Automotive Forums

I'm considering buying a 1996 Camry, 4-cyl. (2.2 L), automatic (about 175,000 miles). There is a problem with the transmission (I think). Everything works fine except on the highway, even when warm, the car doesn't seem to make the final shift (overdrive) and at 100 km/hr (60 mph) the tach shows around 3000 rpm. I drove it for a half hour and tried speeds up to 130 km/hr (3700 rpm) but it just wouldn't make the final shift. I own a 1995 Camry (with 515,000 kilometers) with the same motor and (presumably) same transmission and at 100 km/hr my tach shows about 2400 rpm so I suspect something is up with the '96. The strange thing about this however is that when I'm driving the '96 at highway speeds and click on the O/D button (O/D OFF) the rpms jump up slightly (about 200 rpms). I tried this several times to make sure I wasn't imagining it. How can this be?

The car is so quiet and smooth that many people wouldn't even be aware that the rpms are too high at highway speeds. I pointed this out to the dealer selling the car and he seemed genuinely surprised but agreed with me (after taking it for a drive) that it wasn't making the final shift. Because of this potential problem with the transmission he's offered to sell me the car for a terrific price but it won't look so terrific if I'm faced with a $2000 transmission bill.

Could any of you offer any suggestions as to what may be wrong with the transmission....i.e. the probability that it's just an electrical problem (fuse, sensor, wire, etc.) that might not cost too much to repair as opposed to a broken piston/crank whatever in the transmission that will cost a lot. The transmission seems to work perfectly apart from this failure to shift into overdrive - no indication that it is slipping or pausing - I even tried backing up a steep hill and it worked fine.

Thanks for any advice you can offer!

Stu in New Brunswick