Shutter upon light acceleration / possibly in between gear changes

J

Jgoatley

New member
Greeting,
I am new to the forum. I have an 05 4runner sport V-6. This my 4th 4runner. This is the first to experience any issues. Normal to hard acceleration, no problem. It is currently at my local mechanic. I have spent the past couple of hours reading on this forum and it seems that several of us are experiencing this same issue yet noone has come to a solid conclusion. From reading the other posts, most people point to torque converter - although that does not seem to be 100 percent conclusive. Some seem to recommend trying a fluid change. And lastly, greasing the fittings on the drive shaft - I have to admit I never even considered this but it makes sense.. My mechanic is thinking ignition coils. He is going to change all the coils and see if it fixes the problem. If it does not, put them back as they were at no charge to me. I am leaning to a transmission fluid change but he is hesitant as my 4 runner has 130k miles and has never had the fluid changed. Thinks it may cause more harm than good. Any other ideas out there??

J
 
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I would lean towards a fluid change too. It's a cheap and easy start.

As for having 130K and never been changed, you might not be in as much trouble as you think, maybe...

I can't remember but I believe that the 05 has a sealed transmission which means it has the WS "lifetime fluid" which means it never needs changing.

But many here say to change it at about 80-100K because it's not a true lifetime fluid. If that's the case, you're not that far off. And depending on your driving habits, you might be okay.

I would check to see if you have the sealed unit (I'm pretty sure you do...)
The other thing I'd say is to NOT do a power flush but change the fluid out over the drain and fill method.

Good luck!
 
A bit late, but as long as people still search and use these posts as reference...

Be sure to check your transmission cooler lines. Mine rusted out last year. Transmission shop made up a new set for a lot less than pre-made.
 
I am experiencing this same issue. It seems to be most prevalent between 1000 to 1500RPM. Once it shifts gears it goes away. It's almost like there is debris blocking a valve or line causing the shutter. I've got 131,xxx and counting on mine and never had the transmission fluid changed. It really concerned me, so like a sucker I chose to bring it in to the dealer for them to run a diagnosis. Currently waiting on the results. If they don't find anything I'm only out the diagnosis fee, so not too terrible. Will advise on the results.
 
Fluid change made my situation much better. Still does it occasionally but to a lesser extent and very infrequent. My mechanic says torque converter will need to be changed eventually. Search this forum for a thread that says rumple strip. This is apparently a pretty common issue. Good luck
 
Subscribing to thread.

Just bought a used 4Runner that was serviced religiously at a Lexus dealership (woman's brother is a mechanic there). She said her issue started after they replaced the battery. :dunno:

Anyway, it does it intermittently like others have noted. Interested to see if the ignition coil replacement works.

Will do some research to see if somebody has done the full transmissions fluid swap with the machine that pulls the fluid, filters it, and then replaces the fluid.

Thanks for posting, glad its not an unknown issue.
 
I had the exact same symptoms you described. Took it to the dealership for a drain/fill and the problem was corrected. At 135k right now and last drain/fill was at 80k.

On a side note, I have a theory that the guys at the lube shop could have caused this. Every time I go in for an oil change they show me a sampler plate with a dab of fluid from tran/difs. After doing this around 10 times, they may have taken out too much or contaminated the fluid in there. Who knows. After the problem was corrected with a drain/fill at the dealership, I've started to ask them to not sample any fluids down there and leave everything alone. Just a theory of mine.
 
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Just got off the phone with Jack's Toyota of Alexandria, VA. They said they recommend a fluid exchange at 100,000 miles now. So that is new from what I've read of past recommendations. $350 for fluid exchange with WS transmission fluid. As others noted, its done with a computer to monitor temperature, etc, during the process. Having it done tomorrow, will post results to see if it makes a difference - either way, good to get it changed out after 150,000 miles.



As an added thought, I highly doubt its the torque convertor. If you've ever looked at at torque converter, its pretty much a solid piece of metal with 'weather vane' type impellers on the inside. Unless under extreme use (racing), I don't see how it could fail.

I'm guessing when people put in a new transmission/torque convertor, that they are getting all new fluids in the process.

Just a thought.


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guarddog said:
Just got off the phone with Jack's Toyota of Alexandria, VA. They said they recommend a fluid exchange at 100,000 miles now. So that is new from what I've read of past recommendations. $350 for fluid exchange with WS transmission fluid. As others noted, its done with a computer to monitor temperature, etc, during the process. Having it done tomorrow, will post results to see if it makes a difference - either way, good to get it changed out after 150,000 miles.



As an added thought, I highly doubt its the torque convertor. If you've ever looked at at torque converter, its pretty much a solid piece of metal with 'weather vane' type impellers on the inside. Unless under extreme use (racing), I don't see how it could fail.

I'm guessing when people put in a new transmission/torque convertor, that they are getting all new fluids in the process.

Just a thought.


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Click to expand...

Highly recommend the $80 drain/fill first instead of the $350 pan drop option.
 
Drain and Fill

05+ all are sealed. That being said I agree with the transmission cooler lines. Mine rusted so bad they leaked fluid and caused the stuttering issues I had. If your transmission is not sealed check your fluid level first. If it is sealed there are DIY methods of replacing the fluid or you can get it done by your dealer/mechanic. Make sure they use the right fluid too.
 
UPDATE:

Transmission flush performed with 12 quarts (?) of World Standard automatic transmission fluid.

RESULTS:

The shudder is 98% gone. From the third to fourth (?) shift its 100% gone. :cheer2:

It slightly shudders between 2nd and 3rd on slight uphills and if I'm not really pressing on the throttle and just leisurely driving up slight uphills. Weird. If I didn't have this issue prior, wouldn't notice it at all.

Shifts much better, as somebody mentioned before after they had this done - like butter.

I also had a slight whine upon decel (from 35 to 0, whether in neutral or in gear) and that has pretty much disappeared, too.

The flush was $350 with a $30 dollar discount, so $320 out the door. They did the whole monitor temperatures and computer when going through the flush process. For a simple flush, was rather complicated. Reason why I didn't want to mess with it myself.

CONCLUSION: Complete transmission flush worked for me. 2006 4Runner Sport w/ 150,000 miles.




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It's almost like there is debris blocking a valve or line causing the shutter.
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