Recent content by aprilaries

I did a little search and ended up with the vacuum valve. Seems that all the symptoms matched a bad valve. Maybe I should just ask them to change the valve and see what happens.

Got AAMCO check results: low transmission fluid pressure. Maybe some sticky valves. They are not sure of the exact problem. They suggest a 'soft' transmission rebuilt for more than $1200. I guess I'll sell the car for parts or just drive it around till it dies.

The fluid is brown, no strong smell. I guess the trans fluid hasn't been flushed for a very long time. I was told not to touch the trans fluid (due to the car's age?), when first got the car more than two years ago. I scheduled a check with a local AAMCO shop next Monday. The guy picked up...

Updates: I finally got the car to a local shop and the mechanist fixed the starting problem: a battery cable was loose. But he couldn't figure out the gear shifting problem and suggest go to a transmission shop.

Many thanks for all your suggestions! I checked the fuses and all of them were OK. Today, I was able to start the car and drove it around slowly. But the problem remains: it didn't change gear at right time and couldn't change to high gear. Now it is clear that the battery was not the problem...

Thank you guys for the suggestions! I'll post any updates.

The cable looks OK. The positive pole always has some corrosion and I cleaned it when I charged the battery. I noticed the 100A fuse between the alternator and the battery seemed burned. I'll take a look when I got back. Thanks!

Thank you, Donabed:) I did measure the battery the first time the car refused to start and it was 12.8 V. After I tightened down the battery, I started the car and measured the charging voltage to be ~ 14V. I'll measure it again. The battery is maintenance free. There is a metal bar across...

I have this 91' Corolla DX wagon with auto tran for more than two years. It has ~149000 miles and I did regular maintenance during my possession. It failed to start after a series of events: Two weeks ago, I left the head light on over night and drained the battery (changed in 2013.6)...