2017 TRD Sport Hesitation Issue

Greetings all,

I bought my 2017 TRD Sport (6 Speed Manual) in mid-December and have over 6k miles already. As you can see I drive a lot and spend a ton of time getting on and off highways

I love the vehicle but a hesitation (when accelerating) issue is drive me crazy. It constantly "stutters" when hard accelerating, like up a hill or speeding up from an on-ramp to merge with highway traffic. It's somewhere in that 2500 to 3000 RPM range. Accelerating slow is not a problem. I've also tried fuels from several sources and that hasn't changed the issue either.

A couple of weeks ago I was at the dealer for my 5k service. I was careful at the very beginning to outline this problem. I was clear that this was a $38k truck and close to new and was not running right. I didn't want to hear "sorry, no code so there's no problem".

When they were done with the service the young counter gent said "the mechanic drove it around but couldn't feel anything". I was pissed because I knew where this is now leading. There is nothing worse than a subtle and intermittent problem. It allows mechanics now-a-days to always fall back on a lack of a trouble code or the vehicle is operating within factory parameters.

I was wondering if any members have any suggestions? I did some searches but the hesitation problems I found seemed to be discussing trucks with automatic transmissions (vs my 6 speed manual).

Is there anything product or app that I can use to stream the acceleration curve and look for visual hiccups? (An analogy would be like an EKG readout on a person).

I'm gearing up knowing that I'm going to have a battle proving this problem. And I absolutely love the truck, but for this money I shouldn't feel this stuttering when trying to accelerate up a hill or to pass another vehicle on the highway. I bought the vehicle knowing it was almost 300Hp so was thinking it would be very peppy when needed. The problem started about a month in to owning it.

All suggestions would be greatly appreciated !

 

At 2500RPM you shouldn't have any stutter as you are in the power band. At 3000rpm it should push you back in your seat.

Maybe a fuel issue?

 

as what I learned from reading posts like this here , when you do hard acceleration pressing hard on the gas, there's some hesitation when the Atkinson cycle transitions to the other cycle . It's usually at that range then it pulls really hard. At least that's what I experirience with my taco and learned to live with it. It's the nature of the taco.

 

I'm pretty sure at 2500RPM you're already switched to direct injection or whatever it is

 

Masterofnone - Fuel is possible but as stated I've used Exxon, Shell and Citgo with no change. Only thing I haven't tried is premium due to running on a company gas card and they get ticked when you don't use regular grade. When she gets close to empty I'll donate a tank of premium to see if it changes.

Bulalo - I wanted to reiterate that it's not a single "dip" hesitation when you hit the gas, but more a constant stuttering while you are trying to accelerate up to speed. I can feel it pulsing in the steering wheel and my right foot.

Also, could you explain the Atkinson Cycle? I'm not familiar with that term - thx !

 

Mine does it occasionally too. Usually only during the summer with the A/C on.

With my truck it's a learned behavior. Try disconnecting the battery for a while to reset the ECU. If your truck is like mine it'll fix the problem for about 1000 miles until the truck relearns how to drive like shit.

 

Go read in the OVtune Manual Transmission thread. Several report the same issue, and it is more pronounced with the tune. IF the guy from OVtune can figure out what is causing it, perhaps it is the same thing causing it on a stock tune.

I haven't ever felt a "stutter" (Loss of power). I have felt a step in the power band in 2500 to 3500 range. It makes sense, Toyota has decided to add singularities to their engine control system. That is, they have things that turn on and off somewhat digitally throughout the operating envelope. Direct vs port injection; intake manifold damper; Atkinson. I think they have somewhat lazily implemented the ECU code to control these things too.