Transmission gear shifting issue, not hunting or vibration related

Hey all,

Firstly, not a troll thread, not a repetitive vibration issue or gear hunting/mpg thread.

I recently been noticing that randomly the transmission will slip, for lack of a better term, when shifting between 2nd and 3rd.

When accelerating it sounds exactly like if I were in a MT and did not let off the throttle while shifting..

The rpm shoots up for a short time(under or about a second) then engages into third and it pulls back down.

No other gears do this.

Transmission fluid was checked at 1000miles and was 1.1qt low. I still have a delay when shifting into drive when transmission is cold but it's fine once warmed up.

It is now random but happening about once a day. I know it's not frequent enough to happen when a tech drives it so I guess I will have to wait until it gets worse.

Does anyone have any experience with this happening in previous cars or your Tacoma?. Curious as to what it could be and how serious it is.

 

Hopefully it gets worse fast.. I'm at 3800 miles and this started about 600 miles ago.

 

Mine does this too. I don't know what to attribute it to. Just figured it's the crappy transmission/motor combo this truck came with. I have 7200 miles on my truck now. How many on yours?

 

Is it only at a specific gear and somewhat random..?

 

I haven't really pinned down which gears but my guesstimate is between 2nd and 3rd gear, especially when starting to accelerate after decelerating for a short distance maybe doing 25 mph- 35mph coasting then stepping back on the gas. Haven't bothered dealing with Tech because like you said it's enigmatic and would likely be impossible for them to replicate without taking the truck home and driving it themselves for a few days. Have had a few phantom problems like this as well for instance my Speedo just started Ticking one day on the freeway in 3 to 5mph increments. Really bizarre shit that just doesn't give me a warm/fuzzy feeling about longevity of this truck at all.

 

The speedometer issue is odd and it could be several things from transmission sensor all the way to needle motor/servo..goodluck

If cruise control is set does it try to keep up with the ticking?.. That's one way to troubleshoot it

 

Sad because I had a 2003 Ford Ranger with 156k miles on it for my "Beater/Hunting" rig. Had 265/75R16 Duratracs on it. She was bulletproof and drove rock solid as far as engine power and transmission goes. I did have a little bit of a clunk when shifting into Reverse or Drive sometimes but attributed that to just having an old transmission with normal wear/tear. The suspension on it would break kidney stones however. The ride on the new Taco much much improved. But now I'm wondering if I shouldn't have just dumped a couple grand into suspension upgrades on the Ranger..........

 

Yeah i really want to keep this truck a long time and seems more functional than others on the market.. I can't take a loss... Rock and a hard place.

 

I feel you on that one. I jumped in my 2002 explorer the other day before I went to sell it and I caught myself thinking "wow, this is pretty smooth and the steering wheel doesn't vibrate at all" and then I thought about how sad it was that I was thinking that about a $3000 truck when I now had one worth 10x that amount.

With that said though, if the vibration issue was solved, there would be no question about it. However, it still is sad to have a brand new toyota truck vibrate noticeably more than a 2002 ford exploder with 150k on the clock.

 

Great vehicle trim package!.. They badged mine wrong apparently becuase I have the same feature..

 

When you talk about vibration you mean the "Hum" that almost constantly comes from Steering wheel and accelerator pedal when driving at freeway speeds? I think I've just become used to it.

 

If your speed is not relative to the increase in RPM , it's a sign of slippage.

 

It's not when it's in gear, it happens while shifting, inbetween 2nd and 3rd.

 

I have been having the same issue since day 1. im at almost 10,000 miles. Trans was 1qt low and filled but still slipping.

 

Has it progressively gotten worse?..

 

Maybe your tranny is "pooched" now cuz you went 10,000 mi before filling it.

 

It got filled around 3k miles

 

No it still the same as it was if anything it has happened slightly less often

 

Oh shit... you gotta call Toyota man... sorry.. Musta been damaged in the first 3,000 miles... Listen up everyone... Don't run without checking it..!

 

I got fluids checked at 5k miles and they were all at the right levels... but my truck will often take 1-2+ seconds to engage when going from Park to Drive... and sometimes it actually kicks pretty hard into drive after the delay. I also get the occasional high rev between shifts (sounds like between 2nd and 3rd gear). Has anyone else had the delay between Drive and Park?