2006 Prerunner access cab AT has Quirks Help

I recently purchased our first Taco. Love it. I mean really love it. Bought from dealer and purchased Tacoma extended warranty (based on my horrible luck in general)

heres the scoop, 2006 Prerunner, 6cyl, AT 80k . Shifts hard when cold especially if you let off on the gas but seems to smooth out mostly but not completely.

different issue ...... this thing has what I call slingshot effect.While sitting at redlight or stopsign w/ foot on brake it will sometimes "jump". First couple of times I actuallty thought I got tapped by another vehicle from behind. It will also do this as you start to accelerate once it spun the rear wheels on wet pavement. Is this a computer thing because of drive by wire?

I am not bashing here. We love this vehicle and probaly see us eventually having 2 tacos (obviously keeping this one) . I also know all vehicles have quirks and identical parts that possibly fail. I just want an idea before I go to the dealership and start blind. Thanks in advance.

 

u have axle wrap, and or ur a/c is cycling it sounds like and causes the lung forward. Its common with leaf springs (the axle wrap).

as far as hard shifts...............do u know if the trans has been flushed or drained/filled?

I will never take any techs/service writers word about "they dont need servicing/flushing for the entire life of the truck"

u can also try an disconnect the negative battery terminal for 15 minutes.....the transmission is "supposed" to be adaptive and "learn" driving habits.

its a pita sometimes.

EDIT.............. u say it shifts when u let OFF the gas, sorry I misread that.

these trucks have automatic engine braking that causes the trans to actually shift down a gear instead of cruise when u let off the gas.... Its a learning curve, and I had to get used to it....I was used to an automatic coasting when u let off the gas, or if ur getting up to speed, and its in 3rd or 4th and u let off the gas a little most cars UPSHIFT yes?

 

Good stuff this is exactly what i am looking for. Real world experience.

Axle wrap ?. The lunge sometimes happens after vehicle is standing still sometimes minutes standing still like at a red light. This is not leftover "energy" ????? I am kinda thinking the computer is saying "go" and my foot is on the brake.

I think you are right about the downshifting that i need to get used to .


No idea if tranny has ever been flushed. some vehicles are best left alone I take it it should be flushed ?

 

Actually, it's more like the slip joint in the rear driveshaft sticking a little bit. When you stop, the force of the brakes tends to rotate the third downwards, and after you stop and let up on the brake pedal a bit the slip joint will 'unstick' and you feel a jump. I've never had it happen on my manual tranny tacomas so it might be compounded by the auto tranny trying to idle the truck forward at a stop, putting additional tension into the slip joint.

Just as a matter of course I'd check if the axle's u-bolts are properly torqued. If they're loose then the axle will wrap more.

Some people take apart the driveshaft and grease the slip joint, which takes care of the problem for a little while, but it always seems to come back fairly soon.

As for the first part, the hard shifts mean the friction modifiers in the tranny fluid are pretty well used up. Toyota used to say lifetime fill but they've since gotten wiser and recommend a flush every 60k iirc.

 

I had the same thing with my Tacoma. Have your fluid level checked in your tranny. It turned out mine was 2 quarts low and that's what was causing the "slingshot" you're talking about.

 

I also just got an 06 and I had no idea about the automatic engine braking. This explains a lot! I thought I had some brake caliper issues or something! Will definately take some getting used too.