no reverse

Hello,

I have seen the solenoid pack go bad causing the problem you are describing. Here is a diagram to help you see what you need to replace. Check out the diagrams (Below). Please let us know what happens.

I had to get a new solicood pack to make my car go into reverse. Cost me $134.00

hello. im having a problem with the reverse. when i put the shifter into reverse, the car wont move. but not all the time. i have the fluids and filter change already, still the problem persist... pls help..

Open the hood and have a friend move the shifter through the range. Look at where the shift cable connects to the transmission, for a loose bolt that connects to the shift lever.
It could also be the shift cable in the car has worked loose from its connection.

I have a Haynes manual #92006 for this car, but can't find enough info to determine problem. All forward gears / speeds good with NO slipping, AT fluid levels were down slightly & were re-filled.
Since the on-set of problem was sudden, I suspected reverse solenoid in transmission is defective or not getting a signal to acctuate-- anyway to test?
Car has a tach & I read the tach speed @ 1200 rpm running- cold- that dropped to 1000 when (D) drive was engaged-- but tach does the same thing-- 1200 drops to 1000 when (R) reverse is engaged.
Is this a result of the reverse solenoid engaging or is the ECM or CPU reducing the rpm?
Is the park / neutral switch in the electrical circuit for the reverse solenoid? Car was towed with-in the last 60 days, ignition coil, & the wrecker operator was "rough" when he manually tripped the shift lock - I witnessed, but the car didn't show any immediate effects. Could this have an effect? The shift / lock control switch is still operating, car will start in park & neutral only.
ANY IDEAS FROM ANYONE???? LARRY MO

with 180000 miles on it when was the last time the transmission had been serviced { fluid changed and the filter changed.} Was this doing this since it was towed or had this happened even a little before it was towed? How does the transmission fluid smell. Does it smell with a burnt smell? If so then I would have the fluid changed and filter. This might not stop the problem if the transmission hasd internal problems but I would start with the fluid changed.

I do basic repairs & maintenance on my cars, family & friends, including oil w/ filter, ATF & filter, gas filter, fuel pump, brakes etc anything top or bottom that doesn't require pulling heads or dropping bottom (oil) pan & I have replaced a transmission solenoid. This is my wife's car & unfortunently she doesn't keep up with the info I give her concerning the mileage & work done @ the time of repair--- she will sometimes take car elsewhere for maintenance without telling me----- but thanks for the response & I will replace the ATF & filter to see what difference, if any, this will make. any other thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. LARRY MO

When you put it in reverse can you feel anything. Even the slightest trying to move back or a burnt smell on the dipstick. If it does then I would think about the changing of the fluid. check the shift linkage. With it being towed a linkage could be off.

initially car had no forward driving. i bought the master kit and replaced all discs, plates, seals, gaskets, band and filter. the discs on forward clutch were total bad. the other clutches discs were okay. after finish the job i ended up with okay forward driving on d, 2 and l but no reverse or neutral. beside this problem if shut the engine on neutral, the wheels don't move at all. i reopened the pan and checked manual valve and pawl lock lever and springs and they are okay. may guess is the piston on the reverse clutch is not moving or is stocked. i need some help to fix this and i appreciated any input help.

michael
new jersey

Hi there,

There is no way of knowing what has gone wrong here, the only thing to do ids pull it out and strip it back down, and check your work with the manual step by step, it may just be a bit of grime fouling a valve, transmissions must be spotless, i wont even attempt to do transmissions in my work shop, i leave them to the experts in this field.

Mark (mhpautos)

I drive a '92 Camry, automatic, with 210,000 miles. I backed out of the driveway normally today. When I got to my destination, I put the car in reverse to back into a parking spot, but the engine revved and the car drifted as though it were in neutral. I tried turning the car off and back on, and tried shifting into different gears, with no success.

Other factors:
- Last week I had a brake fluid leak that I got fixed. I don't see what that would affect, but I'm mentioning it just in case.

- Last year I had an odd problem where the car intermittently wouldn't start. After several trips and payments to a mechanic, I ended up with a replaced starter, a replaced steering column and new ignition switch, and then a second replaced starter. Then I came to your website, and you told me about a couple possibilities involving a switch or sensor or something that was telling the car it was not in park (so it wouldn't start). I worked around the problem by moving the gear shift between neutral and park while turning the key until it would start. After a few months of using this approach on occasions when the car wouldn't start, the problem stopped occurring, and hasn't occurred since. I wonder if it could have something to do with the current situation- i.e., maybe the car "doesn't know" its in reverse? Or maybe that's wishful thinking, and I really have a bad transmission or something.

Anyway, I just wanted to get a heads up before signing my life away at the mechanic. Thanks!

If you only lost reverse, and it happened all at once, chances are you have a broken reverse band in the transmission. Do all the drive gears work?

It did happen all at once (somewhere between backing out of my driveway normally and arriving at my friend's house 15 minutes away). I just went for a drive around the block, and all gears except for reverse work normally and feel normal. So- does that mean a broken reverse band in the transmission? If so, how hard is that to fix?

