How to appropriately test drive the new auto transmission

Eh... it's a great truck and I love mine. This is also to say that I don't off-road and all that... mine is for daily driving on mostly interstates and I love the mileage.

That all being said... this was asking about how to test drive the transmission. I have no clue, but I use the ShiftSense Pro on mine, so testing is not going to give you a great look anyway.

This transmission "learns", so what you test drive is not what you will see 1k, 5k, or 10k down the road if you don't put something like an SSP on it. That is one reason folks say it drives completely differently now than when they bought it.

I would suggest making sure some of the "concerns" that folks note are addressed like the transmission fluid, rear end leaking, and whatever some of you w/ the 4x4s see if that is what you are going to get. Just check on the sticky on the 3rd Gen Issues and you will have all the info you need.

It's a great truck... yeah, I complain, but it's mostly due to my dealership ticking me off. I love this thing and it's my toy that I tinker with.

 

How much are you asking and would you ship to Canada?

 

I don't think it will be a dud transmission. The engine makes power a little higher in the rpm band than older/most truck engines. Because of this, the transmission needs to downshift a little more often. Lots of folks are just used to a lower power band. I've got about 40K on my truck and really have enjoyed it so far. Before I bought I read about these concerns and eventually figured out that this is just how the truck was designed and I could either accept it or buy something else. I decided I liked everything else about the Taco and I would just accept the high strung engine.

Honestly, this little truck scoots for what it is. I drove a rental Tahoe the other day expecting great LSx V8 power and I found that the driving experience (pedal mashing experience) wasn't really any better. That really surprised me.

 

Oh, to answer your question: Just drive it up and down hills and some long straight ways at various speeds. Note the shifting and how many RPMs the engine must do to drive up a hill. Just be honest with yourself about your experience and decide if it's a problem for you.

As far as reliability, I don't think that will be the issue.