2016 6-cylinder 6-speed automatic erratic shifting and drivability problems?

I agree that with the improvement (12%) in aerodynamic drag, the Atkinson cycle, the reduced displacement of the engine, and the presumably better tuned transmission with 6 gears, the improvement in mileage seems paltry, even if you can realize the EPA specs. So far, I have not been able to meet the EPA numbers either, though my engine only has 600 miles on it so far. Why the 2016 mileage improvement does not seem commensurate with Toyota's apparent effort to make it better is a mystery to me. The mystery seems even deeper when you consider the Colorado's highway EPA estimate of 26 mpg with an engine that puts out more than 30 additional horsepower.

I'm very pleased overall with my purchase of the 2016 Tacoma, but I have to admit that the mileage is the one significant aspect of it that I'm disappointed with.

 

More speeds the trans has the easier it is to keep engine in power band, for both economy and performance. I hear its normal for them to be busy, were all just not used to that.

 

More gears are about keeping the rpms lower, not in the power band.

 

I went pout shopping today; hadn't driven my Tacoma in a few days...I actually felt dreadful to drive it. As I suspected there was no magic happen while it was sitting. I drive mostly in a city of about 80K people with four lanes downtown. At 35mph it shifts into 6th gear (1100 rpms) and struggles to drive. It's as far from being a smooth ride as it can get. If I get my foot near the gas peddle it shifts gears. The crazy thing is as fast as it changes gears it changes back so while driving its up and down constantly.

I love everything about this truck...EXCEPT the transmission. I also drive restricting the gears to max 4th but it shouldn't be that way. I also have a 2015 Highlander v6 with 6 speed trans and it's nothing like the Tacoma. It does shift to 5th/6th like the Tacoma but theres none of the lagging or struggle of the vehicle to drive. It's also not as quick to change gears.

If Toyota doesn't make some change to this very soon I'll be moving on to something else.

 

Mike I'm a first time Toyota buyer and have an order in for a 2016 Limited. I'm really looking forward to taking ownership of the vehicle, but pray your experience is the exception and not the rule, otherwise I might have to consider the 2017 Ridgeline once it comes out.
Hope Toyota comes out with a new transmission mapping and it solves these issues.

 

Thanks, From this thread I'm not sure I'm the only one. Time will tell. Good luck on what you get.

 

As mentioned a few times in this thread , your 2016 transmission uses adaptive learning and will learn how you drive on a day to day basis .
Its got nothing to do with the transmission and everything to do with the programming .
Drive like grandpa on a Sunday morning , its going to shift early and smooth , drive like a teenager who just stole your truck its going to shift later and more aggressive .
Remove the battery post and you can re-teach your transmission how you want it to shift .
Toyota designed the shift programming to save fuel making your truck feel luggy in 6th gear . Gotta make that new truck look like its going to be good on fuel (window sticker appeal )but you as the driver suffer the driveability problems associated with running an engine at such a low rpm .

The only fix for this is a programming flash from Toyota . When this flash is released , take a guess at what happens to your fuel mileage .
We know from past experience that this is how Toyota fixes the issue
Here is the proof http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/technical-chat/344879-tsb-0044-12-pinging-transmission-fix.html

Some of you guys are complaining that the trans has a delay early in the morning . The 6 speed transmission is a sealed transmission and it takes the dealer too long to check the transmission fluid for you when they sell you the truck ?????? Needless to say , some of you are driving around with a low fluid condition
I suggest getting your fluid topped off as soon as you can
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...be-low-on-fluid-directly-from-factory.405642/

I started a post with a bunch of information for the 6 speed transmission . It is very very similar to the 5 speed from the 2nd gen and suffers the same general complaints https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/transmission-the-new-6-speed-automatic-in-the-2016.361114/

Here are the related 5 speed complaints and fixes if you have time to read for a couple hours . Considering these 2 transmissions are related to each other and both designed by Aisn Seiki , you can expect to see the same issues develop with the 6 speed https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...th-pics-for-second-gen-4-liter-trucks.289913/

 

You're ready to throw in the towel, but if you don't drive it, the transmission can't improve. As mentioned several times in this thread, it learns it's shift points by how you drive it. Just drive you're truck as you would normally drive any vehicle and don't think about where and how often it's shifting. In time you should notice the transmission acting normally and giving you decent milage.
That's my thoughts for all of you who have a 2016 auto. Don't use ect (typo?) just leave it in drive and let the smart tranny do it's thing.
Give it a chance.

 

Actually, more gears keeps the engine in its most efficient part of the rev range. Each engine has an optimum operating range where it gets it best mileage. Too many revs and mileage suffers...too few and engine produces insufficient power and mileage still suffers. The advent of 6, 7, and 8 speed transmissions is an attempt to keep engines within their optimum range. The CVT transmission is considered to be the most efficient transmission.

 

Then why are owners saying that it's shifting into 6th at 35 mph and 1100 rpm. That isn't the most efficient part of the rev range, it's the lowest rpm in the highest gear.

