Toyota Corolla harsh shifting problems

Filed Oct 17, 2025 · NY

7 months ago when my car had 56k miles my transmission was bad and they replaced but now is giving problems again i took it to lia toyota of rockland and they didn’t do anything about it, that the transmission is ok, but bad smell is coming out of the transmission and is hard to shift and it gives like hard pull when it changes into gear and u can hear the clunky sound of the transmission and it has only run for 19k miles and it has been only 7 months since they replaced

Filed Sep 2, 2025 · Transmission · 64,000 miles · LA

The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Corolla. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The contact became aware of an abnormal clunking sound, and that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated the failure had occurred while driving on a busy road. The contact attempted to shift the gear shifter into different driving modes; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The contact stated that several good Samaritans pushed the vehicle into a nearby driveway. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with transmission failure. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 64,000.

Filed Aug 13, 2025 · Engine, Fuel system · MT

While driving my 2019 Toyota Corolla Hatchback XSE, I lost almost all power to my accelerator and a check engine light appeared on my dash. I came to a stop and stalled the vehicle, once it stalled I turned the engine back on and shifted into reverse a felt and heard a loud clunk noise coming from right under my car and its not only shifting into reverse is the loud noise active but its also shifting into drive from reverse. I scanned my vehicle with a aftermarket scan tool and got 2 exact same codes for "Torque Converter Clutch Pressure Control Solenoid Control Circuit Performance/Stuck Off" and then two more codes for "Torque Converter Clutch Pressure Control Solenoid Control Actuator Stuck On". My torque converter in my CTV transmission failed. I was not at a risk of putting other people or myself in danger but if would have if i was moving faster at the time this happened. I have done my research on the recalls that are active on this vehicle and on the Toyota OEM TIS website there is only 1 recall that was taken care of in 2021 for the fuel pump and then there is a Warranty Enhancement Program for the Flow Shut-off Valve Coolant Leak. I did not find anything on that Toyota TIS website about the CVT recall but when i search my year, make and model on the web, I see that there is a recall for about 3,400 vehicles in the USA and nearly 1,000 in Canada that have a active recall for the CTV. I also saw the recall consequence and it matches up with what happened with my Corolla. I have attempted to contact 5 difference Toyota dealerships in my state to have them help me figure out the issue I am having with my vehicle not being listed in the recall but my CTV just failed. No one has reached back out in the past two days and I am continuing to call almost 3 times a day. I would like some clarity on how I should go about handling this issue.

Filed Nov 18, 2024 · Transmission · TX

Transmission slip, hard shifting, early or late shift. Automatic transmission

Filed Jan 2, 2024 · Transmission · FL

My college son was driving down from Orlando, and when he got here I took his/my car to my mechanic because the AC was not cold. I felt a hard shift when I put it in reverse, and when I started to drive the car to the mechanic, it didn’t feel right. They fixed my AC and I asked him to check the car as I was worried it did not feel safe to drive. They changed all the filters and did a complete transmission flush even though it was not due for 60,000 miles and there is less than 54,000 miles on this vehicle. They changed all the filters and upon doing the transmission flush my mechanic of 15 years found chunks of metal and shavings in the transmission pan. He took pics & told me my transmission was bad but it was an internal defect and I needed to take it to Toyota as there was no damage on the outside of my transmission, it’s pan, gasket or filter and there were no signs of any leak. He told me these CVT transmissions were a problem and there were a lot of ones not recalled, but there was a Special Service Campaign JSD for 1.3 million of these transmissions from Toyota. Toyota said my Vin number was not part of this Special Service Campaign JSD but I found there were also 3400 recalls on the CVT transmissions from the Toyota hatchback. Toyota told me because my car was already out of warranty, even if it was a manufacturing defect, they were not responsible. I take very good care of my cars. I have two Toyota Corollas, both 2017 and now I am very concerned about the other one. I’ve been on a lot of Toyota forums and it seems there are so many other Toyota Corollas that don’t have many miles on them and all of a sudden their transmission has an internal defect. I brought it to the dealership and they simply said it needed to be replaced, that it was hard shifting when going into reverse and banging gears intermediately. They told me if I wanted to know what the defect was I would have to pay at least 15 hrs of labor to start. My son could have been killed driving it

Filed Apr 27, 2021 · Engine · 60,000 miles · NY

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 toyota corolla. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle experienced hard shifting with the check engine warning light illuminated, prior to the vehicle inadvertently shutting off. On another occasion while driving approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle suddenly shut-off without warning. The vehicle was towed off the free way. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The contact referenced the federal safety agency campaign number as a possible cause for the failure. 10v384000 (engine and engine cooling) however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced the same failure listed in the recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The approximate failure mileage was 60,000.

Filed Feb 16, 2021 · Suspension · GA

I have a 2015 toyota corolla with 85,000 miles. It has a noise sense it had 33,000 mile and toyota ignore it, (clunking) in the front left side when going through small potholes and uneven surfaces at slow speeds. I have changed the strut mounts, sway bar links, sway bar bushings and even the sway bar and nothing has changed. I do not what else to do. I have taken it to three mechanics and no one has been able to determine the cause of the noise. My last mechanic advise me alot of toyota corolla have this issue he advise to replace the lower control arm it will fix the issue and toyota should think about recall it this issue everyone have.

Filed Sep 25, 2020 · Transmission · 60,000 miles · CA

Transmission is clunking and it seems like an extremely rough downshifting mostly at freeway speeds and it actually sounds and feels as though you've hit something on the road even though road was clear. I called the dealer and was told if it could not be duplicated that they wouldn't be able to figure out the problem. When I last brought it to dealer for oil change they put on the vehicle report that the transmission fluid was black and when I asked what should be done the service adviser didn't text back. The transmission seems to be slipping more often and I estimate the clunking and strange noise has happened 10-15 times at least. It is nerve wracking when it occurs because it is scary to feel that when you are driving on the freeway.

Filed Apr 1, 2020 · Suspension · 60,000 miles · GA

At 60,00 miles I started hearing noises coming from the front suspension I took it to the dealership it was still under warranty they told me that it was the upper strut mount here. Dealership replaced front mount. Now it is doing again I'm at a hundred and ten thousand miles and that problem still persist something is going on with the strut mounts front strut mounts of this vehicle every time I go over a speed bump or railroad tracks it makes a clunking noise and also when I'm turning left and right

Filed Jan 25, 2020 · Engine · 10,000 miles · FL

On more than one occasion I was going between 5-10 miles an hour and the car sputtered and felt like it was going to shut off. I told the dealership when I took the car in for regular service and the told me the computer did not find anything wrong and they could not replicate the problem when driving it. Also when accelerating the car will make a clunking sound. Again the dealership denied a problem. These issues have happened multiple times