Sputter in first gear only

Hey guys, my 2018 Toyota Tacoma trd off road started sputtering around 90,000 miles. It only sputters when accelerating between first and second. You can push through the sputter if you release the gas and accelerate through it. My buddy was the head mechanic at Toyota but left last year. He told me it was just an update that I needed on the truck. So I take it to Toyota and ask for an update to my system,. They tell me it’s the torque converter and I need a new transmission. Going to get a second opinion on monday. Any input on weather is the TC and Tran or just an update?

 

Do you have a tune on it? I have the OTT tune and mine was sputtering/choking when taking off the line especially when pulling into traffic and stepping on it a little. Was scary for it to choke so I had it reflashed and it went away.

 

Typically TC on Toyotas have issues between shifts, like 2-3 and 3-4.

The update was for drivability. There was a TC update for rav4s and camrys, but that required a TC replacement along side it.

 

Naw no tune just a mid travel icon kit.