12 Member Posts: 5
    HELP!

    I saw your post on the Edmunds forum. I have a 2001 toyota 4runner and the transmission has gone out. The mechanic has quoted me $2000 for a used or $3200 for rebuilt factory. Just wondered if you have any advice. Im not sure if I should invest the money or get a new car....
  • 4runner124runner12 Member Posts: 5
    I have a 2001 toyota 4runner. I bought the car in 2003 and have babied it. I love it. The transmission has gone out. The mechanic has quoted me $2000 for a used or $3200 for rebuilt factory. Just wondered if you have any advice. Im not sure if I should invest the money or get a new car....
  • 4runner124runner12 Member Posts: 5
    Hi- Did you have Ammco rebuild your transmission or did you get a new or used one? I have heard that they should not be rebuilt. I have a 2001 that the transmission just went out in.
  • 4runner124runner12 Member Posts: 5
    I have a 2001 toyota 4runner. I bought the car in 2003 and have babied it. I love it. The transmission has gone out. The mechanic has quoted me $2000 for a used or $3200 for rebuilt factory. Just wondered if you have any advice. Im not sure if I should invest the money or get a new car....
  • fox_bfox_b Member Posts: 8
    You say it went out. What does that mean? Have you had it diagnosed? Is it just low on fluid or is the battery old and the tranny is not getting enough juice? Have you had it serviced regularly? All of these things will affect it.

    On keeping your truck, how valuable is the truck to you? Have you babed it or is it just another vehicle to you? I baby mine so I would want to keep it since it has a lot more value to me and so I would put in another tranny, used or rebuilt I am not sure. What are the warranties of each since that is important? I guess with a used one you are taking chances. I would want to know how many miles on the used one. I am not sure about rebuilt ones.

    I hope this helps and good luck.
  • fox_bfox_b Member Posts: 8
    I just wanted to reply to you message even thought it has been awhile ago. I now have 15k more miles since I changed my battery and I still have not had any more problems with my tranny. I do run AMSOIL tranny fluid in it which I believe is better for it. It is a universal fluid and lasts 3 times as long.
  • dougsupradougsupra Member Posts: 2
    I have the same problem with my 2000 limited if you found an answer please tell me
  • fox_bfox_b Member Posts: 8
    On this same thread, maybe about a year ago you will find a reply of mine that explains what I did that solves the problem. The first thing I would do is possibly replace your battery if it is old or no longer good - have it checked out.

