'05 4runner V8 harsh down shift to 1st gear

skip

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Has anyone noticed when in stop and go traffic (10-20 mph) when accelerating from a slow speed there is a harsh of different feeling downshift into first gear as compared to other downshifts like from third to second gear.

Regards,
Skip
 
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Does it clunk? Or just surge?

1st is geared low. The ECU won't always match engine RPMs perfectly.

I get an occasional clunk when downshifting after decelerating. Most often when exiting a yield or sharp turn. The transmission is 2 gears higher than where it needs to be. It downshifts one gear, pauses, then downshifts again and clunks. I'm going to reset the ECU and grease the chasis. See if it helps any. The clunk may just be a characteristic of the 5 speed. I think others experience it.
 
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It is basically a clunk.

Now that you have mentioned it, I have also felt the harsh down shift accelerating into a turn.

What bothers me is that that perticular down shift is harsher than any other.

Is this normal?

How do reset the ICU ?

Thanks,
Skip
 
skip said:
It is basically a clunk.

Now that you have mentioned it, I have also felt the harsh down shift accelerating into a turn.

What bothers me is that that perticular down shift is harsher than any other.

Is this normal?

How do reset the ICU ?

Thanks,
Skip

I'm not sure if it is normal.

The clunk may be the drivetrain sticking. This is why I'm going to grease all the fittings.

The tranny logic may no be in the best state. I drive very conservative 90% of the time. The tranny seems confused the other 10%. I hope reseting the ECU wipes out what the tranny has learned. I'm going to leave the negative cable off the battery overnight. The tranny may be too smart for it's on good. Time for re-programming.

Some of Toyota's info on the 5-speed tranny:

2. super ECT with w/ Artificial Intelligence:
a. ATF temp & comparison of AT input shaft speed w/
output shaft speed
1) Detects start & completion of shifts for
2) engine torque control and shift solenoid hydraulic
pressure control =
3) delivers smooth output shaft torque
b. ATF line pressure control for smoother shifts
c. Uphill & Downhill shift logic based on detecting driver's
intention
d. Flexible lock-up of torque converter clutch in low- to midspeed
operation for improved fuel economy
 
Thanks,

I am going to try resetting the ECU as you said by removing the neg battery cable.

I have been lubricating the drive shaft splines so I don't think that is the problem I am talking about.

By lubing the drive shaft I removed the other clunk issue after the truck comes to a complete stop and the brakes released.

I will let you know.

Skip
 
I too have this problem, however on a v6. when ever i slow down the gears either slow down too quickly (if i'm not pushing neither the brake or the accel. so if i push the accel till about 45-50ish then let go of the pedal the gears all of a sudden change from 3 to 2. If i'm gna take the car to the dealer for service what would u reccomend that i tell them to check on my vehicle?
 
Hey all beloved member,

I don't know if my 4runner's problem are identical to this thread but this is what happend:

I have a 2004 V8 (so it is 5 speed right?). Everytime when i start the truck (that's right it is a man's truck) i put the car in REVERSE and pull out of the driveway and when i go from REVERSE to DRIVE clunking sound AND rusty-metal- door opening sound appears (quite loud). It is almost sound like the gear is not probably alligned Is this the same problem? What should i do the eliminate this? ANY advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
When you slow down to make a stop, the trans will stay in 2nd for a moment before downshifting to 1st.

This is because the idle will stay higher for a moment while the engine leans out for the idle.

If it downshifted immediately upon stopping with the high idle, everyone would be complaining of the truck surging into the intersection because of the high torque available in 1st gear.

The "clunk" so many hear is just the idle dropping and the truck going into 1st.

If you are just creeping along in traffic you will not feel this symptom. Try stopping, wait for the clunk, accelerate quickly and stop again. You will see what I mean. You can also watch the tach to drop and it will coordiante with the "clunk".

JMHO

Ciao
 
i too have this same problem.

i took it to the dealer and they said this "clunking" after stopping is normal. he even mentioned it before we took him for a ride to demonstrate the noise.

it annoys the heck out of my wife (her car).

my other car (not toyota)had the same problem and they reset something and it never happened again. THEY said the transmission had to relearn your driving habits so it could adjust.

im truly curious if reseting the ECU made a difference so please post when you get the results. thanks.
 
Manual downshift hard drift

Resurrecting old post with new twist...

I think this is related to the downshifting issue.

I have 04 V8 Ltd. When offroading the other day, I was coming down a rough road (not big mud or rocks or anything) and using manual downshifting to keep the speed low to minimize the bouncing on the rocks going down a small to medium grade.

I was in 2nd gear and in the one area wanted to go slower, so I downshifted from 2nd to 1st.

It freewheeled about 10 feet before the transmission caught! :(

I tried this several times. Had to use the brakes to get from 2nd to 1st without this wild freewheel and slam into gear.

I tried this a number of ways, and it *appears* there is about a 2 second delay going from 2nd to 1st??

The engine was holding it back, but not really high rpms.

Any way to fix this? I also am interested in resetting my transmission so it relearns my driving habits, as I have recently gone to slightly larger tires (about 1" larger total).

Any suggestions?

Thanks.

-DiskDoctr
 
up shifting clunk

i have a similar problem to bluto... it clunks&hard shift from i guess 2nd to 3rd at 2krpm at 40 mph, and a slight hunt as well.... i hope that its just the zerks as i have 99900 miles on my 2k3 v8 awd se and the plat warranty expires in 100 miles

has anyone had a fix
 
A little necroposting here (but it proves I used the search function first, so there). :)

Since buying my used 4runner about 2 weeks ago, I have noticed my 2004 SE V8 (5 speed obviously) does this thing where if I do a 'rolling stop' at a stop sign or am in very slow stop and go traffic, and if I give it some gas the engine will rev, then the tranny will 'catch up' and jump into 1st or 2nd gear with a little kick in the pants. Doesn't seem like this is really good for it. It reminds me of what we used to call "neutral slams" back when I had my first automatic back in high school.

Did anyone ever figure out if resetting the ECU or anything helps with this? I don't really get an audible metallic 'clunk'. I can grease up the 6 zerks underneath, but that seems more like it helps the sound of what's going on and not necessarily the mechanics of what's going on - if that makes any sense.

*Edit: Well, I did some more searching and came across this long thread: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/probl...tsb-page-18-aka-driveshaft-thump-bump-49.html

No, I didn't read all 49 pages but skimming through there, it seems like my best bet is to try greasing her up and see how it goes. It doesn't happen all the time, just sometimes, so maybe it's been greased up in the past.
 
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