!! Jerky transmission anyone !!

[TrailTex]

Just under 1000 miles on my TE....has anyone noticed that the transmission is not really all that smooth?

Iv'e noticed that when startin' her up and when accelerating that
the tranny jerks when it shifts from 1st into 2nd gear....

My 2001 Tj shifted like a dream compared to the 4Runner...

Is this normal with these trucks?

I have an early 2010 TE and it's not super smooth, but not super jerky either. I do get the slight lag when I shift from neutral to drive which is annoying since I pop into neutral at red lights.

However, I have noticed a weird slipping sound whenever I put the gear into drive. It happens only when I shift from parked to drive and happens at the beginning of 1st gear. Then when I brake and stop (not putting car into park) then go again it doesn't happen. As soon as I shift into drive then give it a little gas....slip! Can anyone relate?

 

[harper7]

I have an early 2010 TE and it's not super smooth, but not super jerky either. I do get the slight lag when I shift from neutral to drive which is annoying since I pop into neutral at red lights.

However, I have noticed a weird slipping sound whenever I put the gear into drive. It happens only when I shift from parked to drive and happens at the beginning of 1st gear. Then when I brake and stop (not putting car into park) then go again it doesn't happen. As soon as I shift into drive then give it a little gas....slip! Can anyone relate?

It's a so called "Learning"or "Adaptive" transmission.Try resetting the ECU by disconnecting the neg side of the battery for 5 minutes or so and turning your lights on and off while it's disconnected to completely drain the memory from the ECU.

Drive it more aggressively and it should start shifting better within a couple hundred miles.At least mine did.
It learns that it's not a granny tranny!

Mine was like that too when I got it as I drove granny style for the first 1000 break in period.The only time mine does it now is when going from R to D and that's built in there I believe to prolong the life of the tranny.

Warning: disconnecting the battery resets almost all electronics,including the fuel maps,windows ,stereo ect. and it will stall immediately the first time you start it.

 

[TrailTex]

It's a so called "Learning"or "Adaptive" transmission.Try resetting the ECU by disconnecting the neg side of the battery for 5 minutes or so and turning your lights on and off while it's disconnected to completely drain the memory from the ECU.

Drive it more aggressively and it should start shifting better within a couple hundred miles.At least mine did.
It learns that it's not a granny tranny!

Mine was like that too when I got it as I drove granny style for the first 1000 break in period.The only time mine does it now is when going from R to D and that's built in there I believe to prolong the life of the tranny.

Warning: disconnecting the battery resets almost all electronics,including the fuel maps,windows ,stereo ect. and it will stall immediately the first time you start it.

Interesting... I'll try the ECU reset. Glad to know it's not a fault with the tranny. Good stuff, thanks harper!

 

[Fialdj]

my '11 TE does it more when downshifting coming to a stop. I also have to remember to press the brake pedal harder too.

 

[ClockWork]

Its normal. When in stop and go traffic and you're barely applying throttle it seems to hold in 1st and 2nd gear for quite a long time. When it does decide to shift it lurches into gear.

My 4Runner and Cruiser do the same thing.

 

[Quentin]

Another thing in reference to transmission lag: I've found that my T4R is a lot more smooth from a start if I don't immediately jump from the brake to the gas. If you let off the brake and the truck starts moving from the torque converter and then hit the gas, there doesn't seem to be that transmission lag.

This is the first automatic I've ever owned, so it took a bit getting used to not having a pedal engaged at pretty much all times. With a stick shift, going from the brake to gas quickly is correct, but doing the same on an auto means that you might already be revving the engine by the time the torque converter starts doing its thing.

 

[Jtraskell]

Ouentin....you are scaring me man! You say that this (4runner) is the first auto tranny you have ever owned, but in an earlier post you say;
"I do work with the testers that confirm transmission quality and get roped into different philosophical discussions about what is best for a transmission and what isn't."

