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Fixing 1996 Corolla DX


johnnyd77
09-07-2015, 01:57 AM
I own a 1996 Corolla DX with an auto transmission which has a few issues I would like to fix. The biggest issue is that sometimes it stays stuck at high RPMs (somewhere near 3,100) without changing gears which makes me have to give it some extra torque momentarily to change gear and drive at normal RPMs. But sometimes it does the opposite, when slowing down it sometimes stays at a higher gear and won't change to a lower gear until I've slowed down almost to a stop. I dont know if there is a term for this but if there is please correct me.
Another issue is that it is very slow to accelerate, it just feels real heavy and I regularly have to give it a lot of torque just to be at equal speed with the rest of the cars on the road, does this have a fix?
Other than that there isn't any major issue that I actually know about, for this reason I'd like to know what place you would recommend me taking my car to get a full checkup to find any issues I don't know about. Do places like Pep Boys have this kind of service?

BRGirl
09-07-2015, 11:42 AM
Toyotas are amaaaaazing!!!!

Brian R.
09-08-2015, 12:51 PM
I wouldn't trust PEP Boys for troubleshooting. Try and get a recommendation from a friend or co-worker for a good mechanic. The transmission shifting is partially controlled by the engine temperature. You might suggest that they look at the coolant temperature sensor. It may be malfunctioning and telling your computer that the engine is cold when it's not.

Keg914
09-26-2016, 09:38 PM
Do you have an OD light on the dashboard when any of these issues happen? If so, it may be the 1-2 and 3-4 gear shift solenoids inside the transmission. I had a similar problem on my 93. The solenoids are actually very easy to change out, but very hard to find. I had to find an old transmission on Craigslist just to get the solenoids out of it.

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