I would have searched for this, but I couldn't.

I've noticed that when I first start my car, the transmission tends to stay in gear longer. Just driving in my neighborhood with some light-pedal, it will stay in 1st until 3500 RPM. I think it is just the cold, because after 5-10, the transmission is normal (and the engine gets as hot as it ever does according to the gauge).

As nice as it would be to have an excuse to start collecting parts for a 5-speed swap, I'm looking for confirmation that this behavior does not mean my transmission is dying.

 

My tranny does that too. Your tranny is fine.

 

Yeah, mine does that too. And lately it knocks just a teeny bit when lightly pressing the gas in cold weather. Goes away after a bit though.

 

Mine makes that noise too. I hate it. Sounds like an engine knock, but only right at the beginning of first.

 

I had that problem too, and then 3 weeks later, my tranny fuxored up hardcore. I lost 2nd and 4th gear, and I had to get a complete new tranny.

Next time your car is cold let it warm up for about 5-10 mins, then holding the brake, move through the gears down to 1st, then back up to park. Then put it in drive and see how it acts.

 

Alright, some additional info. It warmed up a bit down here, so the behavior I began this thread with are not problematic anymore.

BUT, I began to think back to 19 months ago when I purchased my max, and I remember the shifts having a lot more kick to them. Now, the 1-2, which used to be a wonderfully not luxurious jolt, is Camry-smooth, and the 2-3 is especially weird: now it revs up another 500-600 RPM before it goes into third. I'm worried that my gears are being eaten up, should I take it to a tranny-dude?

 

hmmm when first driving my car on a cold morning i try to keep the rpms under 2k and am able to do so. I would think something is wrong if the tranny didnt shift into second after 35k rpm.

 

This is exactly what mine started doing and it got progressively worse and now I have a new transmission. I'm not saying this will happen to yours but your description is unbelievably similar to how mine was acting. I guess if there is one good thing to say it's that mine did not fail immediately and leave me stranded...