TSB: Hybrid Tacoma Now Included in Transmission Failure Issues & Replacement (October 2024)

[TacoFreak]

@Gfenza89 Yep - I think poor gas mileage is another symptom of a damaged transmission, along with poor shift quality. I drove mine about 50 miles today and it mostly worked well, with just one clunky downshift as I was stopping. But it never gets anywhere near the rated mileage and it would be interesting to see what Toyota says about that.

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[tacorancher]

That is true, but there is no guarantee that more VINs won't be added to the TSB, since it has already happened once. But I also agree that buying one well past the TSB VIN range is probably safe.

@Gfenza89 and @tacorancher What kind of fuel mileage are you getting. My hybrid has never topped 17.3 mpg, and I am NOT driving at all aggressively or fast with the engine still breaking in.

Couple things. The newer hybrid I drove did not do the little weird lurching thing at a stop so I feel like they fixed something.

For gas mileage, when I crossed 2,000 miles something happened .. it got smoother and more efficient. I am absolutely crushing on mileage right now. I think I’m about to get 350 miles from 16 gallons. I’ll post it right here when I run the tank down which will be soon. Mind you I’ve been in eco the whole time and driving very gently and I’m on stock tires.

 

[tacorancher]

What all did you say to brand engagement? Curious to see if it lines up with my statement?

I noted the TSB and that I am stuck with a transmission that’s acting weird (I gave them the detailed symptoms). I mentioned how far my ranch is from civilization and how much money I spent on the truck and how it just simply sucks. She said document everything with the dealership and she was documenting on her end.

If it doesn’t fail and it gets progressively shittier, I probably will get more aggressive. If it becomes clear they know what the issue is I’ll want it fixed. I don’t want to be in limbo. The whole reason I bought this truck is to go out into the middle of nowhere and that’s exactly the only thing I’m afraid to do with it.

Anyway next step is take it into the dealership and document the issue.

 

[Gfenza89]

I noted the TSB and that I am stuck with a transmission that’s acting weird (I gave them the detailed symptoms). I mentioned how far my ranch is from civilization and how much money I spent on the truck and how it just simply sucks. She said document everything with the dealership and she was documenting on her end.

If it doesn’t fail and it gets progressively shittier, I probably will get more aggressive. If it becomes clear they know what the issue is I’ll want it fixed. I don’t want to be in limbo. The whole reason I bought this truck is to go out into the middle of nowhere and that’s exactly the only thing I’m afraid to do with it.

Anyway next step is take it into the dealership and document the issue.

Good! I just really hope they come up with something soon for us

 

[TacoFreak]

Couple things. The newer hybrid I drove did not do the little weird lurching thing at a stop so I feel like they fixed something.

For gas mileage, when I crossed 2,000 miles something happened .. it got smoother and more efficient. I am absolutely crushing on mileage right now. I think I’m about to get 350 miles from 16 gallons. I’ll post it right here when I run the tank down which will be soon. Mind you I’ve been in eco the whole time and driving very gently and I’m on stock tires.

I am not checking mileage manually, but going by what the truck reports. I may have only been seeing a total average, although it shows trip time, length and mileage every time I shut it off, and so far 17.4 is my record high. I did figure out how to clear that all out, so the next time I drive it I may see something different. I am at just under 600 miles so far, so maybe it will still improve.

I think a lot of us have transmissions that are damaged to some degree and Toyota just doesn't want to deal with that. They are hoping that we will be satisfied to pay top dollar for trucks that don't work right. I will contact them soon and add my complaints, but I honestly don't expect them to do anything about it.

If it fails they will replace it, but we seem stuck in limbo, at least for now.

 

[TacoFreak]

@tacorancher It sounds like you laid out your position with Toyota well, and not feeling comfortable using these trucks for what they were built for is my major complaint. I guess at this point all we can do is tell them we are not happy and see if they ever do more than they have so far.

@Gfenza89 I agree that they need to do something beyond telling us to just drive them and hope. As long as mine worked normally I could pretend it was somehow alright. But now there is clearly something wrong and Toyota seems to be hoping that we will just shut up and go away. That could happen because if I get near the end of the drivetrain warranty and nothing has changed I will feel like I have to sell it and move on. I don't want to - the truck is great - but what good is an offroad adventure vehicle that might not bring you home?

 

[Gfenza89]

@tacorancher It sounds like you laid out your position with Toyota well, and not feeling comfortable using these trucks for what they were built for is my major complaint. I guess at this point all we can do is tell them we are not happy and see if they ever do more than they have so far.

@Gfenza89 I agree that they need to do something beyond telling us to just drive them and hope. As long as mine worked normally I could pretend it was somehow alright. But now there is clearly something wrong and Toyota seems to be hoping that we will just shut up and go away. That could happen because if I get near the end of the drivetrain warranty and nothing has changed I will feel like I have to sell it and move on. I don't want to - the truck is great - but what good is an offroad adventure vehicle that might not bring you home?

Exactly please call and voice your concern! I absolutely love my 4th gen it’s the best Tacoma yet, but to have to worry about breaking down everyday is getting really old and the worst part is I know it’s coming. Doesn’t Toyota realize the severity of this?? People could be hurt or killed because their trucks don’t accelerate, or leave folks stranded in middle of no where

 

[Mclovinmytrailhunter]

I recently picked up my 2024 Trailhunter and according to the TSB my VIN is not included in the TSB, but I’m noticing an issue. When driving at approx. 30 mph with very little throttle applied the truck will surge/jerk and feel like it’s not sure what gear to be in (contemplates downshifting) or maybe like it’s trying to decide to shut the gas engine off. The issue also happened at approx. 45 - 50 when beginning to accelerate up a decent hill, the transmission wouldn’t kick down a gear and instead added a whole bunch of boost. I currently have just over 800 miles, most of which was accrued over 2 days (680 miles) when I drove the vehicle home from the dealer. I did vary the rpms and gears by manually shifting during the drive home. Been driving on surface streets a lot more now. Not sure if I should take it in? Or keep driving it and see how it does after putting some more miles on it. Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[TacoFreak]

@Mclovinmytrailhunter I would drive it some more and see what it does. If you can't reproduce that for your dealer the chances of any fix are small from my experience.

