bstrope Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 Hi all.... I have a 1993 LS400 with traction control.... My wife was driving home today when the car (going only about 35mph...) just coasted to a stop!!! No harsh noises...no grinding....just...nothing. It was as if the tranny just disappeared! The engine purrs like a kitten, but no matter what gear we put the auto into...the car won't move. Reverse, Drive, 1, 2...nothing. When we shut the key off and restart...it will try to go...might be able to get it to move about 3 feet or so...then nothing. I checked the fluid...fine. Correct color, no burnt smell. Drive line is fine. Had it towed to a local tranny shop that I've used for other vehicles before. They looked at it and called me....$2000-$2500 to rebuild. They claim that the tranny is just "worn out". I feel that they've treated me fair in the past....but here's my problem If a light bulb goes out on your kitchen...what do you do?....You change the bulb. If all of the lights go out in the house...do you start changing bulbs?!? No....obviously you go check the breaker! That said... There was no warning...just no movement. It seems to me that when a tranny goes bad (...which I've experienced before...) there's usually issues that preceed this....grinding, rough shifting, strange noises....something. Also...the chances of all gears going bad at once seems statistically impossible. The tranny shop says "rebuild"...but all they did was pull the pan to make this determination. Does anybody else feel like we should be looking at something that would be common to all gears not moving the car....like a rear end, or the shift computer, or a torque convertor....ect, ect.... Regards, Bryan Strope Post Falls, Idaho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lenore Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 does seem too strange, i wonder if a vucuum modulator, or something simple has caused the failure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ko90ls Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 not sure about the cause but a fix should be cheaper! i found a tranny for $600+$400 labor! (check online junkyards, have item shipped to shop) but when my tranny went out it was due to a power flush and the car did make numerous strange noises. when i put her in gear, no movement. step on the gas and the engine would rev high for a sec, then MAYBE the tranny would catch. after a lil bit the whole thing was dead <_< . Good luck P.S. rebuild=online junkyard. the shop i dealt with even had the "rebuild" kit on the wall. guy kept talking about how things had melted and such, we gotta throw this in and that in, blah, blah. when i mentioned the junkyard price, suddenly his whole attitude changed from "show me the money" to "how may we assist you" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monarch Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 i've never experienced or heard of all gears of an automatic transmission going totally dead like that unless there was a catastrophic loss of fluid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRK Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 I can assure you that the trans is not just "worn out". What has happened is that something broke, fell off, or went out of adjustment. It is a component failure, probably quite simple. It is similar to finding your engine doesn't start one morning, and the best the "mechanic" can come up with is that the engine is "worn out". Bunch of crap. Find another shop. Don't even speak to those guys again. The Toyota trans we have does have some history of solenoid failures in the valve body. That may be all it is, and they are relatively inexpensive to diagnose and repair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leadfoot Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 I can assure you that the trans is not just "worn out". What has happened is that something broke, fell off, or went out of adjustment. It is a component failure, probably quite simple. It is similar to finding your engine doesn't start one morning, and the best the "mechanic" can come up with is that the engine is "worn out". Bunch of crap. Find another shop. Don't even speak to those guys again. The Toyota trans we have does have some history of solenoid failures in the valve body. That may be all it is, and they are relatively inexpensive to diagnose and repair. I have to agree with SRK that is is probably something simple, but the trouble is finding some mechanic who has the brains to diagnose a complicated problem like that. So many I have dealt with just take the easy step and just replace the entire unit rather than read the instructions. I call them "plug and pay" mechanics! (The trans ECU will put out an error code if it detects a malfunctioning solenoid, so if you have a blinking engine check light then they are the reason, the code will tell you which one) My 92 manual says the most likely cause of no drive in forward or reverse is 1) Throttle cable - you say it purrs (idles??), but does it respond to the throttle? I assume yes. 2) Transmission control rod - unlikey as it would have been in drive at the time it may have come apart, but maybe it springs to a neutral position (doubtful). Still an easy check to see if the selector rod is connected between the gear selector stick and the transmission. Unfortunately I don't have the A340, A341E transmission repair manual to tell you about these others. 3) Manual Valve 4) Parking lock pawl If these check out OK then the next likely culprits are 5) OD one way clutch 6) OD brake 7) OD direct clutch 8) OD planetarygear unit 9) Torque converter Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jotheco Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 Hi all.... I have a 1993 LS400 with traction control.... My wife was driving home today when the car (going only about 35mph...) just coasted to a stop!!! No harsh noises...no grinding....just...nothing. It was as if the tranny just disappeared! The engine purrs like a kitten, but no matter what gear we put the auto into...the car won't move. Reverse, Drive, 1, 2...nothing. When we shut the key off and restart...it will try to go...might be able to get it to move about 3 feet or so...then nothing. I checked the fluid...fine. Correct color, no burnt smell. Drive line is fine. Had it towed to a local tranny shop that I've used for other vehicles before. They looked at it and called me....