Transmission sucks

Got a 2022 tacoma. Love the truck. Still only have 950 miles on her. Problem is the transmission sucks. It lags its constantly searching and shifts terribly. Love the truck except for this. Would one of those tunes fix this? It makes the truck less enjoyable.

 

Oy!

 

To answer your question... yes, it can be fixed.

 

Yes, a tune would fix many issues with the transmission.

 

No pre purchase test drive?

 

I hear it's hit and miss with the transmission issues. My 2022 SR SX access cab has no shifting issues. 1100 miles.

 

It is a Learning transmission, meaning it learns as you drive, how to shift, etc. And yes, it is a pain in the butt, during this time. BUT, if you take it easy in the beginning with it, you will be rewarded with insanely great gas mileage in the end, among other things. But, the completely stupid way the transmission shifts or searches for gears at the slightest incline, won't go away completely, although it does get a little better with time. that will really upset you if you have the "Eco" display on your radio screen, and you see gas mileage drop from the mid 20s way down to about 10, on an incline, as you see the RPMs screaming while they jump from about 1600 to over 3000! But again, it does get better over time, but certainly not great at all.

 

Trade it in, buy a raptor.

 

The fix for this is regearing and re tuning the ECU. But the cheapest fix is a device you can get from Ebay called ECT on all the time. I have all three of these done to my 2016 but had everything done one at a time. The most expensive was the regearing it cost $2,641. I just installed the ECT On all the time. It was the cheapest

 

Give it some time. Also, drive it like you stole it for a while.

 

Don't use ECT this early, your likely to screwup the transmission's learning process. My 2020 was the same way...told to just leave it in the D mode and drive the truck as i normally would. It will get way better. Mine took around 1200 miles before it started coming around. Right now at over 17k miles its perfect, couldn't ask for a more fun truck to drive.

 

This. I did an hour test drive. Why you no do this?

 

Also, from memory, the learning kicks in around 1500 miles and it starts to smooth out. I'd give it until then. See how you like it, then have it tuned.

 

I bought my '21 TRD OR AC knowing that there were major differences between the 3.5V6 with AT vs my '06 TRD OR AC 4.0V6 with MT. As @oogielaflick explains, it's a "learning" transmission. Combined with the 3.5V6 and it's narrow power band (at higher revs), my new Taco is vastly different. That said, I've adjusted to it, and it's adjusted to my driving habits. Over time I've accepted the difference and am happy with the truck.
Adjust your expectations and give it some time - you may find that it'll get less annoying.

 

This will help you get things figured out.... from a Toyota Tech,
https://youtu.be/qbCAEscrJ8E

 

Yeah, there are like 6,000 threads on this topic. Just get a tune and it’ll drive like a normal vehicle.

 

KDMAX - thank me later.

 

i sold my Raptor to buy a 22 TRD Off-road.

I didn’t love the twin turbo with a 10 speed behind it on the Raptor, but it was still significantly better than the Tacoma transmission.

That said, I knew the Tacoma transmission would be an issue and I would need to put a tune on the truck to get the shift points where I wanted them.

i plan to do the OTT tune soon, only 300 miles on the truck.

That said, I sure hope mileage gets better after break in. I’m averaging 16 right now, with the poorly shifting transmission. The Raptor averaged 14.8, but it was making 400+ hp. That part just doesn’t seem fair.

 

This ^^^^^

 

A 15 or 20 minute test drive isn't enough to find out every little thing that could possibly bother you about a vehicle. Some things aren't apparent until after you adjust to the vehicle.