    I hope you get it resolved. Let me know.
  • pking67pking67 Member Posts: 4
    Just had 2000 4runner into the trans shop. Great guy, hooked up the scanner, checked for error codes in both engine and trans, nothing showed up. Then went on test drive with scanner, he could feel the engine hesitating but nothing on the scanner, said was most likely not the trans but a low engine rpm cutout (no charge for about 20min of out of shop work). Suggested new battery, plugs and wires. Trying to get it in the shop this week, will reply if prob solved or not. Thx for assist!
  • pking67pking67 Member Posts: 4
    New plugs and new wires has fixed the low rpm cutout that feels like a bad transmission. Tested 2000 4runner (170k miles) towing boat about 2 hrs of flats and hills, never slipped or chugged along, tight the entire trip. Would really like to see this get to all the people having similiar issue, it is such an easy fix for such a horrible feeling trans problem.
    Try it first if you haven't had your plugs and wires done lately!
  • cocoacigarcocoacigar Member Posts: 1
    I have a 97 4runner I love. It has 275,000 miles. Recently, it started acting strangely when I drive between 60-70mph. The engine revs up 200rpms and then goes back down. When that happens, the car seems to buck a sec and then it is fine. It has just been inspected. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
  • yukon12yukon12 Member Posts: 1
    The 4Runner will go good in reverse an in low 2 but in drive & drive 1 it moves but just bairly. Can anyone help.
  • 1991toy4runner1991toy4runner Member Posts: 1
    Ive had the truck a little over two years didnt have any problems exept a small oil leak under the motor area until about a year ago i noticed it not having power from a stop on a hill i had to manually shift the auto from low to drive also around that time i. Noticed the o/d light randomly appearing along with the emergency brake light. The light issues didnt last too long maybe a week tops the brake light will still randomly appear and go off yet the issue with power never went away i just got it out of the toyota dealership today they had it for 15 days ran all diagnostic checks and found there was no problems with anything they saw and told me no leaks or anything. Driving home everything seemed to be working fine until i park turn off the truck to get gas and there is the truck leaking a few drops of oil on the ground so i drive home (not a mile away) and the truck again has issues pulling o n hills! PLEASE SOMEONE GIVE ME ADVICE i am tired of dealing with this problem it needs to be fixed
  • johnsonjhn5johnsonjhn5 Member Posts: 1
    This summer after towing boat for 2000 miles, my 2000 4-Runner ( 150K miles) developed a pronounced whine louder at low speeds. I had the transmission oil changed but whine remains. I have had regular maint for all of the 150K miles. Any ideas to root cause here? I also saw previous posts about a bad battery for some folks. My battery was dead after the car sat for 3 months. I recharged it and it appears okay.
  • pigglyw3pigglyw3 Member Posts: 1
    My husband has a 2000 4runner SR5 with the same problem: engine check light it is on, the reverse light is on regardless what gear it is in, and it will down shift whenever the brights are on (and sometimes it will randomly downshift while we're driving on the highway). One auto shop told us that the code is for a the neutral safety switch but a toyota dealership told us they need to replace the ECA and wiring harness.
    fox_b, you say that you explained how you solved the problem but I couldn't find that post. We replaced the battery a couple months ago. Has anyone experienced this and if so, what is the fix?
  • bobby317bobby317 Member Posts: 1
    i have same problem how can fix it and were are the parts on the trans
  • t4r07t4r07 Member Posts: 1
    edited March 2013
    2007 4Runner Sport (automatic) here with 136K miles - love the car. Neglected to change the transmission fluid. And for the past few months I’ve been surveying various mechanics and I got varying answers from:
    - don't touch it now - you could do more harm than good
    - sell the vehicle
    - check the fluid and if there's no shavings it will be okay
    I Procrastinated. But then 2 weeks ago I started getting a rumble while accelerating through 30mph. Like I was going over a rumble strip, but it wasn't in the steering or front wheels.
    I brought it into the shop where I get my oil changes. (They had told me two months ago, they wouldn’t recommend changing the transmission fluid.)
    They looked at the U joints, the rear differential, but nothing. They noticed that it didn’t happen when the car was in the 4 or 3 position. They decided on changing the transmission fluid. He told me the fluid was black but no shavings and he didn’t have the concerns he had before.
    The rumble lessened a bit, but not eliminated. He said he was certain it was in the transmission and recommended taking it to a transmission specialist.
    Any thoughts?
  • rudedude1177rudedude1177 Member Posts: 1
    I also have a 2007 Toyota 4 Runner with the same problem. I have been told it was my tires (Bridgestone Revo 2), so I changed them to Brigestone Revo's HT which have less meat. Same size tire, just not an all terrain. Still no difference. I'm interested in what you find. Starting to think it's the transmission myself, but I'm no mechanic.
  • fasanifasani Member Posts: 3
    Hi! I have an incredible nice 2004 SR5 4X4 4 speed auto and I love it. The thing is that when I go from reverse to drive or to drive to reverse, it sounds like a crank noise and you can feel how the transmission connects the rear axle. During driving I have not a single problem or noise. It works really good. Any comments? Thanks in advance!!!! :shades:
  • fasanifasani Member Posts: 3
    Thank you!!!
  • gnollygnolly Member Posts: 1
    New to this forum. My 2001 4-Runner (automatic - 145K miles) felt like it was running rough on the way home from work tonight (midnight!). When I exited the highway and came to a stop light, the engine died. It started right up again, but as soon as I tried to drive it, the engine quit again. Happened 4 times, and I finally gunned the engine a little and shifted from Neutral to Drive and it ran okay, but a bit rough. A few minutes later, the Check Engine light came on. As I pulled into the garage, the engine quit again as soon as I came to a stop.

