Hello, good day. I am the proud owner of a 2001 Daihatsu Cuore L701 with an EJ-VE engine and a 3-speed automatic transmission. I am from Belgium.
I have only owned the car for one month, but I am already looking for some parts, such as a new gas strut for the trunk and a parcel shelf. I am also considering swapping the 3-speed automatic transmission for a 4-speed automatic. Apparently this should be possible according to what I have read on Google, using a gearbox from a Daihatsu Copen (L880K) or a Cuore L250/L260.
Is this possible? I would like to do this to lower the engine RPM when driving on the highway, which should also improve fuel consumption.
Greetings from Belgium. I will also post some photos of my beautiful Daihatsu Cuore L701.
Make a new thread in the “all new people” section and a small intro Include a pic of your L701 that you said you would like to do. Please do not post it here.
In answer to your questions the L250 should be using an ejde or ejve engine so you can swap a gearbox from one of those. I have seen a copen box on an ejde also but cant remember all the details of that one.
I am from south africa, i have a 2002 Cuore 3 speed auto. This is good news, we have the L250 charade over here in 4 speed auto. I was going to try do a manual swop but i was not aware of this option, the 4 speed auto are easier to come by than the 5 speed manuals over here. Glad there is another easy option for better fuel economy as i drive mainly on the highway with mine.
Unfortunately wont be any time soon, have other maintenance on the car that is more important as its a semi daily driver. Other semi daily is a Harley Davidson sportster due to traffic but if the weathers bad then i use the Cuore.
That would depend on if the final drive ratio is geared lower on the 4-speed as opposed to the 3-speed’s final ratio.
I drove a 4-speed automatic only once, while test driving a newer Cuore for a member of the German Daihatsu forum. I failed to notice if the 4-speed would creep. In other words, “creep” is defined by when the vehicle tends to want to move forward, when put into gear, putting quite a demand on the vehicle’s brakes. To counter, I shift to Neutral, while slowing down to a stop. Does the 4-speed share such charachteristics?
Yes — most traditional 4-speed automatic transmissions will “creep” forward when you release the brake in Drive, even if you aren’t pressing the accelerator. That’s normal behavior for an automatic that uses a torque converter: the torque converter continuously transmits a little engine power to the wheels at idle, so the car tends to move forward slowly unless you hold the brake.
What “creep” means
Idle creep (or just “creep”) is the tendency of an automatic to move forward at idle when in D (Drive) or R (Reverse) without throttle input — exactly what you described. It’s caused by the torque converter’s fluid coupling between engine and transmission, which allows a small amount of torque to reach the wheels even at idle.
Relevance to the Cuore’s 4-speed auto
There’s no indication that the Daihatsu Cuore’s 4-speed automatic is some unusual design that doesn’t exhibit this — older torque-converter automatics in small cars generally behave like this unless specifically engineered otherwise (e.g., electronically decoupling the torque converter). That’s why you likely would have felt it creep during that test drive if you’d taken your foot off the brake.
About your workaround
Shifting to Neutral while slowing to a stop to avoid creep is something some drivers do, but it isn’t the best practice for a few reasons:
It disengages engine braking, which is useful for control.
In many cars, repeated shifting between D and N at low speed can add wear to shift linkages or hydraulic circuits if done aggressively.
The typical safe way to manage creep in traffic is to hold the brake until you’re ready to move, then ease off and let the car’s creep help you — not shift in and out of gears.
When creep might be less noticeable
A few factors can make creep subtle or more pronounced:
Low idle speed: If the engine idle is very low, there’s less torque at the wheels, so creep feels minimal.
Transmission design and fluid condition: Older or worn torque converters and transmission fluid conditions can change how strongly a car creeps — sometimes stronger, sometimes weaker.
In short: Yes — the Cuore’s 4-speed automatic should normally creep forward in Drive like other traditional automatics, and your observation that you didn’t notice it likely just comes down to how lightly it creeps and how you happened to drive it.
In the mid Sixties, an automotive manufacturer offered a version of their newly-developed 3-speed automatic to employ a variable vane torque converter which was electrically operated, according to throttle position. One reason for this was to reduce creeping. The bi-product from that, or perhaps the primary reason for its application, was an increase in performance, due to the torque coverter’s adjustment to driver demand. They used to nickname this transmission, the “4 1/2(?) speed automatic” or something whereabouts.
