ShiftSense Pro - transmission shift controller for Gen3 Tacoma

The only issue I've had with the SSP is if your very close to a shift point, i.e. driving at 33mph when the shift point is at 35mph, the cruise control will not engage. You can turn it on, but you can't 'set' it no matter how many times you try, unless you slow down or speed up past the shift point.

 

Yes, 20-21 MPG around town before SSPro install. Bear in mind I never get above 45-50 unless I do a stretch where limit is 55 and will do 60 in 5th gear (In OEM mode it would be in 6th). I also have a TRD Pro exhaust and a free flow air intake filter which, combined, help a small amount. I drive like I have an egg between my foot and the gas pedal and what also helps is every other fill up I put a half tank of a higher grade gas. I use Chevron or Mobil always. Never the cheap stuff at BJ's or Sam's or Seven-Eleven. My SSPro tankful got me about 18.2 mpg where I used SSP consistently never getting out of 4th around town. Not complaining about the mileage so much since the SSP felt good most of the time. Still a bit of an issue climbing one bridge in town but it holds gear better than OEM. But I do wish my hasty desire for a Gen 3 Tacoma was tempered and if I read all the feedback about transmission issues first I might have gone a different route. Still love the Tacoma but hate the transmission and OEM ECU programming even after TSB performed numerous times. Being patient waiting for a fix--that may never come.

 

That's my experience too with 5 Tacomas since 1999. Actually, I drove diesels in the Marines. They never sounded like that. I had a Baja with the CAT back exhaust, and it was much louder than my 17 TRD OR. I guess I'm just not a perfectionist, or on the tail of the distribution of attitudes.

 

"Never the cheap stuff at BJ's or Sam's or Seven-Eleven." Many off-brand stations pull Chevron or Mobil, or Shell, in New Mexico and California. 7-11 has their own supplier. On my 13 Baja, I tested Chevron and Shell versus 7-11, which is 66 here in New Mexico, driving the same route at the same speed (cruise control) for 100-150 miles - same gas mileage. Gasoline additives are controlled by federal law.

 

Understand that is the case. However won't buy 7-11 (mostly Citgo here in FL) because it came, by and large, from Venezuela, putting money in the pockets of a tyrant. I understand this practice has stopped but old habits are hard to break. And my experience with the less expensive gas at the warehouse stores has not been as good.

 

Hmmmmm cruise at 33mph , who knew ?

 

Ok sounds to dang painful to even try . I would not complain about 18.2 city as you seem to have the record both at 20-21mpg and 18.2mpg city, that's a gold and silver medal !!!

 

Sounds like you have a loose connection somewhere. I constantly drive that speed in Phoenix heat and haven't had any issues. Maybe contact OP to try and figure it out?

 

I would like to try to troubleshoot this for you. Ill PM you to see if we can figure it out and solve it!

 

I've had SSP disable randomly two times in the time I have had it. If it becomes more frequent, I'll check with you.

 

Yes; just yesterday on the way home. Wouldnt feather into 5th like I'm used to.
Threw it into D and no disable beeps.
Made a stop at the store and it was fine after.
It's been hot and humid here.
I had my connector fall out once, previously.

 

Ok sounds good. we'll do some further evaluation as well.

It is possible for the disable to be caused by a loose wire or a connection within the device. If that is the case we would work to resolve it immediately.

However, please also note there are a LOT of safetys built into the programming... In rare instances, under normal operation, it is possible that a disable may occur and it provides the warning. SSP is continually looking for shift lever position, any gaps in OBD data, actual transmission gear, etc (every 10 milliseconds). It uses the 'better safe than sorry' mentality, making sure if there are any hiccups in signal, power, or connector status that it provides the warning and disables safely.

 

Great product . Great customer service.

 

1st the customer service is top notch.

A bit of a read but I get to type wit my fat fingers with my iPotato...

A this pass sunday my SSP strated to disengage with in 10 to 20 seconds of activation. Didn't matter if I was parked or moving. I disconnected it and reconnected it several times and nothing worked. Contacted @dcz108 and went through the whole situation with him and he too thought a connection issue. Fast forward to today a new one was shipped, got it friday and installed it this morning. Unfortunately my GF left with the old one to the post office and dropped it when I found the problem and it didn't even dawn on me. I have an OBD interface through the head unit and that is what was causing the issue. I didn't find out untill after the installation of the new one. At first I was haveing the same issue so I went and pulled it and disconnected the battery for about 20 minutes. After hooking everything back up the SSP worked perfectly. So whole setting my head unit back up with the engine running I went to the OBD screen and started setting that back up and the SSP failed again and it clicked. It was the on board OBD scanning in the head unit that was the issue. I disabled that feature of the ejad unit and no more issues.

