Engine P0750 Shift Solenoid "A" Malfunction

P0750 Shift Solenoid "A" Malfunction

Code reader shows P0750 Shift Solenoid "A" Malfunction. 1st gear does not work. Car starts on 2nd gear.

How hard is it to fix or replace Shift Solenoid "A" ?

lolwut

twilight zone

When you say car "starts" in 2nd and not in first - you mean the car doesn't move at all in 1st gear (L), but will move if you pop it in 2nd (2)? You are not trying to start the car in gear, are you? Assuming this is the 4-speed auto (A245E) transaxle in your 2002?

Have to make sure it is the solenoid itself - there is an off chance that it could be the speed sensor or crankshaft sensor that is funky (ECM uses these two sensors to determine if the car is in the correct gear).

To get at the solenoids - you have to drop the transaxle pan, and remove the valve body. The solenoids are attached to the edge of the valvebody assembly. Generally - they are tested with compressed air, unpowered, they are closed, powered, they open.

When was the last time you had the transmission serviced? Was it a drain and refill or "flush"? If flush, do you remember what kind of flush they did - through the transmission fill tube or via the cooler lines? Did you see or know what ATF fluid they used?

Noob question: Does it matter what they used to flush? Whats the difference? -for future reference-

Yes, it does not move at all when you put it in "L" . When you put it in "D" it starts off in 2nd. It is 4-speed auto. No, I am not trying to start the car in gear.

CEL code reads P0750

Never had the transmission serviced. car has only 53K miles on it.

Yeah, probably a good time to get it serviced. I usually try and not go much past 30K miles for a drain and refill. Every other drain and refill - I drop the pan and clean or change the filter. For an 8th gen - I wouldn't run the fluid any longer than 60K miles - more often if you seen any stop and go traffic or are a "spirited" driver.

As for flushing - never a big fan of them. Coworkers and family members had some issues immediately after flushing. The cars ran a bit weird and the transmission fluid on occasion was grayish in color instead of reddish (looked more like silver metallic paint than ATF). The service techs said it was normal and would go away on its own - on some of those occasions, the transmission failed within a years time (all had less than 100K miles on them).

If you drain and refill on a regular basis - no need to ever do a flush. My Corolla has 150K miles, my Camry has 280K miles, and folks Tundra has 110K - none of them has seen a flush and none of them has seen any transmission problems at all.

Only time I'd do a flush, is if the tranny was dying and this was a last resort. Those times - you can get the transmission to run a bit longer until it completely fails.

Of course, there are a couple different flushing units out there. Some suck the old fluid out via the dipstick or some units attach to the cooler lines and use the transmission's own pump to pump fluid out. Those tend to be hard on the transmission or not work as advertised. Some compound the issue by pushing the fluid backwards (reverse flow) via air, cleaning solvents, even water - to "flush" the transmission. Most end up just stirring up all the crap that is on the bottom of the pan and forcing it into area that should not see that stuff. Many quicklube places use these fully automatic tranny killers that they start and walk away.

There are better machines - some use separate pumps and lines to suck old fluid out, while simultaneously adding new fluid. Some of the better machines have built-in heaters and can agitate the fluid - good for dissolving / cleaning out stubborn deposits. These use dedicated pumps and not the transmission's pump - so no chance to burn up the transmission's pump. They also pump the fluid in the same direction as the transmission normally would. Many are semi-automatic to full manual control in operation - i.e., they need a technician right there to make sure the machine is working correctly and the job is being done right.

Of course - the service will run anywhere from $80 - $130 - or you could buy a couple cases of ATF (Dexron II/III) and a bunch of pan gaskets + filter kits.

The "appeal" of these flushing units is that they supposedly get all the "old" fluid out. Typically, you can expect 3-4 quarts from a drain and refill, with another 9-12 quarts left in the torque converter, valvebody, and cooling lines/radiator. So if you do a drain and refill - you only get at about a 1/3 to a 1/4 of the total capacity. But if you keep your drain intervals relatively conservative - this should not be an issue. If you are really picky, you could "flush" the system youself - though I would note, messy as hell.

my 97 corolla wont shift into 3rd gear. do you have a diagram of where this solenoid would be. the dealership told me that there was 3 on the top and 1 one the bottom if this makes any sense. is this hard to do?

I don't have a diagram with me - but you should be able to pickup a Chilton or Haynes manual to get a better idea on where these solenoids are at. All of them are bolted to the outside edge of the valvebody assembly. If you look at the valvebody (pan off - the thing with tons of bolts and looks like a grid board) - you'll notice three cylinderical shaped plugs on one side - spaced roughly evenly across the valvebody, and one on ther opposite side, toward the corner. Hence - the dealership's description of 3 on top, and one on the bottom.

You might be able to get the dealership to print out an exploded diagram of the valvebody - that should help alot. Definitely not the easiest thing to work on - but if you got the time and comfortable in throwing around a wrench - should be a completely doable project.