2018 Auto Tranny question, NOT a complaint thread.

I know none of us are in love with our Auto trans but mine really don’t bother me to much but my question is: Say driving to work on Interstate, pretty well flat with slight inclines here and there, always set cruise control at 75 and after getting to speed the truck stays in a lower gear (3k rpm), guessing 5th till I quickly tap the gas pedal a couple times then it shifts and the RPM’s go back to 2k. The next slight incline it goes back to 5th or maybe even 4th (3k rpm) and stays there even though I’m back on level ground till I do a quick double tap on the gas then it goes back to 6th and 2k rpm’s.

Is this something the TSB would address or just wait till I can afford to do the OVtune? I guess this is really the only thing my truck does that I don’t like so I’m pretty happy overall. Just don’t want to go ask for a TSB if it’s not designed to fix my minor issue. Thanks guys!

 

Sounds about right, same issue as my '18. Turn on ECT when on the highway. It will minimize the quick downshift on small gradients.

 

How many miles are on your truck? I got my Tacoma at the end of last August and had the same experience. Cruise along at about 2,000 rpm, then get to a hill and it downshifts, and then once on level ground, it would hang on to that lower gear at high revs for 15-30 seconds, and then finally upshift. Like a slow reaction time to realizing it was on level ground again. Since it's supposed to be a 'smart' transmission, I waited. I just hit 5,200 miles and that hanging on to the lower gear has gone away.

 

It happens to me too and I just went over 6k mile. I just let it rev and shift when it's ready unless I have to speed up or slow down. For me it sometimes stays at the higher revs for like a minute or two then it shifts. It seems like there is a marker\trigger it's looking for when getting up to speed that let's it know it's time to shift again.

 

My Toyota car does the same. Never thought about it in the 10 years I've had it until I bought the truck and came in here hearing people complain. It's a transmission that shifts. No big deal.

 

What kind of gas mileage are you getting?
Since 5th and 6th are both overdrive gears if you are still getting good mpgs I would just let it do its thing. I can get 20 to 22 on the highway and I really don't pay attention to the Rpms or shifting, I dont have or feel the same complaints a lot of people talk about here. In the city I do use S mode and ECT to keep it from trying to go into higher gears, and I think that makes for a better drive in that situation.

 

It will minimize downshifting because it’ll already be in the lower gear in ECT..

 

Perfectly normal. It's probably going into 4th. To find out, just slide the shifter over to S mode and see if there is any change. S mode always defaults to 4th.

G.

 

Yep, it's 4th.

These trucks don't like to stay in higher gears it seems. There's also like no throttle distance between torque converter unlocking and dropping out of 5th.

I'll have my tune soon so hopefully it makes a big difference.

 

I know exactly what you are talking about. I found the same thing on my trip from FL to DC a few weeks ago. I wasn't paying attention to my RPMs until I stopped to get gas and realized I was getting 16mpg. Any incline at all it dropped to 5th and I had to feather the pedal to get it back to 6th. If I left it on cruise control it basically stayed in 5th. I am running the latest update so there really is no fix from Toyota. I looked at OVE, but the cost is hard to accept and not sure it will really make a worthwhile difference.

 

To answer a few questions I’m right at 4,000 miles and I’m in the low 16mpg range. I don’t drive like granny but I sure watch how I drive and most of the time I use cruise control. I’m on stock tires and no mods that would affect gas milage so I don’t know what y’all are doing to get in the 20ties per gallon unless you drive down hill, both ways lol.

 

I’m running KO2’s at 265/70/17. In the hills of Western NC, I always have gotten 18-20 MPG. Always use ECT and S mode unless over 60 on an interstate type highway. Also, always use cruise control when conditions permit.

G.

 

I'm waiting for all the Kool-Aid drinkers to jump on this thread to tell you how the problem is your driving and that you should accept the mileage as great. You should read the thread I started a few weeks back with essentially the same experience. You would have thought I called someone's baby ugly for sharing the near same experience.

And it is only a matter of time for that fanboy to throw out the obligatory "why didn't you get a ridgline?" comment.

 

Yea I debated on even asking but in my defense it’s not a complaint thread lol my main question was do I need the transmission TSB and would it help what I’m seeing. I do love my truck, it’s paid for and it’s mine.

 

It can't hurt to have all TSB's done when you can. That way, your truck has all the latest software no matter what it does. I had mine done, but have not changed how I drive it. I like my truck.

G.

 

I'm right there with you. I had the update done on mine, but it was for different issue. I had the stumble at 50mph. After the update it still does it, just at a different interval.

 

Yep, and I find it to also hold 6th gear longer before downshifting to 5th. Just my 2 cents from my experience.

 

By all reports around here the cruise itself has never been stellar in any generation of these trucks. Certainly not the 2nd and 3rd gens anyway.

Nothing near as accurate/responsive as my '04 Highlander still is and various Camry's and Corollas I've driven. 'Why' is a great mystery.

Add that cruise behavior to the tight gearing of the trans and I'd guess the combo makes the resulting behavior even worse.

 

ECT is meant to hold gears longer before upshifting. If you're in 6th (ECT on) and approach an incline, why would the truck hold 6th longer? Where can I read that this is a fact? I hope you're right, but from my experience, this is not true and completely the opposite of how ECT functions.

OP, from my experience, put the truck in S-mode and 6th. When you're approaching a hill that you know the truck is going to downshift on, shift to 5 and it may prevent a hard downshift from 6 to 4. When you level back out, get it back to 6 to save on fuel. ECT makes no difference in my experience of this situation.

 

I don't know if a TSB will solve your issue. I own a 2017 and never had those problems. I got the TSB done, but it was because my truck felt gutless from stop and it was shifting gears way before around 2000 rpms. However in the freeway (even before the TSB) mine shifts only between 5th & 6th gears without any delays. After the TSB my truck holds the gears a little longer and it also feels like it more responsive from stop.