Toyota celica 2.0GT Convertible (import) - Autobox pulling away in 2nd gear

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Sun 12 Aug 2018 13:38
Toyota celica 2.0GT Convertible (import) - Autobox pulling away in 2nd gear - Surrey_Scientist

I haveva 1995 GT Convertible which only gets used in the summer months.

Just got it out of storage and it's trying to pull away in 2nd gear if in D or 2.

If I select L on the selector I get 1st gear then it will pull away in 1st and change up to 2nd ?when I go to 2 or D.

Crawls away with not much acceleration unless I manually go down to L then changes down and then it accelerates fine.

Overdrive shifts up and down OK as expected when cruising and I toggle the OD button on the selector

If I floor throttle in D or 2 there is no kickdown either.

I looked up adjustment of kicknown cable and to me looks set OK (but I'm not a mechanic)

Everything else is fine no slipping or jerky shifts.

Car only does about 1000 miles a year and hasn't been driven for 6 months so presumably related to something sticking or corrosion on something electrical or sensor problem ?

ATF was changed 5000 miles ago and looks really clean .

Anyone got any ideas before I go to a transmission specialist ?

Edited by Surrey_Scientist on 12/08/2018 at 13:40

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Sun 12 Aug 2018 22:09
Toyota celica 2.0GT Convertible (import) - Autobox pulling away in 2nd gear - Oli rag
Are you sure it doesn’t have a W for winter setting? I know that some auto boxes of that age do, and that will cause it to set off in 2nd gear.

Edited by Oli rag on 12/08/2018 at 22:10

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Mon 13 Aug 2018 00:11
Toyota celica 2.0GT Convertible (import) - Autobox pulling away in 2nd gear - gordonbennet

Agree with Oli rag, that sounds like a winter or possibly eco switch is set to on.

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Tue 14 Aug 2018 00:44
Toyota celica 2.0GT Convertible (import) - Autobox pulling away in 2nd gear - Surrey_Scientist

No it doesn't have that facility.

Just a Sports mode.

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Tue 14 Aug 2018 19:35
Toyota celica 2.0GT Convertible (import) - Autobox pulling away in 2nd gear - gordonbennet

No it doesn't have that facility.

Just a Sports mode.

I had a MB W124 estate which had the 5 speed autobox fitted, by design this box would start in 2nd gear every time, which was ample for normal use, the only time first would engage is if you gave it almost full throttle from stationary, the resulting acceleration (it was a 3.2 24V) was staggeringly quick.

I wonder if your Celica is of similar design?

One of my Mercs (we had 4 of the model) snapped the kickdown cable, have you physically checked the cable right down to where it enters the box, if the cable is broken then you would get all of your symptoms.

Edited by gordonbennet on 14/08/2018 at 19:38

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If you cover no more than 100 miles per day and have easy access to a charging point at home or work, then an EV is ideal for you.

Is an electric car right for me?