Dealer refused to check my trans fluid

Ok, I'm home from the last day of actual classes. Waaaahooooo! Two finals next week and then I'm done for summer.

Ahem . . . in answer to your questions. There were really two main complaints with my '16. Toyota would not address either issue claiming both [issues] were normal characteristics of the vehicle (why I'm not in it now). It had a substantial delay from reverse to drive (1-2 seconds, but at least 1 full second). It flared between the 1st to 2nd shift and the 2nd to 3rd shift. It would also bog down (DANGEROUS) if I had slowed down for a yield sign, or some other reason, then needed to quickly accelerate. This caused many very, hairy moments in which I thought I would get t-boned when the POS nearly died in the middle of the road. During the 8800 miles I owned the heap it NEVER made it into 6th gear. EVER. MPG was only the same or lower than my '15 or my '12 Tacoma (all were the same model, TRD 4x4 OR SB). Along with the transmission problems it had a very noticeable rumble, with associated vibration, at any speed below 30 mph. Again I was advised this was "normal."
It also had a rattle somewhere behind the glove box and a "kazoo" noise that a tech advised me was from the door, weather stripping not being made of stiff enough weather stripping material. Although a tech knew what was wrong it was never fixed. The previous is the main reason I considered it a POS.

I won't go into the cosmetic changes (for the worse, IMO) made to the Gen 3 because those are items I knew ahead of my decision to purchase said horse droppings.

Comparing it to the Jeep Cherokee is like comparing apples and oranges. The Cherokee also has transmission slippage issues. Go figure. It does get WAY better MPGs, and it's WAY quicker, but then it is much lighter than the Tacoma. I tolerate the Jeep Cherokee and I'll leave it at that.

 

It definitely sounds like you have problems JoCoQS, take to the dealer tell them exactly like you told here. That's one that needs attention in several areas maybe find another stealer would be advisable

 

Thanks for the follow up. I have annoying interior rattles as well. I almost have them remedied by pulling trim pieces and sticking felt tape everywhere... pretty stupid that I should have to do this to a new $40k truck. I had the door seal kazoo sound too. I was finally able to get dealer to fix that with new beefier seals.

As for the transmission, I certainly have some issues with it, but sounds like yours were even worse.

I was asking about the jeep in terms of quality. I briefly considered one before I got the Tacoma.

 

I've got right at 10,000 miles on the Cherokee and with the exception of the transmission slippage issues it has actually been a decent vehicle. I definitely miss having a bed to haul things in though. I had to replace my mailbox from a (I'm assuming this part) drunk driver on Cinco de Mayo. I thought I heard something strange at about 1:30 a.m. (it was Mr. Bonehead taking out my mailbox). I knew for sure the next morning when my mailbox was laying out in my yard about 25 yds. from where it had been mounted. I think Mr. Driving-While-Hammered is in some real hot water. Other than my mailbox he took out two others and also hit a motorcyclist on an Interstate Highway, without stopping at any of the scenes I might add.

Back to the Jeep. IF I never needed to carry anything larger than a grocery sack this would be an acceptable choice. It is AWD, which is nice in snowy weather.

 

Had problems. I've been out of that bucket for about a year now, and like I've said previously, Toyota did nothing but lose a future customer with their arrogant attitude and their lack of addressing my Gen 3 Tacoma's problems.

 

Dam those lemons!
But what good are the laws if they can't pick them up

 

I would pay anywhere from $150-300 for an aftermarket transmission dipstick I could install.... lol sorta like what Lokar makes for domestic transmission applications

 

Sorry to hear you had to go thru this. Looks a like a standard form letter. The Low AT issue is a REAL issue that I hope get's addressed soon.

 

I would rather pay $800-$1500 less for a 6 speed manual.

 

Unf

Unfortunately it will require a death directly attributed to the flawed transmission in order for ANY actual remedy to occur. It's sad that it won't be the death that forces big T'so hand. It would occur because of a court order or a severe drop in sales caused by bad publicity, if/when, that event occurs, which all clues point to that happening. Sad indeed.

 

Agreed--what was the main reason you had to dump the Taco? Was it the engine / trans?

 

I pretty much answered that in post #83, but, if I had to give a "main" reason, among reasons, for dumping the Gen 3, then I would say it was the engine/trans combination. Although there were many other reasons that factored into my decision.

 

Is there a tsb for the kazoo sound issue? I have that on my truck and am holding off until the 20k service.

 

I finally got mine checked after concerns with drifting backwards on a hill, 2nd and 4rth issues, they said it took a 1\4 to 1\2 quart and checked the tsb and could not replicate the problems. Nothing has changed, I've already put 9k on it in 6 months.

 

Understood- I read that post and can state I also experienced many of the same. I stopped backing into my garage because of the surge in reverse for fear it might crash into my back wall.

 

The dealer is going to refuse a lot of stuff so you better get used to it....

 

I don't think there is an official TSB, but TAS seems to be aware of the problem, and there are updated door seals to correct it now.

 

I completely understand. I got rid of my heap because I value my life more than the monetary hit I took. My newest "plan" is to purchase a used, more capable off-roading vehicle, then purchase an old, beater pickup for an errand/trash-hauling vehicle. The sad part is, I'll be able to purchase two, used vehicles for less than the cost of a new, flawed Tacoma.