18 vs 21 taco drivability

So my 18 has 30k on it and since new I’ve had the constant gear hunting, clunky shifting and hard downshifts coming to a stop. Like many others. Almost like stalling a manual feeling. It’s been checked toyo says is fine and have the newest tsb for the trans. Now having some warranty work and have a taco rental. A 21sr5. From the first 40 feet I could feel I huge difference, not to mention the drive home. The shift from neutral to 1st or reverse was smooth with no noticeable clunk. It stayed in appropriate gear, didn’t hunt and shifted like butter. Feels like a my girlfriends car, barely noticeable shifts. Coming to a stop is smooth 2-1 or even 1-2 isn’t noticeable clunk. It doesn’t go 4-5-6, 6-5-4 etc constantly shifting when on highway. The peddle feels far more responsive that I didn’t need ECT for the huge throttle delay/lag that my 18 has. It feels like going from an 2005 to a 2021. It’s that noticeable. I just can’t believe how immense the difference is. Is unreal. Almost want to trade out of my truck to regain that drivability.

 

Shoulda bought a 2017. None of these issues.

 

Ironically I have a lot of the same issues your 2018 has in my 2021 SR5. It’s bad enough that my wife (who knows nothing about cars) frequently asks me why I’m braking when we’re going down hills when I haven’t even touched the brakes. She can feel the transmission doing god knows what and it feels to her like I’m actually applying the brakes.

It was so bad on our beach trip this year that we actually got into an argument because she thought I was stepping on the brakes to mess with her, when in reality it was the transmission gear hunting while we were going on a straight flat stretch of road between 20-30mph. She literally couldn’t believe that the lurching was being caused by the truck itself.

After reading a bunch on here I think I’ll be getting the KDMax tune because it sounds like it fixes a lot of the issues.

 

They all have the gear hunting issues. Some people notice it more than others and some people aren't as sensitive to it as others. Toyota did have the TSB for it and I had it done in my 2017 and it improved things a bit, but I think it will only get fixed once Toyota puts the 8 speed in.

 

More speeds = more gear hunting. It's just a little less noticable. But I can't tell you the amount of complaints I saw on the Ford/GM 10 speed in regards to gear hunting. That's what happens when the vehicle is always trying to be in the optimal band for power or MPG depending on the need at the time.

 

I have a 2018 with the KD Maxx tune and it absolutely fixes the issues you mention. My truck is a blast to drive now. Get the tune and put a big fat smile on your face every time you get in it your truck. Your wife will thank you too!

 

I think it's all down to programming. Toyota wants a certain fuel econ and there is only so much they can do with the 6 speed auto programming. I was thinking if they went to 8 speed they would have more wiggle room in the programming to achieve Fuel econ targets and have it a bit more driveable.

The 8 speed in the Wrangler for example has 0 hunting and is down right a pleasure to drive compared to the messy Tacoma one. On the highway the difference is night and day. I'm sure Toyota engineers aren't any less smart than FCA engineers, but they have to stick to certain parameters.

 

I am convinced it is all a matter of the transmission learning parameters having too much freedom to select low rpms. That's why in this thread you have one guy saying the 18 sucks but the 21 is great, another says the 21 sucks, another says the 17 is great. Meanwhile it's not hard to find people complaining about these issues on all model years; its also not hard to find people claiming no issues across all model years.

Personally I have reset the learning parameters in my truck many many times. Sometimes the learning settles into a state where I have clunks. Sometimes it won't. Sometimes it will settle into a place where it will upshift inappropriately and feel like someone applied the brakes. Sometimes that bug will be less noticeable.

On my truck I have eliminated all of the problems using the OV Tune software to modify some of the software tables that set the limits of the learning parameters for the shifting algorithm.

 

More speeds = more shifting. That is not the same thing as hunting.

 

If you’d like your 2018 to drive “like it should”, verify that you have the correct amount of trans fluid and then get it tuned. There are several tunes available. KDMax (custom) SLT works for me in my 2018. The tune costs a few hundred bucks. Way better than thousands for a new vehicle. (IMHO).

 

I’m glad to hear it!! That’s why I’m pretty much sold on it being my next mod. Thanks for the input on it!

 

They don’t all have gear hunting issues. For the people who say their trucks don’t gear hunt, it’s not just a matter of those people not being as sensitive to it - Sure some people may not notice it as much, but some trucks actually just don’t hunt. Mine doesn’t (thankfully), and I can verify that it’s not just me being oblivious to it - My rpms remain consistent and stable for as long as I drive until I change my throttle input, or the road changes (like going up a hill). I have a friend with a ‘17 that has the issue, and it was very noticeable to me even as a passenger. His will shift several times back and forth on a flat road while maintaining a constant speed. Mine doesn’t act that way at all. I have a ‘21 TRD OR 4x4.

 

It is depending on your driving. I commute 90 miles per day and use cruise control and don't have the gear hunting issues everyone seems to complain about and I don't live in a flat area. Others claim it'll gear hunt even up the slightest incline.

Nevertheless the complaints on the 10 speed are of gear hunting

 

I cannot speak to a 2018, but based on my couple days of driving a 2021 vs the 2016 I had, this tranny is NOTICABLY better. I think they got the kinks out. (finally)

 

This "hunting for gears" concept has to be the worst description of an issue I have ever heard. Your truck does not randomly select a gear then tries a different one, then another until it is happy. Shift patterns are mapped and fixed. You may not like the pattern Toyota has selected, but your truck will never 'hunt for gears'.

 

Well said.

2 of my buddies have 3rd gen ATs 17 and 19 and the transmissions work as they should. Both on stock tune.

 

This is not true. The transmission logic allows the ECU a degree of freedom to learn what it wants the shift maps to be.

 

Here is an example of a regular occurrence I would have on my stock tune. You tell me how it should be described.

-Driving on a straight, flat road. No wind. Moving at constant speed, no change in pedal position.
-Truck upshifts. But, absolutely cannot make enough power to maintain speed in this gear with the current throttle. Nose of the truck dives like someone applied the brakes.
-Attempting to prevent loss of speed, I push the pedal in. Truck downshifts back to the starting gear.
-Now I have too much throttle for this gear, truck is making more power than required, and overshoots the original speed.

Maybe you won't believe me that this was a regular occurrence for me. That's fine. But "hunting for gears" absolutely is a valid description for this issue.

 

I'm sorry to break this to you, but there is no cyborg living in your truck. It is simple algorithms. Your truck doesn't say "lets try first gear, nope, now where did I put third?" There is no "hunting" to this. I'm not saying that the logic Toyota used is great, it is clearly flawed, but hunting is something that happens in the woods, not a tranny.

 

I wonder if those who post the "Why Manual Transmission?" threads ever read these threads. Must not.