Celica Forums General Discussion General New To The Celica Family! Just Need A Little Help

Hello my name is Jacob. I recently bought a 2000 Toyota Celica GTS and i am in love with the car. I actually wanted this to be my first car but never was able to afford it. Anyways since i have been driving the car it is smooth other than a few idle issues and shifting issues. Im not sure if they are normal or abnormal. So the first issue i have been having is sometimes when its in automatic mode it shifts up as i speed up normally but when it shifts down it goes from 3rd strait to 1st. Also it sometimes randomly when im driving it will shift from 4th down to 3rd and back to 4th again, this is while going the same speed at like 60mph. Another thing i find weird is that when i let off the accelerator there is a vibration and i feel like it idles high when doing it (at like 2000 rpms.) again not sure if this is normal or not. Some things i have done to try and resolve the issue is clean the MAF sensor and clean the Throttle body position sensor. Was thinking about just cleaning the Throttle body now but have not done so yet. Any feed back about these issues is greatly appreciated and i look forward to hearing from some of the Celica Family!

Hi Welcome the forum!

Sounds like you should look at checking the transmission fluid and possibly getting that and the transmission fluid replaced.

Do you have a maintenance history with you Celica? Most people do not keep up with records so that is understandable if you never received one. Car fax might help with some of the records if you haven't already pulled one.


Being that it is almost 20 years old if not already 20 years old I would check the transmission fluid and get that and the filter replaced. Possibly needing a new clutch pack ( Automatic transmissions use clutch packs, Manual Transmissions use a single clutch system) Which would require a transmission rebuild or a new transmission. However, start with the the transmission fluid first then work towards what it might need next.

Though you would probably notice it while "manually" shifting through the gears too. However I do believe that with the issues you are explaining here that it might be worth taking a look into because an automatic transmission going out or needing fluid can cause almost all of those issues.

Cleaning the Throttle body is definitely a good idea and might resolve those vibrational issues.

Also from another 2000 Celica owner, check your engine/transmission mounts. If they are original you should see about replacing them as that can be a nasty disaster , and could cause vibrations in early stages of going bad.

If the auto transmission fluid has not been changed a while, gunk may cause blockage and gear slips.

There is a transmission flushing procedure done by shops with a machine, or you can do it yourself, which really helps.

Basically flush the fluid from the pan through the transmission and fluid cooler out while adding new fluid in::

1 Jack up the car's driving wheels so they can drive.
2. Add flushing liquid to transmission, idle the car and shift through all gears for about 10 minutes
3. Drain the transmission, measure how many quarts of fluid are drained.
4. Tighten lug. Add back 4 or 5 quarts of fluid via the dip stick
5. Remove the xmission fluid hose from the radiator cooler back to the transmission so the fluid in cooler also gets flushed out. Stick the end into a big jug to collect fluid.
6. Idle car, shift through all gears while adding new fluid into dip stick.
7 Watch the fluid in the jug.. When 4 or 5 quarts are flushed out or when fluid is no longer black/brown and turns red, then the transmission is completely flushed.
8. Hook the hose back to the transmission.