    Any thoughts?

    Thanks!

    George
  • pking67pking67 Member Posts: 4
    2000 4runner had similar rough idle issue. Pulled MAF and cleaned up sensors, idles smooth now. Look up mass air flow sensor removal, super easy, carb cleaner and q.tips finish the job, air dry and replace. Again, look it up, easy try and rules out MAF issue.
  • javazoomjavazoom Member Posts: 6
    edited July 2013
    Hi - I chased this very same issue for quite a while. Long story short what I found was a broken solder trace on the printed circuit board behind the gauge cluster. The gauge cluster can be removed easily to allow access to the circuit board. I was then able to jump the broken trace section with a small piece of wire to correct the issue. Basically, what happens is the trace was broken where the lighting circuit needs to ground. Since it cannot ground properly the voltage feeds back into the lighting circuit and causes the weird issues you have experienced. Replacing the NSSwitch will not fix anything if it is the same issue I had. You can also replace the printed circuit board for about 150.00 if you are technically inclined as it requires removing the old printed board and re-installing the new.
    Hope this helps – Cheers CJ
  • bajagrlbajagrl Member Posts: 1
    We have a nice 4runner 4wheel drive and is an automatic with about 150,000 miles on it. We drove it down Baja and now are driving it around here. There is a howling noise and when I step on the gas it becomes louder. The howling is most audible in the car. Also, when I it the car into park there is a clear clunk. Any ideas? We located north of San Jose Del Cabo about 50 miles.
    Thank you everyone...
  • schovaschova Member Posts: 1

    Hello
    I just started noticing my 2003 4Runner SR5 started having some issues and did a google search and landed here.
    I had a 90K service about 6 months ago where I replaced the tranny fluid.

    Lately I have been noticing that if I accelerate a bit more aggressively the tranny will not catch when shifting from 1st to 2nd. Is that normal? am I just giving it too much gas? or is this bad? I feel like that is really bad? have not experienced this before with this car.

    Just this morning the tranny slipped again and this time while in second it started making a spinning whining / rubbing type of noise. It goes away when I am back in first gear.

    Am I totally screwed?
    This 4Runner had been babied by my father, always dealer serviced, and never even towed anything! barely has over 100k on it now... I feel like the tranny shouldnt be going dead already with virtually no work put on it (as far as towing and stuff)

    Thank you for any advice in advance!

  • harold52harold52 Member Posts: 1

    I have a 1999 4 Runner automatic V-6 2WD it has 221600 miles I've never had any problems with it I have always keep up with maintenance. I've changed timing belt 2 times with water pump & all hoses & belts and new radiator changed 3 years ago. All fluids & filters changed as needed. I'm having a slight problem with transmission when cold it takes for ever to get it to shift from 1st to 2nd once it's warmed up it will shift just fine could this be fixed by fluid and filter change?

  • shagi_87shagi_87 Member Posts: 1
    Each time I come close to a stop, boom. I feel a bang as the car downshifts. Sometimes this happens after I come to a full stop. Othertimes it doesn't happen. Then when I take off again, boom, a release or something. please please tell me what to do
  • seibenkoseibenko Member Posts: 2
    Hi everyone good to join this forum 
  • seibenkoseibenko Member Posts: 2
    I have a 2004 4runner, last week it developed a problem around the auto transmission, when I step on their brakes to standstill while on drive position the vehicle jecks and engine goes off. And on a standstill while they engine is on and I engage the drive the engine goes off. I have taken the car to their workshop, and then gearbox removed and checked and appears ok, then the convertor has been replaced and still having ttheir same problem, the mechanic is now assuming the connecting shaft from there gearbox to the convertor is worn. Please I need an advice on what next to do and get my ride back in shape.
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