# Is it my Transmission?

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-it-my-transmission/90791>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Created:** [August 2, 2015, 11:15pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-it-my-transmission/90791 "2015-08-02T23:15:58Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Monico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/97f17d/32.png) [@Monico](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Monico)\
**Post date:** [August 2, 2015, 11:15pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-it-my-transmission/90791/1 "2015-08-02T23:15:58Z")

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Good Afternoon Everyone,

Vehicle: 2002 Toyota RAV4 171k Miles, Second Owner

Problem: When travelling at highway speeds around 60 it will be smooth. When pushing down the accelerator rather aggressively it will shift into 3rd Gear and some times lose power and I actually slow down while the RPMs increase.

I added a little bit of Lucas Slip Stop to the Transmission and it seemed to help but I’m still encountering the problem.

Could this be my transmission’s 3rd gear starting to fail?

Any Advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Jesse

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**Author:** ![kinsha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5fc32e/32.png) [@kinsha](https://community.cartalk.com/u/kinsha)\
**Post date:** [August 3, 2015, 2:44am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-it-my-transmission/90791/2 "2015-08-03T02:44:09Z")

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I assume this is an automatic. If so these vehicles are known for PCM ( engine and transmission control ) for solder joints to fail. There are places ( easy to find ebay google ) that you remove it and send it in. Youtube it as well. There are videos on there on how to remove it. ( easy ) you send it in and it is usually a quick turn around. If you drive the vehicle this way you run the risk of destroying the transmission.

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**Author:** ![insightful](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/insightful/32/2732_2.png) [@insightful](https://community.cartalk.com/u/insightful)\
**Post date:** [August 3, 2015, 5:29am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-it-my-transmission/90791/3 "2015-08-03T05:29:04Z")

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It certainly sounds like 3rd gear is slipping. Most independent transmission shops will do a free test drive for you. Be ready for some bad news.

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**Author:** ![Rod-Knox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Rod-Knox](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Rod-Knox)\
**Post date:** [August 3, 2015, 6:25am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-it-my-transmission/90791/4 "2015-08-03T06:25:02Z")

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While I agree that the transmission sounds like it’s about to give up 3d gear I wonder why no mention was made of power loss in 3d when accellerating? Does 3d work OK when up shifting through the gears @Monico?

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**Author:** ![ok4450](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ok4450](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ok4450)\
**Post date:** [August 3, 2015, 7:54am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-it-my-transmission/90791/5 "2015-08-03T07:54:22Z")

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What about an engine performance problem: say a partially clogged converter?

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**Author:** ![db4690](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/db4690/32/2583_2.png) [@db4690](https://community.cartalk.com/u/db4690)\
**Post date:** [August 3, 2015, 8:05am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/is-it-my-transmission/90791/6 "2015-08-03T08:05:39Z")

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In my opinion, this does not sound like a PCM with bad solder joints

Not at all

☹