This sounds like a hybrid system problem to me and my truck never does anything like that. It drove fine for 500 miles, than had hard shifts for a couple hundred more and now is fine again. If Toyota forgot how to make a hybrid system then we are all in deep trouble, because they are the masters of that stuff.

 

[Mclovinmytrailhunter]

Alright, I’ll keep driving it and see how it goes. I was thinking about just driving it around town this weekend and putting another 100 miles or so of surface streets/back roads type driving on it. I’ll report back and let you know how it goes. Thanks for the advice.

 

[32spoke]

I recently picked up my 2024 Trailhunter and according to the TSB my VIN is not included in the TSB, but I’m noticing an issue. When driving at approx. 30 mph with very little throttle applied the truck will surge/jerk and feel like it’s not sure what gear to be in (contemplates downshifting) or maybe like it’s trying to decide to shut the gas engine off. The issue also happened at approx. 45 - 50 when beginning to accelerate up a decent hill, the transmission wouldn’t kick down a gear and instead added a whole bunch of boost. I currently have just over 800 miles, most of which was accrued over 2 days (680 miles) when I drove the vehicle home from the dealer. I did vary the rpms and gears by manually shifting during the drive home. Been driving on surface streets a lot more now. Not sure if I should take it in? Or keep driving it and see how it does after putting some more miles on it. Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated.

Maybe manually shift it for a while to see if anything changes? Avoid the same rpm range of shifts that seem to have a problem while in drive.

 

[Baltimore]

I recently picked up my 2024 Trailhunter and according to the TSB my VIN is not included in the TSB, but I’m noticing an issue. When driving at approx. 30 mph with very little throttle applied the truck will surge/jerk and feel like it’s not sure what gear to be in (contemplates downshifting) or maybe like it’s trying to decide to shut the gas engine off. The issue also happened at approx. 45 - 50 when beginning to accelerate up a decent hill, the transmission wouldn’t kick down a gear and instead added a whole bunch of boost. I currently have just over 800 miles, most of which was accrued over 2 days (680 miles) when I drove the vehicle home from the dealer. I did vary the rpms and gears by manually shifting during the drive home. Been driving on surface streets a lot more now. Not sure if I should take it in? Or keep driving it and see how it does after putting some more miles on it. Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated.

I commented (here prior? other thread?) that I have similar in the 30-40mph zone... just feels like its being indecisive on a shift. My VIN is within the range (built last days of June), but I'm not letting it get to me... I can't worry about what I can't control. It'll either work itself out, or I'll bring it up at my regular service appointment. If something happens in between, then so be it and I'll deal with it then.

 

[32spoke]

I commented (here prior? other thread?) that I have similar in the 30-40mph zone... just feels like its being indecisive on a shift. My VIN is within the range (built last days of June), but I'm not letting it get to me... I can't worry about what I can't control. It'll either work itself out, or I'll bring it up at my regular service appointment. If something happens in between, then so be it and I'll deal with it then.

The alleged issue is contamination in the transmission, if the contamination is steel or iron/ferrous, then it will be attracted to the shift control solenoids in the valve body because the solenoids are electromagnetic switches, and the contaminants with find their way in the torque converter and never leave… the contaminants will also hide in any low flow area in the transmission pan. If you are insistent of the issue and the dealer service writer is dismissive of your problems, then pay to have the Toyota technician drop the tranny pan and look in the pan, also setup a cheese cloth to drain any fluid from the pan- the cheese cloth will hold the contaminants. Insist on being next to the technician when this service is performed.

 

[OlafTheNork]

The alleged issue is contamination in the transmission, if the contamination is steel or iron/ferrous, then it will be attracted to the shift control solenoids in the valve body because the solenoids are electromagnetic switches, and the contaminants with find their way in the torque converter and never leave… the contaminants will also hide in any low flow area in the transmission pan. If you are insistent of the issue and the dealer service writer is dismissive of your problems, then pay to have the Toyota technician drop the tranny pan and look in the pan, also setup a cheese cloth to drain any fluid from the pan- the cheese cloth will hold the contaminants. Insist on being next to the technician when this service is performed.

Very well written. Thank you. Totally agree. Given similar symptoms (Tacoma Pro) of intermittent delayed shift into 4th (and hard shift into 2nd), plus the existence of the TSB that includes my VIN (4/24 build), I asked the dealer (and Toyota Corporate/BEC) to authorize under warranty to drop the pan, and if debris is found, to execute the TSB. They refused. I have other options in play and will advise when determinative. I considered paying for the pan-dop/fill, but why should I pay for a TSB-documented problem Toyota has created. Plus, at 1,450 miles the damage likely has already been done to the torque converter/transmission. Driving in traffic with this TSB-documented, and documented NHTSB and bulletin board here, safety risk is unacceptable.

 

[Mclovinmytrailhunter]

Maybe manually shift it for a while to see if anything changes? Avoid the same rpm range of shifts that seem to have a problem while in drive.

I did mostly manual shifting on my way home from the dealer I bought it from because they were 600 miles away. If I kick it into manual shifting mode when it starts occurring the issue goes away. I’m wondering if doing 600 miles of manual shifting caused the transmission adaptive learn to not learn correctly?

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