Torque Converter lock up in cold weather

[Unaz]

Hi everyone,

We bought a 2009 Toyota verso 1.8 valvematic (CVT) few months ago after ulez became a problem for our diesel.

I've noticed Torque converter locks up at around 25mph when engine/ transmission fluid is cold and around 10mph once oil is warmed up.

In warmer weather that happened pretty quickly but now that it's getting cooler it's taking forever to warm up and therefore most of our driving (short trips of less than a mile) is done with torque converter clutch open. It's returning around 18mpg and feels very slow to move off the line, revving quite high for acceleration.

Car drives absolutely fine otherwise and has returned 40 mpg on 400 mile trip of mixed driving (mostly motorway) in August. 

CVT oil has been changed few months ago which made some noticeable difference.

I was wondering if there was ECU update to lock up torque converter earlier as later models have reduced Co2 emissions which might possibly be to do with early torque converter lock up?

Anyone able to check if there's an update available for my car and if Torque converter does lockup early on newer models?

Appreciate any advice/ help. 

Current Engine and Ect software calibration I.D. is 30F21100  A0C01000

VIN NUMBER NMTDG26R60R013250

[arman123]

Torque converter??? Isnt it a cvt

[Unaz]

45 minutes ago, arman123 said:

Torque converter??? Isnt it a cvt

Still has to use something to transfer power from engine to CVT gearbox. It can use a clutch or torque converter. Since clutch would put too much load on CVT belt at start, they opted for torque converter with clutch which only locks once car gets moving and load on CVT belt is manageable. 

[Cyker]

Does the torque converter have its own fluid or is it shared? If not it may be that needs checking!

It's sounding like it's not building up enough pressure to engage the lockup when it's cold, but TBH I know very little about the workings of modern lockup-torque converters!

[Unaz]

22 hours ago, Cyker said:

Does the torque converter have its own fluid or is it shared? If not it may be that needs checking!

It's sounding like it's not building up enough pressure to engage the lockup when it's cold, but TBH I know very little about the workings of modern lockup-torque converters!

Torque converter oil is shared with transmission.