Newres

I have since discovered the real reason for the transmission hunting for the correct gear. "It's the Fuel Filter" My brother-in-law owns his own ford workshop. I was driving with him in the car several times and mentioned the problem. He immediately said, the most common fault with transmissions that rely on the ECU for the correct gear etc, is the fuel pressure. If the fuel pressure is too low, the torque of the engine will be too low, so the computer hunts for the gear which matches the torque being created. This is why is happens at low speeds or when braking hard and turning into a corner. I drove home, booked the car in to have the fuel filter (which is in the fuel pump in the fuel tank) changed. I discovered, to my amusement, the car I bought (2nd Hand) had a full service history, but the fuel filter had never been changed. It was still the original factory fitted filter. The cost was $360. I disconnected the battery overnight to get rid of all the computer adjustments it has made over the years to compensate for the poor fuel delivery, and then went for a 200km drive over some hilly roads and around town. WOW..... Hope others find this useful. I now have a car that hits the right gear shift every time. It has a heap more torque and the fuel economy is even better. The engine is also as smooth as silk, and I can hear it evenly climb the revs, not hesitate a while under power then find its mojo... Amazing that fuel pressure can affect your transmission.

I have read countless complaints about the Toyota Kluger 2005 transmission. I travelled in Canada for 12 months in 2016 and bought a 2004 Kluger (Highlander) to drive in the extreme conditions and tow a lcamper trailer across the country in the summer holidays. I loved it so much I bought a 2005 Kluger with just 133000 km on the dial when I returned to Australia. It was then I discovered the transmission problem. I have chased so many online threads. Read all the issues and things people have done to try and solve the issue. None seem to work so I decided to try my own thing. I bought the vehicle in Sydney in January 2017. It had spent most of it's life on the streets near Marrickville and the occasional trip down the coast to Kiama. A lady driver and in pristine condition. Needless to say the Computer had learnt some really bad fuel and transmission habits over the 11 years. I drove it 500km home. The Transmission fluid was really dark in colour when I bought it so I had a service done and replaced the ATF as soon as I drove home. Since then the Transmission became impossible to live with. Couldn't decide which gear it should be in when driving at slow speeds and turning into streets where it needed to step down to 2nd or even first. The hesitation was almost 2 seconds. I put up with it for 3 months, thinking it would get better. It didn't. I came to the conclusion that non-compatible transmission fluid was put into the car. I bit the bullet and decided to do some maintenance myself. 1) I dropped the transmission fluid and replaced it with Valvoline synthetic ATF. Recommended for Toyota transmissions. 2) I removed and looked at the MAF sensor. It was coated in filth and took a long time to clean with the appropriate cleaner. I put it back in. 3) I unplugged the battery for 3 hours to drain the Computer to wipe the old history. 4) I used a third party OBDII scanner adaptor from China to check for engine faults. None were present. That's it. After a week of driving the car, it had improved tremendously. 1) The engine started properly and was not hunting for the correct revs when cold (MAF) sensor is now working properly. 2) The gear changes from 1st to 2nd were faster and more efficient. The rest of shift points were also much better. 3) After a week of driving, the hesitation has reduced from 2 seconds up the hill to my house, down to half a second at most. It isn't hunting for the correct gear now. 4) The engine / transmission is running much quieter and smoother. 5) When I manually downshift the transmission to 3rd, 2nd and 1st, they slot in very quickly and the engine responds more quickly as well. 6) On acceleration, the gear shift points are getting better all the time. On reflection, the computer was not registering the amount of air coming into the engine so the computer was running lean, then rich, then lean when it should have been more constant. This has a direct input into the gear the transmission is going to select, depending on the torque required for the throttle position being read. The 2nd lot of oil allowed me to flush even more ****ty old transmission fluid out leaving more quality fluid in the system. Just though I would post this. Hope it helps someone out. Cost me $80 for the ATF and MAF sensor cleaner, but it was worth every cent. I really enjoy the driving experience now. Fuel consumption is under 11.8 L/100 on average so I'm happy.