Most likely you need to rebuild the transmission.

I feared as much. Can I at least drive it for a few weeks while I look for a new car? (There's no way its worth paying for a new transmission considering the physical condition of the car...)

Vehicle can still be driven but there is a possibility the trans can fail anytime so it is best not to travel too far and without any reverse, how you park your vehicle determines if you can get home.

Btw did you try moving the lever a little forward to P and rearwards to N to test if reverse catches?

I did try moving the lever around a bit- it didn't catch.

That would rule out a linkage fault and only thing left is a bad transmisison.

hello,
i wanted to know about a transmission that i purchased at a junk yard, now i know that i am taking a chance when u buy a used part from a junk yard but the savings is so good. i put a used tranny in my 1993 camry and then when all finished the car will shift perfect to all gears except the reverse. the tranny i put in came out of a 1996 model not a 1993 will this make a difference to the car. i thought that 1992 through 1996 parts would interchange in the toyota camry as long as it was a automatic. Is this true? or did i put a wrong year tranny in. on the 1993 tranny there was a wire that hooked up at the side opposite where the gear shifter is and on the 1996 tranny there was no hook up for this wire so it was left unconnected to anything. and also the piece where the gear shifter on the tranny is there is a wire that connects to it. i had to change out that piece because the hook up connector from the car was smaller than the connector on the gear shifter piece on the tranny. Does this piece make a difference to the function of the tranny? and can i switch out the connector on the tranny that fits over the gear shifter to solve my problem? or is the tranny bad or non interchangable? like i said the car shifts perfect when driving but no revers. when i put the car in reverse and push in on the gas pedal the engine will not rotate very fast it will turn slower that it is suppose to. the car was at one time go foward in reverse. can you tell me my problem with this car and tranny. oh yea the over drive light will flash on and off when i push the over drive button on, but does not when i push it off.
shifter?

Hi daviddlw1,

Thank you for the donation.

94 and 96 uses identical transmission and the wiring circuits are similar.

You mentioned an additional wire that is not available with the replacement transmission and that means it is a different model.

Did you check if all other wiring connectors are similar.

Try disconnecting all wire harness connector from the trans and try driving with manuall shifting from each individual gear. If all gears including the reverse works, then it is a fault with the controls and not the transmission itself. If the trans does not move in R as well, then the trans is bad.

thank u for the information. i have another question regarding how can you tell if a engine will interchange out of a car of diffedrent years but the cars are the same make and model. and how do you tell iif the cars are of different models or maybe makes. i was told once that you can look at the vin# on the cars and if the numbers match in the vin in a certain position then the motors will swap out, is this true or is there another way to tell? also where are vin# found on cars except in the winshiel on dash corner, and on the driver door? any help would be appreciated..thanks

Vin # for identification is correct as it has the information as to the types of engine used. However you need to have information on boht the VIN of the original and donor car to be able to read.

The other identifiaction available would be the engine and transmission codes. This would be an easier approach considering the VIN might not be available.

VIN for different and makes would have the VIN at different areas though mostly they are would be at the dash areas.

when i got the car(it was a gift) it had trans problems so i thought id give it a shot at changing the fluid and filter so night 1 i changed just the fluid and it seemed to improve some so night 2 i changed the fluid again but this time with the filter change. when i did this it was like a miracle except i lost reverse but my forward gears work fine. just before the change of fluid and filter reverse worked fine. so should i try to change it again , try to flush it out or prep to change the trans? thank you

some shops have equipment that will flush the system. When you first had the problem did the fluid smell burnt? If so then I would think about having the transmission flushed. They usually hook up the machine in line with the transmssion cooler and the transmission.

Hi I have a 1990 toyota camry le with a 2.5 engine with 177,000 miles on it. The car at first would go in reverse on an d on, now it will not go into reverse at all but drives forward with no problems. In order to back the car up I have to put the car in neutral and push in back in order to drive the car. If a person has some car knowledge what are the steps that needs to be done to replace the reverse gear in the car? Also I have replaced the started and got a new battery but the car sometimes will not start on the first try it sometimes takes a couples of turns of the key for the car to start. Is there something else that can be checked to see why it doesnt with a new battery and replaced starter doesnt start? Thanks so much. :)

It sounds like this is an automatic? If so then check the gear selector linkage at the transmission and the selector cable itself, could be binding.

[quote:53127cdb5e="mmprince3000"]It sounds like this is an automatic? If so then check the gear selector linkage at the transmission and the selector cable itself, could be binding.[/quote:53127cdb5e]

Hi mmprince. I am not a car person so my first question is the gear selector linkage you mentioned at the transmision and the selector cable, are all of those parts lcoated inside of the trransmission itself where the top has to come off of the engine? The gear selector linkage that has to do with the reverse not working right? The selector cable has to do with the car not always starting? I forgot to mention in my other post that when I put the new battery in it was taller than the original battery so that is a little cable extension that allows the positive cable to reach the positive post, could that have anything to do with the car not starting every time? I love toyota's but this car is making me want to scream.

