97 Camry with Diagnostic code: P0773

You got the first two steps correct in scanning for the trouble codes and finding out how to check the shift solenoid circuit.

The next step is to check the circuit as described in the articles you found.

If the transmission fluid hasn't been changed in a long time, then the car may need a transmission service, but that is unlikely to cure the problem, which is an electrical problem.

I remember getting the same problem on a 1998 RAV4. It wasn't a check engine light but the O/D ON/OFF indicator kept blinking. I brought it to the dealer and they told me of this same circuit. I religiously changed my A/T fluid, but still the circuit failed, and changing the fluid wont do anything. I can't tell you how I got it fixed since I sold the car without fixing it.

It's probably the gas. I posted to this group about the check engine light. It came on in the fall of 2007 when the gas company's switched to winter blend and stayed on all winter. Auto zone said it was a faulty O2 sensor. I could not afford to replace. Spring came, the ga companies switched back to summer blend, the light went out and has stayed out all summer. Just my 2cents.

Fuel quality will not affect the performance of a shift solenoid.

The code is for failure of the torque converter clutch solenoid electrical circuit. However, I've learned to be very wary of Japanese and Korean codes concerning electrical failure. You can be fairly sure of a TCC problem, but it might not be electrical.

From another message thread:

This is why I like to drop the Aisin tranny pans and clean things up, using Fram ATF kits ($15-20) which includes a new strainer and cork- rubber gasket that seals well.

These relatively dirty Aisin transmissions do not have a filter like domestic transmissions. Smaller debris flow freely through the system in contrast to the clean post-filter fluid circuits of the likes of GM Hydramatics.

Strainers are less likely to plug up, but to maintain transmission health the debris still needs to be cleaned out periodically by dropping the pan, *not just drain/refill*

For those who work on their own every 12-15K miles. Cheap enough at $25-30 parts and fluids.

That's the torque converter lock-up solenoid. You probably no longer have that slight RPM drop at highway cruising speeds. Slightly less MPG, but I don't know if any more than that.

Jasper started reman A541E transmission, used both in the Camry V6 and Lexus ES 300. I wonder if Toyota gets their from Jasper or Marshall. These offer 3 year / 100,000 mile warranty. Another option when the time comes.