Hi Everyone,
I am hoping to get some additional insight from all of the fine folks over here on some transmission issues I have been having.
First the vehicle: 1996 AWD, Automatic Transmission, ~259,000 miles.
Let’s go through the timeline quickly:
About 2 Years ago or so (Fall 2017) I started to get error code P1700 – Speed Sensor Fault. For a while, the CEL would be intermittent and I did not notice anything different about the way the RAV was running. So I didn’t do anything to address it. At this time, Reverse continued to work normally as well.
Move to Spring-ish of 2018 – Now the transmission was starting to show signs of the error. From a standstill, the RAV took some coaxing to engage. It typically wasn’t horrendous and I dealt with it. At the time, I was working from home and if I drove the RAV 2,000 Miles in a year it was a big deal. As time went on, the error got more and more pronounced and I had to stomp on the gas to get moving forward. Easing onto the accelerator didn't engage any forward gear, it would just rev up to Red Line. I have to quite literally stomp the pedal to the floor to get the car to realize "oh, hey, he DOES want to move". However, Reverse continued to operate normally.
Summer 2018 – I dug into the issue and found that the wires to the speed sensor was sheared off. No idea how or why. I tossed questions up here (https://www.rav4world.com/threads/p1700-error-code-found-cause.291675/#post-2640535), got some help, replaced the connector to the sensor and crossed my fingers that the problem was solved. Apparently I did not find the cause as the same issue remained, wouldn’t engage gear, got the CEL again, ect. I put the RAV aside with a “I’ll get back to that” thought. Parked it in December of 2018 and haven’t had a chance to dig back into it. My daughter arrived in August of 2018, so not as much time for those such projects.
Fast forward to now – I had a job change in June and have been driving my wife’s car. All the while thinking, “I need to get the RAV back up and running” as I am not terribly fond of her vehicle. After evaluating what needed to be done with the RAV sitting for nearly a year, and knowing that something had to be done with the speed sensor, I made the decision to send it off to a known and well trusted mechanic.
He got the RAV today, gave me a call shortly after he received it and said, “Your tranny is shot.” Having heard that the transmission in the RAV is pretty robust, I refuse to accept that quickly that the transmission is dead. The reason why he came up with that conclusion: In Reverse, tranny engages right away, no hesitation, no issues (Which has always been the case). In Low Gear, the tranny should act the same moving Forward as in Reverse with no hesitation and engage right away as you are forcing 1st gear. However, in my case, even in Low, the tranny does not want to engage. That points him to an issue deeper than just the speed sensor as Low should basically bypass the speed sensor.
He is not a specific Transmission mechanic, and said I can always send it somewhere else for a second opinion. So, first I throw the situation to everyone here: Does what my mechanic says make sense? Should Low Gear work normally even with a speed sensor issue, just like Reverse works normally? Is the lack of Low engaging a sign of a deeper issue? I was willing to throw a couple hundred bucks at the RAV to get it back on the road when I thought it was the sensor and a few other things to check / fix from sitting. But if I am talking a replaced or rebuilt tranny, then it might not be worth it, especially in a 23 year old vehicle. I hate to call the RAV dead as I am quite attached to it as it is my first vehicle from when I started driving at 17, but I fear I have to be realistic at this point in time.
So, what say you? Is it time to say goodbye? Thanks, as always, for any and all input you can provide.
I am hoping to get some additional insight from all of the fine folks over here on some transmission issues I have been having.
First the vehicle: 1996 AWD, Automatic Transmission, ~259,000 miles.
Let’s go through the timeline quickly:
About 2 Years ago or so (Fall 2017) I started to get error code P1700 – Speed Sensor Fault. For a while, the CEL would be intermittent and I did not notice anything different about the way the RAV was running. So I didn’t do anything to address it. At this time, Reverse continued to work normally as well.
Move to Spring-ish of 2018 – Now the transmission was starting to show signs of the error. From a standstill, the RAV took some coaxing to engage. It typically wasn’t horrendous and I dealt with it. At the time, I was working from home and if I drove the RAV 2,000 Miles in a year it was a big deal. As time went on, the error got more and more pronounced and I had to stomp on the gas to get moving forward. Easing onto the accelerator didn't engage any forward gear, it would just rev up to Red Line. I have to quite literally stomp the pedal to the floor to get the car to realize "oh, hey, he DOES want to move". However, Reverse continued to operate normally.
Summer 2018 – I dug into the issue and found that the wires to the speed sensor was sheared off. No idea how or why. I tossed questions up here (https://www.rav4world.com/threads/p1700-error-code-found-cause.291675/#post-2640535), got some help, replaced the connector to the sensor and crossed my fingers that the problem was solved. Apparently I did not find the cause as the same issue remained, wouldn’t engage gear, got the CEL again, ect. I put the RAV aside with a “I’ll get back to that” thought. Parked it in December of 2018 and haven’t had a chance to dig back into it. My daughter arrived in August of 2018, so not as much time for those such projects.
Fast forward to now – I had a job change in June and have been driving my wife’s car. All the while thinking, “I need to get the RAV back up and running” as I am not terribly fond of her vehicle. After evaluating what needed to be done with the RAV sitting for nearly a year, and knowing that something had to be done with the speed sensor, I made the decision to send it off to a known and well trusted mechanic.
He got the RAV today, gave me a call shortly after he received it and said, “Your tranny is shot.” Having heard that the transmission in the RAV is pretty robust, I refuse to accept that quickly that the transmission is dead. The reason why he came up with that conclusion: In Reverse, tranny engages right away, no hesitation, no issues (Which has always been the case). In Low Gear, the tranny should act the same moving Forward as in Reverse with no hesitation and engage right away as you are forcing 1st gear. However, in my case, even in Low, the tranny does not want to engage. That points him to an issue deeper than just the speed sensor as Low should basically bypass the speed sensor.
He is not a specific Transmission mechanic, and said I can always send it somewhere else for a second opinion. So, first I throw the situation to everyone here: Does what my mechanic says make sense? Should Low Gear work normally even with a speed sensor issue, just like Reverse works normally? Is the lack of Low engaging a sign of a deeper issue? I was willing to throw a couple hundred bucks at the RAV to get it back on the road when I thought it was the sensor and a few other things to check / fix from sitting. But if I am talking a replaced or rebuilt tranny, then it might not be worth it, especially in a 23 year old vehicle. I hate to call the RAV dead as I am quite attached to it as it is my first vehicle from when I started driving at 17, but I fear I have to be realistic at this point in time.
So, what say you? Is it time to say goodbye? Thanks, as always, for any and all input you can provide.