I feel like an ass!!!

 

Not many people own up to a mistake like this. I have had to do similar things in my life.
Nobody actually " has to" because nobody would ever know but you.
But it speaks volumes to your character!
Pass this on! If everyone acted like this , far less problems in the world !
KUDOS BROTHER !

 

Had a chance to drive shift sense pro through the hills on way to grassvalley . It worked flawlessly . It help true gears without any searching . My mpg were no different then any other time up and back. But there was not the frustrating up and down constantly with the gearing.
Went to get this very cool dual rack system from Ben at Dissent offroad . The same guy that turned me on to this device .

Ben just checking out the install I did all the work ! Ok not really, but a couple times I handed him wrench...I think.

 

A bit more detail for anyone else who comes across this or is interested...
Bblake00 is using the iDatalink Maestro with his pioneer head unit (thanks for the info!). The maestro does allow very nice functionality which displays various engine and vehicle performance data which is obtained through OBD (CAN) network. Unfortunately, the maestro is a fast polling device which hogs a bunch of bandwidth across the CAN network. As it is designed to do, the SSP senses the resulting delays and gaps in vehicle OBD data and disables itself as a safety measure.

Below is an excerpt from the Maestro user manual: It sounds like it does allow different options for the OBD features, but we recommend disabled when used with SSP to avoid any competition for bandwidth or safety triggers.

---------------
Maestro:
•OBD2 Communication

Auto Disable (default)

The module will communicate with the vehicle’s OBD2 system unless it detects another device. This may be a scan tool or aftermarket programmer connected to the vehicle.

Always Enabled

The module will communicate with the vehicle’s OBD2 system even when a scan tool or aftermarket programmer is connected. However, some scan tools and aftermarket programmers will not function when this option is enabled.

Disabled

The module will not communicate with the vehicle’s OBD2 system. This option applies when using a scan tool or aftermarket programmer that does not allow multiple connections at the same time.
------------

Unfortunately there is only so much data that can fit through those tiny wires (something like that), and using multiple fast-polling devices is sometimes a bit too much for the network to keep up with. On the other hand, many SSP users who are using obd devices to monitor things like temps (slow-data rate) have reported no issues at all.

 

Opting to sell my SSP (dm to discuss) for a couple reasons that have nothing to do with the performance of the product. I'm still a believer that this magic box will provide many users with smiles as it did for me.

I'm now either commuting 2 miles or towing (S4+ECT) @ distance. I'm a simpleton & quite frankly having to stop & think about shift lever position & engaging vs disengaging to get where I want is a bit cumbersome vs the results (when towing.) I prefer to use the OBD port for other options atm.

Bottom line, I expect to be in a different vehicle in the next 6 months & perhaps someone else can take advantage of the unit.

*edit: SOLD

 

Two items to bring to the table,
#1 First real issue with the SS. Maybe nothing at all but anyway. Had stopped at a store , shut truck off ( for about 10 mins ), restarted and put in gear. Put in S mode, heard beep. Did not show on cluster that tranny was in 2nd gear, instead showed 4th gear !! Put back in Park and did sequence again, showed 4th gear on cluster. Took off down road and could tell tranny was in 2nd gear. No problems shifting etc, just showed 4th on cluster. Stopped again and this time truck was off for about 30 mins. Started truck, put in gear, over to S , heard beep and cluster showed tranny in 2nd gear ! No problems driving the 30 mins to home.
#2 item.....have had SS installed for about 6 weeks and around town it makes the truck quite nice to drive. I am going on the interstate this weekend for a 500 hundred mile trip. What/Where gear wise have ya'll been driving in , D or S. The trip will be about 80% flat and at the rest in the mountains in Georgia. Just curious of your real world driving experiences.

 

Was there any chance you were moving at all when you engaged the SSP? If you are moving, even a little (>5mph), The SSP will wait to force downshifts until it determines which gear S-mode was engaged in before indexing the S-selection down. Dont know if this could explain what you saw or not. Even in that case, the truck will continue to shift up through the gears 1,2,3,4, normally, regardless what is shown on the dash display. (From your description it sounds like it did this.)
SSP will fully engage as soon as it determines gear and will continue on with controlling all upshifts and down. If you remain at slow-speeds, it might take a bit to determine the gear. If you are at highway speeds it should happen almost immediately. If you engage SSP while stopped (or less than 5 mph), it should also go into s2 quickly as well.

This is all designed to address the toyota AI (artificial intelligence). Normally when shifting into S mode, the tacoma will go directly into S4. However there are rare instances (while moving) where it will go into S3. So SSP needs to confirm that engagement gear before forcing any downshifting of the S-selection.