Transmission shifts hard from 3rd to Overdrive ...

[Hershey]

This is a first since buying it . Thing is , the sedan was warm and had been drove for 6 miles or more . It was also about 90 degrees and the BLUE light had been out for quite a while . Checked the level and it's at the lower mark ( notch ) of Hot . The fluid looks to be a good color too . The tranny also starts out in 2nd for a bit , then goes to 3rd and then overdrive when it sits overnight ( cold ) . Was told this normal by service center . Disagree , had a 2010 3 door and that tranny always started in 3rd when cold and then to Overdrive ( 4th ) after the Blue light goes out ( normal operating temp ) . Have asked for rebooting the tranny , but get denied . It's difficult to leave it overnight . Reason being that the Toyota service centers are over 50 miles away . Here's a pic of the auto tranny fluid on a napkin . Will try to get picture of the level on the dipstick later .

[Hershey]

Dipstick from last night . Drove it for about 14 miles and then ran it through all the gears for 5 to 7 times . Was already warm from earlier drive to shop . May try to get a clearer picture . The RED line shows where fluid level is . The stick has tarnish where the fluid contacts it ( below RED line ) . Is that normal ?

[Hershey]

Rechecked after 26 miles of driving and read closer to the top notch of FULL mark . The dipstick shown is from last night , just using it to show where it was earlier this evening for a comparison . The RED line is from Monday after driving it about 14 miles and the YELLOW is from earlier today after the 26 miles . Makes me think the WS tranny fluid is synthetic . Any one know if it is ? Hopefully , the hard shift will be a one time thing .

[CTScott]

When it hard shifted did you have your foot steady on the accelerator, or did you let off for a second and then press it?

[Hershey]

Quite sure it was steady .