I am not criticizing your abilities or knowledge. Lord knows you have contributed much to this forum and I enjoy reading your posts. I just find it fascinating that you can be so close to working with Auto Trannies, and never owned one! I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall listening to those "philosophical discussions" you speak of. Did your counterparts know that you never owned an auto tranny during those conversations? Again, just pulling your chain bud. No dis-respect intended! fftopic:

 

[Quentin]

Ouentin....you are scaring me man! You say that this (4runner) is the first auto tranny you have ever owned, but in an earlier post you say;
"I do work with the testers that confirm transmission quality and get roped into different philosophical discussions about what is best for a transmission and what isn't."

I am not criticizing your abilities or knowledge. Lord knows you have contributed much to this forum and I enjoy reading your posts. I just find it fascinating that you can be so close to working with Auto Trannies, and never owned one! I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall listening to those "philosophical discussions" you speak of. Did your counterparts know that you never owned an auto tranny during those conversations? Again, just pulling your chain bud. No dis-respect intended! fftopic:

There are male gynecologists, aren't there?

Truth is, this is my first vehicle that I've found an AT preferable... mainly because nothing else was offered. My first 2 cars were Imprezas that were a lot more fun w/ 5MTs and my 3rd car was a VW GTI w/ a 6MT. Heck, even my wife's MINI is a 6MT (w/ LSD!) My mom, dad, and brothers have only owned 3 ATs out of the 30 odd cars we've had between us. My mom was driving MT Broncos and Explorers until a run of a Yukon, '02 Exploder, and '10 Rav4. My dad has a 6MT Tacoma, my middle brother has a 5MT Outback turbo, and my youngest brother is driving my old Impreza.

 

[Alamo El Jefe]

I have a 2011 4Runner I purchased in Jan 2011. At around 7K miles, I started noticing three distinct "shutters" or "stutters" when the tranny shifted from 1st to 2nd after the vehicle warmed up. It is most noticeable at slower speeds and going up hill from a complete stop. Don't feel it if I give a lot of gas on take-off. There are other threads on this issue on this website that I am looking at to to help my case with Toyota. Took it the dealer today (11K miles) and the tech felt the problem immediately. A case was filed with Toyota by the dealer and apparently Toyota is aware of the issue but does not have a fix nor do they know what the issue is at this time. Service manager said he will speak to district rep in 2 days when he is in town. Curious to find out what they say. Did you ever get yours fixed?

 

[steve73]

I wrote Toyota about this issue and they basically told me that they are not aware of any transmission shifting issues/problems.

I also noticed that when the 4R downshifts from around 50Mph, that
its not really all that smooth and kind of jerky....Maybey I just need to get used to it.

This is my first asian vehicle....with the exception of dirt bikes and 4 wheelers

 

[Alamo El Jefe]

Spoke to the Customer Relations Manager at my local dealership today and she spoke to her district rep. District Representative states Toyota is aware of the issue, which she referred to as "the 1-2 transmission stutter" and as "a characteristic for the 2011 transmission". She stated, "there is no fix at this time" and "Toyota is looking into software changes for the transmission". The customer relations manager was pretty stunned that Toyota could not find a fix and told me my best option at this time was to go through arbitration. Frustrated as this is my third Toyota 4WD and my first new car ever. Bought a new car as I was tired of having used cars with mechanical issues. If they can't fix it, I'm not sure what to get next. Don't want a 2012 4Runner if it has the same tranny and engine. Will wait and see what the District Service Rep has to say tomorrow.

 

[solorover]

my 99 shifted fine until i changed the transmission fluid last weekend...now it is doing the following:

from an idle in drive it will act like the transmission is not even engaged until it hits about 1000-1500 rpm then it jerks into gear and leaps forward! It does not do it all the time just a few times a day. And it seems to be worse when it is cold.

All of this started after I installed a 12" x12" aftermarket transmission cooler, drained and flushed the system, installed a new filter and fluid (valvoline max life dex/merc). The old fluid was really black and burnt and i have no idea if the filter had ever been changed.

Ive never had a vehicle with an automatic before so does anyone know if the new fluid has a break in period where hard/late shifting may be an issue?

Any ideas anyone?

