Hey guys, it's been a while since i been on here but i recently had a 2003 rav4 L. i sold it now i bought a 2001 Rav4 4x2 to fix up. it has a slight issue it won't shift past 2nd gear and no reverse. The car goes into drive and i can drive i but won't kick into reverse. It acts like it wants to but doesn't. The check engine read a code for solenoid A and B. However toyota does not list a A or B they have a 3 way solenoid a lockout and pressure. I am a aware of the ecu issue as well but my question is what do you guys think it could be. If no reverse is it really a solenoid or would the faulty ecu's these car's have be what's causing the whole issue. I already bought a new transfilter and fluid just wondering when i drop the pan which solenoid i need to check. Any advice will help.
2001 Rav4 No reverse and won't shift past 2nd
Smitsrav
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Could you send me the links as well? Thanks
Thank you so much, your post gave me the convidence to buy a broken Rav4 with the exact same symptoms, then I fixed it in a few hours exactly like you said.
Thanks. I lost reverse and 3rd and 4th slip so I'm attempting this fix on U140F automatic transmission.
Questions: How do you tell if my direct drum is a 3 or 4 gear? I count a total of 6 rings inside my U140F's direct drum on a 2.4L AWD Toyota. I see 3 gear rings that have the teeth facing outwards each separated by rings with teeth facing inward.
Are the direct drum rings the rings inside the direct drum? Will buying a direct drum assembly include all the direct drum clutch rings needed for this fix?
How do you tell a bad clutch ring from a good one? I removed the rings from inside the direct drum. The inner most rings have wome grooves circumventing the rings about 50-60% of each ring's surface area is black 8n color and about 30-40% shows metal I color.
Questions: How do you tell if my direct drum is a 3 or 4 gear? I count a total of 6 rings inside my U140F's direct drum on a 2.4L AWD Toyota. I see 3 gear rings that have the teeth facing outwards each separated by rings with teeth facing inward.
Are the direct drum rings the rings inside the direct drum? Will buying a direct drum assembly include all the direct drum clutch rings needed for this fix?
How do you tell a bad clutch ring from a good one? I removed the rings from inside the direct drum. The inner most rings have wome grooves circumventing the rings about 50-60% of each ring's surface area is black 8n color and about 30-40% shows metal I color.
Do you mean 3 or 4 clutch? Mine was 4 (8 rings). It seems yours is 3, I guess. In my case the drum was still ok, I only had to replace the clutch. It was obvious it needed replacement.
The rear sun gear was broken though.
Don't forget to fix the CPU's bad soldering, so the problem doesn't happen again.
Yes "clutch" that's what I meant. I have a 3 clutch direct drum. Figuring out what is damaged and what to buy is confusing because it's not clear if a direct drum assembly being sold includes the parts that nest inside the direct drum like the direct piston, direct clutch, rear sun gear or must these all be purchased separate as distinct parts. The inner most clutch ring inside my direct drum seem coated in black gunk so I figure that's toast. In gonna replace the direct drum and direct clutch and sun gear and hope that fixes things. I also got P0776 "Shift Solenoid D Performance Stuck Off" and a P0766 "Pressure Control Solenoid B Stuck Off" OBDII codes as well.
I bought a master kit and valve body zip kit and and replaced case and valve body seals / o rings, replaced the direct drum with a remanufactured part having the direct clutches etc installed. I replaced the sungear with a remanufactured part as well. I replaced the remaining clutch packs ( 2nd brake clutch, first-reverse clutches), all accessible through the rear case cover behind the tire. I discovered the forward drum steel clutches and friction plates were burned and grooved and the transmission speed sensor nearest to it seemed a little melted so I replaced both transmission speed sensors. The deeper I dug into the rear case components the better things looked. Anyways, I reassembled everything, started up and I lost everything. She won't engage in any gear or engage reverse. Nada. I then checked the linkage and valve body lever and they're connected so it's likely not that. I was thinking stuck brake caliper but it's not that as I can rotate the front tires when they're off the ground on a jack. I'm out of ideas. Any suggestions?
I cracked the rear case back open and pulled everything from the direct drum, sun gear, one way clutch, and sunshell and stopped when I reached the rear planetary. Everything up to the rear planetary was seized and wouldn't turn when I manually attempted to turn them. Fortunately I didn't find any damage. I verified that the inner piece if the one way clutch spun counterclockwise and the outer portion spun clockwise, the sungear and direct drum moved clockwise before sealing back up the case so I'm unsure why those hard parts bound up as they did.
