Hey,

I was driving home today, about a 3 hour drive and around 2 hours into I started noticing some problems. The car wouldn't accelerate when I was giving it gas to overtake and the RPMs would just climb when doing so. At one point the speedometer also went crazy and started moving around even though my speed was consistent. It did jerk once when downshifting as well.

I did end up making it home safely but when I got to my driveway it was rolling backwards while in drive, since the driveway is on a slight incline. I took it for another drive around the block 30 minutes later and at one point it just wouldn't move at all in drive or reverse. I had to turn it off and on then it started moving and I quickly made it home. The gears change fine but when giving it gas the RMPs climb and the car doesn't move. The D Light is not blinking, and no check engine light.

I know all of this is pointing at the transmission being toast, but I'm wondering if there's a few things I could try before going for a tranny rebuild or parting it out.

1. I read up on switching out or cleaning the solenoids but haven't found any proper instructions on how to do so.
2. Pressure gear switches, is it even worth trying at this point. I'm assuming this is more of a preemptive measure.
3. Transmission fluid flush and filter change. Again is it worth trying or spending money on at this point, or is this another preemptive measure.

It's an 04 TL with 176 km on it. I've only had it for a year with no problems, and I bought it at 162 km.

 

Start with checking the condition of your fluid. Follow up that with reading the multiple threads that talk about the transmission issues and troubleshooting. There has been at least one or two per week the past month or so. I am pretty sure there is a thread in the garage section that is a DIY for the switch replacements.

 

Does it have trouble engaging in only the low gears (1st and 2nd)? If it's having trouble moving from a stand still, try putting the car in Low and taking off. If that makes a difference, then your secondary shaft in the tranny is most likely shot. I learned what this was this week when I went by a transmission builder's shop. He explained that the secondary shaft is what gets the car going from a stop. If the secondary shaft wears out, the car will have difficulty engaging the lower gears, but will be fine once it's past them. It works like the bicycles that engage the brakes when you push the pedals backwards. The secondary shaft is uni-directional. Potentially the car is moving backwards while in drive because the shaft is now moving in the direction it should not be. However, I am just speculating on that, I am not exactly sure. I'm not sure it explains why the car is not engaging in reverse either.

If you are saying the car is shifting fine, then I would assume that your clutch packs aren't burned up. However, I would check your dip stick and a) check the fluid level, b) check for any burning smell, and c) check the color, it should be close to pink in color. If you have a burnt smell to the fluid, your clutch packs are burning up because the transmission is slipping.

You could try changing the pressure switches, but I doubt they will make any difference considering your symptoms. Typically these are replaced to prevent slipping in 3rd and 4th gear and usually it is 3rd gear that will burn up. The OEM clutch packs are not made from the best material.

Another guess is that you may have issues with your Gear Position Sensor or Accelerator Pedal Position sensor. However, I am leaning more heavily towards a failure internally in the transmission, unfortunately.

 

I had something similar happen to me last night I was driving going around 60 and all of a sudden i couldnt accelerate and when i pulled over to stop i noticed some fluid on the ground and when i lifted the hood i smelled burning tranny fluid i dont think the tranny is done due to the fact that i was able to get home but that the fluid that spilled fell onto something hot causing the burning smell i saw some form of gas with the tranny smell on the driver side almost behind the fuse box but i couldnt exactly pinpoint a location due to it being 9:30 PM when it happened any thoughts

 

Thew transmission fill bolt is located between the fuse box and the engine, right behind the intake hose. The filter is close to the fill bolt as well. If you were noticing fluid leaking, it may be that you had fluid leaking leading to low fluid levels, which could cause issues with the car shifting. I'm not entirely sure what low fluid would do, but if you are smelling a burning smell, it could be that low fluid could have led to the clutch packs slipping because of low fluid levels.

I'd see if you can find where that fluid was leaking from and then check the transmission fluid level. best way to check the tranny fluid level is to get the car up to operating temperature (fans turn on once), then turn the car off. Fluid on tranny dipstick should be somewhere between the two holes. If it's not, fill accordingly. Hopefully you didn't burn the clutch packs up too bad or anything.