2018 TACOMA TRD OFF ROAD AUTOMATIC TRANSMISION

I've had two first gens, still have one and the build quality of my 3rd is on par with those, certainly has more tech and features than the first two. No reason to think it won't last as long as they did.

Neither of those two trucks had gobs of power either and the 99 with the 4 banger with the AT couldn't get out of its own way.

 

Wrong. F150, Cummings, Silverados, are not for racing, yet people still tune them.

 

More lies and negative propaganda! Lol

 

Yes it does. TSBs don't change gear ratios. The automatic transmission is made to maximize fuel economy. It works as it was designed.

True. Which is why someone about to drop 35K should actually do some research on their potential investment like I did, instead of coming back later feeling like they got burned even though the information is here in abundance.

I had heard stories, so I grabbed a TRD OR DCSB and pointed it head-on into the wind and set the cruise at 70. Wouldn't come out of 4th. End result? I'm not on here bitching about how my truck shifts.

 

My 4.0 was a dog compared to my 3.5.

 

4.0 is a great motor without a doubt. The best they have produced? Doubtful. A beast? That's a stretch. The 3.5 shares the same block and bottom end. Like lots of Toyota stuff. It's not a new motor, just some tweaks here and there, and good ones.

 

You are clueless, man. I wish you luck on your endeavors and may God have mercy on you soul. Lol

 

Rather than fuel the fire here is my experience.....

After deciding to sell my 2007 6MT FJ Cruiser for a truck I was after a 3rd Gen Tacoma. MT was out, I was over it.
Drove 2 new 2018s and the shifting was crap as the OP described so I crossed them off.
Drove 2017 4Runner. Felt like an old unrefined powertrain and interior was cheap compared to Tacoma.
Drove a Tundra. I liked it but MPG was stupid low and price tag was stupid high.
Drove a couple new F150s. Nice power train combos but felt cheap for the price. Even with $10k off. (I've owned 2 previous F-150s)
Wife convinced me to go back for a second look at the Tacoma.
Drove another 2018 and had a completely different driving experience than the first 2.
Bought said Tacoma.

Could it be better? Yes. My wife's Grand Cherokee Trailhawk 3.6/8-speed is much more spirited. Sometimes that's good and sometimes it gets annoying trying to maintain speed in a vehicle that seems like it is always in a gear to accelerate not just cruise.

Now in my experience these Tacomas can vary greatly in drive-ability even with similar build dates. So while some of you are so quick to fling mud, maybe think that maybe you got an exceptionally good truck and are lucky, while the person you are arguing with got an exceptionally bad truck and is now having to battle to make it better.

 

The TSB does change transmission behavior. And one has been issued because it wasn't functioning as designed. How often do electronics receive firmware updates?

A dog? This is hyperbole not supported by data when compared to the 3.5. I happen to think they both are pretty unspectacular engines other than the proven reliability of the 4.0, which I don't suspect will change with the 3.5.

 

It does not change gear ratios, period. You can change shift points, but not gear ratios with a TSB. The transmission was designed with tall gears to maximize fuel economy. It works as designed


Yes a dog. Nice cruising vehicle, but when I had to tow the truck would fall on it's face. The 3.5 on the other hand makes torque at high RPM, meaning if I'm pulling a trailer the more you give it the more it acts like it wants.

But don't take my word for it, maybe do a little reading about 3rd gen torque since you're so concerned about "data."

 

Haha! I just realized @ninernation your avatar is a 2nd gen! Too bad I didn't notice that before or else I'd not have wasted my time talking to you!

Peace out!

 

Bye.

I think it was functioning as designed, but they are trying to improve the initial experience a bit. Agree on your engine opinion, I think they could do better on performance but might sacrifice reliability, and it's Toyota. The reflash is not a recall, it's a TSB, and these firmware updates have to go through a lot of certification to get deployed. They do not happen often. Hear me out. I don't work for Toyota or know important people that work there (I do know people, but none that would provide me the skinny like that lil Texan got). However, I have experience in related industries and how these things actually work. Still speculation on this specific topic, so take it or leave it, don't care.

First, the pace of tech has been moving fast. When the 2nd gen was released, the iPhone didn't even exist. Think about it. No smart phones. We had Blackberries. With buttons. Like your old home phone.

