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09 Tacoma Transmission Slipping/Shifting Strange
I just bought a 2009 Tacoma Prerunner 4x2 V6, AT, double cab. I have 797 miles on it as of today. My transmission is acting funny and though I have found similar posts on the net regarding my problems, NO ONE has posted anything definite regarding possible causes, even after taking to the dealer.
Issue #1: When I have come to a stop, after about 5-10 seconds, it feels like the truck moves forward slightly, like someone has bumped me. I notice the RPM's jump a little when this happens. Some say this is related to the A/C.
Issue#2: The transmission slipped twice today, while slowing down and turning on to another street. It is like it was downshifting and got stuck for a moment in another gear. It happened quick and it is possible I hit the gas right while it was downshifting (even though that should not matter).
Issue #3: When I take my foot off the gas, to start slowing down in a lower speed zone, the transmission seems to get hung up around 35mph, then downshifts around 20mph. I can see the RPM's move up and down as it shifts. It is not as bad as it sounds, but it is not a smooth slow down. To me, I should not feel anything but a smooth coasting, like my former Nissan Frontier. If I am braking to slow down, it kinda feels like the truck has a few surges forward.
I dropped off at dealer today. Of course they said they had never heard of any of this, but I have found plenty of posts on the net that are similar. Service manager stated that it is all electronic now days and they will check it out.
Anyone else experience these issues? Any ideas as to what is going on? The dealer had the truck driven 270 miles to their lot, all on Interstate. I am wondering if the constant speeds caused a problem. Service manual says do not drive at a constant speed for excessive amounts of time in the first 1,000miles.
However, the lemon law here requires 3 trips to the dealer to file ...so I'll make one more to satisfy the law...and then file for protection.
Hate it.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=99286344693
To be as charitable to Toyota as I can, they are flat-out lying to you. Not sure if you are referring to salespeople at the dealership or Toyota national. Either way, its a real stretch to believe everything here and at Cars.com, Consumer Reports, etc. is simply made up and fabricated & if so, to what end. Ask them why they have a TSB & they are going to arbitration if there is no issue. Personally, I've got things I'd much rather do than blog about Toyota transmissions
Your choice, but if they're treating us this way, how do you think they are going to treat you after a thousand miles?
PS - the 2-3 trucks I test drove operated beautifully (as did mine until 400 miles) so caveat emptor.
Trying to understand your hostility and why you would even take the time to post your message if it is a normal characteristic? How do you know it is a normal characteristic? Have you surveyed every single 09 Tacoma owner to know how many transmissions are actually behaving like this? Are you saying that every 09 Tacoma does this? Sounds like you work for Toyota. Apparently you don't mind a transmission that slips and gets hung up and revs your engine while it searches for the next gear. Would you call that smooth operation? Wait until you pull out into traffic and your tranny activates its NORMAL CHARACTERISTIC!
"All that the trans is doing is downshifting into 1st when it's supposed to be in 2nd and I am sure there is a good reason for this. But there is NOTHING wrong with your transission!"
And your above statement means there is nothing wrong "when it's supposed to be in 2nd"?
"normal characteristic": It was also a normal characteristic for Pintos to blow up when struck from behind. It was normal characteristic for Explorers to roll over when there tires had a blow out.
+
There is something wrong and it needs fixed. My 09 does it too !
Haven't posted for awhile - no resolution for my tranny issues, problem persists & I'm beyond expecting Toyota to address. I've written the whole experience off as a bad purchase decision and will dump the truck as soon as I find the least painful and costly to do so. Needless to say, this has been my last Toyota.
I don't expect Toyota to come begging me to reconsider, apologize or even fix the damn thing, but it truly puzzles me why, after they can see what has happened to GM and Chrysler, they persist in committing corporate suicide right out in front of everyone. It's almost like watching an addict continually refuse to acknowledge how their behavior is affecting them & how its perceived by others.
FWIW, the NUMMI plant at Fremont where my vehicle was built is being shut down - it's already started.
The truck has 180,000 km on it (in Canada) which is about 114,000 miles. I tow a cargo trailer, and again the dealer says that may be a problem, but i am nowhere near the 6000lb towing capacity... Any ideas?
Thanks
I am experiencing the same problems as every 09 Tacoma owner is, plus more.
Transmission sticks/hesitates when accelerating after de-accelerating; especially when turning corners under the speed of 15 mph and when yielding. I have contacted the dealership and Toyota headquarters with this problem and have voiced what a safety hazard it is.
I am waiting for the third (3rd) radio to arrive and be installed in the truck. The first two cut on and off by their self. The display cuts on and off by it self. You can not change radio stations at times. If you try; sometimes the whole radio will cut off. Sometimes the radio will not work at all.
I have an annoying noise in the passenger rear door. Sounds like an empty can was left inside the door before assembly and now this can rolls around at free will.
I have never been so stressed with any vehicle. A person is supposed to enjoy driving their automobile - I am so far from that enjoyment; it's sickning.
I have issued a complaint with NHTSA - everyone with same/similar problems please do the same. http://www.odi/nhtsa.dot.gov/complaints
Complain to your dealership. Complain to Toyota 1-800-331-4331.
As a consumer, we should not have to pay for Toyota skimping on their quality. I do not believe they can claim the honor of quality in their manufacturing any longer. The 09 Toyota Tacoma's are junk. If they were only man enough to own up to the defects; especially safety defects, but they continue to advise everyone to say this is normal. These kinds of defects come back on every automobile company out there; the same will happen to Toyota. I won't buy another and I will pass my opinion on.
Bless the man, he doesn't build them but he is our interface and the only one we have really. I drove the truck with him in it to him show exactly what the problem is. He nodded and claimed that he really hasn't had people complaining about the 09 Tacoma transmission ...but he has heard of the issue. OK - fine what can we do?
There is truly nothing a rep can do for you.
He does however claim that Toyota monitors the Edmunds and other websites for feedback and thinks there must not be enough people outspoken about the problems ot Toyota would be addressing it..
When Nissan finally gets some Frontier inventory into the South, I will resolve this problem ....but it will be very expensive and a lesson I will long remember.
I have since Feb. sent 3 people to Nissan that were looking to buy Tacomas.
Maybe they will get it when we are all driving Nissan and laughing at Toyota's attempts to regain confidence in the small truck business. I would guess they will have a hard time regaining ours...
Ben Casteel
Tallahassee, FL
For anyone with even a little programming experience you know it just can't be that hard to rewrite the byte code that needs to be uploaded to the CPU that controls the tranny. My guess it they must have hard-wired something and don't want to go through the expense of the recall.
New member here, a little too late it seems.
I purchased a '09 Tacoma exactly one month ago. I have been experiencing the same problems with my transmission as most of you. I kept trying to make excuses for the bizarre behavior. In fact, I wasn't worried about it at all because I assumed if there was indeed a problem the warranty would cover it.
Then, Google-ing 3 words changed my perception of Toyota... Toyota Tacoma transmission... I hope this will not be an ongoing nightmare, but it sounds like I'm in for it.
Has anyone successfully fixed the problem?