2023 Tacoma transmission hesitation/stuttering

Transmission hesitates when downshifting from 3rd to 2nd when going uphill. Dealer service said it was due to the fuel system switching back and forth from low pressure to high pressure and is operating as designed. Another issue is in high gear as the tranny feels like it is slipping, almost like the engine is misfiring. However, when I shift into neutral, the slipping stops. Service said vehicle didn't have enough miles for TCM to learn my driving pattern. That was at 672 miles; now at over 2500 miles, it still has the same problem. Downshifting eliminates the slipping but I don't want to accelerate every 5-10 seconds. Any thoughts?

 

I’d test drive another on the lot and see if does the same thing.

 

Part Out?

 

ECU Tune

 

drive it with ECT on and see if that makes a difference.

 

Have you checked the fluid level?

 

Sounds like you should have bought a manual

 

not helpful.

you might need to reset the learned values. a lot of people take it easy during the break-in period but now the ECU has learned your driving style.

 

i put in s4 when im going up a hill , or sport mode as some people call it

 

It’s called torque converter shudder. Get a tune and look into getting the magic juice that fixes shudders. People have had good results with certain products. I will do mine when the time comes….

 

I guess that YouTube Toyota mechanic was wrong


2016 no issue over for me

 

What he said^^^ The tune will make a big difference but even with that it will still have moments where you feel it should be shifting and it doesn't. I've gotten use to switching to manual when going up big hills or mountain passes.

 

Hey OP. I just wanted to chime in here. I have a 2023 SR 4x4 that has ~4,000 miles on it. I experience the same thing. Where I live, there are decent hills. Upon first test driving my truck, I noticed the hesitation uphill and immediately brought it up to the sales rep. He laughed and said yeah they almost all do that. I didn't believe him, so we test drove a TRD Pro when we got back and sure enough, it did it too. I ended up purchasing the SR because the Tacoma fits every need that I want out of a vehicle. I told myself I would just deal with it. After 3500 miles, it felt like a chore romping on the pedal on every hill so my truck wouldn't sit in this low rpm stutter and actually get moving. Giving it plenty of throttle definitely helps, but it will still stutter on big hills. I just got my truck tuned with OTT using the Lite/Mild combo. It improved the overall driveablity of my truck tremendously, but I still get the stutter momentarily. It is definitely less severe now. I experience my stutter at any speed where I am giving the engine light constant throttle, the engine is at 1500 rpms and below, and I'm going up an incline. With this set of parameters, I can recreate it almost every time. If I'm driving on relatively flat terrain, the truck drives and shifts great, no hesitation. I find the quality of gas I use does actually make a difference too. I stick to 87 but I found that Kroger/Harris Teeters has subpar quality gas in my area and it was noticeably affecting the performance of my truck.

I honestly think the transmission shifts too early and tries to get in the highest gear as quickly as possible in order to increase fuel efficiency and we are quite literally lugging our engines. I try not to worry about it too much. Tuning the truck helps.. I wouldn't expect too much help from a dealership. At least the one by my house acts like its just a trait of the Tacoma.

 

the transmission and its programming is horrible in these trucks. I've never driven a vehicle so bad. makes driving them frustrating.

 

I have a 2020 SR5 and it did the same thing you mentioned from the first day (bought it new). I checked the transmission fluid level (not a simple process) and found it was about a 1/4 qrt low (based on what I had to fill it to start to trickle out). This ended the torque converter stutter.

By the way, this also happened to my 2nd gen after 175000 miles and I chased a lot of things which did not fix it. Once I did a drain/refill of the transmission fluid, it resolved that issue. About 6 months later I did the full transmission flush.

 

Mines the same way...drove a couple others before i bought mine..they all do it

 

I've been meaning to do this. My tuner also recommended me doing this. Its a pain in the dick doing this on a new truck. I left Subaru so I didn't have to worry about this kind of QC. With that said, I looked into the procedure and its pretty similar to doing the CVT on my Subarus, so I'm going to give it a go in a week or so.

 

Let me get my shield ready as I'm about to get stoned.. but just try 3 tankfulls of 93 octane and see if there is any improvement. I did notice a big difference with my 2022. Others on here states there should be no difference and I am wasteing my money.

 

I just ordered everything I need to check the transmission fluid. I'll post an update once I've completed the fluid check.

Items needed:
5mm hex socket - for check plug
24mm 6pt socket - avoid 12 pt if you can - for fill plug
1 gallon fluid bottle pump
torque wrench
crush washers - I got a bunch of m16 crush washers but I don't know if they fit