How is the transmission for a '99 Toyota Solara 153k miles??

[narfzorkpinky]

Hi Everyone,

I need help please!
Someone wants to sell me a 1999 Toyota Camry Solara SLE with 152,000 miles, automatic transmission. I would like to know how long will it last? Have you guys/gals had to change the transmission often, or ever?
How much will it cost? (parts and labor, are they expensive?)
If you have this same car, please let me know what I can expect from it, the car as a whole and the transmission and engine specifically. Is it reliable?

I dont need advice on buying the car... I just want to learn what other people's experiences with this car have been. Any help is appreciated.



Thank you in advance!

[Jakecallun20]

Yeah, its a good car. The 1MZ IMO is a great reliable motor. So is the A541E, 2nd gear freaking rocks and the trans axle itself is built well. All I have ever done to mine is change the trans fluid/filter/pan gasket. I'm rockin' 149k right now on my 99' SLE V6. The car is stock for the most part with a couple of little things here and there. I say buy the car, its a great car for the money you'll spend. The only thing I think you'll need to do is regular maintenance, Spark plugs, wires, oil/filter, I also suggest a drop in K&N. When I got mine at 135k I cleaned out my TB, and my MAF as well. Not too much really.

[RandySolara]

Hi Everyone,

I need help please!
Someone wants to sell me a 1999 Toyota Camry Solara SLE with 152,000 miles, automatic transmission. I would like to know how long will it last? Have you guys/gals had to change the transmission often, or ever?
How much will it cost? (parts and labor, are they expensive?)
If you have this same car, please let me know what I can expect from it, the car as a whole and the transmission and engine specifically. Is it reliable?

I dont need advice on buying the car... I just want to learn what other people's experiences with this car have been. Any help is appreciated.



Thank you in advance!

Dont worry about anythin if you bought a Solara bro, ive been driven Solara Since 1999 solara till 2001 solara and i still drivin it..2001, as Jakecallun said there, just Mantenance and drive, everythin is cool for Solara except 1... right now im not sure but about 3-4 years ago, it was hard to find Aftermarket Parts for Solara it likes Acura and all those Luxury Cars, i asked Toyota and Insurance, they said, cause Solara is Luxury for Toyota, thats why there no Aftermarket's part and Insurance is high,,, sound stupid right ? i didnt believe that...i asks all my Machanic's friend, they says YES its hard to find parts for Solara.

PS: You gotta trust Toyota for Engine/Tranmission even Electrical, all those 3 never went wrong since i was still drivin Solara 99, here how i babied my car...

- Change oil/oil filter every 7-8k k/m who cares what the due date say in the Bodyshop/Sticker, its ur car you take care of it. use only Synthetic Mobil 1 oiler, if your car mileage under 100k use 5-30W, if your car over 120km use 10-30W, change Tranmission-Fluid and put Engine-Treament every 40-50km

-Air filter, gas filter, spark plugs, check once awhile but its not important though, i did not change any of these, for the air filter you just take it out and hand-clean and put it back heeheh gas filter...if you want to save alittle gas, change it, and seriously my solara 99 spark plugs still Original from Toyota and it work like new...even better than my 2001 Solara...

You gotta trust Toyota, all my family's been driven Toyota over 10 years. Especially for the Solara, Mantenace & Drive, dont worrry.

[Jai_Jai_Binks]

any trany depends on how well it was taken care of. Ask for any tranny maint. work (like drain and fill and/or tranmission flush's - if any done to the car).

[Duffman]

any trany depends on how well it was taken care of. Ask for any tranny maint. work (like drain and fill and/or tranmission flush's - if any done to the car).

+1.

A Toyota will last forever if it has been taken care of (regular maintenance, not thrashed by some stupid teenager).

[Chinky420]

yeah, while i agree with jake and randy about the quality workmanship of toyota, you really need to do some investigating on your own, specific to this vehicle.


if possible, get all service records regarding tranny maintenance (or all maintenance, for that matter). try and find out (either by asking, or by deduction after running a carfax), how many miles/year the previous owner put on the car.

ask him how many times a year he would do x, y, and z regarding maintenance (oil, coolant, tranny fluid, for example).

and figure out for yourself if you're comfortable with the information given regarding the upkeep of the vehicle.


i'm saying all this, being one of the few people who actually have blown out their transmission (mine blew at 133k, after i had put about 42k of hard miles on it)

i got mine fixed for 1350, but i also used salvage parts (my salvage tranny has 67k miles on it, and only cost me 650).

if you are gonna have to replace the whole tranny with new OEM parts then i would guess it would be about 2000 dollars to replace.

and let me just say: even if the previous owner drove it tamely, just two years of driving it hard will break it. remember, it is almost a 10 year old car, and lots of service was supposed to be done between production and now.


if you're really worried about it, see if you can find a local shop that would do a free diagnostic, and see if they find anything. just make sure you trust the shop.



wow, lots of texans chimed in on this one....

[RandySolara]

Chinky bro, you were mentioning about Tranny, that was 1 thing i forgot to mention bro, thanks for bringin it up, let discuss about Tranmission for Solara .

im a little confuse on "Overdrive On/Off" O/D on/off maybe this topic is a good place to discuss while someone would like to know more about Solara/Toyota,

6 years ago i asked one of my normal friend, he isnt a machanic, he said use OverDrive-Off at all time, OverDrive-On only help Engine run faster and stronger, use O/D On whenever you wanna pass/race with someone.

