Transmission problems (hard 1st to 2nd gear shift)

I have a 2006 Tacoma D-cab 4x4 with 131,k miles. I am having very hard shift from 1st to 2nd gear, harded after it gets warmed up. I have charged the fliud (World standard) twice and can not tell any big differance. I have no transmission codes, and the dealer says that it is internal problems. I have found some low mile used transmission and at this point I believe I will just change it out. Just wanted to through something out there to see if this is happening with anyone else before I put it on the rack and brake out the tools.
May I add going from a stop at normal acceleration the shift is so hard it will bark the tires going into 2nd gear.....

 

Manual transmission?

What type of fluid are you using?

 

v6 Automatic. toyota world standard fluid

 

There was a TSB for hard shifting between 1st and 2nd that required a reflash of the ECU , I had it done on my '09 , not sure if it applies to your '06

 

I was wondering about this. I have the same problem but only at slower speeds.

 

It shift hard at slower speeds as well. I have just been letting out of the gas right before 1st to 2nd shift point (like you would if it was a stick shift).

 

I have a 2006 Tacoma Auto trans, 56k miles and mine is doing the same thing! Dealer says needs new tranny...$3700, no love from Toyota. Has anyone discovered what the problem is?

 

You guys should check into what OZ is talking about, it may pertain to your years as well, if it doesn't I implore you to get it serviced ASAP !! don't wait till it comes to this...

 

I just changed the fluid...no issues in bottom of pan. Any other ideas? Anything electrical that might cause this issue? Sensors, etc?

 

I have drained and refilled the transmission 3 times in the past 30 days. The first service I dropped the pan after it had sat on the rack over night to get more fluid out. There was alot of fine material on the magnets, but no chucks. The shifting seems to be improving, but not what I feel it should be. Still hard shifts when up to temp. You would think that Toyota would recognize this problem and correct it. Many have said that the Toyota world standard fluid is a lifetime fluid, and Toyota does not show a transmission service, only a instect up to 150,k miles in the 2006 Tacoma maintiance guide.

 

I may have jumped the gun a bit for scheduled/required maint. I think from years '07 (or maybe '06) & up it's a sealed deal with no user friendly way to service it, so guess its a no maint., non user friendly trans..

 

Update....after the dealer told me I needed a new transmission at a cost of $3700, I did a thorough check on my own and discovered the fluid was two quarts low. I filled it up and problem solved! Cost me about $25...the dealership is running a corrupt, dishonest business. I'm very disappointed with Toyota.

 

Nice !! & thats why its called "Stealership"

 

Toyota doesn't own the dealership

Just sayin

 

Jelewis I'm currently encountering the same issue with my 2006 Tacoma what did you end up doing? I don't want to fork out that kind of money. As of right now I can strategically drive the truck to where I don't encounter the issue but I fear it may get worse in months to come.

 

Has anyone found a solution? my 2000 3.4L 4 seed auto is doing the same thing.

I have a delayed and then a hard shift into 2nd from 1st. Once I see it lagging in 1st I let off the gas to settle it into 2nd...

I have 175,000 miles on it and recently serviced the fluid in the transmission... about 6 quarts were replaced by dripping the pan but I know about ~15 quarts usually fit into the entire trans. Anyway I really want to resolve this issue so if anyone has any suggestion what worked for them I would like to know...

 

Anyone has any extra info on this? mine is a 2011 sport with an auto, and is doing the hard;ish shift from 1st to 2nd. Sometimes it doesn't do it if the conditions are right like acceleration or hill start or smth. Could this be a carrier bearing issue? Also anyone have any info on the TSB for reflash and if they are still doing it ?

 

This is for informational purposes only and in general yet not specific to Toyota.

The ECM must know several inputs to decide when to shift and just how hard or soft the transmission must shift. This is called line pressure and I am wondering if you can install a pressure gauge to the transmission and observe just how high the line pressure is when your transmission is shifting. Sometimes an electronically controlled transmission will purposely shift harder to protect the clutches and if you could go ahead and retrieve DTCs.

You can break this down into three categories.
1. Input signal or signals (Sensors that feed data to the the ECM.
2. Control (Transmission ECM).
3. Output (What the ECM sends controlling signal to). An example would be an electronic shifting solenoid or a pressure control solenoid.

"The ECM must know several inputs to decide just how hard or soft the transmission must shift"
These inputs are
1. Vehicle speed VSS
2. Engine speed ESS
3. Transmission input speed TISS (If it is measured in a 1st gen)
4. Throttle Angle (TPS)
5. Transmission fluid temperature (TFT) (if it is measured in a 1st gen)
6. Engine load.

So if you want to troubleshoot an electronically controlled transmission you cn now at least start your research from the basic data that I have given.