Help! The weirdest thing started happening today...

[freewave]

Originally Posted by CTScott

So, once you get past neutral in either direction it is fine?

Exactly. I can feather the gas to get past neutral without stalling. That works in both directions (reverse to drive, and drive to reverse) however its awkward to do when going from drive to reverse. I am currently just letting it stall when I park.

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by freewave

Exactly. I can feather the gas to get past neutral without stalling. That works in both directions (reverse to drive, and drive to reverse) however its awkward to do when going from drive to reverse. I am currently just letting it stall when I park.

OK. For that behavior the service manual points to the ECM, shift lock ECU (lives inside of the shifter) or the Park/Neutral switch (the switch that the shifter cable moves on the tranny) being the culprit. Diagnosis would best be done with the Toyota TechStream tool, as the data that it shows would allow one to narrow the problem down to one of those three devices.

[freewave]

Originally Posted by CTScott

OK. For that behavior the service manual points to the ECM, shift lock ECU (lives inside of the shifter) or the Park/Neutral switch (the switch that the shifter cable moves on the tranny) being the culprit. Diagnosis would best be done with the Toyota TechStream tool, as the data that it shows would allow one to narrow the problem down to one of those three devices.

I'm going to test the Park/Neutral safety switch myself in about an hour. From what I read, you can test by starting the vehicle, then unplugging the switch. From there I would see if the car stalls in neutral. If it doesn't, then I clean or replace the switch. Otherwise I move on to the next part.

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by freewave

I'm going to test the Park/Neutral safety switch myself in about an hour. From what I read, you can test by starting the vehicle, then unplugging the switch. From there I would see if the car stalls in neutral. If it doesn't, then I clean or replace the switch. Otherwise I move on to the next part.

That will work for testing the park/neutral switch. There's a voltage test that can be done for the shift lock ECU as well.

[freewave]

Originally Posted by CTScott

That will work for testing the park/neutral switch. There's a voltage test that can be done for the shift lock ECU as well.

It turns out it was the neutral safety switch! I pulled it out and opened it up (its fastened together with rivets, not exactly meant to be serviceable). It was full of nasty oil and water. I cleaned it out, took a small file to the contacts to make sure they were flat again, stretched the springs out so the contacts fit in place better, resealed the unit and closed her up. I had to drill and tap holes for fasteners to replace the rivets.

But overall, it was about 3 hours work start to finish and it saved me the $200 part plus install at a shop!

Thanks for your help!

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by freewave

It turns out it was the neutral safety switch! I pulled it out and opened it up (its fastened together with rivets, not exactly meant to be serviceable). It was full of nasty oil and water. I cleaned it out, took a small file to the contacts to make sure they were flat again, stretched the springs out so the contacts fit in place better, resealed the unit and closed her up. I had to drill and tap holes for fasteners to replace the rivets.

But overall, it was about 3 hours work start to finish and it saved me the $200 part plus install at a shop!

Thanks for your help!

Nice!