My wife has a 2013 4Runner, 2WD Limited that's been experiencing a delayed engagement when shifting from Park or Reverse to Drive.

We bought the 4Runner as a CPO in Feb 16. A few months later we took it back to the dealer we bought it at (we'll call them Dealer #1) due to a noise coming from the engine (sounded like a pulley was grinding). Dealer #1 replaced the pulley's, as well as the entire transmission (due to a "noise" they heard from the front of the trans). The vehicle had ~25K miles on it.

A few months later I took it back in for service to Dealer #1 as the transmission was delayed when shifting from Park or Reverse into drive. Upon shifting into drive the vehicle would stall for a few seconds, then slam forward after it eventually caught the drive gear. Dealer #1 couldn't repeat the issue.

About 6 months goes by and in May of this year I take it to a different dealer (we'll call them Dealer #2). They test drive it with me and experience the delay. They checked the auto trans fluid and discovered it was low by 2 quarts. They added more fluid and said that should fix it.

This past month the problem surfaced again. I took it to Dealer #2 yesterday and they couldn't repeat the problem. They did find a P0504 code when scanning the vehicle and said that the brake light switch (under the brake pedal) needed to be replaced. Additionally, they said they believed the brake light switch was possibly causing the transmission issue. They wanted $200 to replace it, but I bought the part from their parts counter for less than $20 and replaced it myself in under a minute earlier today.

My question is as follows: Has anyone experienced this issue? I'm highly concerned since it's my wife's vehicle and has a reman transmission in it. The vehicle is still covered under warranty and quite honestly I want them to put a new transmission in the vehicle, as I feel like the one they put in last time is a faulty unit. Thoughts? Thanks!

Mine has the shift delay from day1. When shift P->D the vehicle moves forward a little if you don't hold break paddle tightly. I'm getting used to it and always wait a second then release the break and go.


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Drive by wire. That's what happens. Usually get it from reverse to drive.

This isn't normal. This isn't the typical shifting of the transmission, but rather a defect internally.

The tech's at the dealership have seen it happen (when I brought it in and they said Trans fluid was low) and they said it shouldn't be doing this. When it finally engages it throws you forward. If I was parallel parked and it did this I'd probably end up rear ending the person in front of me.

Anyone else?

If the dealer/technicians have verified the concern after installing the replacement transmission then take it back to them and pursue the fix....

You're not likely to get a brand new transmission as most manufacturers have a remanufacture program set in place. Even a car with only 5000 miles on it that needs a new transmission under warranty will get a reman tranny more than likely…

Have you found out anything new on your transmission? I have a 2012 limited 4runner, and mine does the same thing when shifting either from park to drive or reverse to drive. It does it randomly some time I can go a week without any issues and other times it can happen 6 or 7 times in a day. I took my 4runner into the dealer earlier this week and they had a code reader on it as the delay was actually happening, only to have the code reader to say everything was fine. The Toyota dealer ultimately suggested that I get a new transmission, with their reasoning being there was something wrong and they didn't know what it was. I made an appointment with a transmission specialist for next Saturday, to actually check the fluid and make sure there was debris from the gearing, but they said they've seen a few 5th gens with the same problems and all of them have resulted in needing a new transmission.

I will update once the specialist has a look at the transmission, but if anyone else has any more information on this that would be helpful.

Any update on what the transmission specialist said about your 4Runner? I have a 2013 4Runner and mine does the same thing - dealership flushed and refilled transmission fluid and still has the intermittent delay from park to drive. Curious if there is anything I should ask them to look into further? Did you need a new transmission?

YouTube

Is this what other people are experiencing (link above)? Any final diagnosis from a transmission shop? Toyota basically said yeah, that's not normal, you need a new transmission for $4,500. Well I have an extended warranty for the power train, but they need a specific diagnosis to cover it, so I need to know if anyone has an actual internal transmission part that is causing this.

The internal part is either the torque converter or one if the clutch packs or the solenoids for first gear. Every gear has a different combination of engagement or not of the various clutch options. Without diagnosing it in person it's impossible to know more than that.

Did they use actual Toyota transmission fluid when replaced?

2017 SR5 4wd, parked in my garage on flat surface. I start motor and shift into reverse and it won't move. I shift into drive and it doesn't move. I shift it into reverse and rev the motor and it clunks into reverse and goes and works normally after that. This only happened once so far but is concerning. Are others experiencing these symptoms?

That's not normal. You should be concerned. I can't help diagnose because there are no common issues so it would be a shot in the dark. Honestly, your issue sounds like the parking brake being accidentally left on. Assuming it's not parking brake I'd just keep an eye on it and see if it happens again.

If you're still in the 3yr 36k period, you can buy the extended warranty from Toyota. PM me if you want a contact for doing that away a good price - I have no affiliation other than its who I bought through at about 1/3 the cost most places charge. I think I paid about 900 to extend to 8 years 100k. That would give you piece of mind for a long time.

Thanks Jetboy, I did check the parking brake and it was not on.

Unfortunately I think I just had this exact same thing happen to my 2019 SR5 4x4 with 13K on it this morning. I moved to a new house and the garage floor has zero slope. Never had it happen any where else either. Amost seems like it needs load on the driveshaft to shift. I'll ask my dealer at the 15K service.

Mine will catch like this every once in a while. I drive a 2010 w/143k on the clock. I bought it with 136k so I dont know its driver history. I just make sure I wait a few seconds when switching from R to D. For me it's not as massive a jolt like described by OP.

Just in case this is helpful - I (foolishly) washed out the wheel wells at one point and then didn't drive it afterwards and let it sit overnight. The next morning, enough surface rust had built up on the rotors to require a lot of power to break free (which it did with a loud noise and a jolt). If I didn't put 2 and 2 together, I could see worrying that it was a transmission issue.