I do indeed downshift for engine braking. But, that’s only usefull until the engine revolutions catch up with a minimal vehicle speed. At that point, the vehicle wants to propell forward, if I don’t manually take it out of Drive.
If the transmission’s manufacturer (AISIN?) has taken this flaw into consideration, when designing the later-produced 4-speed, they might have implemented a solution which would have at least reduced creep. If so, I would then plan on finding a 4-speed unit as a replacement. Other than this flaw, I’m fully satisfied with my 3-speed transmission’s performance which seems to suit the ED20’s higher low-end torque, unlike the EJs which inherently lack low-end torque because of physic’s default. This, however, was improved in later designs, through variable inlet camshaft timing
After researching this, I found that replacing the automatic transmission from a 3-speed to a 4-speed unit should be a plug-and-play installation. The only modification required is transferring the gear position sensor from the 3-speed transmission to the 4-speed transmission. Other than that, no additional changes are necessary.
With this setup, the ECU will be able to operate correctly with the 4-speed transmission, while still interpreting it as a 3-speed unit. The fourth gear will effectively function as an overdrive, which the ECU does not need to actively account for. This upgrade will result in a significant improvement in fuel consumption and a substantial reduction in noise levels. Currently, driving on the highway is almost unbearable due to the noise.
Additionally, I plan to install sound insulation underneath the floor carpeting to improve driving comfort. I will also upgrade the central locking system using the Viper 3108V 1-way security kit, which will provide a proper remote control and a full alarm system.
If the 4’s final drive’s geared lower than the 3’s, it should indeed be more economical.
If your 3-speed’s making an excessive amount of noise, there must be something wrong with it. Mine isn’t unusually noisey, if noisey whatsoever. It’s not any noisier than a manual 5-speed.
Are you not planning to use the 4-speed’s shift quadrant as a matter of convenience or are there other reasons to note?
The 4th gear is lower than the 3rd gear, so the RPM will drop, and fuel consumption as well. I’m not planning to change the gear shifter, because then I would also have to replace the dashboard instrument panel, which is more work than necessary. I only need to transfer the shift position sensor from the 3-speed to the 4-speed; nothing more is needed.
And of course I will do some maintenance on the new 4-speed automatic gearbox: gearbox oil and filter plus a new gasket. That’s currently on the to-do list.
At the moment, the 3-speed is quite noisy when I let the RPM go high. At 120 km/h I’m almost at 5,000 RPM—around 4,700—which is quite a lot. So if I can lower the RPM, it’s always better and more comfortable to drive.
That’s interesting that the noise begins at a higher vehicle speed. I had never driven mine that fast. But, will try it out on a clear stretch of freeway, just to see what mine does. I’ve owned countless vehicles with automatic transmissions and none of them have ever whined. Perhaps, is the whine originating from somewhere else?
You may have difficulty in finding a replacement filter which is likely to end up being more of a screen than a filter. If just a screen, these can be washed out.
If Daihatsu shares these transmissions with other Japanese or even European brands, if AISIN happens to be the manufacturer, your chances of finding a cork gasket would be better. I once was able to locate a roll of 2 mm sheet cork for cutting my own gasket, a couple years ago at a hardware store. I delayed purchase, because I didn’t know with what sort of glue this sheet cork was held together with, not being sure that the glue wouldn’t eventually dissolve, sometime during vehicle use.
Unlike some older automatic transmissions, your torque coverter is not likely to have a drain plug. If so, do you plan on draining the converter, before installing the unit?
hi i would do that but im going to replace it any way with 4 speed its moore economical with the 4 speed now i have 5000 rpm at 120 km of speed it should drop with a 4 speed no i all so have chek engine licht and fault code p0171 cylinder bank 1 to lean i check the 2 oxcygen sensors in the exaust an tey are clean what could it be i all so check the map sensor and i cleand it just to be sure i dont know what is is broken maybe the catalytic cont verter need to be cleand or replace greets cis i chek for bad rubber hoses but so far i cant find it
I meant, flushing the 4-speed. It wouldn’t make sense, to flush the 3-speed which is getting put out of service
You might have a vaccuum leak. If you spray a volatile fluid around tnumber 1’s intake runner tube,such as start spray, and the engine then starts to increase r.p.m., that’s where the leak originates
What “creep” means
Relevance to the Cuore’s 4-speed auto
About your workaround
When creep might be less noticeable
