2016 Transmission T-SB-0077-16 Shift Feeling Enhancments (PDF)

How long does the service take to get this done? I've got an appointment tonight at 8pm to get the update applied and hoping I won't be waiting forever for them to do it

 

Go figure, went to shoot a video of it today and it didn't do it.

 

Just because you have an appointment doesn't mean they start working on your truck right away. You'd just have to call in and see. Most people are reporting 1 to 2 hours.... for the quickest times I've seen.

 

I spoke with my service manager because I was told something similar when I brought in my truck for some of my multiple issues, and he said that isn't uncommon. Their senior techs and diagnostic gurus usually work monday-friday and the weekend crew is the oil changes, fluid check, tire rotation crew.

Personally, knowing that, I would prefer they told me to come back during the week. I dont want some hung over, jaded, high school drop out in charge of fixing my truck. My dealership has been great though--they have given me a rental any time they had to keep it (4runners or other tacomas).

 

Usually weekend are their easy days, unless it's a priority they won't do warranty work. They also get lunch on the weekend and have no managers besides sales to complain to.

With my experience the service manager took the car himself to make it right for my 4 hour wait. I can respect that.

 

where can I get a copy of TSB? want mone reprogrammed and now cruise control cover falling off and won't stay on

 

Yes that what he quoted me 1-2 hours, i have to drop it off in the morning get shuttled to work and back when their done. Its a bit of a hassle but we'll see.

 

Good point! Never thought about it like that.

 

Got my truck back and it drives much better. If anyone in the Sacramento, CA area wants it done, go see Charles in Service at Elk Grove Toyota. This guy was AWESOME. He was totally cool, talked about things he'd seen and didn't hassle me one bit. A+ service.

All told, I got the Transmission TSB done, Control ARM TSB done, Oil/Filter change, an alignment (camber, caster and toe were out), Transmission Fluid Checked (nearly 2 quarts low!!!!!), rear side window seals on order, and a case opened with Toyota about my hood glue not holding. They also checked for the rumble-strip issue when slowing down around 20 mph, verified it, but said it's normal based on a test drive of a new Tacoma on the lot. I expected that response so I wasn't surprised. Out the door was $69 for the service since I only have 4k miles on the truck.

All told, the truck drives a lot better now. It's got a little more pep in it's step.

 

Did mine today at R&H Toyota. It felt a little peppier on the drive home. Will need to take it to the highway a few times to tell. I asked about number of other items to check including the transmission fluid levels. They claim to have checked it last time it was in and it was ok. So who knows if they actually did or not.

 

I also had the cruise control gear hunting issues . I had the TSB flash done today . Dealer did it without question. I filled the tank and drove it home on a 55 mile trip of rolling hills in southern Mo. and Northern AR. It seems to do less hunting and holds 6th much better on the few long slight uphill grades . I averaged 20.2 mpg and it was 48/48 up and down grades and 4% flat at most. About 1/2 the grades needed 4th to go up as it is the foot hills of the Ozarks that have an extra lane on the uphills for passing semis . I was driving 65 mph in cruise. This was somewhat better than I had ever done before on the trip. Also I cannot say I babied it on my trip either .
The previous best I ever had on a 20 mile stretch of FLAT highway , driving 63 mph in cruise , was 21.7 mpg.I look forward to getting back to a stretch of flatland again and see what it can do now. I may be awhile as I have to drive at least 35 miles away to get to one and have no need to go there now other than to find out how the truck does . It would be what you could call a trip to the big city.

So far I am happy but I never really had much of a problem with it except for the hunting and a delay when upshifting past the top of a hill , before the flash. Time and miles will tell.
Thanks to all here and the posting of the TSB . I printed it out and had it with me . They had not seen it yet and I was their first 2016 flashing.

 

While getting the ECM flashed at the dealer today, I also asked them to check the tranny fluid. They said that it would be a hassle to do it because since after the re-program, with no issues, there is no need to check the fluid level until my scheduled 5k maintenance. Only have around 2800 miles on it so far. The total time for my service was 2 hours but my truck never got put into a bay until an hour after I handed over my keyfob. Thanks again for all you guys that took the time and effort to find the TSB, get it done, and reporting back on how well it works after. Awesome community.

 

A hassle? I'd tell them TOUGH TITS

 

Yeah, it kinda irked me, but it does make sense to me. The transmission is running fine, and I'm due in for maintenance in about 1k. Came with the 7 year complete warranty (powertrain and electrical), so if for some strange reason the tranny takes a dirt nap, they can give me a new truck. Itching for a valid reason to upgrade to the TRD Pro in a few months if it's enough of a difference between the Off-Road and Pro.

 

Thanks for the post. Now I have the TSB to show them what I've been complaining about. They kept brushing me off & wouldn't even check the atf fluid. Calling tomorrow to make my appointment.

Update:08/08/16
Okay, so the dealerships I checked with closest to me are telling me if the truck doesn't have the issues the TSB describes, they won't flash the update. Also, if they check the tranny fluid & all is well, the labor bill goes to me. Not sure what exactly what my next move will be, don't feel I should be charged either way, I didn't design it that way.

 

Yeah, I called both local dealerships a few days ago before I knew about there being a PDF post on the TSB. Both dealerships had no clue what I was talking about. Funny how a couple of days later, with the TSB PDF on my phone, and the TSB number handy, they knew exactly what I was talking about.

 

It's interesting how we all have different experiences. For me, I didn't even have to ask them to check the fluid. They said most of them are low on fluid and they wanted to check it to ensure after the flash, the truck was FIXED! What a concept. When I picked it up today, they said mine was around lowest they had seen (almost 2 quarts). The truck drives like a raped ape now. No more surging and crap, no more bogging and in ECT the damn thing is finally faster than my old 1st gen. haha. I'm so happy with the service I received, I just emailed the General Manager to let them know what a great job they did.

The reality is, many dealers are not going to do this because warranty pays less and they'd rather do other repair work. Or they make the assumption that the factory cannot mess up, so the silly customer is wasting their time. My dealer commented that most are low and that they are seeing a lot of messed up factory alignments these days.

 

1 to 2 hours is all I needed. Just wanted to see if I should get someone to pick me up and go get beers for the wait

 

So just dropped the Taco off at the dealership for the TSB. Sat for about 5-10 mins, they called me back over, and let me know that they are also going to be manually checking the transmission fluid so the wait would be a bit longer due to having to wait for the fluid to cool. Didn't think they'd do that as well, pretty happy with the service so far from Toyota of Orange, now to see how long I'll be waiting.

 

Btw saw this...

http://www.tacomahq.com/4950/2017-toyota-tacoma-trd-pro-pricing/