Fast forward a bit. Everyone has a smart phone, more power in your hand than sat on a desk just a few year ago. There's these crazy things called Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence now, mostly deployed to sell you stuff you didn't know you wanted, but still pretty neat (you don't even notice half the stuff that it is doing -- don't be scared, though, it's not that crazy). How does this work? It watches inputs, and modifies the outputs and looks at the result, trying to move toward the optimal result. It continues watching and continues to adjust.

So, how would you apply this to a new vehicle? Well, you have to start somewhere. How about, let's shift a lot and see what happens, heck we have 6 gears. Let's watch the driver inputs while we do that and shoot for a good balance of power and economy (did you know there is no throttle cable anymore? It's all electronic, like turning up your radio! Freakin' MAGIC! So pumped).

Every truck ships with the same programming. The only difference is the inputs that are given. Which is you. There may be the occasional dud, but they are all pretty much the same from the factory.

So yeah, that test drive might not have been great, and it may feel weird for a while while it learns. That doesn't mean it's faulty. The one common element in all of your dissatisfying relationships is . . . you, maybe?

I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.

 

Suck it up, you will lose money if you bought it new and now sell it. Better by thousands to keep it even if you made a mistake. Take that money and plow it into retirement accounts. Never sold a car in my life, proudest moment was when I walked off the dealership lot and they came chasing after me , bought Ranger for 17k, got tboned, car insurance paid me 6k to repair truck with 190k miles , sued the guy that hit me for 25k, then traded it in under cash for clunkers program. @tigerblood @winning.

 

Why are we talking about gear ratios? The controversy is the shift points, programming holding gears when it should be downshifting or upshifting is the long standing complaint.

The Tacoma, any gen is an unspectacular towing vehicle, don't let your bias blind you.

Sorry you're incapable of having discussions with people that are different from you or have varying opinions. I don't understand why we have to take such dogmatic stances on things. The OP and many others don't like the way the Gen 3 drives. You do, great for you, enjoy your truck. I, like many others don't like the way it drives, once it's addressed I'll have a new dclb OR in my driveway. Oh shit I said dclb..

 

I did all of the things you suggested and still do not like my truck.

Finally someone on here gets it. I guess some of the cheerleaders on here only want to talk about mods they never use or need and how they found fingernail polish to match their truck color.

This forum can be a useful tool. When enough owners are frustrated about the same issue, this is the place to be vocal. Don’t let Toyota off the hook for a lesser product. Let’s push them to make what we want.

 

Then told they are wrong and the truck is perfect and Toyota made no poor decisions and everyone gets in to an
argument. The forum is in line with the reviews. If you go on Toyota owners community forum there is far more negative than positive. The opposite of here but because this is an enthusiast site it's more frowned upon.

 

I am happy with my truck overall they just need to get the shifting right on it. It still needs work.

 

Here's why we're talking about gear ratios... it is the essence of the transmission. The 3rd gen automatic transmission is made to maximize fuel economy and it does it well. But it also does so at the expense of power hence the need for it to shift or hold gears when it normally would not. If the transmission were regeared, there'd be no need for TSBs or SSP which alter the way the truck was designed to run... which is exactly my point... the transmission is working exactly as it was designed and you either like it or you do not. If you don't like it I'm sorry, but you're not getting screwed by Toyota.

Unspectacular tow vehicle? I've towed with my old 2nd gen and my 3rd gen. 3rd gen hands down is incredible compared ONLY to my 2nd gen. You don't even have a 3rd gen, so don't let YOUR bias fool you!

I'd like to close with this: you're clearly not READING my posts. I don't own a 3rd gen automatic. I bought the manual. Why? I HATED how the automatic drove. It wasn't for me. So I bought a stick as an alternative option. I wasn't backed into a corner by Toyota and forced to buy something that I wasn't happy with... NOBODY HERE WAS. And yet we continue to have people saying Toyota sucks because they bought a truck they don't like. That's their problem.

No dogmatic positions here, just truth: you either like how it drives or you don't. Get over it.

 

I love my Tacoma. Better yet my wife loves my Tacoma.

In one mile yesterday the AT shifted from sixth to fourth five times on the hills. Speed limit is 55 mph. This shouldn’t happen.

Toyota can and should fix this through programming. It has been done by outside vendors. Doesn’t require a newly designed transmission.

I like everything else so much better about this truck than the competition and that is why I chose to buy it. Have I been 100% satisfied with other vehicles I have purchased? Never. This Toyota ranks way up there on the satisfactory scale.