Silver Fox

Hi Paul. I suggest going to a diesel perfomance specialist. Toyota can't fix it - I went to three of them. Mechanics don't have the right gear. Auto electricians say it's electrical and suggest going to Toyota. It's not a gearbox problem - I tried all that. It ended up being in the ECU. The performance people did a 'remap' which cost about $500.00 which fixed it instantly. My car has never been chipped or tuned so it's about as standard as they come, but a remap? fixed my problem of no 5th/6th gear or cruise control and it's been perfect for a few months now. That's all I can suggest. Good luck.

The problem I had with my 2009 200 series with it not changing up to 5th or 6th gear ended up being an easy fix late last year. To go back to beginning - 8 months prior to the start of the problem, I had the intake manifold cleaned by a diesel performance company and they talked me into having an EGR blank plate installed and adjust the ECU accordingly, which I agreed to while I was there. Then 8 months later it started to intermittently not go past 4th gear. The company said this issue had nothing at all to do with what they had done with the EGR. The problem got worse over a period of 12 months and it became a permanent 4 speed gearbox. After taking the car to numerous other places without success I ended up back at the original company who had by then come up with a solution. They said it was basically in a type of limp mode, so they did a minor remap of the ECU of some sort and I think they turned off the EGR valve. Probably not legal but anyway. If I hadn't done the blank plate 2 years ago it would've saved me a lot of trouble. It's all good now though.

Changing the accelerator pedal assembly did fix my 2009 200 series only for a month or so, then the problem of it not changing up to 5th gear returned intermittently. No pattern to it. I gave up trying to fix it. Nobody had an answer including Toyota. I just got back from a 7 week caravan trip and had 5th gear for about a week in the middle but drove the last 4 weeks in 4th gear. That wasn’t a problem while towing - 90km/hr at 2300rpm with slightly better fuel economy - but a pain while not towing and wanting to go faster. They all say the gearbox is fine and it must be electrical. Now that it appears to be a permanent problem I should see if it can be diagnosed now but am reluctant to throw any more money at it.

I replaced the accelerator pedal assembly 3 weeks ago, then drove the car for 80kms and got 5th/6th gear the whole way. I stopped to come home and then it wouldn’t go past 4th gear for the next 60km. I thought that was another waste of money so I stopped and turned it off for 5 minutes. It was perfect then for the rest of the way home and has been ever since. I’m not saying it’s fixed because I’ve been fooled with it before, but 3 weeks continuously with 5th/6th gear is a good sign. Maybe the new sensor part just had to reset itself or something? Fingers crossed.

Thanks Tony. About 6 months ago I was told one of the starting batteries was down so I replaced both of them. I towed the caravan yesterday for about 120km. The first half was fine, then had to drive the rest of the way in 4th gear after stopping along the way. Totally intermittent problem.

The last Toyota place that was recommended I go to apparently had the best drivetrain diagnostic equipment anywhere and they (like all the others) couldn’t find any past or present error codes. They randomly drove it for 140km over a 3 week period while I was away on a trip and they couldn’t fault it. They all say they can’t fix what they can’t find, and of course it never plays up when it’s booked in somewhere.

I’ve had a 2009 LC200 VX since new. 12 months ago it started not changing up to 5th/6th gear intermittently, either in drive or manual. When it’s in this mood the cruise control doesn’t work either, plus it doesn’t like changing down gears when in manual mode- like going downhill. There is no pattern to when it will do this. It might be good for weeks then the problem will return, but usually not for long. I’ve had the car to numerous mechanics, auto electricians, transmission specialists and 3 Toyota dealers. Of course nobody has heard of this problem before and have no answers. After seeing an earlier post here about changing the accelerator assembly, I think that might be worth a try. At $330 for the part, it could be the cheapest fix I’ve had so far? Gary