2015 Toyota Tocoma trans. fluid cha

Just had transmission fluid replaced in my 2015 Toyota Tocoma TRD (78,000 miles) at my local dealer. About 3 weeks after service the truck started shuttering around 25-35 mph on a slow increase in speed. Called dealer back and after they drove my truck they said it needed a torque converter for around $2400 for parts and labor. My concern is why did it start shortly after the fluid change.

 

Contacted our local trans. shop. He said he wouldn’t change trans. fluid after 50,000. Next week he is installing filter, trans. fluid and putting in anti-shutter fluid. Got to try something before spending $2400 at dealer for torque converter.

 

Maybe you are low on fluid. Try doing a fluid check , it's fairly straightforward. Another thing to try is add 1/2 quart and see if that fixes it. Dealers screw up oil changes so they might have screwed this up.

 

Did they drain and refill the trans or just run their flush machine through it?
You should be able to see if the drain plug on the trans was taken out and the check fluid plug was also taken out. You can also look on the radiator to see if they took off top trans hose and used their flush machine. If they flushed it the technician might not have put enough fluid back in it. Had this happen to mine where I wanted them to change out the fluid a filter and they just flushed it, trans started acting up on the way home, short story they ended up doing the job correctly and not charging me for it, was short on fluid also.
Get a second opinion on the parts and labour if they appear to have done it correctly.

 

If they did a "flush" and not a true drain and fill they could have introduced more junk into your fluid than was originally in there.
I would go back and ask for the service write up of what was done. If it was just a flush, insist on a drain and fill. Also, wouldn't hurt to check your fluid level as others have said.

 

While I agree with the fluid level check as everyone mentioned above, Id be pushing real hard on the dealer to investigate further. The fact this started 3 weeks after the dealer touched it makes me wonder.. Id also ask what diagnosis they did that leads them to replace the TC.

 

The dealer probably didn't drop the pan and clean the filter, magnets and remove the sludge in the bottom of the pan. They might have put in the wrong fluid also. They have a very expensive shop they would like you to help pay for.
Since you don't work on your truck I believe the independant shop is your best bet.

 

I've been driving since 1974. I've never replaced transmission fluid in any vehicle and never had an issue in 50 years of driving. There is a combined 600,000 miles sitting in my driveway with the factory transmission fluid in them. I've never seen any evidence that changing it prolongs transmission life. Having a transmission die shortly after changing the fluid is pretty common.

 

Take a look at this message thread. Just something to be aware of with regard to torque converter shutter. Mine is completely gone still 1K miles later.

 

I do 30K drain and fills with Amsoil SS blue cap atf. Measure what comes out. Add that amount and 1/2 a qrt more. I got a OBD reader that reads the temp. Remove the check plug…done. This round I’m going 70K interval since I added a deeper pan.

 

Agreed. My father in law has had 4 tacos. THe first gen went 375K, the next two 2nd gen's were 425K and the 475K. He never once changed the transmission fluid.

 

The plural of anecdote is not evidence.

People have anecdotes about everything, including not changing fluids in a vehicle. Transmission fluid is not a lifetime fluid. It doesn't matter how many anecdotes you can spout, maybe you got lucky, but the data/science doesn't back those anecdotes up. Change your transmission fluid when it's needed.

For the OP, my only thoughts off of the top of my head are that they accidentally put the wrong fluid in, they accidentally introduced moisture/water into the transmission, or the torque converter was already on the way out and the two aren't correlated.

 

I would check the fluid level at the right temp and get details on what service the dealer performed on the transmission (Flush/pan drop etc.)

 

While your father is quite lucky and would definitely seek his advice on picking lotto numbers, but a sample of four is statistically irrelevant. I don’t believe you will find any manufacturers of at systems that suggest their units are designed to run to 400000 miles on factory fluid. Yes, some of the auto makers that install them play games like this, the experts do not. They get two benefits. Lifetime fluid sounds really cool to new customers and maker knows trans will easily make it out of warranty with factory fill. When it craps out at 150k, they make major money on the replacement. Bmw back in th 2000’s was so entrenched in this program that they forbade their dealers from changing the fluid and refused to sell the fluid to its customers. Unsure if this was greed or incompetence or attorneys saying it is too late now, we have to stick with it. If you called getrac, they said drain fill at 60k

to the op, it is generally recommended to change fluids in small increments if the fluid has not been changed for a long time. Running worn out fluid creates deposits and new fluid has a lot of detergents that had long since worn out in the old stuff. These detergents quickly go to work releasing those deposits and once free tend to create blackages. This is just like plaque in arteries. Breaks off, goes to the heart and boom, heart attack. Many experts will say that once you have gone beyond a certain age on the fluid, you are better to run that as long as you can vs introducing risk with a change. Lot of disagreement on the fluid age where this occurs. A drain fill repalces 25% of the fluid so a lower detergent load. Flushes replace it all and create more risk if the old fluid has gone well beyond recommended usage times. Many people have problems appear shortly after a full flush.

my guess is this is what happened and there is now some debris hanging up one of the spool valves or a solenoid. Highly doubt it is the torque converter, as they create problems across the whole drive ability spectrum, except when the lock up clutch is activated.

 

78,000 miles seems early for a torque converter to go. I would be curious to see how they diagnosed the converter. A second opinion may be warrented here.

 

had the same thing happen on my 2015 with 60k when i changed the fluid. started shuddering at about 45mph.

i added some shudder fix and it went away. now im at 93k.

 

Some of the biggest morons work in the lube department at any dealership. Maybe the price paid at a dealership jacks up expectations of service.

 

Probably low fluid or they fucked something up. You can change or flush the fluid at 78k with no issues.

 

I recommend Lubeguard, which is what I use when I service my transmission.

Lubegard 63010 Platinum Automatic Transmission Fluid Protectant, 10 oz. https://a.co/d/8WweKxa