The selector is on the outside of the transmission, the cable bolts to it and is adjustable.
The selector cable is connected to the shifter in the cabin and then to the selector on the transmission.
In addition to selecting a gear, the selector is connected to an electrical switch which controls the back up lights.
Take the battery back and get the correct battery. Power and ground are very important to engine operation.

[quote:4a640113f5="mmprince3000"]The selector is on the outside of the transmission, the cable bolts to it and is adjustable.
The selector cable is connected to the shifter in the cabin and then to the selector on the transmission.
In addition to selecting a gear, the selector is connected to an electrical switch which controls the back up lights.
Take the battery back and get the correct battery. Power and ground are very important to engine operation.[/quote:4a640113f5]

Hi again mmprince,
Is it also possible that my transmission is about to completely break down? I heard that first the reverse stops working and then the entire transmission goes after awhile. Are rebuilt transmissions for a 1990 toyota camry very expensive?

I have seen the A131L (3 speed) rebuilds cost upwards of $1100.00.
If the tranny is going out, try finding a used one from a junk yard.
I picked up a good A131L from an import junk yard for $400.
I would take the car to a transmission shop for a diagnosis before I gave up on the existing one.

I have a 97 Toyota Camry that I purchased on the island of Grand Cayman 5 years ago. Shortly after I purchased the car I was no longer able to get the transmission to engage and shift into gear. Forward Reverse 1st Gear 2nd would not work. You would press on the accelerator and the engine would only rev as though it were in Neutral. I took it to one of the local garages on island and they told me i needed a completely rebuilt transmission. I forked over the $2300 to rebuild the transmission only to get the car back on the road drive it about 5 miles and have the exact same thing happen again. i brought the vehicle back they did something to it and the car worked fine for about a year.

After this time period the same thing began happening again. I had a backyard mechanic
Flush transmission and clean the filter. He said it was caked with sludge and that fixed the problem for about 3 months then the problem would return. I've had the tranny flushed about 3 times.

Each time the problem resurfaced I would flush the transmission and that seemed to fix the problem. Now the problem is resurfacing and a flush doesn't fix the problem. When using reverse i cannot touch the gas pedal. If I do it slips and only revs the engine. When moving forward it does not shift properly. RPM's rev very high and I have to tap the gas pedal repeatedly to get it to shift into a lower gear.

Any help is appreciated

Thank You

I would say needs a trans. Are there any codes? Is the check engine light on? Are there any shifting problems before it stops working completly?

Hi Steve,
Thanks for your comments. I brought in the car tuesday to a gas station Garage. No alerts have shown on the dashboard and I do not know anywhere on island that has a computer to hook up for fault lists. I had the trans flushed again and removed the tranny pan and filter completely cleaned with no success. The car has no reverse and when in drive revvs high RPM'. The car only has 69000 miles and had the tranny rebuilt at 40000 miles. The tranny pan had a lot of shavings attached to the magnets. I guess I'll drop another 2' for a rebuild but would like to make sure it lasts longer than 30000 miles. This my first of several Toyotas that has ever had a transmission problem. Why would it go again after 30000 miles??

Thanks for any advice provided.

That's what doesn't make any sense. Unless they put something else than trans fluid in it. I have a 98 camry with almost 200k mi on it and I haven't had any problems with it(so far). I worked at a toyota dealer and we never say any problems with trannys. Hope all works out ok.

The car in question is a 1988 toyota camry sedan (cs) manual ..
The problem is that the car wont go into reverse but all the other gears work, the gear stick will go into all the slots but if you try and depres the accelerate pedal in reverse the gear box rattles and and the car refuses to reverse

the only suspicious hint is a very subtle rattling sound when the gear stick is taken out of the reverse slot
any help will be appreciated , thank you

If your shifter or stick is moving into the reverse position, it sounds like the reverse gear over time has had the teeth broken off so it can't mesh with the main shaft gear that also has teeth on it. The transmission will have to be rebuilt or replaced.

damn, was hoping it would be something as easy as the rod thingi's being out or worn,
thanx anyway will look into it

ok my Camry is having a problem with moving in reverse. Everything works completely fine in all other gears including when the overdrive button is pushed.

There is no clunking or harsh shifting. It operates almost as normal only problem is that when the car is in reverse it barely moves. I have to give it a lot of throttle before the car moves. Usually the care starts to move at about 2500 rpm's.

Any idea what could be causing this?

Hi there,

Will the car roll freely in reverse? if no check for a brake binding problem, if yes, there will be a failure in the transmission reverse servo i feel, a loss of fluid pressure possibly due to a field seal. Regardless of the problem a transmission pressure test will be a help in diagnosing this problem, go See a transmission shop.

Mark (mhpautos)

well it seems that is was leading to a bigger problem... Yesterday the car made a grinding noise when it went into first. Then about a block down the road as I was testing it... the car just plain stopped going even forward. So now I have to take the car back to the Toyota deal that replaced the transmission just 4500 miles ago. Piece of junk.

Jason