2016 6-cylinder 6-speed automatic erratic shifting and drivability problems?

Wait for magnusons supercharger

 

Went to the dealer and they updated the shift specs per the TSB described someplace in this forum. I’d say it is 75% acceptable. Just seems like a poor design or mating of this engine/transmission right out of the box. Certainly better than before but more help is needed from Toyota to correct this defect.


11/29/17 UPDATE AFTER TSB: The day after the computer upgrade was performed i noticed that normal highway driving was improved, but far from normal. Then I noticed that my combined city/highway mileage suffered, I get about 16mpg. Two days after the upgrade I took a little road trip to northern Michigan pulling a 2,200 pound single axle utility trailer, my mileage was 11.5MPG!! Michigan is pretty flat, whenever I was on even a mild uphill, the RPM's jumped to 4,700 RPM and stayed there until long after I had crested the hill! I went to the dealer again today (90 miles each way) they said I had the latest computer trans update and nothing more could be done till Toyota did something. I asked about driving around at 4,700RPM, the asst. service Mgr said, well if the engine goes you still have your 100K warranty to fix it!! Another customer with almost the identical 2017 vehicle was in for the same issue. I am awaiting a call back from Toyota HQ. Stay tuned, this saga is far from over. I appreciate the suggestions to buy an aftermarket electronic trans controller, but at this point it is a matter of principal. I'm not going to buy a gadget to fix a problem that is Toyota's defect. I hope others will continue to hound Toyota until they take responsibility for this design disaster.

 

I'd have to disagree with this being the definitive solution for me. I refuse to have to pay for an aftermarket gizmo to fix their mistake. I might take it in the butt and sell it at a loss, or we will be going to court. But I refuse this option. Thanks for the suggestion though. If I were pedaling the gizmo I'd want everyone to use it as a fix.

 

I have 650 miles on my 2017 TRDOR, stumbled across this thread today and now I have seen the light!

Not only that but I drove the kids to Karate with ECT engaged and WHAT a difference!

Actually drives like a normal vehicle for the first time!

Thank you!

 

Thought id give the automatic a try so the girlfriend can drive it and went ahead and bought a certified 2016 TRD off road with 11k miles two days ago. Just drove up the highway to work and can smell burned tranny fluid; it also shifts constantly between 5th and 6th and lurches when put into drive. Went to check the fluid level and discovered that there is no stick. Is this a joke? Certified junk.

Called the dealer and I am returning it tomorrow for a new 2018 TRD manual. Extremely PO'd. /rant

 

You're PO'd? Imagine how I feel. All of the issued your described and both dealerships and Toyota corporate have deaf ears. Now I'm just sort of stuck with this thing. I regret not buying the ancient Frontier.

 

Funny you say that as I almost bought a frontier as well. They had several used Pro 4x trucks on the lot for cheap. I figured id stick with toyota as my 2000 tacoma has 250k and has never let me down. I should have done more research.

Ill let yall know what kind of shit the dealer gives me tomorrow morning and how much this is going to cost me. Is it unreasonable to demand back the price I paid for it on tuesday night at 7.30 PM?

I am expecting at least 20 minutes of 'that is normal' talk from a guy who probably doesn't know the difference between a torque wrench and a feeler gauge.

 

Absolutely reasonable but obviously won't happen. Consumers like you and me are little guys and they know it. Don't feel too bad on the certified used purchase part though, even if you bought new it'd be the same deal. Zero accountability.

 

Drove it up the pass on the way home last night and had it about 3/4 throttle doing 85 up i-80 to summit park from park city. Pulled over at the top and got out and sure enough, truck smells like crispy transmission fluid. Also had a few more hard shifts into 3rd. I speculate that this truck was indeed one that left the factory low on transmission fluid. The original Wyoming owner had an aftermarket trailer wiring hookup and reefed on it hard for 11k then traded it in when he realized what was going on. And when you live out in WO your not going to drive 3-4 hours to SLC to have it 'checked out' when you know your brand new truck is shifting weird and smells like it just ran the baja. Your going to trade it in for a new one and go home.

Id like to thank everyone's participation in this thread otherwise i might still be driving it. Just got back from the dealer. I was in the 3 day exchange period and they took the truck back. I purchased a 2018 TRD off road stick on the factory line for msrp; i consider it money well spent.

The cherry on top is that i drove it off the lot with the tire pressure light on with the following tire pressures confirmed with my moto-master digi gauge when i got home.

LR: 37 psi
RR: 30 psi
LF: 24 psi
RF:27 psi

 

Coming from a Jeep to a Tacoma, I also was a little disappointed about the lack of transmission fluid stick. Fortunately, there is a thread here that explains how to check the fluid once it's at the proper temperature. I ran through this procedure a few months ago. Its a pain but not too bad. Overall, really happy with the switch to a 2014 Tacoma.

 

Hello all. Picking up on this thread and figured I’d share my experience. I have a 2016 trd or. I also have a 3000lb travel trailer. I’ve been driving Tacoma’s since gen 1. This one is my 6th Tacoma.

