TSB-0092-20 is awesome!

I did. Had the tsb done in november. It lost about half what it was after a few months

 

i bet it's retarding timing with lower octane. that's why people are slowly losing performance. it's running on knock sensors.

 

Quick update on TSB-0092-20. It's been ~2K miles now since the update on my 2020 AT. Drove 1200 miles round trip this past w/e and the truck drove fantastic. Held gears on long hills, found a great sweetspot ~70 mph and held it as well. Highly encourage anyone not tuned to check it out if they have any weirdness in the way the AT shifts.

 

You're actually 04B82 in your second pic, which is the latest. The problem is that the right side of your first pic was truncated a bit. Maybe by zoom or scroll on your phone. You are right that it was 04B80 though.




Also, posting your VIN isn't good. Some bad folks can use it in bad ways.

 

Thanks so much @tonered - so just to confirm, if I went from 8966304B80 to 8966304B8200, this provides the same benefits as the 4B810 update listed in the T-SB-0092-20? I notice running a search thr 4B8200 relates to a seperate service bill item T-SB-0045-21 relating to crawl control but if it covers the same as 4B810 + some that’s fine by me

 

Yes. You were actually 8966304B8000. It was just cut off on your screen. 04B82 captures 04B81 plus the CC fix, like you guessed.

You should notice some of the stuff that the 2019 folks with 04B33 are talking about. A bit more power, control, and settled down shifting.

 

Wonderful news/ thanks again this saves me a couple 3 mile bike rides to / from dealer. Thx!

 

You're welcome!

 

Just want to reiterate what everyone has been saying—- this update is really a game changer. I was a bit skeptical but having driven a few wks now I can say overall the truck feels far more sure footed. I drive freeway, mtn climbs, local roads, so lots of variety and over the past few years it just didn’t feel quite right….like the engine and transmission weren’t properly mapped to each other. Now it feels like it has a more appropriate powerband that settles into the gears in a more logical way. Also feels more “trucky”. Overall I agree this breathes new life into truck and is definitely worth it. Thx all.

 

(long post alert) So I'm a newbie here to the Tacoma world forum. I've done my best to search as many threads as I can regarding the performance of this truck. So, be nice if "this subject has been beaten to death on this thread or that thread". If someone has a link for me, I'll gladly read through every post.

I have a stock 2020 TRD Offroad, May 2020 build. I started exploring the forum because I'm reaching the end of my rope with how this truck shifts at highway speeds. I haven't driven it all that much during the pandemic....working from home, not taking vacations. So, now that I'm back "on the road" more, the aggravation has been more pronounced.

My day to day/around town driving is fine...I'm never at "cruising speed" for that long, so I am not as annoyed. However, if we take a trip...trying to stay at 75mph without the truck shifting on the slightest incline, let alone pass, is terrible. So, I obviously came across the OVtune threads etc...and I am seriously considering it. I also came across this thread regarding the TSB update, and I was encouraged. So, I printed the TSB off and brought it to my dealer who knew nothing about it, of course. I made an appointment to have it checked and it was looked at yesterday. Sadly, my truck has the current ECU ID 8966304B8100.

I can't imagine how bad the truck was for you folks that had the older software.

The other observation I have (and yes, I saw the comments regarding this, so no need for shaming/discounting), again, OBSERVATION/OPINION, is my truck performs better with 91 or 93 octane. I actually accidentally put higher octane fuel in the truck in 2021. When I started driving it I noticed a difference, but told myself it couldn't make it better...it's in your head, so I went back to 87 (and because I thought putting a different octane fuel might be bad and its expensive). So after I learned that the engine/computer is OL, I put 93 in it last week. And again, I noticed it shifts smoother, has better torque, doesn't overrev (shift to a low gear) on downhill turns. So the day to day driving experience is way better. The only thing I hadn't really tried is the NYS Thruway drive (i.e. vacation roadtrip) with the higher octane. So yesterday, after I picked up my truck from the dealer, I headed out onto the thruway for a little drive. I purposely headed west....a nice headwind yesterday. The truck was able to stay at 74 with less trouble than I experienced before, but was still shifting frequently between fifth and sixth on the slightest inclines. Definitely not as bad as the 87, it would shift to 4th before. (and forget using the adaptive cruise control turn that crap right off) I'm still not totally happy with my "driving west experience into a head wind". When I headed back east with a tailwind....very nice. didn't shift frequently at all.

