Toyota Auris 1.4 D4D 2007 won't downshift from 4th to 3rd

Maintenance/Repairs
1

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for some advice on a specific shifting issue with my 2007 Toyota Auris 1.4 D4D (Manual).

I cannot shift from 4th gear into 3rd gear while the car is moving. It feels like hitting a physical wall, no grinding or noise, just a total lockout.

Upshifting is fine 2nd to 3rd gear works perfectly. Also others gears no problem at all. From 1st to 5th to reverse. I can select 3rd gear easily when the car is stopped.

The car recently sat in snow/freezing temperatures for 5 days.

There is no “crunching” or grinding sound.

And it was suddenly no prior symptoms. I moved my car after 5 days stucked in snow and cold weather to change my tires. Next day trying to shift down from 4th to 3rd and it failed. I have tried double clutch or rev match. I have to bring it from 4th to 2nd and than to 3rd.

Could this be moisture frozen/trapped in the shifter cables, or perhaps a linkage issue caused by the cold? Has anyone experienced this?

A "How-To-Post-Multiple-Posts" for this very odd forum software
2

Since it is a FWD car based on the Corolla, I’d guess the shift cables/linkage has collected an obstruction. Ice or debris, something interfering in the shifting. OR the shifter bushings have just completely worn out and maybe even fell away.

Someone who knows what they are looking at needs to open the hood and look at the transmission linkage, then put the car on a lift and inspect the shifter area.

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3

1st off, this would be much easier to diagnose in person…

How cold is cold??

Have you had a chance to put the vehicle in an above freezing garage for the day to see if it affects the 4-3 gear lock out, sounds like the 4 to 3 synchronizer may be stuck/frozen…

Thinking out loud here;
It should have 2 shift cables, one for side to side movement and one for forward/rearward movement of the shifter, it would seem that it has full movement in the side to side and forward/rearward movement since all gears are working forward wise, the only difference being will not downshift from 4th to 3rd while moving, but ok when not moving, so don’t really think it is the shift cables or the sifter, don’t think it would be a shift fork either for the same reason… The reason I think it could be the 3rd gear downshift synchronizer being stuck/seized/frozen is because it only happens while moving and downshifting from 4th to 3rd…
Again just doing some deductive reasoning here… :man_shrugging:

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