Pretty sure my 2nd transmission is going to fail

[bitflogger]

What was the time mark in the video?

I’m pretty sure I listened to that section and didn’t hear Mr. PR mention root cause.

I'm quite certain that section on current Tacoma issues where they touched on the grill shutter and transmissions and I thought it was about the automatic but maybe that was the manual transmission. They also covered the challenges when the problems are one off or a few.

It will be hard for me to make strong judgements without more or better data.

From decades of automotive enthusiasm or interest I'm also aware of some makes and models having more and less skepticism over new generations of the same.

Sponsored

 

[CrispyTacoLover]

What thread was the link to that video in? I might finally have time to watch that tomorrow and now I can't find it. If Toyota has a root cause for this I would love to hear about it.

See the 46 minute mark.

Casting debris is the root cause.

Sheldon does not disclose how many transmissions made it into the pipeline, dates, if they were notifying customers proactively, etc.

He only says they had the supplier fix the casting problem. No mention of when it started, when it was corrected, and which VINS were affected. This is absurd. #FAIL

 

[CrispyTacoLover]

I'm quite certain that section on current Tacoma issues where they touched on the grill shutter and transmissions and I thought it was about the automatic but maybe that was the manual transmission. They also covered the challenges when the problems are one off or a few.

It will be hard for me to make strong judgements without more or better data.

From decades of automotive enthusiasm or interest I'm also aware of some makes and models having more and less skepticism over new generations of the same.

I found it about the time you replied. Thanks.

 

[Gfenza89]

Theoretically they just want us early build drivers to wait and see if today’s gonna be the day we’re left in the side of the road, that’s all I gathered from watching that video. These “journalists” just sugar coat the questions. Why wasn’t he asked what their plan is for the thousands of Tacoma owners that have these weird shifts and no failure yet? Pretty lame if they’re planning on just letting us find out while driving…..thanks Toyota(your very loyal customer).

 

[TacoFreak]

@Gfenza89 It is good that Toyota knows what is going on with the transmissions, but what they plan to do about it is what we need to know. It would also be good to know at what point the bad casting problem was fixed.

I think that any 4th gen transmission that has anything but smooth shifts has the problem to some extent. They need some way to diagnose the weird shifts and do something about it. Just waiting to see if they fail leaves owners in a very bad place.

Hopefully that will happen in time, but until then a lot of 4th gen owners will be left wondering when their bad shifts will turn into dead trucks.

 

[TacoFreak]

Something else that I forgot to mention is that odd shifting is not normal in any Toyota automatic.

For almost 20 years I have driven Toyota trucks with automatics and they have shifted perfectly, on each and every shift. Yesterday I headed out to run errands in my 14 year old Tundra and every shift from taking it out of park to putting it back at the end of the morning was smooth as silk. No hesitation, no jerks or harsh shifts at all.

For dealers to tell customers that in a 4th gen poor shifting is normal is beyond even the normal dealer bs. If my truck does that it will be war from the first bad shift until the problem is fixed.

 

[taco_overlander]

See the 46 minute mark.

Casting debris is the root cause.

Sheldon does not disclose how many transmissions made it into the pipeline, dates, if they were notifying customers proactively, etc.

He only says they had the supplier fix the casting problem. No mention of when it started, when it was corrected, and which VINS were affected. This is absurd. #FAIL

super impressed with Sheldon. i opened the video to watch the tacoma issues section and ended up watching most of it. exactly what a company looks for in a chief engineer -- super smart, knows the specs, knows the product inside and out, can easily talk through design tradeoffs.

 

[TacoFreak]

Yeah, I also admire Sheldon Brown. I work in a big engineering firm and at his level a large part of his job is PR. In design he makes the big decisions and learns the overall engineering of the truck as it develops, and he knows the design of the truck better than anyone. Then he basically does PR to sell it to his management, and later is the natural PR guy once the product is released.

For a corporate dude he seems very truthful and he can only explain the design, not how Aisin screwed up the transmissions. It is also not his decision about how this is handled, and I bet he would replace every questionable tranny if it was up to him, because these are his trucks.

I still trust Toyota to make this stuff right based on my previous experience with the company, I still plan to buy my truck when it is finally available in the next few weeks. But I will be pissed if the transmission dies and I will be insane if it goes out twice.

 

[CanyonFisherSummitSeeker]

Bro wut?

Looks like he dipped out lol

 

[Tacohunter2024]

I'm getting a little tired of hearing how great the mid-sized truck market is right now. If you want a truck that has updated technology and is reliable (certainly not unreasonable goals) what are you supposed to buy?

 

[diablo2112]

If you want a truck that has updated technology and is reliable (certainly not unreasonable goals) what are you supposed to buy?

Gen 4 Toyota Tacoma.

 

[Tacohunter2024]

Gen 4 Toyota Tacoma.

I test drove 3 of those things; I don't mind it being a 4cylinder, it's just that powertrain that I mind. Even the hybrid doesn't seem right; very unrefined, uneven, inconsistent. The whole truck feels cheap.

 

[Taco Azul]

I test drove 3 of those things; I don't mind it being a 4cylinder, it's just that powertrain that I mind. Even the hybrid doesn't seem right; very unrefined, uneven, inconsistent. The whole truck feels cheap.

But you created an account on a 4th gen Tacoma site to talk about it? Man, I wish I had that much free time.

 

[TurboTruck!]

I test drove 3 of those things; I don't mind it being a 4cylinder, it's just that powertrain that I mind. Even the hybrid doesn't seem right; very unrefined, uneven, inconsistent. The whole truck feels cheap.

My lil brother has a 22 or 23 F-Sport Lexus and my 2024 Tacoma is very similar In craftsmanship. Maybe your hunt for a new vehicle should be in greener pastures. Test ride some other brands. It’s all personal preference. Find what you like. Sounds like your taco hunt is a bust and you’re looking to fill a different tag Different vehicle. I could not be happier in my unrefined, uneven from me smashing it, inconsistent gas mileage due to sport mode, and cheap shift knob that makes me smile when I touch it.

 

[Tacohunter2024]

But you created an account on a 4th gen Tacoma site to talk about it? Man, I wish I had that much free time.

I created this account in 2023, before these were even released and disappointed everyone. I did my own research by actually test driving the vehicles and speaking to Toyota representative about potential changes/fixes/ updates. I'm hopeful some of these things are addressed in 2025, so I try to keep myself informed. I'm sorry that me having an different but informed and educated opinion seems to threatening to you, but thankfully I don't have to be you.

Sponsored