Hi! I am new here and have a question about my 4runner. I bought my used 4runner about 2 weeks ago. I have never owned an SUV so it is hard for me to know what to expect...

Anyways I was driving the other day down the highway when I noticed at 45 mph it was staying at 4 RPMs and not going down. So, I took it into the shop as soon as I got back into the city and had the transmission fluids changed, my mechanic told me the fluid in it was really,really bad, but the transmission was in great shape. So, I took it for a ride again after all was fixed and the RPMs still seem to be very high. Is this normal for a 4runner? My mechanic told me not to worry that it was fine, but I still have a bad feeling with the RPMs riding so high.

OK this might explain better what is going on with my truck. It is an automatic V6 engine and will shift from 1st to 2nd but then it will not shift into the upper speeds. It will go faster but the RPMs ride high and the engine overheats. Today I checked the thermostat to see if it was working correctly and come to find out it is not functioning well. I will be replacing that this weekend. If anyone can give me any other kinds of advice that would be greatly appreciated :grinyes:

What speed at what RPM?

MIght be a tranny problem.

Riding at 45 mph at 4 RPMs

I had the transmission checked out by a very experienced mechanic and was told the transmission looked fine. It has a lot of power and gains speed fast. When I get the new thermostat put in I will let you know what happens.

I cannot blame the mechanic but what you are saying is not making any sense. I would agree with you that that 4K RPM is high for 45 MPH. But i will still need more info.

Which gear is in it when you count the shifts during this time? If it is 3rd my truck will hang around 3K until it its at 50 MPH but keep in mind that I am not flooring it at this time. Ease off the throttle and see what RPM you are at and see what happens when u hit 50 MPH. If it switches to overdrive after 50 MPH then your tranny is fine. If you do not get overdrive after 55 MPH then you have a problem with the tranny, I cant remember whether my truck has an overdrive control button but if it does check to make sure O/D is engaged. If not, it can be throttle cable misadjustment ot some other tranny related problem.

If your mechanic informed you that your tranny is fine because the truck gains speed, that doesnt make any sense. The engine's job is to provide the power, so thats only the indicator of a engine performing well. The tranny being healthy is indicated by it shifting and not slipping.

What disturbes me is the mechanic telling you the fluid looked horrible. That is an indicator of bad wear inside the tranny. A lot of people debate as to whether when your tranny fluid is severely burnt whether an individual should flush the fluids. Some shops swear that in this case it destroys a tranny that was working while other shops say it doesnt matter.

Either way see how the thermostat does you. Try the 55 MPH thing and if neither work and you have no engine lights. try some Lucas tranny restorer in a (white bottle). Sometimes it can work miracles. Other than that I will say there is some bad news in store.

It is in 2nd at 45 mph. I can feel it change smoothly from 1st to 2nd. Then after that the RPMs just make their way up and up and never move down like from 1st to 2nd. My problem is I live in Guatemala City and I have to translate in my head from English to Spanish and Spanish to English everything with the truck.

Also this truck is used and it looks to me like the person who had it before did not do well with maintenance. My mechanic thinks that maybe the fluid and filters haven't been changed properly by the previous owner.

My mechanic swears it changes into third at 45 mph and again at 60 mph. he says that I cannot feel the changes because I am accelerating to much. My question is why does it not go down in RPMs if it is changing?

But couldn't my thermostat not working be causing it not to shift?

I really doubt it is the thermostat. Unless it is running too cool or gets real hot in a lil bit of time. I still say there are 2 possible things that are going on:

1st - the 3.0 is a slow dog of a motor. When you accelerate too hard at first u will get some speed then after a certain point of pushing the gas pedal, the RPMs will climb and you will not going any faster than the truck is trying to go until it shifts. If you take your time and acclerate the truck and dont go above 3000 RPM and you dont get a shift then you definitely have something wrong.

2nd- Tranny is just shot and nothing you will do besides getting another tranny will resolve this.

Take it for a drive and see what happens on the freeway. You will find your answer after a couple mins.

It does get hot very fast. I will take just up and around the neighborhood and it will get very hot. I cannot test it right now because my mechanic has it at the shop changing the thermostat.

One good part about living Guatemala is that new transmissions are dirt cheap.

Alright. The thermostat could be stuck shut. Hopefully its not blown head gasket notorious to these trucks.

When you get it back. Try it out and post your results.

Yeah it is stuck shut that is what my mechanic just told me. From what i understood from spanish it was not allowing what sounded like water to pass. I could have mistranslated that but something shut not allowing something else to pass.

I am an idiot when it comes to cars, but I guess most women are.

i wonder how do you say "head gasket" in spanish. How would you explain where this part is for him to check on it.

Dont worry bought it man. This is how u learn

The truck is running great! It is shifting very well and going into OD! Thank you so much for your help!

Thats great man.. Nothing feels better than having your vehicle operational again

Sounds like you got it fixed. My tranny had shift problems and it turned out to be the shift solenoids. Just an FYI of something to have checked later if nothing else checks out.