Hi, if anyone could help, I’d appreciate it. I put in a new Die Hard battery (from Sears) into my 1998 Toyota Camry. Since replacing the battery, whenever I start the car and step on the accelerator, the rpms will rev up without the wheels “catching” for a while–in “drive.” It seems if I rev up the engine a few times, the wheels will finally catch and the car will drive normally, but this process does take a few minutes every time I start the car. I asked the Sears person, and they said the problem should go away after a while. Well it’s been a few months and I still have to rev the engine after starting the car a bit to get the gears to “catch.” Does anyone know what’s wrong & what I can do about it?
Sincerely,
Not-Too-Mechanical.
Tightening or possibly replacing the alternator belt should clear the trouble. The noise could also be due to a bad bearing in the idler pulley for the belt. The new battery most likely put more load on the charging system so the alternator has to work harder though it should have charged the battery fairly quickly if it was low.
Check the transmission fluid level. I don’t think the transmission problem is related to the battery installation. You may want to have a mechanic (not a Sears person) check the adjustment of the shift linkage, too.
It’s co-incidence. Check the automatic transmission fluid level, today. If the level is ok, have the fluid changed. If the level is down (any amount), add fluid, have leak fixed and change the fluid and filter. These actions may help the problem.