Driving on Highway when Van Died - Transmission

[ToyotaVanNut]

Hi :(

I was driving on the highway. My van was just about to shift gears, when instead of shifting, it made a weird noise. I then noticed I could not accelerate and was slowly coming to a stop. Now the van does not shift into gears whatsoever and when on has a sort of high pitched tone.

Any thoughts or help is appreciated. I hope vanny is not gone for good.

[nikifix]

have you checked the tranny fluid....with the engine running?

[timsrv]

That doesn't sound good. As suggested above, the 1st thing to do is check fluid. If it smells burnt, then the tranny is likely toast. If you're on the road you may need to take to a transmission shop for an evaluation. Good luck. Tim

[ToyotaVanNut]

That doesn't sound good. As suggested above, the 1st thing to do is check fluid. If it smells burnt, then the tranny is likely toast. If you're on the road you may need to take to a transmission shop for an evaluation. Good luck. Tim

Hi Tim. So this happened while still close to home. The transmission fluid is not burnt. Nor was it low. Running hot, the fluid was at the "cold" level indicator, which shouldn't be enough to stop it dead in its tracks right?

Is there a way in which I can test/find out what exactly needs to be done to get it moving again? For example, should I take a video or something and post it here? The van starts up just fine, doesn't overheat or anything like that. While idling it is making a higher pitched whiny noise that it didn't make before, and it simply won't shift into any gears. In other words, no matter which gear I shift into, pressing the acceleration pedal only revs the engine.





Any help is greatly appreciated :cnfsd: :cry::cry:

[timsrv]

1st off, I'm not a transmission guy, and they are somewhat of a mystery to me (I've already offered about as much as I can). It sounds like the fluid was only about a quart low though, and (like you said) that probably isn't enough to cause the issue you're having, but I'd still top it off before condemning anything. After that, I'd take it to a transmission shop for an evaluation. Most shops will evaluate for free or perhaps a small fee. The problem with transmission shops will be finding an honest one. Not much I can say that will help you do that. When I'm forced to do business with a place I know nothing about, I'll usually Google their phone number. Often times when people make complaints they will include the phone number. If you find a whole lot of complaints, then I might avoid that particular shop.

As far as cheap repairs go (I'm assuming that's what you're after), if your transmission is toast, your best shot at cheap would be installing a used transmission. There are risks with that method, but most of the time it turns out okay. If you get a good one, it's somewhat a roll of the dice on how long it will last (assuming you can find one). Good luck. Tim