This is my first post on the forum.
I have a TR Auto sedan which was bought for my son a month ago.
The car seemed to be in reasonable condition and the auto functioned well in all gears and was quick to shift.
I was told that the auto was slipping in top gear, like it went into neutral.
I drove the car and couldn;t get it to slip, it was an intermittient thing.
I checked the fuild and it was at the correct level. (Line on teh stick with "HOT" written beside it.
Was told today that it had got a lot worse.
I drove it about 10 klm.
It was cold to start with. At first it didn't move in drive or reverse. Then I felt it finally go into gear (after about 30 seconds) but made a weird squeeling/grinding noise. Then the noise stopped.
It seemed to be slipping a bit in first gear but then went OK.

Went well for the first couple of klm, then third went missing. First, Second, then reving in Neutral.
The further I drove I had to slow down and grab second or just drive in second.
At the end of the drive third came back again in the last street.

I looked up similar posts in the past, but I coulodn;t find this.
Any ideas greatly appreciated.
PS, Son in first year apprentice and has almost no money but needs car to get to work.

It sounds like the valve body might be malfunctioning. The long delay between selecting drive and the box going into gear is a pretty good indicator.

What colour was the fluid when you checked it?

try this first

to reset the tcu undo the battery terminals for a short time then reconnect

is the overdrive button on or off when slipping ?

get a second hand tcu from a wrecker

thats the module that controls the shifts of the gears
on yourTR if it is a 4 cyl

tcu will be on the chassis floor below where the radio is

free repair manual in pdf format http://www.lisho.net/?page_id=3

if the box does not have reverse or drive possible
torque converter or oil pump fault
if it goes bang in to reverse the oil pump has broken

Thanks for the feedback.
Fuild was a light browny/red colour.
Whilst yesterday is was at the correct level, today it was about and inch (3 cm) higher. Son says no-one added any so I don;t know why the level shows significantly higher today.

Have discopnnected the battery already and will try tomorrow to see if it changes anything.
Overdrive button is off. (if that is the "A/T Mode" button)
Yes the car is a 4 cyl.

Car is only missing drive and reverse when first started.
No bang when going into reverse.
Did notice a burning smell when we got out of the car after the drive.

if no improvement
looks like it needs a second hand auto and Torque converter
wreckers offer a 3 month warranty

box comes out from underneath


oil level when hot and on a level surface

cycle the gears put in park check level with motor running

Reset doesn't seem to have changed much.
Did go into Drive and Reverse a lot quicker when first started, but after a klm or so went back to same as last time.
Seemed to be slipping in first and second right at the beginning, but third was OK.
Then after a klm or so, third seemed to disappear and just reving. First OK, Second OK, then just revs instead of going into third.
Found the O/D button on the gear selector. On or Off, did the same thing.
After drive, cycled through all the gears and checked fluid level. Was still a couple of cm over the "HOT" mark.

Will try to get a TCU and see if that makes any difference.
Could it also be a fluid replacement/flush issue ? or does it appear to be much more ?

If it was me, I'd try a can of transmission "stop slip"...costs under $20 and can help any slip problem. That's a lot cheaper than any alternative.