Problems after 3 months of ownership and DIY fixes that have helped

I picked up my 2017 TRD Offroad in September and here are a few observations after 5000 km/3000 miles:

- My transmission feels just fine if I leave it in ECT mode otherwise it is sluggish and tries to upshift way too fast.
- My transmission was 900ml or almost a quart low. I filled it to the appropriate level and it feels a little better. I used AMSOIL ATF
- My rear differential was 1 liter low on fluid.
- My transfer case was dead on 1.1 quarts out and 1.1 quarts in.
- My front differential was low on .4 quarts low on fluid. Only got 1.2 out and 1.6 in.
- Had an annoying headliner rattle from the glue that was holding a plastic piece coming loose. I added some foam weather stripping to the area and problem solved.
- Fixed the issue with the A-Pillar rattling when the weather is below 35F. I took some weatherstripping foam from home depot (black) trimmed it down and stuffed it between the grate and the A-Pillar. Problem solved.

The fluid in both differentials looked nasty. You could tell it was breaking in. Quite a bit on both magnets. I will say the front looked way worse than the rear and that didn't look great.

Transfer case fluid looked basically brand new. Could have left it.

I put AMSOIL Severe Gear in both differentials and Redline MT90 in the transfer case. Seems a little smoother but it is probably in my head.

Overall I am loving the truck and do not regret buying it. I just wish Toyota's quality control at the factory was a little better. My friend who is a sales manager for them said they didn't see these problems before the move to Texas; but who knows if he's biased.


I would also like to thank @gearcruncher and @smitty99 for their input and contributions to the forum as it actually helped me a lot. It is better to know about the problems ahead of time and address them accordingly.

 

Thank you for this good post.

 

Glad your getting it all fixed.

Gearcruncher really did a lot of the work. Solid dude.

The other guy not so much. He contributed nothing to these matters. Other than comment on EVERY post that tacomas are lemons.

Gear was proactive. Figured the issues out. Made it public knowledge and left it there. The other guy has nothing else to do other than complain I guess.

 

I give him credit because @smitty99 let us know about his experience with the transmission and it's TSBs along with his rear differential problems and replacement.

If I didn't have the worry about the rear differential I would not have checked and changed the fluid and left it for 30000 miles as recommended by Toyota.

I know Smitty is letting Toyota deal with it rather than DIY but I just can't leave something like that. Admittedly if I have issues I'll drain my AMSOIL and Redline and factory fill before warranty.

 

There have been others who have posted their experiences and actually offered help/solutions. And not went and complained on every thread. Saying people lack situational awareness. And on and on. Sorry I still see no need to praise him. He complained more than anyone else. Yay!! Go him!

 

And yet here you are criticizing the man's opinion and complaining without offering a shred of assistance or value. Funny.

 

Thought you ignored me? Funny.

No where did I criticized him. Just told him my (and MANY others) opinion of you. Funny.

I actually said there were others who posted more helpful info on thier rear diff issue. A lot more helpful info than anything I have ever read from you. That is value. Please try again.

 

Trade it

 

How did you check the transmission fluid in the truck cause isn't it a sealed off system now?

 

Awesome post man, kind of bring several posts together. Thanks for the info.


I used to hate how mine shifted but around 4k I noticed something different... it was driving/shifting "normal". I don't know if I just got used to the transmission or if it finally got tired of me smashing the pedal once it got out of 1st. Either way I am 100% more satisfied then I was a few months after my purchase.

The trouble comes now being in the 3rd gen forum and not getting to wrapped around everyone else's issues and kind of "staying vigilant" to how the vehicle is operating.

 

It is sealed in the sense that there is no dipstick. It still has a drain plug and fill/check plugs. There is a proper procedure and it should be floating around here somewhere, maybe in the sticky section.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...omatic-in-the-2016-write-up-with-pics.361114/

This thread has really good write ups on how to do it. Honestly it isn't hard.

I will say being a truck with great ground clearance I just climb under the truck without needing to jack it up. I'm 5'7" 165 so I'm not a huge guy. I can get to all the drain and check plugs on all areas without any issues. This makes it way easier to keep the truck level which is imperative to checking your fluid levels.

 

@smmarine heres another one

 

I have been thinking a lot about these rear diff problems. And I was wondering what you guys thought about my observations. @smitty99 it makes me wonder if this could be a factor in diagnosing the problems with yours.

I personally do not have any rear diff issues thankfully and I have broken in my rear diff like ECGS says to. I also did switch to AMSOIL Severe Gear as noted above at a very low mileage.

If you read here:
http://eastcoastgearsupply.com/ft-1479-new-gear-break-in-procedure.html
and basically any website or gear reseller/manufacturer's website there is a very specific break in with an early gear oil flush. Toyota's recommendation of leaving it until 30000+ miles seems like a bit of a stretch.

Also my findings about my rear differential being 0.5 quarts low make me wonder a lot.

 

Well i suspect Vendor/supplier provides the carrier assembly to Toyota pre-assembled and likely it has already been bench run/broken in just like their motors prior to installing into truck at factory.

 

All Chuck does is complain.

Try to ignore.

 

Yeah that was my suspicion also; however with all the problems people are seeing it does make me wonder. I should have taken a picture of the rear/front diff oil. It was some of the worst oil I have seen at 3000 miles. Both my magnets were absolutely caked (no chunks but a lot of fine material).

I guess we will see how my differential holds up. The Gen 2 and 4runner guys have had really good luck running the AMSOIL Severe Gear and I'm hoping for the same.

 

Lies

 

Alright so just got the truck back and the service advisor told me it was a little low but nothing to cause any problems, on the sheet it says that hey topped it off with about 1/2-3/4 of a quart of the Toyota transmission fluid. Has anyone here called corporate and gotten the 7yr/100k warranty on the transmission out of the fact their fluid was low? Cause its safe to say if anything goes wrong with the transmission it could be cause it was low to begin with.