had transmission serviced at approx. 90k miles. now at 94k notice a whining sound as the car shifts thru gears & shifting between gears 2-3 & 3-4 is slow…there can be as much as a full second during the shift.
Did the shop use transmission fluid that meets Toyota specifications?
3 Likes
Purebred has the better answer, but I will add that people make mistakes. I’d have the shop look at it right away to check the fluid spec and level. You might get lucky.
That’s a potentially expensive problem. It needs to be addressed soon. Auto trans use a hydraulic piston under very high pressure to force the transmission’s clutches to activate. That force is what effects the shift. If there fluid level is low, or the transmission’s internal seals are leaking it won’t be able to develop the required pressure, and likewise, the required force. It’s a double problem, first there’s the inconvenience & safety problems with the delayed shift, second, during the delay the clutches are being worn. If the transmission fluid level is ok, you might be able to buy some time with a proper transmission service. How that’s done varies from car to car, but generally that means to remove the transmission pan, replace the filter, and refill w/fresh fluid. Fresh fluid contains fresh seal conditioners. If the bottom of the pan and the filter contains a lot of metal particles, probably time to schedule a rebuilt job. That would be an unusual need at 94K, but could happen.
On a 2008 electrically activated solenoids are also probably involved in the transmission shifts. A failure of one or more of those could cause this symptom as well. A good transmission shop should be able to easily evaluate that as a possibility.