Thanks

 

[LSI]

I posted this on another transmission thread. I recently had an oil change at 20k
The dealer recommended 1. lube propeller shaft 2. re-torque driveshaft bolts.
This fixed the clunk when taking off from a full stop. The vehicle does not feel like i have a 'tiger by the tail' anymore when at a stoplight which forces me to shift to neutral. The 1-2 stutter was less pronounced after the fix but i went ahead and tried what a poster here recommended which was to wait about 2 seconds after taking my foot off the brake before hitting the accellerator. The stutter is 90% gone! I'm no expert but it seems to be a computer issue. The dealer recommended
work made a world of difference even though the buggers charged $60 for it!

 

[Alamo El Jefe]

I took Toyota to arbitration two weeks ago and had Gulf States Toyota representatives on the phone. They said they were told in a video conference that week (early February) that Toyota has decided to fix the problem of the transmission stutter/shudder by replacing the transmission and the engine computer with ones from from the 2012 4Runner. I was told the projected date was Jun 1, 2012, but could be as late as Sep/Oct 2012. The reason for the delay was that all parts are currently being used for new model production and they will issue a TSB to fix the issue once they feel enough parts are available. My reply to this statement was, "So what you are telling me is that Toyota is more concerned with making more cars and more money before fixing mine since they already have my money?". This elicited some giggles from the people in the room, but the representative said, "Well, yes.". What's even more amazing is that I received a letter from Toyota stating that they were aware that it was a problem and were looking for a fix, yet didn't feel it was a safety concern or de-valued the car, and to top it off, the arbitrator AGREED with Toyota and found in favor of Toyota. How is it that Toyota's evaluation of the problem and value of the car trumps MY concerns or perceived value of the car?!?

For all of those reading this website, I hope you spread the word to anyone considering buying a Toyota, to look elsewhere since there is NO customer service or customer loyalty. This is my third 4WD and second 4Runner, but it will definitely be my last. And, for those that have 2010-2011 4Runners and Tacomas, Toyota said the problem affected ALL of them, but not everyone complains about it so they never tried to fix it before. So, if you own one of these vehicles or know someone who does, start bugging Toyota to fix it and make them pay for putting out a known defect. Once you have a dealer service slip showing that you complained of the issue and Toyota serviced the car but did not fix it, you can call customer service and request arbitration. I figure if enough people start making Toyota pay for an arbitration hearing, then maybe they might decide to fix the problem sooner rather than later.

Good luck to everyone!

 

[LiquidGx]

Are you sure the 2012 has a different transmission and ECU as well? CN anyone post up part numbers to verify?

 

[knc1us69]

tranny bumping

i have had a few instance where at a stop light and usually while releasing from hard brake pressue it feels almost like i am getting bumped from behind but its just the tranny or rear end. Anyone else notice this too?

 

[Alamo El Jefe]

For those still having issues with the transmission shudder between 1-2 gears or the feeling of being rear-ended when coming to a stop, Toyota has issued a TSB, but kept it off their main site. From what the service manager told me, it costs Toyota ~$2500-$3000 to repair, so it isn't going to be made public since it affects all 4Runners from 2010-2012. It is TSB-0089-12, dated June 15, 2012. It calls for a full transmission replacement and computer reprograming. The bulletin is 6 pages long (which the service manager gave to me) and I am getting my new transmission tomorrow. Almost 2 years and $25K miles later my 4Runner might actually work like the $40K car it was meant to be! Hope this helps!

 

[m998dna]

I took Toyota to arbitration two weeks ago and had Gulf States Toyota representatives on the phone. They said they were told in a video conference that week (early February) that Toyota has decided to fix the problem of the transmission stutter/shudder by replacing the transmission and the engine computer with ones from from the 2012 4Runner. I was told the projected date was Jun 1, 2012, but could be as late as Sep/Oct 2012. The reason for the delay was that all parts are currently being used for new model production and they will issue a TSB to fix the issue once they feel enough parts are available. My reply to this statement was, "So what you are telling me is that Toyota is more concerned with making more cars and more money before fixing mine since they already have my money?". This elicited some giggles from the people in the room, but the representative said, "Well, yes.". What's even more amazing is that I received a letter from Toyota stating that they were aware that it was a problem and were looking for a fix, yet didn't feel it was a safety concern or de-valued the car, and to top it off, the arbitrator AGREED with Toyota and found in favor of Toyota. How is it that Toyota's evaluation of the problem and value of the car trumps MY concerns or perceived value of the car?!?

