Anyone have any ideas on whats going on here? This only happens occassionally though when I back out of my garage or posistioning to park, I'll go from Reverse to Drive and there will be a pause before the transmission engages. Doesnt happen all the time, but only happens when i am doing a stand still gear change from reverse to drive.

Any information that could shed some light on this would be great.

Thanks!

Flush the fluid. Usually when the transmission takes a little time to change gears (moving or nnot) it could be it showing signs of failing... That's only sometimes tjo

I've had the same issues. I can't remember the last time it happened and if that was before or after I flushed my system. Sorry I can't help you on a solution, but you're not alone on this issue happening.

I assumed it was normal. Mine does it and my impression is it always has. I just did a drain and fill and will follow it up soon with another one. I'll have to pay attention and see if it gets better.

2008 here with 77K

I've had this exact problem happen a couple of times now and it is a bit unsettling.

This is what a toyota expert tech had to say here:

...your transmission requires a special "WS" fluid and is completely sealed. The source of the issue here is that the transmission fluid is underfilled, known issue right from the factory. The dealer needs to follow the fill procedure for the transmission and then OVERFILL it by 1/2 quart. If they have any questions on this they need to call someone at technical assistance.

Awesome info, just picked up a 09 and i has done it a few times already. Wonder if there's anyway to get them to go ahead and do a flush/fill at the same time, at 45k I would really like it done anyway.

I just bought my 1st 4runner. 2008 with the V6. I really like it, but I'm having the same issue. It's happened 4 times in just over 3 months. I have 94,300 miles and want to do a fluid flush. I will let them know about the extra 1/2 quart addition. Thanks.

I recall that this is one of the features of the 5 speed they put in the 4th gens starting in 2005. Seriously, it is supposed to reduce " squat ". It's in the tech .pdf file.

This gentle engagement feature may be stretching out and becoming your symptom.

i have to agree with you on this one. this would explain all the things that have happened to my truck in the past.


on a side note i did at one time bump the truck into reverse at around 5mph and the trans remained in neutral, also have had the truck roll back on a hill and did not engage drive after backing out of a space. the trans in these trucks are odd.

also as a side note the trans will not let you neutral drop so i would say that the trans can do odd things at time based on different situations.

only two times have i had the trans do odd things and from different things i have read about them i dont think twice about it

My '08 has done the same thing on occasion, and it sucks when it takes 3-5 seconds to go into drive when you're in a parking lot. I'm going to look into the tranny fill issue.

First post..I'm looking into a new-to-me 4R (4th gen Sport model). I ran across one 2008 vehicle locally(80K miles) and checked the VIN on a decoder. The report indicated a tranny service check within a year after purchase. The owner described an occasional few second delay when shifting from reverse to forward. By the look of the report, the dealer wouldn't do anything as they couldn't reproduce the issue. The ViN report indicates two additional tranny checks several years later at around 50K miles. Again it appears the dealer took no action.

I searched the forum for shifting delays and found this thread. I also noted the shifting delay thing seems to be quite common, though I haven't seen any issues related to widespread failures or additional issues...other than the delay is annoying.

My question: If you scan upthread a few posts to a post made on 7/16/12 by T4RME where he links to a discussion he had with a Toyota service tech. The tech seems to think he's got the solution, with a factory-underfilled fluid level. Seems plausible..low fluid would yield a shift delay.

My question..really this time..has the low factory-fluid fill been confirmed by anyone? Has anyone had the delay issue, then added a pint or two to the fluid level and had the issue disappear?

(Just doing pre-buy research and trying to understand any known issues. I did the same while looking into Pathfinders..I've scratched Pathfinders from my possible list..I assume most know why..)

This is a good question that I would like to hear a straight answer on also.

Continuing the search..I googled, "toyota 4runner transmission factory low fluid"

The first hit was a thread on tacomaworld with the following header:

"ALL YEARS of the 4 LITRE ENGINE WITH NO TRANSMISSION DIPSTICK"

I'd post a link to the thread..but I'm not sure if it's against the rules here..it's easy to find. I haven't come across much more..yet.

Seems 1-1.5 qts low (cough) was verified buy a number of people.

I read the first three pages but there's a lot of people going off in different directions. However, there were a few that found their levels to be low and adding fluid helped with shudder and shifting. There is a procedure though, so go check this out if you're interested. Just copy and paste the quoted title that Fishboat mentioned into Google and it'll be easy to find.

Thanks Fishboat.

I got a little farther in than 3 pages, but people were wandering around. I saw maybe 4-5 guys that indicated their levels were low.

I haven't picked up a 4R yet, but I think a check of the level may be on the short list of things I go through early on.