3rd gen Tacoma questions

Hi all, I am new to the Tacoma World forums... I am 16 and I have a 2017 Trd OR Tacoma I got my truck back in June and It had 15k miles on it when we got it, I have put 5k on it since then and there are a few questions that I have about it. Hopefully you guys have experienced some of the same things...

1. I have noticed a clunk noise when shifting from park to reverse, reverse to drive, and other shifts. It also seems a bit louder when the trucks cold. I’ve looked up some things to see if others have had the same issue and I have found some videos of people with the same driveline clunk that I have. I’m not sure if this is an issue that can be fixed and will become a problem over time or if it’s just a noise that will have no actual effects to the truck, if it’s just a noise it’s no big deal but I wanted to make sure this wasn’t due to something that was a bigger deal.

2. also when the truck is cold And I come to a stop after driving, as it’s downshifts at very low speeds I hear the same clunk noise just from coming to a complete stop.

3. When I start to drive/ pull out of parking spaces sometimes right after I start the truck, as I’m steering out of the spaces the truck will seem to bog down and lose power as I steer, I know the power steering obviously uses power but I have never experienced this in any of the other vehicles I drove and it seems to be something that has been happening more recently, I don’t recall it doing this when I first got the truck.

4. I love my truck but in some instances it seems very underpowered/sluggish. Now I know it’s no sports car nor do I expect it to be and I’m not just another 16 year old trying to make his truck faster lol, it’s just sometimes when I will be on the highway and hit any kind of incline it will downshift to 4th and hold about 3100 rpms just to stay at constant speed, I have seen some people do the Ov tune to kind of change throttle response and other people have done the nitro re- gear to help as well, but those are more major changes and that’s not something that I want to do just yet, is there anything that you would recommend that isn’t something major and doesn’t void the warranty to kind of make this problem fade and get rid of how much gear hunting the truck does?

Hopefully you guys have similar experiences. Thanks!

 

1-2: Check your transmission fluid.
3: Let it idle for 30 sec before driving.
4: Check transmission TSB for your MY.

Welcome to the family!

 

Thanks for the help!

 

Wish I had a Tacoma at 16...

 

Welcome to TacomaWorld, and congrats on your new(ish) Tacoma.

The issues you describe are common to the third generation Tacoma, frustrating thousands of owners. So you don’t need to panic. But as has been pointed out, insufficient transmission fluid has been a common oversight from the factory, and bringing the fluid up to spec has helped many owners. And if you bring these issues to the attention of a dealership, they ‘may’ offer to update your truck’s ECU through an existing TSB (Technical Service Bulletin). The TSB will make a huge difference in how your truck behaves, but you may have to install it yourself if the dealer declines. Search on TW to learn how it is done

Best of luck.................Frank

 

Welcome Tyler. Grab a cold beverage (or hot) and sit down for a looooong spell of reading this forum. Everything you describe is pretty normal, and has been talked about at length here in the 3rd Gen TW.
Enjoy your truck.

G.

 

Dude at your age I would have killed to have a vehicle this new. My first car was a 72 chevy nova that was a hand me down, and by the time it got to me it was a total P.O.S.
You got a truck that is 2 years old and only has 15k miles on it, and it one of the more premium trims. You should feel lucky.

 

In my manual, it loves to be around 3K rpms, that's where its ready to get up and go.

 

Blessed is an understatement believe me and this definently wasn’t meant in a stuck up way and I apologize if that’s how it came off, I just know my parents worked really hard to give me something like this, so I figured I should ask questions and work really hard to take care of it the best I can! I’m beyond thankful for my truck, just wanted to make sure I was maintaining it well.

 

It should still be under warranty. Take it to the dealer .

 

There are a couple of non obtrusive ways to improve shift points. Try driving with the ECT button on and put the trans in S mode in 5th gear. This is a freebie. You can also look for shift sense pro units. These are easy to hook up and modify the shift points and lots of people have had good success using them. Congratulations on the new truck! And good job on researching ways to keep it in good shape. P.S grease your driveline u joints too.

 

thank you! I’ll look into them, are these something that would void the warranty?

 

To my understanding things that will void warranty:
Lifts, Re-gearing, OVTune, and modding the electrical systems of the truck.

And No I don't think you are a snobby kid

I hope this truck lasts you all way into your 20's

 

The first one no. It's part of the factory equipment in your truck, you can use the auto transmission kinda like a manual bu pushing the stick to the left when it's in drive. This will allow you to manually shift the truck. I put mine in 5th gear and leave it there. It will auto downshift to first when coming to a stop so you wont have to worry about doing that yourself. Then the ECT button makes the throttle response and shift points a bit more aggressive than when driving with it off.
The shift sense pro shouldn't void warranty but it depends on your dealer. There's a good thread here about them. Some guys just take it off before they go in to the dealership.

 

thank you, I’ve definently used the ect button a bunch and most of the time I try to just shift it myself anyways as kind of my own fix to the sluggishness. Ill look at that thread thank you.

 

thank you, where can I go to check the tsb, does it just search by the vin # from a site?

 

the only thing that won't void the warranty are cosmetic changes

 

Congratulations. I bought my first Toyota truck as a 21yr old in 1986. It was my daily driver for 12 years. After 20 years and 330K miles, the wife made me trade it in for our daughter's first car. Unlike me, your generation has the internet to network with others and learn. You are doing the right thing by following and asking questions here. When you get a Toyota truck and take care of her, she will serve you for 20+ years.