For all of those reading this website, I hope you spread the word to anyone considering buying a Toyota, to look elsewhere since there is NO customer service or customer loyalty. This is my third 4WD and second 4Runner, but it will definitely be my last. And, for those that have 2010-2011 4Runners and Tacomas, Toyota said the problem affected ALL of them, but not everyone complains about it so they never tried to fix it before. So, if you own one of these vehicles or know someone who does, start bugging Toyota to fix it and make them pay for putting out a known defect. Once you have a dealer service slip showing that you complained of the issue and Toyota serviced the car but did not fix it, you can call customer service and request arbitration. I figure if enough people start making Toyota pay for an arbitration hearing, then maybe they might decide to fix the problem sooner rather than later.

Good luck to everyone!

It appears nothing has changed at Toyota - other than they became $1.1 billion dollars poorer today. See link below.

Toyota to Pay $1.1 Billion to Settle Runaway Car Claims - WSJ.com

I bought a brand new 2005 Toyota Land Cruiser and went to arbitration.. big fight. The bottom line was Toyota Motor Corporation decided to fix it under warranty (like yours) but I refused to sign the RO to order the part. This became a point of contention after arbitration. I told them to transfer the vehicle into their name and they can do anything they want with it -- but I'm not authorizing the repair under my name.

The dealer wouldn't order the part without my signature. I told the dealer to get the signature from Toyota Motor Corporation -- it wasn't my decision so I'm not going to put my name on it. In the meantime, I explained to them that if I get into an accident which results in my death, I've informed my attorney to file a seven figure lawsuit on my behalf -- paid to my family.

THE PART... a $6,000 new boxed frame to be shipped from Japan to Los Angeles so the dealer could replace the frame -- imagine that fiasco for moment? I asked them why don't they ship the vehicle to Japan and run it backward through the assembly line.. I went through 2 years of running back and forth to the dealer for service work on that POS. It finally took the President of Penske to convince Toyota Motor Corporation to buy back the vehicle - which they ultimately did.

All I can say is Toyota Motor Corporation has the most arrogant and greedy Americans on the planet working for them -- and they take great pride in taking your money and leaving you hanging.

Good luck with the fix ... I wouldn't hold my breath getting the attention you need after today's announcement.

.

 

[Randyman...]

Is this WSJ SPAM by chance? I see you have to SUBSCRIBE to read the story...

Wasn't it determined the "runaway/stuck gas pedal" claims :zoom: were likely due to a floor-mat issue and driver negligence?

Regardless - your ONE post here doesn't give much creedence to the questionable settlement (coming from a Toyota owner for 21+ years)...

:welcome:

 

[m998dna]

Thanks for the nice welcome!

No spam .. I don't subscribe to the WSJ and I got that link directly from a google search and off the internet. You can do the same...

I wouldn't judge those people that got killed... maybe some were inept, but I highly doubt the off duty cop that was killed with his passenger in San Diego county was a pansy.

As far as my one post... go over to the IH8MUD website and search my 2005 Land Cruiser frame issue.. it's all there, every conversation I had with Toyota logged on that forum. It’s been a long time, but this thread reminded me of the arrogance that Toyota has within their corporate walls - they would commit hara-kiri before admitting they introduced defects into their precious Toyota Production System. I can see them now running around with a VSM and A3 form to see how they can make up the $1.1 billion in 2 years.

I was considering a new 2013 4Runner to replace my Jeep... the same Jeep I was trying to replace when I bought the 2005 Land Cruiser. You know, that Jeep is still running with 180K miles! The same transmission, the same 4.0L I-6 motor.

You can have your 21 years of Toyota... the Land Cruiser was my second and last after reading this thread - nothing has changed, in fact I think it's worse because they had this attitude back in 2005, way before all the recalls started.

Good luck with your Toy ...

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