Tacoma automatic seems stuck in 3rd?

haha yeah.... 4LO actually doenst even allow the use of 5th gear or torque converter clutch lockup.... 4th in 4low on rev limiter is around 50mph.



OP thinks brake fluid off master cylinder is trans fluid.... OP was likely in 3rd gear haha.

 

You sure about that?

 

Yup.
Pretty sure he will be higher then 4k in 3rd gear at 75pmh!

 

(without counting for slip - read higher engine rpms - due to torque converter not locking up). with stock 3.73 gearing and stock tire size @ 75mph the following engine rpms will be seen

3rd - 4300rpms
4th - 3075rpms
5th - 2200rpms

 

Is your shifter in D or 4?

 

Just got back from lunch definitely not 3rd I was at 3500 at 60mph. Maybe shifter cable is out of adjustment?

 

If the thermostat is stuck OPEN and the engine is running COLD...
The transmission won't go into overdrive and the RPM's will be higher to attempt to bring the temperature up.

 

Attached is the photo. I am in 4x2 drive. I had just moments before slowed down for traffic to about 40mph then accelerated back up. The truck drops down to third and never goes back up. I tried shifting from drive to 4 and back, no change. I tried shifting from drive to 4 to 3 and back up again and still no change. I pumped the breaks and turned off AC, no change. I exited the highway, stopped , then started and entered the highway again and the rpms were much lower at the same speed and I could not replicate the issue again.

 

1st thing to do is change your Transmission fluid....
That may correct it
Definitely not running cold.

 

Hm. Definitely strange. Good luck other person!

 

I had a similar problem. I was at 43,000 miles on odometer.
Truck would downshift , RPM's would climb. Truck would not shift back to a higher gear.
Dealer found it was a quart low on fluid, but there were no leaks. I think it came from the factory low. The dealer replaced internal solenoids three different times over a month. Couldn't figure out the problem.
I told them I was done going back and forth on the issue.
They ended up replacing the trans.

 

running 16's with low pro tires ?......

 

" sarcasm "

 

Good point.

 

I drove it around with the toyota dealer. I showed him the pictures of the spedometer at 60, and the rpms high, and the other picture where the rpms are low/normal. We of course could not get the transmission to misbehave, except I did show him another issue where if you rapidly stop, then start up again the truck pauses then the transmission lurches forward suddenly. Anyway he recommends a transmission flush (he had another name for it but basically they fill it up and the old stuff comes out at the same time) because perhaps a bit of water vapor has been seeping in and making some erratic shifting. Anyway it just seems like the first think I would have to try in any case. I told him to check the electronics/software for any updates (whether via recall or simply recommended new versions). Will get the service monday and report back.

 

After the transmission fluid exchange, the dealer says I "need a new transmission." I just bought this used truck from them and I am damn lucky it is under the one month / 1000 mile warranty. I will share more details but right now they are working the warranty paperwork. For the record, I bought this used truck after giving up on my VW Vanagon that has had 2 years straight of transmission issues and 4 new transmissions (all warrantied by the way), I might be cursed...

 

So the dealer now agrees the transmission is "stuck" in 4th - it does not easily (sometimes at all) shift into the gear. While they argued over the puny 1 month / 1000 mile warranty, I went back to sales and said I want to swap it for another, today. The warranty people were about to argue with me about whether they would pay for the transmission when I told them nevermind, I am giving the vehicle back. Considering the circumstances and after I showed a bit of strategic anger, lets just say that I walked away with a super sweet deal on the equivalent 2019 Tacoma v6 4x4 SR5 (short bed not long this time). This time there was actually a silver lining. It was lovely owning a generation 2 for about a week

 

I may have missed it, how many miles were on the 2012? Sounds like the previous owner ditched the 2012 due to that issue.

Sorry to hear about the issues but happy to hear you're now in a 2019.


And the picture of the brake fluid was classic. Thanks for that!

 

Meanwhile at the dealership.

"This is the 3rd time this month we've used that 2012 to sell a new 2019"