Toyota A140E / A540E / A541E

Toyota's transverse four-speed — behind the V6 Camry, Avalon, Sienna and Lexus ES of the 1990s and early 2000s.

It is the transmission in a very large number of cars still on the road, and its faults are the faults of age rather than of design.

The one worth knowing is the solenoid and the valve body. A harsh or delayed engagement into drive, a change that arrives late, or a limp mode locked in third are all far more likely to be a shift solenoid than a clutch pack — and on this transmission the solenoids are serviceable from the pan without removing it.

Fluid is Type IV, not the later WS, and a unit filled with the wrong one develops exactly the harsh cold engagement above. This trap runs in both directions across Toyota's range and the model year is the only thing that decides it.

The A540H is the all-wheel-drive version. Same gearbox with a transfer arrangement; the letter is the only record of the difference.