Weird shuddering on brand new Tacoma when cruising down highway or climbing up hill

when driving under 60 mph, put the truck in S5, or always drive in cruise control. it really helps those of us that can feel the shudder. basically the truck is in 6th gear above 40 mph or so, and when you are driving with your foot, and not applying enough throttle... the truck cant downshift, so it is stuck in the higher gear. just like having a manual vehicle, or motorcycle in the wrong gear... this is what most of us are feeling. the only fix is to drive in a lower gear, or force a downshift. Ski

 

I've gotten into the habit of popping the truck into S4 when I head out. Even 5th gear at 45 mph results in a shudder for me. Always better when I'm accelerating quickly but I have a lot of steady 45 mph roads between home and work where the shudder creeps in no matter what

 

yes, for sure. if you are going to be below 45-50 for long periods, S4 is the go to, for 55-65, S5 works. any hills, or load, adjust the selection as required to avoid the shudder. ski

 

Reviving this old thread to see if perhaps there are any updates on this.
I also want to mention that I can pretty easily replicate this shuddering and I’m curious if it is the same on others’ trucks.

I want to preface this by saying I got the truck new (6 miles) and it’s done it since then. The OTT tune hasn’t changed this characteristic.

To cause the shudder, get up to speed around 45-50 mph essentially to get the truck into 5th/6th gear - let off of the throttle completely and then toe in to the throttle slightly. You’ll see the tach raise slightly, then it will drop a few hundred rpm. I believe this is when the torque converter should be locking up but maybe it in partial lockup. It is when the rpm drops that the shudder begins. I have been meaning to get a video of this.

 

Ive been seeing new tacoma owners asking about this issue more often lately on the fb groups with the 2022/23 model years, so it is an issue across multiple model years. I could see a bad batch of torque convertors being a possibility if it was just 1 model year but not over 5 or more years?

 

I have had the same symptoms on my 21 since I got the truck. Pretty easily reproduceable (unless you're a service tech) but severity varies from day to day. I noticed the other day that it was almost nonexistent after filling up. As the the tank gets lower, it seems the shudder is getting worse. Not sure if that part is all in my head or not

 

Okay y’all I have a video of when exactly I can produce the shudder. A bit of a long post but it is thorough.

One thing to note that I forgot about is that I can only get this to happen when the engine is fully up to temperature. It’ll never do it right up until it hits the middle mark on the temp gauge.

In the video you will see that I am not yet in 6th gear. It will not do it at all but towards the end you’ll see I speed up to 50 then it up shifts into 6th. That’s when I let off the gas, rpm drops, toe in on the throttle, rpm raises then lowers. It begins to shudder and looking at the instant MPG gauge, you can see how much throttle it takes for it to finally downshift out of the shudder.

https://imgur.com/a/Is39dxU

I will send some info over to my tuner as well. I am beginning to think it’s more like other have said, it’s in too high of a gear like on a manual trans and for some reason does not downshift based on the load given.

Hoping someone with information on the torque converter lockup logic can chime in.

 

2009 DCSB 2WD Pre-Runner 4.0 Auto 235K miles located Florida so no hills. I’ve been driving this truck for 65,000 miles. Shudder @ 40 mph just started. I haven’t checked AT fluid level & it’s about 10K overdue for fluid change.
No questions, just reporting.

 

Honestly, for this, I would recommend the Shudder Fix by Dr. Tranny. When I worked in the shop, we have a second gen Tacoma or Tundra come in (forget which) but either way it had an AWFUL shudder. Literally a tube of that solved it completely. It could not hurt to try it. The customer was amazed and so were we haha.

Regarding the video I posted, I spoke with my tuner about it and he got in touch with one of the actual OTT guys and forwarded the information. He got me a version of the tune that held 5th gear longer which seems to reduce the shudder. I can still feel it here and there but not as much. There have been times that I noticed the shudder when the truck upshifted to 6th while I still needed to increase my speed prior to any tuning.

In my efforts of troubleshooting, the last thing that I have yet to do is change out the transmission fluid. A bit early I feel just for the sake of it as I am under 30K miles.

 

thanks.

 

Bought a tube of Lubrigard Shudder Fix today. As soon as I find my arm armor so I don’t get all scratched up imma squirt in in the fill hole. I report back when it’s done.

 

I notice when driving if I let off the gas for a few seconds that occasionally when I get back onto the throttle it will have one big shudder. Not always but often enough to be annoying. Most pronounced in stop and go highway traffic.

Is that similar to the problem you are having?

 

For me it shudders when cruising 40ish and slowly increase speed to 45ish it shudders. I’m in FL so no hill issues. And no issues at other speeds either. One complicating factor for me is I have a drive shaft disconnect installed. I had that balanced recently. Ujoints also renewed. Shudder started months after DS & ujoint work.

 

No. I am at 28,000 miles now and it is the worst vehicle I have ever owned. Dealer checked ATF level on Friday. Level was normal. Not sure what he did when putting the check port bolt back in, but when I got home there was a wet spot on my driveway. ATF dripping from check port. Truck got towed Saturday morning and is still at dealer. they are supposed to look at it today (Monday). I DEFINITELY 1000% would not recommend a Tacoma to anyone.
Dealer said when I was there Friday that they thought the truck drove terrible and they were going to have the FTS (Field tech from Toyota) come out and check the truck out. They said Toyota may tell them to put a new transmission and torque converter in it.

 

Is that covered under power train warranty since your only at 28k?

 

Oh jeez, that's horrible man, sorry to hear. I'm hoping it's a 1 off case I haven't heard anything like that. Maybe they f'd something up at the dealer. These forums sometimes make me more n more worried even though my truck is fine rn. It only has 700 miles on it. Hopefully they find you a solution. I have the same DCSB OR

 

Yes

 

Mine drove fine until about 5000-10000 miles

 

Maybe it is normal that it drives this bad, but so far they have not said that and I really don’t want to have to get the transmission replaced.

 

I’m not sure if you have a different issue related to your specific tune or truck but don’t lug the engine, especially on low octane fuel. I’m also OTT tuned. I highly suggest running premium fuel to keep your timing up. I have a lot of experience logging on this platform and the 2GR-FKS loves octane.