I get better mpg with my stick keeping it in the same lowest rpm, shifting at below 2000 rpm, just like Toyota is trying to do with the 6speed automatic.

The optimum mpg range is not within the optimum power band.

 

How long does it take this "smart" transmission to learn your driving style? After about 1k miles, I'd swear the computer program that selects gears is a random number generator. It makes no sense to me or the situation. At times it won't upshift to 6th on the flat driving at a constant 65. Other times it goes to 6th at 55 mph. Today I was coasting down a hill at 60 mph with the cruise control off. It downshifted twice and revved up to 3.2K with my foot off the gas. You can't even coast down a hill! No wonder my gas milage is so crappy if the computer is so dumb.

 

^^^^^ Downshifting twice with your foot off the gas seems a little strange . I would have a service advisor take the truck for a ride with you in the passenger seat . Maybe he can explain whats going on and what you are feeling . When you take your foot off the accel with the 2nd gen , the injectors turn off . I am wondering if it has something to do with the atkinson switch over ?

 

The transmission did not learn my driving style, I learned how to drive it. When I'm on state roads, under 55mph, I keep the truck in 5th gear with ECT on. When I'm on the highway I drive in 6th gear with ECT on. My 2010 4Runner was the same way. I am not saying this is right, but it does not bother me.

 

It's called engine braking, the computer is programmed to downshift to do that. You'll see that in other situations when you let off the gas approaching a stop.

Get a manual if you don't like all the efforts Toyota made to do what it thinks you want.

 

And now you understand why auto companies that use smaller low torque engines are going to CVT drivetrains. Once you add enough gears in an automatic and are fighting for every 1/10th of a mile in fuel economy, you end up with a very annoying vehicle that is set up first and foremost to get the best possible fuel economy that it possibly can with driver satisfaction taking a distant second place. A CVT can do close to the same thing but without all the annoying lurching and lugging that goes with 6+ speed transmissions and small engines.

I'd bet a paycheck that CVTs' will eventually take the place of multigear automatic transmissions in a lot of vehicles.

FWIW, the public still mostly doesn't have a clue what fuel economy mandates are going to do to their vehicles in the next 15 years. Many of the mandates are pretty much impossible to meet without extremely significant changes and higher prices and you'll see some segments of the market dropped [in the US at least] because the profit justification just won't be there.

 

I didn't say it was in the optimum mpg range. I said most efficient. It's a compromise...low enough revs for decent mileage, but high enough revs to pull the vehicle without having to downshift in most situations. Yes, we all try to keep the revs as low as possible, but with these smaller engines and no torque down low, as soon as we begin to climb a slight grade, the transmission downshifts to get into the power band. The more speeds in the transmission, the more noticeable it is.

 

Yeah I realized after posting that I was still responding more to Sawed Off comment, not yours. This transmission is doing everything it can to keep the motor out of the power band, and it seems many aren't happy with the results.

I'd just keep it in 4th around town if it wants to go into 6th. Toyota isn't going to make a fix that's any better than manually limiting the gear.

 

Of course I know this is engine braking. Get a manual?? Are you wealthy enough to just change vehicles every time you find an inconvenience you don't like? All i am trying to do is figure out how to get somewhere near the gas milage they claim this vehicle is supposed to get. With every new vehicle i have owned I have been able to exceed the EPA ratings, except this one. I can't even get city ratings on the open road. And I am pretty sure it is because of the stupid shifting habits of the transmission. (i.e. when you have to give it gas going down hill to keep it from downshifting & slowing down) I would just like to know what to do besides taking a $10k hit in trading it for a manual.

 

Sounds like that automatic sucks. Just saying Toyota isn't gonna change it, it's doing what they designed it to do. Shouldn't be a $10K hit, everyone knows you can sell a Tacoma for more than you bought it for. But word may be getting out and stick Tacoma demand will likely spike.

 

It takes two to tango. Sounds like a lot of automatic transmission owners are solely relying on the truck's programming to learn their driving habits, but not the other way around. There is this thing called transmission shift-point strategy, programmed based on many many variables which I won't go into detail.

The key is to shift with your right foot on the gas pedal, and also the speeds at which each gear will allow the upshift to the higher gear. For example, in the 4-banger 3rd gen Camry with its 4-speed automatic transmission, in 3rd gear it will NOT upshift to 4th gear (overdrive) until the speed reaches about 45mph or more. Once this speed is reached (and you relaxes your gas pedal foot a bit to signal "I'm not accelerating anymore"), it WILL then upshift to 4th gear overdrive. Otherwise, someone who only drives at 40mph (due to speed limits or other reasons) will be stuck driving in 3rd gear, and mistakenly thinks that the transmission isn't working properly or is complete garbage.

I have no issue with shift points, because I drive a manual. I dictate the shift points, and I'm in full control.

Owners nowadays should realize that when they purchase a vehicle with an automatic transmission, they voluntarily forfeit that control to the vehicle's computers (PCM, TCM, etc). It's like people who insisted in eating hamburgers at McDonald's, but complained about how horrible the burgers are and how those burgers should be cooked to their personal liking.