Shakey MT shifter knob

Normal, but it shakes more than my '12 Xterra did. I let go of the shifter when going over railroads or bad sections of road, don't recall doing that before.

I don't remember how my '88 Ford Ranger and '95 Jeep YJ drove. '97 Civic, '03 Golf and '13 Sentra were not direct attached, so didn't feel it.

 

Don’t have the 24 … my 20 does not shake

 

Not even when driving over a speed pump, pot hole or bad railroad crossing?

 

I was caught off guard by it too and so were the sales guys at my dealer. Totally normal and if you ask me - it's so awesome that it shakes around like that.

Gives it some character.

 

He's messing with you, my 21 shakes.

 

As a smart ass myself, I've been had at my own game.

 

Normal? For the 3rd gen - yes ('22 OR MT owner here), for the 4th gen - apparently yes, for all transverse vehicles? not really in my opinion.

I love the feel of these transmissions w/ the shifter mounted directly into the trans (minimal slop isolation compared to a linkage w/ a chassis mount shifter), but I think the 3rd gen suffers excessive movement in the drivetrain/chassis that exacerbates the feeling. Both of my 3rd gen 4runners did not have the same level of shifter/transmission movement, but that model had shorter & considerably stiffer frames compared to the 3rd gen tacos. I've also put a ton of miles on a few first gen tacos and don't recall the same level of drivetrain/transmission movement but it's been a while so tough to draw a direct comparison.

I've also driven a couple of 2nd gen frontier manuals (just test drives, both new & used) and they don't transmit any where near as much drivetrain movement, but they also have rubber isolators in the shifter that's obvious from the first shift. I'm not sure if the frontier shifter is chassis mount or transmission mount.

 

I'm trying to get my shift knob to shake in unison with my hood and then if I can sync my head to the whole thing I won't notice any of it.

 

The shifter is stuck in the transmission, which along with the engine is mounted to rubber mounts. The engine/trans will move independently of the body....what you're seeing is normal. Front wheel drive cars with cable shifters or linkages between the trans and shifter won't move, since the shifter is attached to the body.

 

This

 

I had a 2012 Xterra MT which has the same powertrain as the Frontier. From the service manual, appears transmission mounted. And it's true that it shook less than the 4th gen Tacoma. All the 3rd gen Tacomas I've driven were automatic. I drove a 1st gen MT, but that's too long ago to remember

 

I noticed a fair bit of transmission shifter shake when I got my 2nd gen compared to what I remember when I had a 97 MT. I'll agree that the Toyotas may shake a little more, but it's built that way, no unusual or concerning situation.

 

You haven't experienced shifter shake unless you have driven a floor-stick with a rock for the knob.




Whenever I lugged that engine, it left bruises.

 

Its almost like they mounted the transmission on leaf springs or something. I noticed that when the rear diff was wrapping, so was the shifter.

 

The Tacoma MT is hardly a model of feeling a direct connection or short, crisp throws. It actually feels quite isolated, relative to REALLY precise transmissions like on a Miata or S2000. In my experience, those shake and vibrate far more than the Tacoma stick.

 

Have a Miata. Maybe it vibrates some, but it's such a short throw that you don't notice. I also have a cheap knob on it that's half the weight of the stock one - even with that its not bad.

But then again, once I'm at cruising speed the booger picker isn't resting on the shifter.

 

definitely normal