95 Model Toyota Camry Transmission Problem

A better description of the problem is needed.

Moving sluggishly from start may indicate a dragging brake or emergency brake and have nothing to do with the transmission.

The repair shop you went is a fraud. You should immediately go back to them and demand your money back, since they did not cure the symptom you described.

Does the engine race?

Does it shift OK?

More detailed information is needed, and use of the correct terms will help.

Her indoors had one of these camry's though you don't mention if it is the 4 cylinder or V6. Her 4 cylinder camry drove like a tired snail, certainly compared to my 900 turbo...

you may have a dragging brake, probably one of the rear brakes, the wheel cylinder isn't returning properly. You will have "normal" brake feel but the rear brake remains on or partially on. this will make the car strain against the extra load, eventually you build up enough pace and the brakes release a bit more.

alternatively you could have a engine performance issue, if the engine is lacking performance then this will show up in the inability to move the car adequately due to the need to overcome the automatic transmissions inherent inefficiencies.

It's hard to diagnose this over the internet. Not enough info to distinguish between engine, brake, or transmission issues. It could be something as simple as a clogged fuel filter restricting gas flow to the engine, to something that few DIYers can handle like worn clutches/bands in the transmission, all of which will suddenly manifest themselves as "sluggish performance".

A quick look at the Camry forums indicates transmission problems/replacements starting between 140,000 to 170,000 miles of service, so if you're near that range, you should be prepared for the worst. Just don't go back to the first mechanic you mentioned.

Thanks for your replies. The engine is 4 cylinder, and it races very well infact the Car speed very well ince it moves; the issue is that I ve to race it hard before it starts to move from park. Someone told me it could be gear 1 and 2 that is bad. what can I do?

Toyota automatic transmissions are very well engineered and built, however a 1995 is nearly 20 years old and you can start having trouble at this age.

It's not a brake problem, because the car drives in reverse okay and it drives fine, once it's moving.

It's definitely a transmission problem. Since you have to rev the engine to get the car to move, it means the transmission is slipping. It doesn't sound like a torque converter, since the transmission works fine in reverse and other gears.

I do not rebuild transmissions, so I don't know what the exact problem is. Most likely, your old transmission fluid was burnt (stinky and dark - not bright pink).

What I do know is the auto business and burnt transmission fluid is a big problem. I think your best bet would be to buy a transmission from a wrecked car and have it installed in your car. If you don't do this, you will damage your engine from reving it so hard. The reason I know this is we did the same to our Mazda Millenia over 10 years ago - and the fix was putting in a used transmission vs a rebuild.

Good luck.

The "cheap" option is to replace the transmission with a known good used one from the wreckers/dismantlers. Alternatively you can get the transmission overhauled by a transmission specialist. There is no magic internet fix for this.

As the Toyota ad says "Oh what a feeling, Bend over..."

Before the trip to the mechanic did you check the transmission fluid? Was it red or a burnt orange color? Did it smell burnt?

Is there a breakers nearby? Can it be towed there?

Although I doubt that it is your brakes an easy check is to drive the car a few hundred feet, stop and get out and feel all the wheel hubs. If any of wheel hub is warm then your brake/ brakes are dragging.