New 2008 V6 4WD Tranny problem

[Brazos]

I have a new 2008 4Runner (actually it is my wife's). It has 8000 miles on it and for the past couple months she has complained about putting the tranny in drive and a long lag time before it engages. It does not do it all the time. Well last weekend I was with her and sure enough it did it several times. In every case the vehicle was warmed up as we had been driving around. In every case it happened when she went into reverse to back up (like out of a parking space) and went from reverse into drive. After putting the 4Runner in drive there was a 5-6 second lag time before the transmission engaged into drive and it kind of lunged forward. I dropped it off at the dealership this morning but would like to hear if others have experienced this problem and have an idea of what causes this. Since it does not happen all the time my fear is the dealer won't be able to replicate it.

Thanks,

Brazos

 

[CJ3Flyr]

I have a new 2008 4Runner (actually it is my wife's). It has 8000 miles on it and for the past couple months she has complained about putting the tranny in drive and a long lag time before it engages. It does not do it all the time. Well last weekend I was with her and sure enough it did it several times. In every case the vehicle was warmed up as we had been driving around. In every case it happened when she went into reverse to back up (like out of a parking space) and went from reverse into drive. After putting the 4Runner in drive there was a 5-6 second lag time before the transmission engaged into drive and it kind of lunged forward. I dropped it off at the dealership this morning but would like to hear if others have experienced this problem and have an idea of what causes this. Since it does not happen all the time my fear is the dealer won't be able to replicate it.

Thanks,

Brazos

It almost sounds like a low fluid level to me. I'd make sure they check that even if they can't duplicate the issue.

Checking the fluid is more complex than just pulling a dipstick. Read here if your curious: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=36489

:cheers:

 

[cyberwired]

I am curious as to how you made out with this.
I am having the exact same problem, which I noticed the first week I had the truck and now at 6k miles, I just took it back for another issue and mentioned the trans shifting issue. They called back and the asst service mgr said

 

[Uneek]

Very reasonable to me. Otherwise, I would say swap out the vehicle.

 

[morphius909]

It seems that two people having the same problem is more than a coincidence?

I would wait and see what Toyota says...maybe just a simple electronic fault?

At 6K, I would want a whole new tranny.

 

[cyberwired]

Uneek:

Is it possible to swap the vehicle through Toyota without going through lemon laws, lawyers and a legal battle? Not sure if there is a procedure i can use.

Also, talked to my brother who is the service manager for a group of Honda dealers and he isn't surprised. He says he has seen brand new cars with bad trannies and normally swaps them out with remanufactured units rather than spelunking through sealed units.

Obviously, i would prefer to swap out the vehicle at this point, because this has been going on since the first week i owned it (noticed the shifting problem, service said nothing wrong on the first trip there). But i also don't want to go through a drawn out legal hassle.

Thanks for reading this long thought dump!

 

[cknsls@adelphia]

Hold on a minute!!

Uneek:

Is it possible to swap the vehicle through Toyota without going through lemon laws, lawyers and a legal battle? Not sure if there is a procedure i can use.

Also, talked to my brother who is the service manager for a group of Honda dealers and he isn't surprised. He says he has seen brand new cars with bad trannies and normally swaps them out with remanufactured units rather than spelunking through sealed units.

Obviously, i would prefer to swap out the vehicle at this point, because this has been going on since the first week i owned it (noticed the shifting problem, service said nothing wrong on the first trip there). But i also don't want to go through a drawn out legal hassle.

Thanks for reading this long thought dump!

While it's not a good thing to have a new car and have an issue, this could be a very simple problem. It could be as simple as a "reflash" of the computer.

Or, it could be a solenoid located within the transmission.

IMHO-I wouldn't even mention the words- "lemon law," Lawyer," etc. until they have had every opportunity to fix it.

IF you mention any of the above words chances are all communication with Toyota Corporate will cease.

Just some friendly advice-take it for whats it is worth!

 

[Uneek]

Most of the time, you would need to go through the lemon law and it's a good amount of work.

However, I've also heard of people where it was a favor done by the dealer, they bought the old vehicle back/trade-in and gave the customer a new one or had them pay a little bit of the difference.

My friend had Chrysler buyback his '98 Cirrus/Sirrus (however it's spelled) for a '99. It cost $700-750 for the swap. He had a problem where water was leaking into the passenger footwell. IIRC, they only tried fix it two times over a six to ten month period.

