I have a 1997 Sc400 with about 107K miles, and just recently had my timing belt and water pump changed. The other day after driving for quite a while, I was sitting at a light uphill and my engine shut off. I was able to turn it back on with no 'clicking' or hesitation. I drove for a few miles, and then noticed that, intermittantly, my car would 'lurch' at low speeds when I was starting out from a stop. It didn't happen every time from a stop. I took it to a mom-and-pop shop for just a diagnostic, and the mechanics who drove it said that it's probably a transmission problem and something abo9ut dropping from 2nd to 1st gear. They said that it might not get worse for awhile.
The next day in the morning, I took my car out and after normal driving including stopping and slowing for about 2 minutes, the car started to lurch when I was around 40 or 50 mph. If I slowed down, it would still do it. It sometimes lurched once, or two times, or three. But it didn't do it every time I slowed or stopped on my way back home.
Now, my car is sitting in the garage, and I'm wondering what the heck is going on. Can it be a transmission problem, or maybe something else? I have a trustworthy friend who's a Toyota Master Mechanic, and so the car will go to him (or someone that he refers me to). Any ideas in the meantime?
