Just had my '93 Corolla worked on (replaced timing belt and rear brakes). The speedometer was only bouncing up to 20 or 30 miles no matter what speed so I asked the mechanic to fix that also. He took the "head" I think he called it (i.e. the dial that shows the speed via the dashboard) out of the car and showed me a burnt spot on the circuit board in back of the dial. He left the dial out of the car until the part gets shipped in. Now the "O/D Off" idiot light blinks occasionally but no ill effects in the first few hours since I picked the car up, until I took the car to a park at night for homeless outreach and it cooled down for about two hours. When I drove out of the parking lot I noticed that when I tried to accelerate, the car would not come out of first gear. I stopped on the side of the road and turned the engine off for a few seconds then restarted. The car appeared to operate normally but the "Check Transmission" idiot light (shaped like a transmission) was now lit in the dashboard. I carefully made my way to a Full Serve gas station and had them check the transmission fluid level. They said it was completely full. They asked to see what the idiot light looked like but when I started the car, the idiot light had gone away. They told me it could be the "ACU" or "ECU" (i.e the computer) that could be the problem, so bring it in to have it analyzed using their diagnostic tool. I am mystified since I drove it a week or so (bought it used) and it ciimbs hills great. However, a web article says that beware if the transmission tends to shift relatively abruptly rather than having a seamless transition through each gear change. I do notice that there is just a little jerk sometimes if I put it in gear from a dead stop a little too suddenly and then step on the gas. Any ideas on what the problem could be?
Nov 3, 2010 at 4:39 AM