 

[Brazos]

The dealer could not determine the problem

My wife's 4 Runner now has a little over 10K miles and the problem is still there. As my original post stated it is not everytime. I did take it to the dealer and they could not find a problem and were unable to replicate it. They checked the tranny fluid and it was fine. They told me to bring it back if it got to a point where it was happing more often so they could experience it first hand. The next time my wife is ready for an oil change I will have them check it out again. At least if I keep taking it back for the same problem they will have it on record. Maybe that will help if the problem becomes catastrophic after the warranty runs out. I sure would like to know what the problem is. I do not appear to be the only one. If sombody has a dealer that is able to figure it out please pass the word on to the rest of us so we can guide our dealers in the right direction.

Brazos

 

[cyberwired]

Just wanted to update my experience with this issue.

My dealer

 

[NCSCOTT]

My 08 does the same thing here and there it is very intermittent, But so is how often I drive it. I would say it has happened once or twice in the last month when I drove it and I asked my wife which drives it daily and she said she is probably so used to it that she just gives it a couple extra seconds before she gets into the gas after backing out of a parking spot or the driveway. I have almost 13k now. I have not taken it in since I just thought it was a minor annoyance. I already have the 100k mile warranty on it so I am more inclined to deal with it futher down the road and get a new tranny when the warranty is almost up.

Another thing I noticed about my 08 is it seems to have more overall driveline drag than my 2WD 04. I know, 2WD vs 4WD more moving parts ect.... It just seems to be significant, even on a mild down hill my 04 will pick up speed with my foot off the gas but the 08 as soon as you lift your foot It feels like I dropped it down a gear from 5th to 4th. Is it possible the 08s computers is programed for more engine braking?? It is almost like the torque converter comes unlock as soon as you lift your foot.

Either of you with the other issue notice that?????

cyberwired is there anyway you could scan and post or email the diagnostic report or service dept paperwork stating what your problem with the tranny was and show that they replaced it as a result. If we had something in hand to take to the dealer showing what another did to correct the problem it might make our fight a little easier.

 

[Brazos]

Engine Braking

Yes. I do notice as soon as you take your foot off the gas it appears to have quite a bit of engine braking.

It does concern me that the previous poster's dealer thought the problem was severe enough as to replace the transmission. Makes me wonder if I should go and demand the same thing.

Brazos

 

[NCSCOTT]

Re: Engine Braking

It does concern me that the previous poster's dealer thought the problem was severe enough as to replace the transmission. Makes me wonder if I should go and demand the same thing.

Brazos

I am thinking about the same thing. Plus I don't want my wife or myself on the side of the road either even if it is years from now for a problem that could be taken care of before. Plus I think the extended warranty has a deductible.

 

[Ed Portas]

I have a new 2008 4Runner (actually it is my wife's). It has 8000 miles on it and for the past couple months she has complained about putting the tranny in drive and a long lag time before it engages. It does not do it all the time. Well last weekend I was with her and sure enough it did it several times. In every case the vehicle was warmed up as we had been driving around. In every case it happened when she went into reverse to back up (like out of a parking space) and went from reverse into drive. After putting the 4Runner in drive there was a 5-6 second lag time before the transmission engaged into drive and it kind of lunged forward. I dropped it off at the dealership this morning but would like to hear if others have experienced this problem and have an idea of what causes this. Since it does not happen all the time my fear is the dealer won't be able to replicate it.

Thanks,

Brazos

My 2008 4Runner 2WD since 5k miles has the same shifting from R to D delay. Also, on the boat ramp on an incline have the same problem. It also does not happen all the times, thats whay I have not taken it to the dealer.

 

[Brazos]

Update

It has been a while since I posted about this weird transmission problem. As in my first posts I took it back to the dealer and they could not replicate the problem and said sorry and sent me on my way. We have lived with it ever since. My wife took her 4Runner in on Monday for an oil change (different dealer closer to home) and mentioned the problem to them. They asked her to bring the 4Runner back on Tuesday so they could keep it for a couple days to see if they could replicate the problem. They called yesterday and said we were right there is a lag when shiffting from reverse to drive (not everytime). They said Toyota's policy is to replace the transmissions as they did not want dealers opening transmissions up. So our new transmission (and I verified new and not a factory rebiult) will arrive today and they said we could pick our 4Runner up tomorrow. To me the problem was not so great I needed a new transmission but that was their resolution and it is fine with me. I wish I could tell you what the rooot cause of the problem was but the dealer has no clue.

Brazos