How do you like your Automatic?

Unfortunately, a cheap MTD lawn tractor shifts smoother than this transmission in my 2018. I don’t mind the hunting or the low RPM operation, but the fact I have to be jerked around in my seat like I’m driving a clapped out farm truck does not seem like the norm. The bogging instead of downshifting can’t be normal. The OVtune 2.0 didnt help anything, in fact it seemed to run a bit worse in some respects. So I’ve been back to stock for a long time. I love the truck, and have a sentimental attachment to it for a number of reasons. So I’m really hoping there will be a solution someday (not tunes. I’m still out over $1000 for OVtune I don’t even use) I drove a Prius Prime today, and Toyota was able to make an electric motor and gas engine work together perfectly, so how did they screw this simple engine/trans setup up so bad? Maybe it’s just mine? Dealer says it’s normal performance of course

 

Well, seems like they screwed yours up. Mine is fine. Maybe its just a 2018 thing

 

Probably lol. At least once it’s at speed on the highway it drives fantastically. Just driving around under 80km/h or stop n go it shows it’s silliness.

 

Bet money it’s low on trans fluid. My 2018 shifts like a champ. 50k on it and even stock before the tune shifted great.

 

I was hoping that’s all it was too, and I did the check using the proper procedure on a level surface. Was low approx 300mL. I did this when the truck had like 2500km on the odo. Made no difference in performance. Also Checked MAF, Crankshaft sensor, plugs in case one was loose causing a miss. Nothing helped. Dealer flashed a TSB and that did nothing, and will not diagnose further. I thought I knew what to expect with this truck too. I used to have similar vehicles like V6 Dodge Dakota, 4runner, and not so similar 3.3L Dodge caravan. They all drove alarmingly better. Didn't notice any of this on my day long test drive either. Just an odd situation.

 

The problem with the transmission is that it’s to fast to upshift throwing the rpm’s way below 2000 and causing it to bog like a 2 stroke out of the power band. A lot of you are flat landers and live at sea level and don’t understand how bad the forced shifting is. This engine does not produce any power under 2000 rpm’s. On a side note with some intake mods and over 5000 rpm’s it sings. Still gutless at 12,000 feet.

 

2016 Access Cab, 2.7/4X4 automatic with nearly 60k. All stock and owned since new. No complaints at all. I drive in mountains but no towing. I don’t need to go over 65 or 70 and never punch it. Using lower gearing on downgrade saves brakes. 23/24mpg. Damn nice truck IMO.

 

It's shit.

 

I learned with my tranny going up hill, what I do is try to keep the revs at 2000 rpm with the foot on the pedal and then just down shift in gears as I climb and the truck just goes up with no hesitation at all. This way you don't have to boot it to go up, just saying.

 

I have learned to live with my 2016 off road . But I do miss my 2011 off road 4.0 auto

 

Everything you just stated is how my 2017 runs when I don't press ECT. Once I hit ECT, it is like a complete reprogram and it feels like it has a lot more power, the transmission doesn't hunt, it stays in lower gears longer. So I wonder if Toyota has deprogrammed ECT in newer trucks, where it doesn't give what it use to.

 

ECT was designed for climbing hills and towing. It holds the auto in lower gears longer. It is in the owner's manual. No harm using it for normal driving. MPG will suffer slightly.

 

Yes, mpg does suffer, I noticed it, but the vehicle runs like it should in my opinion. If I could permanently enable ect I would

 

I believe people have through various mods.

 

yeah, gonna have to look into it.

 

I don't believe I was mistaken, but I'll try a few more tests this weekend during my trip upstate. Plenty of rolling hills (foothills of GA and SC if you're curious). I do know in 6th it can't maintain the speed set on cruise control and will walk to 5th where it stops losing speed but can't get back to the set speed so it walks to 4th, gets back to the set speed, and then jumps back to 6th. Rinse and repeat on the next hill. After about 200 miles of that, I'm ready to pull the devs for the engine and transmission into a single room and tell them they can't leave until they solve the problem. Maybe they need a terrain mode. Now put the truck on flat roads it's a pleasure to drive even for a truck.

Based on my experience with all the trucks I've owned, I'd say the real problem isn't the transmission but the engine's torque band. Behaves too much like an I-4 even though it's a V6. It just doesn't make enough for it to torque its way up those kind of hills in 6th. I've been driving pickups and suvs (full size and compact) since the 80s. I've seen all kinds of behaviors from trucks that just torque their way through stuff in top gear to those that you got to wind them up hard to get any real power out of them. All bark and no bite vehicles. Of course we'll all be driving EVs in 10 years or less, and it won't matter. And the holdouts driving the gas trucks will selling us tows for dead batteries. lol.

I do think it would be interesting to know the predominate terrain and driving habits for both groups claiming and not claiming issues.

 

Here is a picture of what I was talking about, pulling a hill. The ScanGauge reads through the OBD11 port, so straight from the computer. You can see that the truck selection is 5 gear, but the ScanGauge is reading 4 gear.

 

i have no complaints about my auto trans. i also usually drive with ECT enabled as other people here do.

i live in north texas, which is very flat, but frequently drive through the texas hill country and have never had any issues with overly frequent shifting. during the first few months of ownership, i only drove in very flat areas so maybe the shifting works better if the truck learns your habits in a flat area?

 

I got that KD Pro tune and this is a whole new truck. This truck use to shift 50 or 60 times between 4th, 5th, 6th, 4th, 5th, 4th, 5th, 4th, 5th, 6th, 5th, 6th, 4th, driving between Blythe and Phoenix. With the wind at my back it probably shifted 4 times after getting up to speed. Against the wind on the way home it shifted between 5th and 6th probably a dozen times. The real difference is that is stays in the lower gear until it can actually hold the next higher gear. Also, if I step on the gas the truck gets out of it's own way.

 

My 22 isn't perfect but much better than earlier ones.