Question about OTT Tune and jerky or twitchiness

UPDATE2 (2/25/2025):
I've put close to 7k miles on the truck and it's still driving great!

UPDATE:
My tuner reached out to OTT and they sent him a tune with the stock throttle on their calibration. We put that on my truck and I've since driven ~80 miles, 20 of which is heavy stop and go traffic. The truck drives very smooth and I no longer have any twitchiness and, of course, the transmission shifts much, much better. The tune seems to match my driving style much, much better.


ORIGINAL POST:
Has anyone noticed the throttle being very twitchy... even with the Lite tune? I have a 2023 OR Access Cab that is completely stock (except RCI sliders).

I had my truck tuned with 10k miles on it last November and have driven 10k miles since.

In the last month or two, I've noticed it's not smooth to take off from a stop. The throttle feels abrupt or twitchy and at least 75% of the time I can't get a smooth take off.

Also, I've noticed that sometimes when getting off the highway and coasting to city speeds when I press of the gas pedal, the truck will jerk or buck. It's like the torque convert is locked and there is no smooth transition from no throttle to a lot of throttle. The way I've described it to my tuner is it's like you are driving a manual in 1st gear and you let off the gas and then get back on it (without using the clutch).

I have since had the stock tune put back on the truck to 1) see if it was the tune and 2) have the truck stock if/when I take it to the dealer. Since putting the stock tune back on, I haven't had these issues. It is much smoother going from no throttle to some throttle.

Ultimately, I think the tune just makes the throttle more responsive. But, it's to the point that I'm having a hard time controlling it. I will probably give the Lite- a try next. But wanted to ask if anyone else has experienced this.

EDIT:
I've read people talk about the pedal being twitch with more aggressive levels of the tune (Medium, Mild, Spicy, etc.). I think this is what I'm experiencing, but with the Lite tune.

EDIT #2:
The truck has 21,500 miles on it.

EDIT #3:
The transmission fluid is at the correct level. I checked it at 4k miles. It was ~3/4 qt low.

EDIT #4:
All the spark plugs are properly torqued

 

Start with new plugs, maybe

 

The truck only has 21,500 miles on it. The plugs shouldn't have to be replaced... should they?

 

I dunno. Maybe. I’m interested to know if #3 is loose.

 

I am having the exact same issue as op to a tee. I am pulling my plugs to check. Below is bank 2 closest to cab spark plug. It is oily and came out a little hard shedding some metal where the threads were. The middle plug was barely hand tight when loosening. Am going to check the rest when it quits raining.

I had worse jerking and some slipping which was solved by adding 1.5qts of atf.

 

Send me a thousand dollars idk. Maybe that.

 

The spark plugs will NOT cause the issue.

I’m sorry to hear your local tuner can’t help you more.
Before we tag the actual creators of the tune. (They are members here).
We need to know if the Lite tune fixed the issue?
Or is it still present in Lite?

Put the truck in S4 and see if the issue still occurs.
We need to know as much data as possible so that good suggestions can be given.

 

While I cannot speak to your specific tune I can certainly say that over the years of providing Tacoma calibrations (700+ owners to date) that there is absolutely an owner preference on throttle and how any given truck reacts to the calibration used. On the surface, it does sound like the throttle setting for your driving style is a bit higher then needed for your driver/truck setup. I would NOT expect a higher throttle setting to be less aggressive from a stop....mathematically that just does not make sense as the table needs to ramp up higher/faster which on a stock setup would be MORE jumpy. For the point on from a take-off only, the throttle is the throttle. I would certainly encourage talking with your tuning resource, I know my customers pay me to provide support and unless you got a tune for free you should expected and receive the same. I hope you get it resolved and it is NOT an unexpected mechanical issue....which is really doubtful.

 

Mine was ~3/4 low. I checked (and filled it) at about 4k miles (6k before the tune).

 

Just to be clear, I'm not pointing my finger at nor am I upset/disappointed at/with my tuner. He's really good.

I have been running the Lite tune. Just went back to stock last week as I mentioned in my post. I wanted to 1) see if that resolved the issue (which I didn't really think it would, but it has) and 2) get the truck back to stock in case it had to go to the dealer.

At this point, since I'm back on stock and am unable to reproduce the issue, I'm not sure if S4 will do anything... but I'll play with it on my commute tomorrow.

 

No reason to be upset with your tuner.
Some of them only do installs. And don't know the actual workings of the tune.

As for S4. I think it changes how the converter locks up.
Just asking to get more data so that if someone that "knows how the tune works" can get more information to help.

 

I appreciate the reply. As I said in another reply to someone else, my tuner (actually a friend of mine from my bicycle racing days) is really good and has been more than happy to help. I'm just reaching out here because so many people on the forums have gotten this tune and haven't had any issues. I did see one post by "little_joe" (if I remember right) which sounded like my issue and redoing the tune fixed it for him.

Also, I agree, a higher throttle setting wouldn't seem to make things better. I've been running lite and will probably try lite minus.

 

Gotcha. I hadn't heard that about the converter. I'll play with it tomorrow on my commute.

 

Because you said this and hearing about loose spark plugs, I just checked all 6 of them. 5 of them felt too loose for my liking and one came out hard leaving small metal shavings behind. I am at 10,000 miles. I backed them all off and tightened them to my liking.

After reading about low ATF and having 3rd gear slip twice, I had to check it for self assurance. I thought mine would be fine but checked it anyway in my driveway. It ate one quart, and spit out half a quart after adding another. It then shifted sooner, it was less jerky from a stop, and it coasted better after adding just one quart.

Checking and topping off the ATF eliminated most of the low speed jerking I had. You have a 23 like me. Tightening my plugs also looks like it may have solved my 6th gear jittering problem as well, too soon to tell. But man they felt loose.

 

I would experiment with OTT’s throttle settings and see if they can work it out for you. Tip-in is not the most refined in certain situations. I’m sure it’s not an easy balance to find.

The other option is using a throttle controller to reduce sensitivity. I know, I know, but I find my Pedal Commander useful when in traffic and certain driving conditions. I have the mild throttle settings. I use it to reduce throttle sensitivity in Eco mode and it works great. I would never go back to just using the PC, love my tune, but it is a common issue you are noticing, especially with a heavier foot.

 

DIY for the win! I didn't think the newer years had a low ATF concern but good on ya!

 

This is really simple. Contact your retailer and have them schedule you, and we will do a custom throttle for you while you are there.. We try to make an appropriate set from lite to aggressive, but if that doesn't fit your driving style we are more than happy to blend something together. I've had several guys want stock throttle on our calibration or a blending of stock and Lite Mild..

No need to stress. Contact your retailer, or email us and well get everyone on the same page. Its easy enough to sort out.


Kind regards,

John

 

Thanks John! I'll talk to my tuner, let him know what you said and we'll go from there.

 

Based on what you said, from experience, check your ATF level and see if that solves it. Otherwise your tune might be too sensitive. But I went through the same rodeo to discover it was the ATF and not the tune.

They are coming low from the factory. The stock tune masked it completely. After tuning, the bucking/jerking appeared. Back to stock, it drove normally. It is very similar to this thread. Then after deciding to rule out low ATF after just reading about it, lo and behold it was the cause. After the fill and check no more bucking/jerking. So it may be that rather than what sensitivity you have although you may want to go down in sensitivity anyways. I'd check that first just to be sure. Hopefully that solves your problem.