Are you still experiencing transmission issues?

For me it’s kind of a mixed bag, driving in town is ok but driving on the highway...not so much. Cruise control is pointless.

 

BINGO! I commute 150+ miles per day (7 days a week), so to me I actually appreciate the gearing. The truck performs wonderfully off road - which is part of my daily routine...so to me this truck is best of both worlds.

 

The transmission doesn’t have any issues. Some people just don’t like it. There’s a big difference in a couple of opinions versus actual issues.

 

Agreed, it took at least 5k miles for mine to learn, or rather for me to learn the transmission...? But I did experience similar weird shift patterns the first 1500 miles. 2019, no dealer update.
It does seem to lug along at low rpm until it realizes, "Oh duh acceleration! On it!". But I have found with very careful throttle inputs I can get it to do what I want. Definitely not very intuitive though and biased toward lower RPM for fuel economy. But no, no actual 'issues', just personal opinion.

 

They did an update on mine and it completely fixed it. Couldn't be happier.

 

I’m happy with the transmission on flat roads but it can be annoying on hills. My daily commute goes over a small mountain with a 40 mph speed limit. If I try to maintain a speed of 40-45 mph the transmission constantly shifts back and forth between 3rd and 4th. I usually just put it in S mode and shift into 3rd all way up.

 

Mine is fine on the flat roads, but for any type of hilly terrain, it throws fits.
I didn't notice it when I test drove three times until I went to my home in the mountains on a 900 mile run.
I found the truck totally useless. Was even told by the tech I made drive it with me that it was the number one complaint and that "These Tacomas aren't really made for mountains or using the cruise control in D".

I like the truck, but certainly don't love it. It sits in the driveway. My kid wants it once he's on with my company full time in 4 months.
I have too much in a cap and aftermarket crap to sell it. I jad high hopes for this truck. Now I'm looking at other things.

So....its automatic, but not really automatic. Use S4 unless highways, then S5 unless there's hills. Never use S6 unless you are on a flat highway, unladen with a tailwind. Use S4 in town or it's in 6th by 43mph. Use more pedal. Turn on ECT every time you drive it...etc.....

Its 2020 and I own quite a few vehicles for personal and business. The rest of them I can just put in D and go. No issues, no problems, all can pull a hill without freaking out.

No....not the Tacoma. It's "special".

But for flat upper midwest driving....its good.
The Tacoma is great. Love most everything about it, but can't get past that transmission.

I'll sit back now and be lambasted for not test driving first, "Oh...is it Friday already" posts, "You don't know how to drive these special transmissions" and the "Gee....I have never noticed any gear hunting. It must be you" posts.
Best advice......drive on on varied terrain first. Had I done that, I would have never bought one.
And I'll edit to add.....I have been thanked 3 times from people test driving them who took my advice and went quite a few miles to try them on long grades and hills. They all agreed and didn't buy them.

I'll ruffle some feathers and say that the Tacoma isn't for everyone. And for some, its awesome.
I like it, but don't love it. I smile every time look at it. Its a neat truck. I want to love it, but can't. I had plans of making it the fleet truck for my company and just buying those.
Not buying another. That's for sure.

 

Had a 2015 and 2017. No issues. I find my 2020 much more responsive.

 

no. never have, probably never will.

 

I drive a stock 2018 on mostly flat roads and have very few complaints. It's responsive, gets pretty good mileage and is fun to drive. There's definitely room for improvement but I'm not dissatisfied whatsoever.

 

I've got a long steep winding hill i travel on regularly where the speed limit is 45 mph. Soon as my truck starts climbing the hill it will downshift from 6th to 4th and maintain 50-55 mph till it reaches the top. I need not step on the gas pedal any harder. Don't need any other modes either unless towing over it. When the truck had under 1500 miles this transmission had no clue what gear to remain in on this hill....it would constantly hunt till the the top.

 

Mine has been perfect from day 1. Some people need to understand it’s a truck not a race car won’t roast tires from a standing start.

 

Nothing mechanically wrong with the transmission. The 3rd gen Tacoma's changed to an engine that needs more rpm to get power than previous trucks. The transmissions shift differently to work with a different engine. It's neither good nor bad, just different, and some don't like it.

 

Just got a 2020 AT v6 I'm at 1k miles and hope you guys are right about the learning curve. At current it leaves a lot to be desired, shifts at too low an rpm, is clumsy, and throttle response sucks.

Manual says to baby it first 1k which I have been doing. Should I clear the learned memory?

 

Nope. I had the re-flash done and it's fine for me.

 

My 2016 was horrible until I had it reflashed which made an improvement but was still pretty bad.
My 2020 is perfect, no complaints at all with the transmission or throttle response.

 

I have a 2018 and have never noticed the gear 'hunting' issue many people report, but the truck is too willing to drop down to 4th gear when cruising at 85 on the highway.

I wish it would just stay in 6th, and drop to 4th or 5th only for a few seconds if I'm going up a hill. I

drops from 6th to 4th for no obvious reason and will stay there for quite a bit longer than I think it needs to.

Thinking about looking into a TSB update or possibly pedal commander.

 

I didn't go easy on my from the start, the truck seemed like it already had a break-in chip that wouldn't allow you to overtax the drivetrain that soon. Once i put on 1200 miles everything started to change overnight. Just be patient this truck will come around. The only issue i can't smoke the tires like the old tundra.

 

I have a 2017 and have never experienced any of the issues listed on the forum

 

My advice....drive it on a SUPER extended test drive. Read the reviews, and the ones that reflect ownership experience after several months. I had a 2017 TRD Off Road 3.5L 6MT, and it was literally the worst single vehicle I've ever owned. I went through hell, both with Toyota and the people on this forum, and ended up lemon lawing it. Toyota was super nasty about the whole thing right up until the very last second. This forum was full of people not willing to help and getting their hackles raised the moment it was even implied these trucks were less than perfect. People sent me private messages to agree/sympathize with my problems, because they were afraid of getting banned or smacked by the moderators. The lemon law arbitrator himself was rolling his eyes at Toyota's insane behavior during the hearing. Toyota bastards refused to even acknowledge me or shake my hand at the end.

Toyota Corporate and the dealerships are a reflection of the insane fanboyism on this forum. The nastiest, most elitist car company you can find. They act like their cars are perfect and never have any issues. So why should Toyota fix any issues with their trucks (some of which have been ongoing for 2+ decades, with no fix) when there is the crazy fanboy brigade backing the company up? This forum is, at least partially, directly responsible for the attitude of this nasty corporation. I like the idea of the Tacoma, but the real life experience was pure misery. I am not ponying up $40k for a mediocre truck, to get abuse from both the company and its insane fanboys.

Now please, roll on up with your "go buy a Ridgeline" or "bye!" nastiness. Or ban me. I don't care, I just don't want anyone else to go through what I experienced with this company.