Auto Gear Lever spring broken.

[Matt Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Matt]

This arvo i was leaving work and i went from reverse into drive... and as i do sometimes i decided i would go down to first just for a change.

the lever got a bit stuck between 3rd and second on the dogleg, and i thought it felt a little funny and went to put it back up into drive, and the springloaded gate holder (dont know what you would call it) seems to be stuffed now.

it flicks between the sideways gates easily (D-4 and L-2) and also doesnt really stay in the vertical gates either (drive to N and 3rd to 4th)

im going to take the console apart tomorrow (already took off the leather cover so i can see the mechanism.. i dont notice anything broken.. so hopefully its just pulled a spring off one end and i will be able to reconnect it.. i really hope i havent broken anything..

its a bit dodgy by the looks tho.. lots of PLASTIC :shock:

anyone experianced this before?

[Matt Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Matt]

Re: Auto Gear Lever spring broken.

[Matt Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Matt]

Re: Auto Gear Lever spring broken.

well i took it all out.. and that big black plastic box is the issue..



had it totally apart... i cant see anything visibly broken.. but obviously something is..

cant source one at a wreaker...

trade price new from toyota.. 715 bucks.. :shock:

it is very fragile inside so i warn you all to be VERY GENTLE with the auto lever.. its just a heap of plastic under there doing a few tricky things... this is nearly enough to put me off auto's.. i wasnt impressed with the fragility of it.

[Guest Close Guest]

Re: Auto Gear Lever spring broken.

Hi Matt,

Haven't ever looked at the selector machanism myslef but the plastic thingy just appears to be a shit
gate, ie guides where you can move the gear stick too. I don't think it has anything to do with your
problem, I would suggest the issue is with the gear box as that's where any springs etc are likely to be.

I would drop it into a dealer or an auto trans shop for their opion before spending $700 for the other bit.

Cheers

LeighW

[damonat Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close damonat]

Re: Auto Gear Lever spring broken.

Matt.
i have replied previously to another post of the same issue.
it has also happened to us.
there is a weak spring/guide in there somewhere, and that broke.
luckily ours was under warranty at the time, and it was replaced.
i know exactly what you arew talking about when you say the shifter is floppy.
have you checked out these people
www.coast4x4wreckers.com.au
they will ship/sent stuff,
but very lucky for me they are 5mins away

[Matt Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Matt]

Re: Auto Gear Lever spring broken.

Hi Matt,
I don't think it has anything to do with your
problem, I would suggest the issue is with the gear box as that's where any springs etc are likely to be.

the gearbox selector is done via 2 things.. you see that cable that runs out the back of it? that is what puts the gearbox in park/R/D/3/L. The other thing that controls the gear selection is a white plastic box with control circuity that tells the gearbox what the horizontal selection is - ie D/4 and L/2. It also has a microswitch that tells the Key barrel when its in park, so you can take the key out.

my old man (a veteran motor mechanic of with over 40 years in the trade).. and even he thinks its the plastic box there... there is just no way it could be the gearbox... its only physically connected via that cable.. (even the vertical notching is done in that crappy plastic box)..

when i get the new one up (or maybe source one from a wreaker.. i have a maybe so far.. but they need to check 4 or 5 speed for me).

ill post up some pics of the inner workings and where i think the problem is..

cheers..

[Guest Close Guest]

Re: Auto Gear Lever spring broken.

Hi Matt,

As I wrote haven't looked at it myself, just thought it might save you some coin to check with a automatic repairer
or Toyota service centre as they might have come accross this before and though what the problem would be.

Seems one of the other post has had the same issue and writes that it was the plastic shift gate so it would seem
the way to go, though as yourself wrote, looking at the picture can't see where the spring would be?

As for the cable, don't know about the prado, but I also have a kia sportage. On the sportage the cable only appears to
be used to engage the transmission lock when in park. The selection of the gears is all done by the microswitch assembly
which feeds inputs into the transmission CPU. The transmission CPU controls solenoid valves in the gear box which control the
gear selection. As you have written, the micro switch assembly also tells the engine CPU when park or nuteral has been selected to
allow the engine to be started or the ignition key to be removed. It might be possible though that the cable gives some sort of
manual control for limp mode, maybe someone else has more experience?

There is a wrecker here in Melbourne who was scrapping some new Grande's used for crash testing. You might be
able to get the part from them. Can't remember the name, of the wrecker maybe someone else can? It was mentioned in a post about
Sat Nav units. Try searching in the Sat Nav forums.

Cheers

Leigh

[Matt Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Matt]

Re: Auto Gear Lever spring broken.

Sourced one from gold coast 4x4 wreakers.. - http://www.4x4part.com.au/

good service.. good price.. shipped door to door and it only cost me 130 buckeroo's

leigh.. from the looks it drives the box via cable... when i swap the box over, ill disconnect the wiring assembly and see if thats the case or not..

ill also take the old box apart and show you all whats in there, and where i think the problem is..

im just glad the wife can still drive it around with it in the condition above (put the knob back on of course)

[GeoffO Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close GeoffO]

Re: Auto Gear Lever spring broken.

I did my second one a few weeks ago (4 speed auto). There is a bullet shaped metal piece that slides in and out of a plastic holder with a spring under it. The holder cracks and the bullet falls out. I have tried many ways to fix it but can't. First one cost me $25 from a local wrecker. Great deal. I had to remove it from a 5 speed Grande. I haven't been able to source another one yet. As you say, you can still drive it. Just a bit sloppy.

Bit of a weak point in my opinion. Probably wouldn't be a problem if you just use 'D'.

Geoff...

[John Member Find all posts View Profile Close John]

Re: Auto Gear Lever spring broken.

Matt,
Mine broke about a year ago and I posted similarly. Plastic pin holder on the side of the stick cracked. Clearly a design fault, as I've never experienced such a problem with any other car I've owned in over 30 years.

I'm now looking for a fix, as my daughter has just started learning to drive the thing. Left as-is makes it pretty easy to accidentally select reverse while moving forward. ops:

[Maverick Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Maverick]

Re: Auto Gear Lever spring broken.

I had the gear shift play up in my Prado. Auto wouldn't stay in D, it kept going into 3. 4 speed auto.

I took it to Toyota and was told a replacement selector was worth over $1000. I told the service department that the selector "cost over $1000, but was not worth that much". They were able to pull it apart and repair it for only $150. It's not perfect, but it works. Though I have been told that if it fails again, I will need to replace the selector. I agree that the selector is a design problem and that Toyota should look at some sort of fix for it.

I have a habit of using the gear box like a manual when I'm slowing down. I also like to change down to 3rd or even 2nd when towing, as required. This allows the torque convertor to lock-up and reduce heat build up in the auto.

Mark