2021 Automatic trans issues

Is anyone having issues with their transmission not shifting into 6th gear or poor shifting between 2nd to 3rd or 3rd to 4th? Sometimes my trans does not shift into 6th, and manually using the shifter does not change gears.

 

Is it when motor and trans are cold? May be normal

 

No 6th even at highway speed with light throttle like when going down hill?

 

This generation tacoma's transmission shift points are extremely well documented as being less than desirable. Its very noticeable if you were driving anything else before this. Probably normal. You either learn to live with it or you can get it OV Tuned.

 

S mode is not a manual mode. All it does is limit which gears the transmission can shift into. Example: S4 just means the transmission will only shift into gears 1-4.

 

This happens more when cold but also after driving a while. Not shifting from 5 to 6 will happen on flat roads, and I can sometimes get it to shift by cycling the accelerator pedal lightly. I am going to contact the dealer to see if control module can be reflashed. Only has 10,000 miles, under warranty. Manually shifting gears for a while seems to have improved things lately, and I can tell when the converter locks now also.

 

Definitely take it into the dealership while it is covered. Yeah, it's an inconvenience, but it is better to get it taken care of now.

 

I saw somewhere that the 2022s were a bit better in this regard. Any truth in that?

 

I'd have it checked, especially if it's something that just started happening lately.
My 2020 will shift into 6th at <50mph if I'm not accelerating.
I'd prefer it not be in 6th at those speeds, but it loves to get into 6th as soon as possible.

 

Yes the manuals shift right into 6th

 

You want it to shift into 6th? Thats a first eh.

The only time I want to see 6th is cruising above 75 down the hwy. If this is where your not seeing 6th then it may be an issue if your looking for 6th at slower speeds then you might have a issue

But seriously, the ECU & TCU tuning in the 3rd gen Tacomas are terrible. Have you looked into having your truck tuned? CVC or M&W Nexus are good options. If you haven't I'd suggest you consider it. Once you do it you'll wonder why you waited so long.

 

Is this when cruise control is on ??? Mine is the same.

 

Yeah one thing I don't love about mine is the way the transmission shifts between the top 3 gears. It's a sloth in 6th and when you try to coerce it to downshift to 5th with the gas you get 4th instead. I'm getting used to it but will likely get it tuned before long. It's quite annoying.

 

5/6 are overdrive gears…i run 33s and a canopy…i have yet to see 6th gear…i need lower gears

 

it’s gearing…Toyota completely dicked up the turd gen in this regard as 3.9s are way too high

 

yeah, this.

One of the first things I did was get the KDMax tune. It helped me stop bouncing my forehead off the steering wheel from the truck’s ridiculous shifting points. Every time I tried to coast down a hill my wife thought I was standing on the brakes. a tune will fix it right up.

 

It's all about the MPG. And stock these get great mileage. And that's exactly why I don't intend to go to bigger tires on this one. I need one vehicle that's sorta normal. You think these are bad try driving an old school toyota with a 22R and 33 or 35 inch on the stock 4:10's... You never saw 5th unless it was downhill with a tailwind. And of course mileage was awful. I had a few that were geared properly though and they drove just like stock. And got great mileage too.

 

Yeah better take that one to the stealership. Have them give you the newest ecu update and check the trans fluid.

 

Mine does the 2nd to 3rd gear thing, but also has other transmission issues that I am taking to the dealership. Shifting from park to reverse when the truck is colds the transmission clunks and jumps. It also does all sorts of weird things when I am slowly trying to park in the garage. I truly hate this truck.

 

^^^^^This. KDMAX-PRO Tune by @PapaRee and @TWtaco | Tacoma World

And check the fluid level in the transmission. There have been reports of low fluid levels from the factory over the years.