does your transmission shift late sometimes???

this past winter, on a few occasions, my transmission seemed to want to shift late a few times. felt really weird, and i knew something wasnt really right about it. took it to the dealership then(for tire balancing) and told them to check the transmission fluid, cause i figured it was low. at the time, the service writer told me, when i came to pick my truck up, that since it was a "drive by wire" system, that the late shifting was normal!! i called bs on it then, but let it be. took the truck this morning to have the tires balanced again and rear drums adjusted...........and told them to check my transmission fluid again. figured i'd get the same response as before...........but it didnt happen this time. the service writer i work with now(holley at harrelson here in rock hill) said they checked the transmission fluid as i had requested, and it was 3/4 of a quart low!!! just as i suspected. no leaks or anything........just underfilled from the factory. this is just a heads up to everyone here with the sealed w/s toyota transmission on the 05 and up tacomas..........if your truck seems to late shift or ahve a weird shift to it...........have the stealer check the fluid level, as it may be the culprit. could save you some headaches down the road a bit!!

 

Only when I get distracted and forget to shift

 

I dunno if its a late shift... but mine feels like it shifts 'hard' into 2nd gear sometimes. Happens pretty consistantly on one stretch of road I always travel on (with same speed, etc).

I should just take it in and have 'em check it anyway after 1 year...wouldn't hurt (other than the dealership giving me a hard time about doing it).

So - I would assume your problem is gone?

 

I've had a few times where my Taco seemed to jerk when shifting into second (under normal acceleration).

 

Mine will do this when I press on the accelerator, and then immediately take it off (sometimes). It thinks I am going to continue to accelerate, but I don't and it shifts hard or too late.

Is that what you are talking about?

 

mine was shifting late, which made it a pretty damn hard shift from first to second a few times......hard enough to know something wasnt right. and honestly.....it feels like when an auto is low on transmission fluid......best way i can describe it anyhow.

i will let you know as far as if the late shift is gone though, as i will have to drive it a bit more to tell. but im guessing that it should be since they added the 3/4.

 

that sounds kinda like the torque converter trying to lock/unlock in a hurry.......but thats probably more or less what it feels like.

 

Well, maybe I should get them to check the level just to be certain...

 

it may be a good idea to do so. it took me 2 times up there to get them to check mine......each time stating it was shifting late, but im glad they did.

 

Another question..... is there any difference between a cold tranny versus a warm tranny? I think mine does it mostly when cold and just leaving for work (truck sits for 8+ hours or more).

 

there actually is, according to the dealership. they said with the new w/s transmission, that it has to be heated up to driving temp. for proper shifts and all...........but mine was acting up after i had been driving for 15 to 20 minutes......plenty of time for it to get up to operating temp. being 3/4 of a quart low may not be too bad.......but it definitely will make the transmission shift "erratically".

 

I've had the same problem from a dead stop a few times. I'll press the accel and for a sec or so it won't go anywhere then suddenly take off.

 

i'd definitely go get the fluid checked.

 

I have the same situation when the truck is cold. After it heats up, there's no problem from 1st to 2nd. I'm going to the dealership tomorrow for the suspension tsb evaluation and will have them check the fluid. Thanks for the tip Tacomaman06.

 

no prob man, and better to be safe and get it checked now. good call on that!!