The other weird observation I have is that I noticed for the first time, when I set the truck for 74 mph...the speedometer actually read 74? Before, I'd set it for 74 and the speedometer would read 73? I guess to soon to make that conclusion, but I always thought that it was really weird that the truck would do that....never had a vehicle do that before.

So, I apologize for the long post here, but I've been holding back until I did some research and had my truck checked for the latest TSB.

I am thinking I will have to have OVtune to fix the highway driving issue....unless someone tells me OVtune can't even fix that, and it's just the way the Tacoma is. I've had several Toyota pickups over the years, and always loved them, but they were always slow/horrible on the expresway. I really thought when I decided to go back to a Toyota truck, they would have addressed that by now...geez...I saw 278 HP engine and thought I'd be good. Shame on me for not digging further. If I decide to ditch the truck, I'm not even sure what I would get (truck wise). I don't want a full size truck and I don't like any of the other mid-size trucks. The Ranger came in a distant second for me...don't like the styling or the interior. But....pretty damn fast!

One last thing....the tech at my dealer suggested going to the higher octane as he finds his truck performs better too.

Looking forward to your comments! I want to love my truck...if the OVtune can fix it, I'll do it!

 

I have found personally going to a good quality gas station has also helped. The cheapest gas stations out there have less additive packages than other when comparing 87 octane fuels. It could be that your gas stations near you put better additives in the higher octanes helping to also improve performance?

Regarding tunes, most people are now looking at KDMax Pro tune over the OVTune.

In any case, I agree this truck never drove like a truck from the dealer and needs something else. The TSB helped a lot for me, but I am still considering getting the KDMax tune.

 

I was looking at KDmax but doesn’t look like anyone does this in my area and it doesn’t look like kdmax offers a do it yourself arrangement….am I wrong about that?

 

They sell the tune separately if you don't want to go through a tuner. You would need to purchase VFtuner and the cable in order to do the tune yourself. VFtuner is the software required to program the tune on the truck. I think VFtuner goes for $400 (with cable) and the tune pack goes for $300, so $700 total for diy... don't quote me on those prices, just going by memory.

 

They do have a DIY option. You need to buy the VF Tuner software and cable for $389 and then the KDMax file for $300. It's all on the first page here, I was just looking at that this morning.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/kdmax-pro-tune-by-paparee-and-twtaco.713699/

It's also VIN-locked to one vehicle, so you can't get the cable/software and do anyone else's (unless you get the PRO version).

***Edit, mrengineerical just beat me to the punch by 5 minutes....

 

All i can say that tsb upgrade had been done on my 2020 when i took delivery from the dealer. The truck now works awesome once the transmission went through the learning stage, plenty more power also, like it had a break-in chip initially. Why anyone would need an aftermarket tune after baffles me unless the truck still sub performs.

 

A lot of folks get a tune due to larger tires, lift, overlanding gear, etc. On stock tire size and suspension, I agree with you.. don't see the value.

 

My 2020 has these issues and falls under applicable VIN #. My question is why doesn't Toyota inform owner of vehicle affected by TSBs ? They could at least post it on there Toyota owner app in the maintenance tab.

 

Is that just the tune they sell on their website or can you request a custom one to match tire size etc?
I'm a total noob when it comes to tuning but I know that my truck is not at full potential (also throttle response is shit)

 

oh nice….I get it now. They sell tune packs to use with the VFtuner. Very cool…thank you for your input!

 

Glad to help!