$2000-$2500 to rebuild. They claim that the tranny is just "worn out". I feel that they've treated me fair in the past....but here's my problem If a light bulb goes out on your kitchen...what do you do?....You change the bulb. If all of the lights go out in the house...do you start changing bulbs?!? No....obviously you go check the breaker! That said... There was no warning...just no movement. It seems to me that when a tranny goes bad (...which I've experienced before...) there's usually issues that preceed this....grinding, rough shifting, strange noises....something. Also...the chances of all gears going bad at once seems statistically impossible. The tranny shop says "rebuild"...but all they did was pull the pan to make this determination. Does anybody else feel like we should be looking at something that would be common to all gears not moving the car....like a rear end, or the shift computer, or a torque convertor....ect, ect.... Regards, Bryan Strope Post Falls, Idaho Bryan, This thread ends with some suggestions, but I see no posting of a resolution. I have an LS 400 '93 model and last weekend it exhibited the very behavior that you describe. Have you been able to resolve your problem? Joe Strickhouser Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bstrope Posted June 17, 2006 Author Share Posted June 17, 2006 Hi all.... I have a 1993 LS400 with traction control.... My wife was driving home today when the car (going only about 35mph...) just coasted to a stop!!! No harsh noises...no grinding....just...nothing. It was as if the tranny just disappeared! The engine purrs like a kitten, but no matter what gear we put the auto into...the car won't move. Reverse, Drive, 1, 2...nothing. When we shut the key off and restart...it will try to go...might be able to get it to move about 3 feet or so...then nothing. I checked the fluid...fine. Correct color, no burnt smell. Drive line is fine. Had it towed to a local tranny shop that I've used for other vehicles before. They looked at it and called me....$2000-$2500 to rebuild. They claim that the tranny is just "worn out". I feel that they've treated me fair in the past....but here's my problem If a light bulb goes out on your kitchen...what do you do?....You change the bulb. If all of the lights go out in the house...do you start changing bulbs?!? No....obviously you go check the breaker! That said... There was no warning...just no movement. It seems to me that when a tranny goes bad (...which I've experienced before...) there's usually issues that preceed this....grinding, rough shifting, strange noises....something. Also...the chances of all gears going bad at once seems statistically impossible. The tranny shop says "rebuild"...but all they did was pull the pan to make this determination. Does anybody else feel like we should be looking at something that would be common to all gears not moving the car....like a rear end, or the shift computer, or a torque convertor....ect, ect.... Regards, Bryan Strope Post Falls, Idaho Bryan, This thread ends with some suggestions, but I see no posting of a resolution. I have an LS 400 '93 model and last weekend it exhibited the very behavior that you describe. Have you been able to resolve your problem? Joe Strickhouser Actually...my resolution was to rebuild it. I had my own personal mechanic (30 years experience....my good friend for 25 of those...) take a look at it as the shop pulled it out. It was a catastrophic failure...appeared to start with torque convertor and got worse from there. Cost $2100...with a 2 year warranty. Oh well... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich13 Posted June 22, 2006 Share Posted June 22, 2006 I can assure you that the trans is not just "worn out". What has happened is that something broke, fell off, or went out of adjustment. It is a component failure, probably quite simple. It is similar to finding your engine doesn't start one morning, and the best the "mechanic" can come up with is that the engine is "worn out". Bunch of crap. Find another shop. Don't even speak to those guys again. The Toyota trans we have does have some history of solenoid failures in the valve body. That may be all it is, and they are relatively inexpensive to diagnose and repair. I have to agree with SRK that is is probably something simple, but the trouble is finding some mechanic who has the brains to diagnose a complicated problem like that. So many I have dealt with just take the easy step and just replace the entire unit rather than read the instructions. I call them "plug and pay" mechanics! (The trans ECU will put out an error code if it detects a malfunctioning solenoid, so if you have a blinking engine check light then they are the reason, the code will tell you which one) My 92 manual says the most likely cause of no drive in forward or reverse is 1) Throttle cable - you say it purrs (idles??), but does it respond to the throttle? I assume yes. 2) Transmission control rod - unlikey as it would have been in drive at the time it may have come apart, but maybe it springs to a neutral position (doubtful). Still an easy check to see if the selector rod is connected between the gear selector stick and the transmission. Unfortunately I don't have the A340, A341E transmission repair manual to tell you about these others. 3) Manual Valve 4) Parking lock pawl If these check out OK then the next likely culprits are 5) OD one way clutch 6) OD brake 7) OD direct clutch 8) OD planetarygear unit 9) Torque converter Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexus400 Posted June 24, 2006 Share Posted June 24, 2006 Wow, that's the first time I have heard an LS transmission fail like that. Actually haven't heard of too many failing in any way actually. Compared to the Audi A8 (my other car), $2k is a pretty reasonable number. Bob Actually...my resolution was to rebuild it. I had my own personal mechanic (30 years experience....my good friend for 25 of those...) take a look at it as the shop pulled it out. It was a catastrophic failure...appeared to start with torque convertor and got worse from there. Cost $2100...with a 2 year warranty. Oh well... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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