TRD Off Road 6MT

I have a 2019 TRD Off Road 6MT and have a few questions for those who have the 6MT. Some shifts are smooth while others have this jolting feeling, especially shifting into 5th gear. Is this normal? This is my first “new” MT vehicle. I’ve been driving manual for 6 years so I know it’s not operator error. Is there a break in period? It doesn’t matter the RPM’s it still has the jolting feeling when shifting into certain gears. Sometimes it does it, other times it does not.

 

For me the 4th to 5th shift is the toughest one to do smoothly. If you don't modulate the pedal and time the shift just right I get a thump which is annoying. I've gotten better with it over the last several months and a few thousand miles but if I'm lazily shifting I'll do it again. I'm sure others will have more "technical" description as to what exactly is happening with the drive-train when this happens. But ultimately, yes, I think it is normal.

 

Hopefully it doesn’t cause problems in the future. And yes 4th to 5th is where the “thump” happens the most.

 

I dont have the manual on this vehicle so I cant respond intelligently, but I suggest you look into the clutch accumulator delete mod.
Tony @tonered has a good thread on it.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/mt-accumulator-delete-mod-adm-and-bs-thread.568303/

 

What I would call “clunking” in the gearbox is normal on shifts where the truck is moving slowly but the miss-shifting feeling of the clutch is definitely because of the accumulator. Check out that thread for sure

 

My wife’s truck has done it a few times, mostly not. She drives it more than I do. She said if she leaves the clutch out a little slower than normal it won’t do it. Not necessarily 4th to 5th. There may be little drive line slack somewhere causing it. Not sure.

The times I’ve driven it I haven’t noticed any issues.

 

I have noticed a clunking noise when shifting from 2-3 when the truck isnt completely warm. I havent noticed 4-5

 

Gonna check it out now.

 

Typically if I’m “getting on it” it doesn’t do it. But if I’m driving normal and trying to get good mpg, then that’s when it happens.

 

I think 5th is hard to shift into smoothly because fourth, fifth, and sixth are pretty close together. 90% of the time I skip fifth all together and just go from 4 to 6 which rarely if ever clunks. Try it out.

 

Wife does the fourth to sixth a lot. No clunk.

 

I’ll try this out. I’m sure it’s fine I just hate the way it feels.

 

Thanks, @BigWhiteTRD !

This is strange, @New2019Taco . Most of the shifting problems was mainly the Pre-TSB ECU tunes for the 2016s, 2017s, and most 2018s. It was thought that the TSB software was rolled in on final assembly for the late 2018 Tacos. The TSBs (TSB-0058-18 or TSB-0125-18 / same software revision) made the most difference when talking about shift consistency. I have no idea why your 2019 would be inconsistent.

The ADM just gives us full control of the clutch on engagement. The accumulator slows engagement and does not allow any modulation.

Edit to add threads:

Here's all the details about the ECU update. Most of the info has been updated in the OP:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/software-update-for-the-manual.562550/

Here's the ADM:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/mt-accumulator-delete-mod-adm-and-bs-thread.568303/

 

I usually skip 4th or 5th gear but don't notice anything odd when shifting.

 

Do you feel the jolt when you re-engage the clutch or when you physically move the shifter to 5th from 4th?. And how fast are you pressing and releasing the clutch pedal? Are you pressing and releasing as fast as you can?

This clutch has a thing called an accumulator that physically slows down the action of the clutch engaging/disengaging. Sometimes for me, mostly when shifting to 2nd, the clutch will feel like it is starting to grab but when I let the rest of the pedal out, it will engage hard and suddenly. This is just a characteristic of the way the accumulator works sometimes. Also this engine has rev hang, if you press the clutch really fast after you let off the throttle, you will get clunk because the engine is still spinning and the tension/energy in the drivetrain is being released all of a sudden.

What I do is pause 1-2 seconds after releasing the throttle, and then press the clutch pedal. When you release the pedal, try to feel when your clutch is grabbing and get used to feel and note how it behaves. You will notice sometimes it feels like it is grabbing but your truck will start feeling like it is being slowed down pretty fast. When you feel this, press the clutch back in and then back out.

Also for shifting to 5th. I like to make the shift to 5th, but I will blip the throttle and match the RPMs for my road speed before letting out the clutch. That shift is a little bit slower because of having to move the shifter up and over. All the other shifts are straight up and down , or have help from the centering spring for 2nd to 3rd or 5th to 4th.

And if you want to learn to get less notchy shifts. Practice making the shifts quickly before your RPMs drop more than 100-200 RPMs. Move shifter quickly but with finesse and without jamming the gears with a lot of pressure. If you don't understand me, then I suggest you try this:

When driving and about to make a shift, press the clutch and let the RPMs drop all the way down to idle and then move the shifter to the next gear. Notice how the shift feels, rougher and will take longer to get in gear. Next , make the same shift but move the shifter into the next gate before your RPMs drop more than a few hundred (100-300rpms is best). Just use finger pressure, don't power shift. If you do this correctly, you should feel a noticeably smoother shift and with significantly or no notchiness.

 

I have a 2018 TRDOR M/T as well. I've been driving M/T pickup trucks all my life. By far this best shifting M/T I've personally driven. I will also admit that when I first began driving my truck, I was a bit concerned about these same issues plus a couple more wrt to the shifting and manual transmission, but I think my expectations were way too high. Put simply, don't expect sports car shifting out of a truck.

Here are the list of "problems" I've had and my solutions:

- 1st to 2nd feels crunchy. When cold this happens more often. However you need to get the timing right. I find shifting at 2500 RPM from 1st to 2nd produces the best shifting, sometimes I get it butter smooth.

- 2nd to 3rd also feels crunchy, though less than 1st to 2nd. Again same as above, let it warm up, but I find shifting from 2nd to 3rd is better at 3000 RPM, and again after a couple of months I've got this to be pretty smooth.

- 4th to 5th bump. As someone mentioned, getting the throttle timing and clutch release solves this issue.

- I find that over time all of these issues get better. Maybe the transmission needs to be worn in or sumthn.

Many people mention the accumulator delete mod. If these stuff get annoying enough then maybe I'll do it. However as of right now I wanted to make sure I am driving the truck properly before I switch to any other options. Some people have also mentioned that there is a TSB to update the ECU that can deal with some of these issues, and there is also the OV Tune. For one I'm not in the mood to argue with my dealership, plus there are mixed reviews about the TSB. I would like the OVTune but I dont got the $$. Just my 2c....

 

It happens with me too, exactly the way you said it. From now on I’ll give skipping the 5th gear a go.

 

A lot of useful tips. I would say my shifting times are normal, not slow and not fast. I do rev match when shifting but for some reason it only happens when shifting from 4th to 5th. Idk maybe I struggle from 4th to 5th. Lol

 

Don't worry about it. You have a brand new truck that is probably still breaking-in and you are still getting to it. Try some of these tips and you'll start learn some of the quirks of this tranny/engine combo.

 

this doesn't sound like something the ADM would help with IMO. this sounds tune related. i would look at the TSB tune status first and take it from there. if not on the latest (04B13 on a MT '19?, not actually sure what they're selling in the '19 trucks), then i might consider OV tune. either way i consider these MT trucks almost miserable without OV Tune.