2021 OR transmission shudder/surging at speed

So my 2021 is less than enjoyable to drive, the trans at low RPM shudders at almost all speeds. 25mph at low RPM to 60mph at low RPM.

Have had it in to two different dealerships, first the service manager went on a drive with me and right away said it's normal, and these trucks get traded often.

Second dealership had the truck for two weeks, they recognized the issue and dug into it. There are no warning lights, so they checked the drivelines and the trans fluid levels and all was good there.

They had a Toyota field tech come out and live streamed the truck to monitor what the truck was doing. Field tech said the live stream data looked good. A buddy and I did the same thing and with the torque converter in full lock the truck was still acting weird, even the RMP curve was jumping all over compared to his Taco.


Long story short, the service manager at the last dealership said he wishes he could just replace the trans or the TC, but Toyota won't let them just toss parts at it.

I have heard of a few other 2021 OR having the same issues, but Toyota said it will not be addressed until there are many more complaints like mine. I'm really thinking about just trading it in. I'm so frustrated. I have pretty much lost faith in Toyota, which is sad. I should have just kept my 2nd gen OR.

Any thoughts or input would be great, thanks.

 

Find someone who’ll do an OVTune in your neck of the woods. It’ll get rid of the shudder and make it enjoyable to drive again.

 

Seems like a common issue. Caused by the torque converter locking/unlocking repeatedly in quick succession.

 

I have tried a few OVTs and none of them fixed the issue.

 

Yes, but mine does it while in full TC lock.

 

Right now is a good time if you want to get out of that Tacoma. You should be able to get what you paid for it. I took my taco to the dealership for it's first service (6 months) and they offered 40k for it (sitting at 3200 miles). Very tempting but It's my daily driver.

 

How're u monitoring TC lockup?

 

Yep, Toyota of tacoma offered me Full Msrp, 44K but the problem is trying to find something else to buy.

 

Yessir.

 

@BlueTaco4x4 is looking to gather up other 2021s with the same issue. I know I have seen posts from about three other 2021s noting a feeling like driving on rumble strips.

BTDT. Either the tunes have no effect or make it worse. It feels ridiculous going down the road.

 

OBD Fusion. Solid SLU and Lock for miles. Sometimes, there is a shudder as it goes from SLU to Lock, but this is going down the road in 5th or 6th while fully locked and feeling this:

 

Yep. not enjoyable.

 

That looks like hell.

Have you tried running a test tune where the TC must be always 100% unlocked? Does the truck still do this? My first guess is that something screwy is going on with the partial lockup.

 

Yeah, mine started out doing the same thing. It has now graduated to stage 2 torque converter shenanigans...starts to feel like the engine is stumbling while idling in gear. I just crossed 1200 mi on my 2021.

 

We tried killing SLU in 5th Gear. No change. I really want to believe this is an AT / TC thing, but after seeing the TC locked solid when this is happening, I am now considering bad MAF or ETB.

 

Does the vehicle speed jump with the RPMs? If yes, it is the engine speed control being unstable. If no, something mechanical is slipping. Right?

 

Wish I had a helpful suggestion for you. If it's any consolation, my 2021 has also done it since day one. I don't have any slipping or jumping in speed/RPM's, just a noticeable jerking at any speed where you are lower than 1,500 RPM - ESPECIALLY 40-50mph. I don't understand much about how these trucks are tuned but I will say that mine runs like a dream during warm up. As soon as it gets up to temperature, though, you notice the performance completely drop off and start this shuddering crap. Maybe start there since you have the technology at hand?

 

Wow, not cool.

 

Man I experience the same thing. It drives good until it at full temp.

 

Oh you're monitoring it for real? Nice. If you're suspecting MAF, do u guys have access to a good OBD2 scanner? Will techstream let you watch live data? Might be nice to monitor output as you're driving and experiencing the shudder.