1997 Toyota Camry Trans stuck in drive

1997 TOYOTA CAMRY

140,000 MILES • 4 CYL • FWD • AUTOMATIC

DAVE MO

MEMBER
2 POSTS

A friend's 97 Camry came to me with a possible disconnected shift linkage. Sure enough, the cable had popped off at the shifter and for good reason. The transmission lever (even disconnected from the cable) is frozen in place. It doesn't even wiggle as if a solenoid lockout but rather won't even budge. As best I can tell it would be in the drive position. What could be the cause of this? Fluid level fine and not burnt. No leaks. Have you ever seen this before?

Aug 21, 2009 at 11:39 PM

MERLIN2021

✓ASE Certified Mechanic
17,250 POSTS

Any codes? Maybe a stuck torque converter...or something is wrong in valve body. Lever can't be moved by hand? Any visible damage to the lever?

Aug 22, 2009 at 4:19 AM

DAVE MO

MEMBER
2 POSTS

There were 2 seemingly unrelated codes - O2 sensor and something else. The lever is not bent and no, it cannot be moved by hand. I was thinking maybe some kind of debris in the way of the manual shift valve but this sucker is just plain frozen. I was hoping to find an answer in lieu of dropping the pan. By the way, I checked all the fuses too.

Aug 22, 2009 at 11:08 AM

MERLIN2021

✓ASE Certified Mechanic
17,250 POSTS

I think the only way is rescan the codes, and you will need to drop the pan and maybe the valve body, if shift solenoid is stuck it wont move either...

Aug 22, 2009 at 1:38 PM

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