I'm going to put ATF in a spray bottle and spray things down wicked good upon reassembly. Maybe the transmission having 165,000 miles doesn't like my partial rebuild.
I'm going to put ATF in a spray bottle and spray things down wicked good upon reassembly. Maybe the transmission having 165,000 miles doesn't like my partial rebuild.
Did you fix the ECU first?
Yes. The ECU was among the first things I changed. I got a remanufactured ECU unit from FlagshipOne.
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Just want to drop in. I made an account specifically for this thread, which appears to still remain active. I purchased a 2001 Toyota Rav 4 AWD Auto at CoPart in Alaska. Mine was shifting terribly, and felt like it was being slammed into park. Ordered the new ECU from FlagShipOne which took a long long time to arrive. Swapped it out, car drives great now, but does not have a L (first) gear. So, myself not wanting to invest in a new transmission, found this thread thankfully! I will be in the same boat as you guys trying to build up the courage to tear into this and replace parts. I just replaced a transfer case on my 97 Tacoma myself in about 8 hours total, so I think I can do this.
Also I have the shift solenoid B error, that's the only one present.
Also I have the shift solenoid B error, that's the only one present.
This video series walks through a complete teardown and rebuild of a U140 transmission. It's what I followed because its well organized, detailed and made for the home mechanic. It's not intimidating once you're in and get familiar.
Disassembly:
Reassembly:
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Kindly send me the links and videos. My 2004 Rav is acting up same way. I have already repaired my ECM, worked for a while then, no reverse at all suddenly.
juliuskwametay@gmail.com
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I would like to have the links please
Hey all,
Just joined the forum to share my experience with similar issues. 2003 rav4 automatic 2wd. I drove the car for over a year with no issues, then one day it started shifting funny, slamming into gears, feeling of braking randomly, etc. I did a quick transmission flush, (even though the old fluid was spotless) and that did nothing. I then ordered a rebuilt ecu for the car from ebay and it fixed all the issues.
Fast forward about 8 months and one day on the freeway the trans started to feel like it was slipping. The problem progressed for about a mile until the car would not move forward at all. Coasted off the freeway and by the time I reached the nearest parking space the car would not move at all in any gear. No forward, reverse, nothing. Tried disconnecting the battery for 30 minutes, cycling the key, no dice. There was also a whirring noise coming from the transmission. I figured the transmission had finally given up the ghost due to the fact that I regularly tow a trailer with way too much weight for this little guy. So I had the car towed home and ploped in the driveway.
The next day I was just curious, so I went out and started the car. To my surprise the whirring noise was gone and the car functioned perfectly. Drive, reverse, etc were all working great with smooth shifts between. So obviously at this point I'm thinking the transmission is not complete junk. I take the car for a drive and after about 5 minutes it starts to shift funny again. I turned around and by the time I got home the car would barely move. As I pulled in the driveway it was back to nothing. No forward or reverse gears again.
Let the car sit for 10 minutes, no change. Let the car sit overnight, same exact story, drives fine for 5 minutes, then completely loses composure.
I contacted the ecu rebuilder who kindly offered to inspect the ecu. I sent him my ecu, he responded about a week later saying that he found no issues, but would send a replacement anyways. The "replacement" arrived in a week, but it was obviously just the same unit with new warranty stickers slapped over the old one. I reached out again and he said he would have some new cores coming in a week and he would send me a freshly rebuilt one from that group.
We played email tag for about 2 weeks, then life got in the way and the car got pushed further and further back on my schedule until I completely forgot about it. It was parked out of the way and I have other vehicles to drive so it wasn't on my mind.
3 months later I finally remembered to email him and ask what the deal was. One of his employees responded with a phone number to call, which I did, and surprise, no answer. The next day I requested a refund and luckily they sent it no questions asked.
I then bought another reman ecu from a different company. That ecu arrived today and I put it in and went for a drive. Keep in mind that the car has been sitting in the same spot for about 4 months at this point and the battery was dead to the point that the dome light wouldn't turn on. Jumped the car and off I went. I drove about 5 miles into town with only a slight hiccup on 2nd to 3rd shifts. Drove around town making sure to stop and go as much as possible to make sure the trans really was working. Went to Dutch Bros, got coffee, then headed the car wash.
Immediately after the car wash the whirring noise came back. No clue if it was just bad timing or related to the water from the car wash. Either way I didn't even make it 2 miles before the car was back to having no forward or reverse gears.
