Low transmission fluid level

My dealership refused to manually check the transmission fluid in mine. Told them about the delay from reverse to drive and they said that was normal. Really? On what planet? I called Toyota and had them make a case #. They said they would rather wait for it to become a warranty issue (I guess that's where it falls apart) before they would do anything about it. Super frustrated. This is my first Tacoma. Regretting selling my 2000 Jeep Wrangler now.

 

Sorry friend... I think you should read more on how to this properly...it's NOT to be filled in the fill hole with engine OFF like a diff.
Good luck, but I'd suggest you go to a dealer to get it done...!! (Another dealer)..

 

Dude that image I posted is literally a screen cap FROM TOYOTA'S PDF. It's attached to this post just in case you think I'm shitting you. It's the guide for a fill & check.

The first step is priming the pan, filling till check plug drips with engine off.
Second step is temporarily reinstalling the check plug and filling with a specified amount of fluid with engine off.
Third step is where the fluid temp gets checked.
Fourth step is where the check plug comes back out with engine on and is the final level check.

The final level check is done with the motor running, but you are only to add fluid while the motor is running if fluid does not drip from the check hole during the final level check. If it does drip, you're fine and no more fluid needs to be added.

Then you have to find a virgin...

 

OK, I guess you do know what has to be done.. Good luck..

 

Which specified amount do you plan on using? The specified amount chart assumes you have performed a service/repair on the transmission.

If you want to assume yours is a quart low and add it as your first step, then you should be fine. Still, be prepared to possibly add more.

 

I'm gonna go with 0 fluid added at first... Heat to temp, pop the check plug, see what happens. If I add a quart and it wasn't low at all, that's a big mess and a lot of waste!

Strangely the 2TR and 2GR engines have different capacities they want you to add, but I thought their overall fill level was the same.

 

Mine was 2 full qts low.

 

I just picked up my Limited last week. It was build 6/7 in S/A. I was worried about the level and wanted to check the trans fluid myself. It was fine. checked the diffs, they were fine also. I was wondering if anybody else with a production date in June has checked and been low? Maybe they finally corrected the issue!

 

Out of curiosity, how did you figure out the exact build date? The driver's side door sticker?

In the driver's side door mine says 3/16, but I don't know if that means just March 2016, or if it just so happened to get made on the 16th...

 

I got the build day from my salesman. I stopped in to have them do an appraisal on my '13 sport, and while I was there he showed me the computer screen which showed the day it was built. Then it showed the shipped day from S/A (which was 2 days later). That was pretty cool to see!

 

Mine was 1 quart low. Service manager stated a lot of the tacomas are coming low from the factory.

So far it does seem to make the shifting better. Before while trying to accelerate it would stay in 5th too long. Then jump to 3rd and rev up to 5.5k rpm's. Hasn't done that since they checked it.

 

Just call Toyota customer service. They can tell you the exact day the truck was assembled if the dealer can't.

 

Forgot that we were talking about ASIN transmissions with the junk overflow tube.

Sorry bout that

 

It's so hard to believe that Toyota has not got this automatic transmission fluid level right yet . I am a Toyota fan but this is kind of ridiculous. It's something so simple and easy to fix I just don't understand.
Hoping my 2017 has the correct level when I get it.

 

It's kinda a combination of 2 things...

1- We don't have enough good data. Apparently this was all solved by March when my truck was made, maybe even earlier. I have yet to verify my fluid level, though! Also, people don't exactly post their data into a nice excel spreadsheet. They just say "mine was fine" or "mine was low" and don't post up useful information like manufacture date, location, options packages, anything. So you've got a huge scattering of useless data.
2- Toyota dealers don't want to check. You get smoke blown up your ass because the level check takes too long and hogs up a bay. Toyota even stonewalls them and refuses to pay for the check, sometimes. Some bean counter really drank the "sealed unit" kool-aid.

Between those two factors, we just don't have enough info to say for sure whether or not it is solved!

 

Have you voted and posted in this thread?
Here's the latest update post.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...tly-from-factory.405642/page-33#post-12767993

 

Wanted to post a video to see if this was typical shifting behavior of others with the truck.. This was me driving through relatively flat west texas on cruise control. It seems the only time I ever get it to settle into 6th is when I'm going downhill.

 

Normal; not saying it's right though.
Are you certain those are 2 distinct downshifts at 3K and 4K rpm?
When it hits 4K you could slap into S-4 and cancel cruise to confirm.
I'm kind of wondering if that's not the flex lock at 3K and 5th gear downshift at 4K.

 

Typical Toyota cruise control, every time I see it down shift, your MPH dropped about 1 MPH, unfortunately they all do that on cruise control, very annoying. Mine stays in 6th no problem when cruise is turned of and I maintain speed.