3rd Gen Transmission Fluid level Check

what is the ect for and stand for, I asked the sales person when test driving and he said for the 4 wheel drive someone else said something about tow haul mode?

 

Electronic Controlled Transmission - tow mode


lol @ 4x4 button! gotta love sales

 

There is a TSB and software update associated with 2nd to 3rd shift flare. TSB 0079-15

 

Had my DCLBOR checked today and it was a pint low. Not sure I noticed a difference shifting on the drive home though...

 

Also took mine in for ATF level check. Down one half quart. Man I feel more relaxed. I don't think they reset the adaptive memory but the truck just seems better (as someone mentioned earlier, placebo?) Also, I've been getting awesome mileage. Maybe it's just the roads I drive or perhaps I'm mellowing in my old age, but I'm getting 22.7 as a norm. If that's what all the shifting is about then I'm all for it! The tranny's been tested diagnostically and physically on two separate appointments and my service is on the books. I think I'll just enjoy my awesome truck for a while now!

 

TSB 0079-15 is only applicable for the 4 cylinder. I thought I had a sure thing when I showed this TSB to the service department, but they pointed out it was not for the 3.5L v6, and basically told me tough toenails, learn to live with your crappy shifting truck.

 

Gotta do it yourself man. Sucks, but I've worked in the field. Most techs feel people are delusional. They'll flag the time but won't do the check.

 

You're right thanks. Saved me a trip back to the dealer. Just had my ATF checked (300 miles) and it was a quart low - hope that resolves my flare issue and erratic shifting. Didn't notice it after the top off but it's only been 10 miles. We'll see in the morning when it's cold I guess.

 

Received a call from the Toyota Case Manager in charge of my case. He stated Toyota intentionally under fills the automatic transmissions at the factory. This asinine statement precipitated a colorful telephone exchange. He also implied I have no recourse since neither service center could reproduce the shifting problems I had been experiencing. Beware as Toyota has apparently taught their employees to play games with semantics. The "case manager" implied I did not know what I was talking about and reiterated Toyota does not fill the transmission "to capacity." Of course not, DUH! Capacity is the maximum amount any given object will hold or support. Fill the transmission completely full with cold ATF and that transmission wouldn't last long.
Despite the fact I have the pre-delivery check sheet indicating the ATF fluid was ok upon delivery AND having a service center receipt indicating the transmission was about ½ quart low, the "case manager" states I was not lied to and there is nothing wrong with my truck.
We'll see how far this employee's arrogance gets Toyota.

 

That's in line with what the case manager David Hein told me. I went to their FB page and pasted my complaint on about 75 posts.

 

So that's their story and they're sticking to it huh? pathetic.

 

I would really like to know a few things and the first is does Toyota dictate what pre-delivery checks the dealership are to preform? If so it would be great if someone can come up with this list and post it on line. It would be a nice document to have and print it out so if you chose you can stick it up the Service Manager or your Salesperson back end! Another thing I would like to know is if Toyota indeed requires the dealership to do a set pre-delivery checks then how much money are they paying the dealer for doing this service? It would seem to me if they do pay the dealers to preform this then from what I can read most dealers are ripping you the buyer and Toyota off. Your getting burned by paying the dealers absurd dealer fee's (we could do a whole new thread on that topic) and getting nothing but the "privilege" to buy their vehicle. Toyota is also getting burned by paying the dealer to do in case like mine to just spit on the tires and turn a water hose on the truck for a minute. Maybe what people might consider when they call Toyota corporate to complain about the dealer not checking their transmission fluid is ask them how do they like being ripped off by their dealers? Hmmm......

 

Post #33 of this link is a pdf of the PDI sheet.
/www.tacomaworld.com/threads/what-should-the-dealership-do.417165/page-2

 

I really wish I had the ability to take untruthfulness up the keister and smile about it, but unfortunately I don't have that ability.