My dad is the longest drives and more experience with Toyota than anyone in my family, he said, use OverDrive-On only when you are on "freeway" (HighWay) use Overdrive-Off when you are driving in City "Local" that you always stopping for red like and traffics, O/D-On is when we are driving smoothly with no stopping, O/D-Off is for lower gear is when we are in traffic or in downtown that always stop for Red-Light. Dad always says, O/D-On always save some gas ?????

Which one is true ? my Dad or my Friend ? i listened to my Dad cause he reasonable, my machanic friends says ahhh listen to your dad, but i just wanna to know the TRUE, what do you guys think ? i know some of you are very experience on this site, please join us with this newbie question.

[redgen1]

my lara has 115,000 miles on it.
i bought it used from a familiar dealership with 85 k and a rebuilt 1mz (dont ask how the moron who owned it first managed to neccesitate a full internal rebuild w/o FI, but somehow, he did).

i change the oil regularly, normally let it warm up for at least a minute in cold weather (not long enough, i know.), but i drive the HELL out of it every day to work/class.

I hate the fact that I drive an automatic now, but its an extremely reliable car and definately durable. as long as its been tended to regularly, it should run for a good while longer - i would say at least 210 k+ w/o issue...

just my opinion...

[redgen1]

Chinky bro, you were mentioning about Tranny, that was 1 thing i forgot to mention bro, thanks for bringin it up, let discuss about Tranmission for Solara .

im a little confuse on "Overdrive On/Off" O/D on/off maybe this topic is a good place to discuss while someone would like to know more about Solara/Toyota,

6 years ago i asked one of my normal friend, he isnt a machanic, he said use OverDrive-Off at all time, OverDrive-On only help Engine run faster and stronger, use O/D On whenever you wanna pass/race with someone.

My dad is the longest drives and more experience with Toyota than anyone in my family, he said, use OverDrive-On only when you are on "freeway" (HighWay) use Overdrive-Off when you are driving in City "Local" that you always stopping for red like and traffics, O/D-On is when we are driving smoothly with no stopping, O/D-Off is for lower gear is when we are in traffic or in downtown that always stop for Red-Light. Dad always says, O/D-On always save some gas ?????

Which one is true ? my Dad or my Friend ? i listened to my Dad cause he reasonable, my machanic friends says ahhh listen to your dad, but i just wanna to know the TRUE, what do you guys think ? i know some of you are very experience on this site, please join us with this newbie question.

randy...
think of O/D as a 5th gear... it should be on most of the time.. it will conserve gas when its ON because it lets the engine run at lower RPMs... if you dont believe me, get on the freeway with O/D, go 55, and punch it up to 70.. youll feel you car downshift to accelerate. Then try it again, this time, at 55, turn O/D manually. Youll notice the car downshifts, and you should also notice that the engine is revving higher at the same speed...


ya know what... its probably smart if you just leave it on all the time if you can't seem to figure out the difference by yourself bud...

[Chinky420]

ya know what... its probably smart if you just leave it on all the time if you can't seem to figure out the difference by yourself bud...

kinda harsh, but probably true.

OD is part of the ECU where the car gets to figure out if it should be shifting to the utmost gear, or if it should be lagging in the most powerful gear.


think of driving a manual: if you are rolling around in the city, and just cruising along at 40 mph, you could keep it in 3rd where your RPMs are a bit higher, but you'll have some extra power if you need to floor it and haul.

imagine the same circumstance, only you're in 4th or 5th gear at 40 mph. in this scenario, your RPMs are way down (around 1200-1400, depending on the car and gear ratios), but if you try flooring it, you car is gonna feel all bogged down and without any good acceleration.


basically, keeping it in OD on tells the auto tranny to keep the car in the highest moving gear, to reduce RPMs and increase fuel economy.

turning off OD will keep you in the previous gear (i.e. like you're crusing in 3rd instead of 4th/5th, in my examples). really, there's no need to turn off OD unless you're hauling a heavy load, or if you're gonna be racing/redlining your engine. or maybe climbing a steep hill, or trying to get out of snow/mud (although, realistically, you'd probably use L to get out of mud/snow)


try this: get on the highway, and cruise at about 70 mph. take your foot off the accelerator and coast, and then turn off the OD. you'll feel your car downshift and you'll notice your RPMs go upto about 4500.

with OD on at 70 mph your RPMs will be about 2200
with OD off at 70 mph your RPMs will be about 4500

get it?



personally, i will sometimes use the OD button to faux-downshift/engine brake (if i'm coasting and slowly creeping onto the bumper of the person in front of me, i'll take off OD to let the engine slow down the car, instead of tapping the brakes).

also, sometimes if i'm trying to pass, i'll tag the OD button off (for shits'n'giggles) as i'm accelerating past whomever it is. then put the OD back on when i'm in the lane i want to be in, and back to just cruising.

also, for me, with my intake and the throttle body spacer, when i turn off the OD i tend to get my intake to growl, and my TB spacer to whistle. which almost always makes me happy.

hope this helped

[redgen1]

haha ditto kwan -

turnin off o/d = instant whistle/growl from cpe&greddy

[youngblood]

Kwan was right on when he mentioned towing and long uphill travel. Under these circumstances, the transmission may have a tendency to 'hunt' for gears. Extra shifting is undesirable during this type of driving as the transmission is likely also experiencing higher than average temperatures.

Excessive shifting + High temperatures = Shortened Life

[RandySolara]

Thanks for the great info guys, Chinky that what i thought but dont do as usual as you stated, i only turn On O/D when on FreeWay, downtown Toronto Canada always million of walking peoples and thousand of car/taxi cant just leave O/D on all the time, yes its hard to brake/stop, with o/d off its easier.