Consistent jerking upon acceleration

Hello,

My 2016 Tacoma keeps jerking out of a stop. Seems like it only happens a couple times after startup, then goes away after driving for a while. It also seems to happen more on left turns (not sure if that has anything to do with it) and going from 2nd to 3rd gear. I have not made any modifications to it or anything. I took it to a mechanic to get it checked out, but he ran a diagnosis and couldn't find anything.

Not sure if anyone else has had this issue or not, but any help or guidance would be great. Thank you!

 

Auto or Manual?

 

Auto

 

Be lighter on the gas pedal.

 

Sounds like a fubar torque converter but who knows for sure

 

No matter how light on it I am, it still does it. It's almost like it can't decide it wants to go to 3rd gear so it hesitates, then a second later it goes into 3rd, but with a jolt.

 

Ok I tonight “jerking out of a stop” meant that it had uneven acceleration as soon as you pressed the gas pedal when stopped.

I’m not really understanding the behavior you are describing. It sounds like maybe you are saying the transmission shifts are not smooth. If so, I can’t comment without driving the truck first. It could be normal.

 

It's definitely possible. I'm trying to get a better understanding from people who could help or have had this issue before, so I know what needs to be done to get this issue fixed.

 

Keep in mind that there might not be an issue to be fixed.

 

Have someone knowledgeable (e.g. a tech) drive the truck when cold.

 

Are you the original owner?

Per above, drop it off at the mechanic and leave it parked a while there, so it gets test driven cold.

 

I wouldn’t be surprised if the shifting got smoother after warm up. I don’ remember noticing anything unusual on my 2016 AT (have a MT now), but if you are more sensitive to such things you might notice it.

 

All I read was " consistent jerking"

 

I'm not the original owner. I've had this since the beginning of 2021. It's never had this issue until about March of this year.

 

Has the transmission been serviced?

 

Not that I know of. I would go to assume it has in the past since I got it with 60k miles on it and now it's around 80k. I was told that around 80k miles it needs a transmission flush.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/3rd-gen-maintenance-intervals-simplified.766505/

As needed (120k) for AT fluid

 

Interesting. I'll keep that in mind.

 

honestly I would not assume maintenance was done, unless you personally know the original owner. I would have a basic drain and fill done at a reputable shop, which should be done every 60k miles. Hopefully that gets rid of your hard shifting issue.

Some Tacoma's have been documented to have low tranny fluid from the factory.