High transmission level

2017 Toyota Tacoma, 71k miles. Regular oil changes/service.
1 1/2 yrs ago at 60k, New plugs, Trans flush, rad flush.
Ran great until last week.
Was pulling out of driveway and truck made a sound like a metal spoon was banging in a metal cup, truck shuttered, flashed "high transmission level" and died. Got it started and backed into driveway. Started it later that day, and got it the 100ft to the side of my house.
Next day I started it and after abt 30 secs, there was a noticeable "knock" coming from engine cab.
Called tow truck/mechanic and when I started it for him, the check engine light came on and stayed on, (yellow).
He called this week and his preliminary thought was valve, requiring a total tear down.
I do not know him, he is a friend of another mechanic, that I trust, (he doesn't to major repairs).
I'm at a loss... how do we get to a valve issue, when " high transmission level" light was the first indicator, of something wrong.
Any and all advice is appreciated...

 

Iit also threw codes..There were several.
P1603
P1604
P1605
P0300
P0306
C1268
B1507
B1508
I suspect the last 3 are from last year when I replaced a drivers side front turn signal bulb, and never cleared the code.
I did speak with the mechanic since the first post.
He's going to check the #6 spark plug to see if it somehow came loose.
Those other codes are more geared towards engine and not Trans.
This is going to be interesting to see how this all shakes out...
Any ideas? had a bunch of codes..

 

Honest question. Do you know how to do anything besides call mechanics? Pulling the code. Pull the plug and check the cylinders with a camera. I didn't know we had a high transmission level. I thought we had a trans temp warning only.

 

Are you sure it said “high transmission level”? That doesn’t mean anything to me.

 

@auskip07
I'm a 62 yr old female, I'm not too engine savvy. I know enough to keep the service up and do the required maintenance. Always wait for the RPMs to drop before I put it in drive, try not to take it over 2k RPMs.
If this was a 71 Mach l, 351C, I'd tear right into it, but its not, that's why I'm here....
Thanks for the enriching comment...

 

Don't take it personally, his blood sugar is elevated

 

I was being honest. Are you really going to go to a mechanic and say "some random person on the forum said it could be this..." with 3rd hand information?

How's your local dealership?

 

My dealership couldn't fix a 4WD problem, with 2 attempts at it, over 3 weeks. Not traveling 40 mis to be overcharged, with duct taped and safety pinned solutions.
And no, I'm not going to him with the, "hey, this random guy said this on a Toyota forum"..
I'm trying to figure this out the only way I know how, which unfortunately is here, a female in a predominantly male chat room.
The mechanic had never heard of "HIGH TRANSMISSION LEVEL" either. He asked if I could find where I saw it, as the article was accompanied with the "engine knock" component.
I found it and shared it.
All I'm trying to do is gather info, so I can be better informed of my vehicle, and why it did what it did at 71k mis.

 

@gudujarlson.
I'm damn near positive that's what it said. The screen in-between the tach and speedometer flashed bright red and it said "high transmission level", in all caps.
I understand the Trans is a closed system, no dip stick. The last time it was touched was 1 1/2 yrs ago, when I had a flush.
Prior to the "event" it didn't slip, hasn't slipped. I know the 17s have Trans probs..
The engine is strong, no misses, ticks, etc.
I'm just at a loss.
Waiting to hear back from mechanic to see if the #6plug might of come loose. That would REALLY be good news.

 

Did it maybe say "High Transmission Temp."?
I have seen that message referenced here in this forum, something about it being a software glitch and related to engine failure of some sort.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...000m-blown-engine.851275/page-2#post-30410070


post #27

 

Ok, more help needed.. Guys, please be kind..
After 3 wks in 2 shops, the high pressure injector on cylinder 6 was replaced.
2, 4, 6 spark plugs were also noted as not torqued, only finger tight.
There is now quite a "tick" coming from the engine. Mechanic said its the #6 valve, and it's "waiting to happen".
I drove with these spark plugs loose for a year n a half..
Mechanic suspects that the injector failure could be due to bad fuel. There have been no reports of engine probs with customers at that gas station on or around that date, either on FB, or the Mgr at that station. There was no truck, dumping fuel when I was there, either.
Mechanic said the valve is a mystery, the Toyota engines are damn near bullet proof, they can easily go 2-300,000 mi. with correct service.
He said this shouldn't be happening at 71k mi.
Luckily, I don't think the catalytic converter is effected, as my gas mileage jumped 7 mpg, on the way home from shop.
My question is how probable is it that the loose spark plug has caused the valve issue.
I've been doing a lot of research, and it seems to point to that.
Any knowledge on this would be appreciated..

 

Valves that burn up are usually due to AFR going out of wack which would point to the injector. Spark plugs wouldn't cause that

 

Before you start going down the road for valve failure. The 2GRFKS is an inherently noisy engine especially when it’s in the cleaning cycle . Is the motor running steady and has its usual amount of power now ?
There are tons of stuff that can cause the sound your hearing . This person that said a valve is going bad …
Where did they get the information to diagnose that ? Did they do a compression test on cylinder 6?
The other thing that could be looked into is the ACIS flap ( which is a door that opens and closes that is known in certain years to break off or not work). Even though you don’t want too if you don’t have a really good Toyota mechanic . You may need to go to the dealer .

 

So you got it from a "metal spoon hitting a metal cup" to a quite tick, that's good.
Like truckguy63 said take it to the dealer.
Now i am gong to say this, bring a boyfriend or another male with you.IMO
as you said "I'm not too engine savvy" Take someone with you to be your advocate, again IMO
If i am out of line here, sorry