I had all the same challenges described with the transmission. Shifting too soon and lugging feeling. Hard shifts. Delayed shifts. A first software update thanks to one of the tsbs helped some. But didn’t solve it. Etc. Finally when I had a strange problem where when I put the transmission in 4th Gear to use engine to help going down hill I started to notice the transmission trying to upshift for a moment. Very annoyingly d a little unsafe. So I took it to Balise Toyota in West Springfield and told them of my challenges. They put one of their senior technicians on it. We went out for a drive. While driving he said there was another software update we could try. We drove up a steep hill and came back down in 4th and thankfully the transmission upshifted for a moment even though it wasn’t supposed to with him with me. He checked the transmission fluid level and performed the software update and sent me on my way.

The upshifting problem went away. I still wasn’t thrilled with the early shifting still but figured it was under warranty so I’d live with it and drive in ect mode when it got really annoying. Life was busy at that point. Since then around 25,000 miles have gone by. I now have 45k miles on the truck. And I am pleased to say that the transmission is finally shifting as it should. I tap the gas now and it downshifts as it should. The shifts are mice and smooth. The delayed shift problem is gone. And I’m really liking the truck, finally. Only thing I can figure these transmission control computers are very sophisticated and learn your driving habits. And it just took driving it for lots of miles before it worked the way I like it. My overall mpg is running around 20 in the winter and 22 in the summer. Far better than my 2013 with v6 and 5 speed automatic.

As far as trailer towing, I’m still not thrilled. This new engine has all its torque up in the higher rpm ranges. You have to wind it up into the 4500 rpm range to get into the torque range of the engine. It’s probably by design so they could get the mileage up. But for trailer towing the gen3 is no where near as good as my gen 2 Tacoma’s. My trailer is 3000 lbs so I’m right in the middle of the towing range. All my weights are perfectly within range and tolerances. My gen 2 Tacoma’s used to average 14 to 15 with my travel trailer. The 2016 averages around 12 to 13. Disappointing. After about 10k miles of towing I’ve gradually figured out how it likes to tow. Ect needs to be on obviously - as stated in the manual. But I also hold it in 4th all the time. I find if I leave it in drive with ect on it does lots of hunting back and forth between 4th and 5th, which is bad for automatic transmissions. So I just hold it in 4th. In 4th it handles my trailer great. I can maintain 60 to 65 in all driving conditions I’ve been in. It drops to 3rd on hills and jumps back up as I crest the hills. Have to get used to allowing it to shift down to 3rd when needed and rev up into the 4500 rpm range as that’s where the torque is. Fortunately at 4500 rpm these new engines are smooth as silk and it pulls up any hill with the trailer. So its doing fine, monies the mileage which I’d love to be better while towing.

I miss the gen 2 and old 6 cylinder for the better towing ability AND engine braking ability (the new 6 cylinder is useless for engine braking). But overall now I like gen 3 for the enhanced daily mileage. Headed out on another 10k with the trailer again this summer. Hopefully it will continue to do well. I’ve towed the camper all over the country and it’s never overheated or given me a problem. I did finally add a set of sumo springs to the rear and changed the rear shocks to solve the rear squat with the camper.

So I guess the noralnto the story is get the software upgrades done, then drive drive drive and as time goes on the truck will get to know what you like and how you would like it to behave. Things do seem to improve with the intelligent transmission controls as time goes on.

 

I got a question for you tech types about low transmission fluid. If you feel the fluid is low would it hurt to add a 1/2- 1 quart with out going thru the whole temperature procedure? Would it not be better to have more than not enough? what are your thoughts? thanks

 

Sadly more is not better if it’s over filled. The procedure is a pain in the butt but can be done. If you don’t feel comfortable doing it yourself take it to a dealer and convince them to check it. However unless you see leaks someplace or some indication of a problem like transmission overheating or worsening shifting, I would not worry about it. I check throughly for leaks every time I have it up in the air. It’s a closed sealed system as long as you don’t see leaks anyplace it’s fine.

 

This would be a good opportunity for someone to make a pan cover with a dip stick.

 

Tons of write ups on these problems,new buyers need too do their investigative work BEFORE buying any new vehicle

 

They would make a fortune at that.

 

I just found out today that I lost my NCDS appeal for resolution to the terrible towing ability my of Toyota Tacoma truck. Oh well, at least I think I got their attention and I hope that others will do the same. The only way Toyota is going to come up with a fix is if owners remain vocal about how bad the transmissions are, especially when towing. It is a decent truck so long as you don’t try to use it as a truck. If you are willing put the transmission in ECT mode, pull a small trailer at below 65mph, get 12mpg, not use cruise control while towing, and manually shift the auto trans, it’s a great truck. All of this per the owners manual.

 

What part of this rant is supposed to sound unusual while towing with a midsize truck?
I hope you saved the good parts for Toyota.

 

Tell me of another manufacturer that requires all of these steps to be in place to get 12 MPG while pulling a 2,000 pound trailer. My old Subaru Baja did a better job.

 

All trucks have a tow/haul mode. It's for.... towing or hauling. Anytime your towing, you are not supposed to use OD. Period. As for the mileage, don't know what to tell you, I get better mileage than that hauling a heavier and bigger cargo trailer doing the speed limit. Maybe you have a heavier foot. I will say if you live where it's windy, you are fucked though. But that's pretty much true for anything.