2017 vs 2023 drivability

Aside from the long throws and slow to rev motor, the gearbox really isn’t different from any other modern car I’ve driven.

It’s not like driving an old Ford with three on the tree.

 

23 owner here. Trans logic is still garbage.

 

I went from a 2017 to a 2021 and have been driving the 2021 for almost 3 years now. I do notice less gear hunting but it still does it on the highways. I went from an off road to a pro and the pro road nicer and the seats felt more comfortable. Plus the newer head unit is a nice plus. Other than that it’s basically the same truck with a few different offerings that weren’t available in 2017.

 

What??? It doesn't rev match either I suppose! But, can I heel/toe it?

 

If you can figure it out, you’ll have my respect. I haven’t been able to though

 

The transmission isn't the problem. The transmission is doing the best it can with an underpowered engine that needs to run 4000+ rpm's to get any power.

Who knows if it will be better or not, but if I were considering another Tacoma I'd wait on the 2024's with the new engine.

 

I just don't think some here will ever understand; the transmission is doing just what it is supposed to. When under a certain load, it will upshift or downshift to meet an efficiency or power requirement.
Remember riding a X speed bike, and being in the wrong gear? Weather that gear was too low, or too high, there is a right gear, as not to waste energy peddling too fast, or too hard.

 

Put 20k on my 17 plus dicked around with that shitty OVT tune which was garbage.

On my 23, highway gear hunting is less unless you use cruise control. Same bad habits there.

Around town is fine. Only negative is the short shift to third but most times i don't notice it.

4.88's solved most of the issues on my 17 and i plan to re-gear the '23 as well. From there see how it does and maybe go OTT.

 

No. The logic is flawed but what's worse it the gearing. 5th is the worst offender along with 3rd being incorrectly spaced. Proper gear spacing or more gears would have solved all of these issues since 2016.

Moot point now with the '24's.

This post on Reddit has a good summary of why the 3rd gen Aisin was poorly designed:

https://www.reddit.com/r/ToyotaTacoma/comments/s5kowd/you_want_better_gears_not_more_gears_3rd_gen/

 

‘23 owner here. I drive a lot of hilly backroads and when my truck was brand new I experienced the gear hunting quite frequently. My wife would even look at me worried as if I was doing something wrong intentionally. Now @ almost 13k miles I haven’t experienced any of the gear hunting in quite some time. So maybe the computer just needed a few thousand miles to “learn”?

 

Didn’t work for my ‘16 or ‘23, but I’m also at elevation which likely plays a factor.

 

I had a '16 SR Access Cab in 2017, and just got a '23 Double Cab late last year. They drove identically. Tuning the '23 made it much more like a normal truck IMO, though I still feel like the V6 is underpowered/TQ'd.

 

3000 mi on my 23 & I’m a manual driver (who just switched to auto at wife’s request) & I think this auto is better than a CVT but I miss the manual. That being said, I expected much worse with all the posts about how bad the trans tuning is. I find the right foot can control the shifting quite well.

 

My 18 drives great, KDMAX Pro tune lifted on 5100s, nice tastefully upgrades, 285s. I smile every time I drive it and I think it drives as nice as my Cousin's new Pro.

 

I drive a stock 2017 SR5 for work, I notice it does shift much better using S6 than D drive mode. On my personal 2020 I got a tune and a manifold spacer, which even with extra weight, lift, and larger tires has made it drive better than my work truck in D as far as gear hunting/shifting go.

 

where are you going to find a 2023?

 

The expense and hassle of getting a newer truck “might” be avoided with an OTT tune. I’m driving a 2023 so ymmv, but the tune completely changed the nature of my truck for the better. The transmission was often a step behind with roads going up and down, now it’s hardly noticeable. Maybe spend the $500 and see if that does it for you?

Added bonus for me: the CE version will (reportedly) pass Colorado emisssions.

 

My 2023 stock drove WAY better than my 2016 did stock. The 2016 even had the latest TSB done for the software. It all depends on the driver though…