2000 SLE sluggish transmission?

[roblectric]

I own a 2000 SLE with auto trans. Just wondered if other owners notice the same thing and if I should be concerned. When cold, the trans seems reluctant to shift to third gear without a little goose on the gas.Fluids have been checked and are ok. Once it warms up, it shifts like a dream. Kind of annoying when you have to jump in and go, and you are cruising down the street at 35mph and 2500 rpm, then you have to gas it up to 40mph for the shift and the more comfortable 1800 rpm. Cops around here wont go for that excuse, heh.

[ChiTownSolara]

ya, mine does the same thing when it is cold. i think it just does that to warm the engine up faster. also, when the engine is cold, it will up shift for you way sooner then when it is warm.

[700t]

Yeah I know exactly what you mean.Another symtom when engine/tranny are cold is when you go full throttle the tranny will shift at only 4000rpm. This is also annoying when you want to pass/race right after you get into car.
I think what the Toyota engineers did was they electronically programmed the tranny to shift at different rpm(before engine is warm) in order to save the engine. ie-running @6000 rpm on a cold engine is extremely hard on internal parts.
Also the tranny stays in 2nd gear @2500rpm to decrease load on engine at the same time warming it up faster.
These measures will make your engine last longer so don't think there is anything wrong with your transmission.

[Yanks0114]

Its also to help with emission. When your engine is cold, the cats are very ineffective so unregulated amounts of o2 can pass through the system. You may also notice extra power one day and poor power the next. Don't race until your car is warm anyways. By holding the gear longer the engine does higher RPMs and warms up quicker

[DavPak]

By holding the gear longer the engine does higher RPMs and warms up quicker

absolutely correct!
also, the auto trans will not shift into O/D until its warm enough.

[hari-bhari]

You may also notice extra power one day and poor power the next.

I do notice that!!! I thought I was just crazy or something....why does that happen??

[Flipside909]

By holding the gear longer the engine does higher RPMs and warms up quicker

absolutely correct!
also, the auto trans will not shift into O/D until its warm enough.

That is correct. Once the radiator fluid/engine temperature reaches the minimum regular temperature level, the radiator temp. sensor will signal the ECU to allow engagement of 4th gear OD.

[hari-bhari]

so what's the reason for the difference in power between days?