How to appropriately test drive the new auto transmission

I regretfully sold my lifted 1990 Toyota pickup back in 2004 and replaced it with a Honda civic so I could afford gas to get to school. Now the time has finally come for me to get back into one and I'm excited about the new Tacoma...or at least I was until last night when I read the Car And Driver review which describes the automatic transmission as "finicky" and I then read lots of owner reviews saying it's constantly searching for gears and they wish they had bought a manual. People seem to love it with a manual, but I've had a manual for almost 20 years and just want to have both hands free for a while.

So my first question is, how should I test drive it to be sure to experience what so many are describing? Is it specifically when on cruise control, on hills, low speed, etc? What am I looking for? My 2nd question is, if it's a problem, can the dealer or a shop adjust the programming or is it actually a physical gearing issue? I'm not planning to do much off-roading or high-performance-critical driving, but want this truck to last me a minimum of a decade so I don't want to get one with a dud transmission.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKy7bYwyEUE

 

Just buy the truck and buy a Shift SensePro or OV Tune and enjoy your truck

 

https://youtu.be/VO5TtQJNPBg

 

Test drive several vehicles with 6.8 or 10 speed autos with v6 or 4 cly engines . Pay attention to how they shift. then try a Tacoma and see if it seems like a problem trans or just like all the others . Like said the SSP ( I do not know about the OV tune ) but the SSP makes the trans vary adaptable to however you feel like driving with different modes .

 

The automatic on the taco is definitely a weird set up. It works great at high rpm, but not down low where atruck operates. Do NOT compare it to to any other 6/8/10 speed out there. If you do, be prepared to buy that vehicle. You will see how bad the shifting really is in a taco.

 

Make sure you get an extended or overnight test drive so that you can drive the truck on various roads and different conditions to make sure you can tolerate it.

 

Ahem , this is what he needs to know . If the competition's trans is better as far as he feels , then he should buy the competitions ( EDIT - if that is what he is worried about ). Are you telling him to just blindly buy a Tacoma ?

 

Not sure what all these guys are talking about.... When I got my new 2016 in the fall of 2015.... it was kinda stupid in CC on hills and after hills.... clunky here and there.....

Then I filled the GDF'n transmission with fluid...... Guess what, I loved after that and, of course after filling the rear Diff....front diff.... greased the driveshaft......torqued the rear U bolts.... Things just "smoothed out man".!! (like "Cheech" would say)

No issues since.... I get way gooder mileage also...!! How about 28.9 MPG Cdn.... (that's top end...I get around 25-26 normal)..!

Grease and fluids just seem to make things move easier, I guess..!!

Good advice on trying other with multiple gears..... It makes sense.....the more gears you got the more gears will be changing...!!

I had a 1965 Chevy Impala.... 2 speed auto...!! It shifted ONCE......!!! This Taco is awesome.... if I could get 5 more gears, I would..!

 

Well supposedly you won't know how it shifts until you drive it for like 1000 or 1500 or something miles as it uses AI and adjusts to your driving. Don't think they'll let you test drive it that long...

I never had a big problem with it, but the psychology of it once I found out on these boards made it bug me and then I started noticing that yeah it didn't handle the way I thought it should handle.

Soooo, initially I would just shift it into "S-mode" (sequential shifter mode) and shifted it to the highest gear (that is identical to Drive mode only withOUT the AI... manual says as much).

That worked perfectly fine for me. However, I subsequently installed the Shiftsense Pro (search this site for the thread about it) to change the gear shifting points a bit and set it to the 3rd setting (more power) and really love it at this point.

If you want to get more crazy you can flash the ECU with a custom programming from OVTune (again search this site for the thread about it).

Links below:

https://www.dz-custom-innovations.com/products/shiftsense-pro

https://www.ovtuned.com/collections...tacoma-2grfks-calibration?variant=41531254476

 

That, brother, is the best pro-taco rant we’ve had on this site. Well said. Couldn’t agree more.

 

I think he's saying the buyer would get the non-Taco truck

 

Should be looking to see if it's responsive enough for you. The auto trans keeps the rpms low so it feels like its gutless. It has plenty of power but you have to step on it to get said power.

As for 2nd question, the dealership isn't ever going to have a fix for it. That being said there is a tune from Orange Virus Tuning that makes it much much better. It's sold out right now and in some respects still in development but many people have already purchased it with great results.

And last but not least the truck should last you a decade+ easy. The auto trans is not unreliable. People just don't like how it delivers power. Completely subjective issue. Some are totally fine with it. It's more a question of will you be happy with it for a decade than will the truck last a decade.

 

I don’t know, I’ve had two third gen tacos. It’s definately different, but it’s not bad. It really does excell at higher RPMs.

 

I prefer this engine over the 4. Works great for me.

 

SSP is great. I have one I'm going to sell as I REGEARED to 4:88.

 

Great info! Thanks guys. Would I be able to find presets for OV Tune (does it come with them?) or do I need to know how to tune it myself? ShiftSense Pro looks easy and inexpensive but I might want it to be more seamlessly integrated if it turns out to be necessary. Does using either void the warranty?

Iamraiderpower, I saw you're in DFW area. Any dealerships I should definitely avoid?

 

SSP will not affect your warranty. Freeman is a very good dealer .

 

Yes, drive it on hilly terrain, interstates and city. On a hilly section of the interstate set the cruise at 75 for 5 or 10 miles if possible. Drive it in the city in S, ECT, and nomal D mode.

 

Also keep in mind that some of those reviews your reading may have been before the transmission software update was released. Not saying its perfect or anything just that some of the issues you read about may not be an issue any more