What should I do about my dealer???

I have a 2017 or dclb 4x4. From day one I have had issues with my transmission thumping when coming to a stop going from 2nd into 1st. Ive had it the dealer 2x and for the issue and they said it was normal. I've read a bunch of treads about them coming with low transmission fluid from the factory so that was my #1 concern. I figured I'd call Toyota and open up a case with them (this was about 2 months ago).

Fastfowar to yesterday. I brought my truck in for 10k maintenance and also mentioned the transmission was still thumping when coming to a stop. I took the truck for a drive with the shop foreman. He said the truck seemed fine but he would check they transmission fluid for me since it was my 3rd time in for the same problem.

The service advisor called me up at 530 (they close at 6) saying the trucks ready. I get there at 555 and he goes over all the paperwork. He said they ran the transmission test and everything was fine. I sign the paperwork and he says he's going to get the truck. 5 min later he comes back and says it's still on the lift and will be done shortly it's now 605 and he said he's going home (all other service advisors have left) but the mechanic will pull the truck up when it's done. 15 min later the shop foreman pulls up with there transmission scanning program . He shows me that its right where it should be for testing at 109 degrees which is right in the middle of the testing range. He then tells me he had to add oil to get it just right but he didn't say how much oil was added.

My issue is that the service advisor had me signing paperwork saying everything was fine with the truck before the foreman was done working on it. There is no mention of them adding any transmission fluid. I've had the truck for 10k miles driving on low fluid. I'm happy that it was finally checked and is now the way it should be 10k miles ago but I'm not happy that as far as Toyota corporate knows everything was fine to begin with.

I don't know if I should call the dealer and ask why they had me sign paperwork before the job was done and ask them to update, Or if I should call corporate and let them know what's going on.

What do you guys think
Ps sorry it's so long

 

This all boils down to that fact you signed off on the work before it was completed and before you've done a test drive (that never happened) with your adviser to confirm everything is better. You can either leave it be or complain to the service dept manager regarding the interaction/experience. Aside from that, nothing much will happen here.

As for the low fluid, you can contact corporate to open a case and see if they'll give you an extended warranty. The likelihood of that is no more than 50/50 these days.

 

Its the tacoma "thud" or "thunk" or "thump" whatever you want to call it its extremely well known on this very forum going back a decade you can search and find literally a hundred threads on this.

You're not gonna like this answer but.... you just need to live with it, its honestly not a big deal.

my 1st gen did it until I sold it with 164k miles

my 2nd gen did it until I sold it with 125k miles, my other 2nd gen did it and had over 200k miles.

and my 3rd gen does it now and has 35k miles.

It doesn't harm anything so nothing to worry about, just get it checked out to make sure its not something more serious which you already have... three times lol, so you're good.

Some 2nd gen guys moved to one-piece drive shafts which apparently stopped it, but I think only someone thats extremely OCD would spend that kind of $ to prevent an otherwise non-problem.

 

I would absolutely followup with the same service writer and have another ticket generated and the notes added. There is no reason they cannot do that. You need that for record keeping.

 

This should be your first approach. If this fails, then maybe look to the other options.

 

Axle Wrap - it's a thing. I got rid of mine with new shocks and progressive AALs in the rear. Was kinda annoying actually. Doubt I'd live with it very long.

I added a hay bail to the bed @ like 500 miles that helped almost eliminated it. Then suspension upgrade = problem solved.

 

Update.
So I called my dealer the next day. Spoke to the service advisor manager and told him the story. He said he would talk to the foreman and update my work log.

I find it strange that it says it was in spec but he had to add fluid to be able to check the level (I thought that's what there computer was for) I've also read the manual on how to check and change the transmission fluid on this truck and nowhere does it say that you must add fluid before you can check the level. I feel like they added more then they said they did. I'm happy that the truck is driving better but upset that I was driving with it low for 10k miles. I spoke with corporate about it and as far as they are concerned it was fine from the beginning.

 

I've had this issue since new as well, it's only when cold and goes away when it's had time to warm up. So maybe 2 stop lights?

I have Dakars and ADS shocks in front and rear....still have it. I'm doubting mine is axle wrap.

 

Nope, still does it. Sometimes it's not so pronounced and other times it is. It used to bother me but not so much anymore. Usually by the 2nd or third stop light, if I don't time them right, it doesn't do it anymore. I almost always notice it in the morning on the way to work, and almost never when leaving and on the way home.

 

The computer can't read transmission fluid level; it only indicates if the fluid temperature is in the correct range for checking level (since the fluid expands a lot when warmed up). To set the fluid level, there's a check plug situated higher in the pan than the drain plug. You basically have to overfill, run the engine until the fluid is at operating temp range, then open the check plug (with the engine running) until the fluid coming out slows to a trickle.

 

I understand that the transmission fluid expands with heat, causing the level in the transmission to rise (I rebuilt automatic transmissions for 5 years). What I don't understand is rather than to thru all of the trouble of bring the trans up to temp every time you want to check fluid level.

Do it once, leave the vehicle in exactly the same spot until the vehicle is at ambient temperature. Remove the level check plug and take a piece of aluminum siding, cut to perhaps 3/8 of an inch wide and 6 inches long. Bend it in a U shape, insert it in the check hole and then see where the cold fluid level is. Mark this on your new 'dipstick' and you have your cold, non running level. This level should vary just as much as the hot running level does, and is a lot more simple to do.

 

Because operating temp is a specific temperature range. "COLD" is not... what if you're checking it in 30 degree weather vs 50 degree weather vs 90 weather... those are vastly different "cold temps". By measuring it at operating temp you're standardizing the procedure. Believe it or not those Toyota engineers are pretty smart

1/8th of a pint is 1/16th of a quart. Your transmission has 13 qts.... it was off by literally 0.4% thats within the margin of error for even measuring it so your transmission wasn't even off lol. Thats why its still within spec the measurement process isn't that accurate because it doesn't need to be, its not an ultra precise radiological medical device its a transmission and its not going to know the difference between 12.93 quarts or 13.07 quarts.

 

The cold check level would vary as much as the hot check level. There is a what ,40 degree range to check hot. I'm assuming that number, as I could not find a fixed hot check temperature range. So if you did a cold check at 50 degrees or 90 degrees, you would still be as accurate as your hot check specs. Damn few people check transmission fluid at 30 degrees unless you see a pink stain in the snow. A dipstick would eliminate all the fuss.

 

If it’s not in writing, it never happened. Get service department to annotate oil was added to transmission