I hear that if you put a Toyota automatic in park while driving down the road at over 60 mph it back flushes the governor and helps fix a lot of transmission problems. I’ve actually seen my boyfriend do this to his 1990 Land Cruiser and surprisingly he still has a transmission and it’s in one piece. What I want to know is, can you do this to newer Toyotas as well?
I have to assume that this is a joke.
Surely you can’t be serious.
Hopefully, nobody will attempt to do what you have suggested.
If by “fix transmission problems” you mean “Since you now need a new transmission, you don’t have to fix whatever was wrong with the old one,” then, sure. Works great.
I don’t even know what to say about someone who would do something this idiotic. The only thing on a par with this, idiocy wise, are the reasons for doing it.
You state that you “hear” this will help a transmission. I’d sure like to know where you heard it from.
I’m curious. When he does this, does he get a buzzing sound? Has the parking pawl actually engaged and locked the rear tires? Has he dropped the transmission pan and examined the magnet for steel filings.
Even if you were able to stop the output shaft from turning and the engine was still turning, the fluid flow would be the same as if you were stopped in Drive. The engine drives the line pressure pump. Even if you could get the engine to turn in reverse, the pump would just try to evacuate the pressure line. With loss of line pressure, the clutches in the transmission will release giving instant Neutral.
Engaging Park at any speed puts a lot of force on the park gear, the park pawl, the transmission case, and the engine mounts. If I had any interest in the vehicle, I would strongly prohibit such action as your boyfriend proposes.
Hope this is just a joke!?!
I’m not joking. I was shocked when he did it. He said that his transmission was giving him trouble and someone suggested it and he looked into it. He was really scared to try it the first time, which implies that he does have a brain. What he found while he was researching it was that the parking pawl doesn’t engage at over 60 MPH which is why it doesn’t break when you put it in park. Apparently it helped with whatever he was having problems with. I don’t know much about transmissions and autos are pretty much over my head.
Yes it will help relieve the misery from the transmission, it would rest in a better place.
I’m really wishing that transman would come by right about now.
Allow me to add that he did this about a year ago and he still has the same transmission with all 200,000 miles on it, it hasn’t been changed since this experiment. What I really want to know is if I can do this to my brother’s 05 Tacoma, which is the bane of my existence, and have the same affect
It’s not a buzzing sound exactly, it’s worse… I’m not quite sure how to explain it. Next time he asks if I want to see something cool I think I’ll decline, this hurt my heart but in his defense it helped his transmission and it’s worked well since (approximately a year.)
Surely you jest!!
Don’t tell your brother how it happened.
Doing this has to be ranked right up there in the very top echelon of stupid things to do.
What’s amazing is that after the responses you apparently have this boneheaded beyond belief move up for consideration on another vehicle.
Eventually the parking pawl will break, the output shaft will break, the transmission case will crack and any repair will be a moot point along with the possibility of the vehicle skidding out of control or rolling over.
Some people have no business with a drivers license and in some cases probably shouldn’t even be pushing a lawnmower.
What’s that old saying about fate protecting fools? Your boyfriend did something stupid and got away with it due to luck. No, you should not ever do this to any car.
What I want to know is, can you do this to newer Toyotas as well?
Yes, by all means. They thrive on this kind of tough love! It should be added to the list of periodic maintenance every 15k miles or so. Some newer computerized transmissions won’t allow us to take advantage of these cost effective DIY fixes. They want you to take it in to a professional for service and steal all your hard earned money when the real fix is so simple and cheap. We need to keep the fire alive and fight for our right to select park at any speed!
I’m dying to know where this sage advice was uncovered during the research process. DarwinAwards.net?
Theres some bored ppl on here…
I’d love to hear this one called in to the show!
For some reason, this reminds me of something that happened with a guy I know a few years ago. He decided to test drive an old Suburban 4X4 that was for sale at a local used car lot. I was with him on the test drive, and he was screwing around with everything that was unfamiliar to him on this vehicle. He was complaining that the little pointer that indicates what gear the automatic transmission is in was not properly aligned, and tried to get it to point where he wanted it while driving down the highway at over 60 mph. He shifted the 700R4 into reverse at highway speed. The drivetrain made a very loud, expensive sounding noise and the engine stalled. I told him the only reason he didn’t break anything by doing that is because he had been screwing with the transfer case stick and accidentally left it in 4WD, leaving another driveshaft, differential, and pair of axle shafts to absorb the force of the impact. Otherwise, he probably would have twisted the driveshaft in half or shattered the spider gears in the rear differential.
Regarding this post: Where’s Transman when you need him?
I’ve seen this happen. When I was in high school, I was following a friend on the highway. Her accelerator became stuck, and being young and inexperienced, threw the car in Park. The car let out a LOUD brrrrrrrrrraap before the parking prawl caught, locked up the wheel briefly, then let go, leaving a lot of transmission on the road.
Feel free to destroy your transmission as well. Just because your BF has been lucky doesn’t mean you will be.
BTW, whoever told your BF that this is beneficial in any way is greatly mistaken. ‘Back flushes the governor’? Ha!! Now I’ve heard it all!!
I wouldn’t suggest doing this to any vehicle unless you have a way to tow it the rest of the way to the junkyard and don’t mind cleaning up the mess you leave on the road. Both are likely to need to be done.
This registers a 2 (out of 10) on my troll-o-meter.