I called the dealership service center that discovered my ATF was low (I no longer have any semblance of trust for the selling dealership) and spoke to the actual service advisor I interacted with on 03/28/16. He advised Toyota does not require a pre-delivery inspection (PDI) on a new vehicle, but strongly advises to do so. He also advised the dealership is reimbursed a fixed amount from Toyota if the pre-delivery inspection is performed. When I asked if the consumer/purchaser was charged a fee for this "service" he did not know.

I then called the National Toyota number (800-331-4331) and the Toyota representative advised me the same as the dealership service advisor...initially. She stated it was her "opinion" a PDI should be performed on a new vehicle. I kindly advised her I wasn't interested in her opinion just whether or not a PDI is mandated by Toyota, on new vehicles. She finally coughed up it is not mandatory, only strongly recommended. I asked if the dealership receives reimbursement from Toyota for this service (this is where she started veering south and making all sorts of wild claims) and she stated she didn't know and that I would have to contact the dealership. I then asked if I am charged a fee if a PDI was performed on my new vehicle and she again stated I would need to talk to the dealership. She was steadfast in her stance that Toyota dealerships operate independently of Toyota Corporation and once a dealership receives a vehicle from Toyota they operate how they want (because they are all independent). I advised her she had that exactly backwards. It was obvious at this point I would not get any useful information from her since she claimed the information I was requesting was "proprietary." She was making all sorts of abstract claims so I kindly ended the call.

I can provide no proof, but it is my gut feeling that there is probably double-dipping going on as far as the fees on PDIs go on new vehicles.

 

I'm expecting to see a Class Action Lawsuit get filed against Toyota over this BS!
They take the dipstick away from us so most owners are unable to check their trans fluid level, don't fill the fluid levels properly at the factory!
Then the dealers charge us for the dealer prep (PDI), don't check the Trans, or Diffs apparently.
So who's responsible for making sure our Tacomas are up to spec before they're handed over to us the consumer?
And yes I do have a 2nd gen, but I'm going through the same BS as the 3rd gen, complaints different though, 3/4qt low, slamming into O/D, and other strange shifts.
Fluid has been topped off, and learn mode reset, shifting has improved, but who's to say I don't have long term damage to the trans.
I towed a trailer 2x cross country before the dealer would check my fluids!
So, I'm getting ready to file a claim with Toyota, I think my warranty should be extended, but I have enough documentation to get an attorney down the road!

 

Warning this is a rant!

Over the past weeks I had to top off my ATF and Diff, both ~1qt low.

This morning I took the truck in for the 5,000 m free service, and noticed the yellow sheet indicating they checked all fluids, including ATF and Diff.
The interesting thing is that the full service took about 1 hour, possible spent more time been washed.
Moreover, my drive to the dealer was 30 minutes in traffic, hence I can't understand how they checked the ATF at full temp.

There is more.
The advisor tells me they will not change the oil until the 10,000 miles service.
I'm OK with it because I did that at 3,000 miles and intend on doing it again at 6,000
But to my surprise, once I checked out the paper work THEY STATE THE OIL WAS REPLCED WITH FULL SYNTH at $0 cost to customer.

It was quite a comedy spending time in their lounge and listening to these clowns trying to convince other patrons to spend money.

I'm not angry, but disgusted at lock of ethics in these business.

 

I would have called them out on it saying the write up says oil change but they told you they wouldnt do it

 

Same as mine I presume, checked via Tech-Stream which does not check levels.

Odd about the oil change, they are YOUR free oil changes so you should be able to use
them as you please. I specifically asked about it, they said, we don't care, you have 5
of them, you can use them every 1k miles if you like.

 

After trying to semi ignore the possible slipping, hoping it was just the trans learning, I finally had to schedule mine in at 800 miles. 2 quarts low. I do have to add that the dealer, BIG TWO had no issues with checking it and the service manager was aware of the complaints. It definitely shifts better so they are still on my good guy list. No BS excuses.

 

so i originally paid for an extended warranty when i bought my truck. now with all of these issues and people saying they're getting them for free, do you think i could complain and have them refund what i spent on it?