When I stopped on the side of the road I unplugged then plugged back in all the connectors to the ecu. I started the car and it shifted very poorly up to 3rd then immediately back to nothing. I found that if I put the car in neutral while I was moving, turned the engine off, then re started the car, I would get a quick burst of a couple gears then back to nothing. That strategy was enough for me to get the car back home.
I've been sitting here racking my brain about the problem since. I came across this thread and at this point have nothing to lose, so tomorrow it comes apart. It is currently sitting on the lift in my shop waiting for me to figure out its issue. I figured since the car can go a solid 5 minutes shifting perfectly after sitting over night that there is no way it is a mechanical issue, but after all this I really have no other ideas.
I will be sure to post updates as to what I find as soon as possible. Thank you for all the great info and I'll do my best to contribute! Here's a picture of the sad rav for reference.
Just joined the forum to share my experience with similar issues. 2003 rav4 automatic 2wd. I drove the car for over a year with no issues, then one day it started shifting funny, slamming into gears, feeling of braking randomly, etc. I did a quick transmission flush, (even though the old fluid was spotless) and that did nothing. I then ordered a rebuilt ecu for the car from ebay and it fixed all the issues.
Fast forward about 8 months and one day on the freeway the trans started to feel like it was slipping. The problem progressed for about a mile until the car would not move forward at all. Coasted off the freeway and by the time I reached the nearest parking space the car would not move at all in any gear. No forward, reverse, nothing. Tried disconnecting the battery for 30 minutes, cycling the key, no dice. There was also a whirring noise coming from the transmission. I figured the transmission had finally given up the ghost due to the fact that I regularly tow a trailer with way too much weight for this little guy. So I had the car towed home and ploped in the driveway.
The next day I was just curious, so I went out and started the car. To my surprise the whirring noise was gone and the car functioned perfectly. Drive, reverse, etc were all working great with smooth shifts between. So obviously at this point I'm thinking the transmission is not complete junk. I take the car for a drive and after about 5 minutes it starts to shift funny again. I turned around and by the time I got home the car would barely move. As I pulled in the driveway it was back to nothing. No forward or reverse gears again.
Let the car sit for 10 minutes, no change. Let the car sit overnight, same exact story, drives fine for 5 minutes, then completely loses composure.
I contacted the ecu rebuilder who kindly offered to inspect the ecu. I sent him my ecu, he responded about a week later saying that he found no issues, but would send a replacement anyways. The "replacement" arrived in a week, but it was obviously just the same unit with new warranty stickers slapped over the old one. I reached out again and he said he would have some new cores coming in a week and he would send me a freshly rebuilt one from that group.
We played email tag for about 2 weeks, then life got in the way and the car got pushed further and further back on my schedule until I completely forgot about it. It was parked out of the way and I have other vehicles to drive so it wasn't on my mind.
3 months later I finally remembered to email him and ask what the deal was. One of his employees responded with a phone number to call, which I did, and surprise, no answer. The next day I requested a refund and luckily they sent it no questions asked.
I then bought another reman ecu from a different company. That ecu arrived today and I put it in and went for a drive. Keep in mind that the car has been sitting in the same spot for about 4 months at this point and the battery was dead to the point that the dome light wouldn't turn on. Jumped the car and off I went. I drove about 5 miles into town with only a slight hiccup on 2nd to 3rd shifts. Drove around town making sure to stop and go as much as possible to make sure the trans really was working. Went to Dutch Bros, got coffee, then headed the car wash.
Immediately after the car wash the whirring noise came back. No clue if it was just bad timing or related to the water from the car wash. Either way I didn't even make it 2 miles before the car was back to having no forward or reverse gears.
When I stopped on the side of the road I unplugged then plugged back in all the connectors to the ecu. I started the car and it shifted very poorly up to 3rd then immediately back to nothing. I found that if I put the car in neutral while I was moving, turned the engine off, then re started the car, I would get a quick burst of a couple gears then back to nothing. That strategy was enough for me to get the car back home.
I've been sitting here racking my brain about the problem since. I came across this thread and at this point have nothing to lose, so tomorrow it comes apart. It is currently sitting on the lift in my shop waiting for me to figure out its issue. I figured since the car can go a solid 5 minutes shifting perfectly after sitting over night that there is no way it is a mechanical issue, but after all this I really have no other ideas.
I will be sure to post updates as to what I find as soon as possible. Thank you for all the great info and I'll do my best to contribute! Here's a picture of the sad rav for reference.
Do you have a code scanner? If not get one. If so, post us your codes. I'm guessing you do since you have that kickass lift in your garage.
Did you check you AT fluid for level and color?
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