I bought a 2019 Tacoma TRD PRO with AT off the showroom floor 6 mos before Covid. Boy did did I get lucky on the price!!! Replaced all suspension with FOX 2.5 DSC Reservoirs, Icon Delta Joint Upper Control Arms, Katskin Leather Interior, Steel Rear Bumper. Truck run fantastic , paid for, and the last truck I’ll own!!! It will be in my will!
The constant shifting and limp throttle response almost had me selling my ‘21 TRD Sport 6 months after purchasing. KD Max tune completely changed the driving experience and ended up keeping the truck. Thanks for your videos.
I only just got a 2017 Toyota tacoma off-road. Never thought I would ever own a Toyota truck. This video explains the little things I've noticed about it. It sure drives great
I just got a 2017 with 30k miles. The transmission is a bit quirky but I noticed when driving on Montana highways it likes “ect power” mode. I have never owned a Toyota either but so far I really like it.
Due to this video, I bought a 2019 Tacoma, TRD Sport, 4x4 with a manual transmission as the author didn't have a lot of good things to say about the automatic. The manual trans is a "good unit" but the truck has "too tall gearing". You have to rev the engine up way higher then I'm used to in order to take off in either first or reverse gear. So against what I've heard online about how bad the Tacoma's automatic transmission was, I bought one. The auto is perfectly fine and has NO quirks. I'm totally happy with my 2019 Tacoma, TRD, Sport with auto trans. It was a costly mistake but I'm totally happy with this truck and auto trans!
My 2018 Tacoma started an occasional 30-50 MPH shudder. After dealer saw it, they said I need a new transmission and torque converter. $8500! I bought it used at 95k miles last year and put 10k on it. I tow a small 6x10 enclosed trailer with only tools in it every day. I've never heard of this happening in a Tacoma with 100k miles.
Drain and fill the transmission fluid and see if the shudder goes away. It's possible the transmission fluid is dirty and affecting torque converter operation.
I ALWAYS watch his videos...learning so much about the Toyota, even if, I do not own the model in question. Thanks load for helping all us untrained DYI out there.
Well let me teach you something I'm 52 years old my father bought the first 1976 Toyota pickup in Southern California when I was a little boy growing up and it was the best damn pick up out there all these modern Toyotas are not as good as the old ones
I can’t get over the delivery you have. Straightforward without the BS others use. I wish more were like you. I’m a subscriber and you get my vote for being squared away! Press on sir!
I'm really enjoying this series. Thanks for putting it together for all of us. I was fortunate to be able to order a '16 Tacoma SR 4x4 with the 2.7 and the 5 speed manual for my everyday work truck. I always wanted a Toyota and the available manual tranny is what sold me.
Thank you for another great review. I traded in my 2018 4wd tacoma for an 18 offroad 4runner. Now, I smile to myself everytime the transmission shifts the way it should! No regrets!
They fixed that in 2021 with program change I have zero issues love it over the gas gussling 4runner or you could have off just did a ov tune or another kind of tune for a easy fix
This one of the most comprehensive lessons I have ever taken. Perfect, thankyou, im going to test drive one, and now that I know this, the jeep gladiator has some real competition! Going vehicle shopping very soon...
For what its worth; I bought a 2018 Tacoma and experienced some of the "problems" of the automatic. I decided that generally since a transmission will upshift when it doesn't have enough power that I would increase the power a bit. Although the TRD air intake and the TRD CATback exhaust were panned as not helping power, I can state unequivocally that first the TRD intake increased mileage by 1.5-2 mpg right off the bat. Then I added the TRD exhaust to get the increased amount of air out of the motor. I did this instead of playing with the electronic throttle. I am extremely happy with the truck now. I completed this work in the summer of 2019 and have absolutely no complaints. IMHO, if Toyota just put those accessories on the truck at the factory or upped the power by 20 hp, there would be no transmission issue. Excellent work, keep it up.
I put in an S&B CAI and had it tuned, and went from 17's to 20's. Planning on deleting the 2nd cats with a y pipe, but no cat-back plans yet. I am curious to see what a proper re-route can do for the truck.
I just got a tune and that works for me on stock. But now that i'm looking to replace my stock tires to 32in and offroad tires. I might need that intake and exhaust.
@@brucey5585 if you throw on intake and exhaust and don’t tune for it you will see 0 power gains outside of placebo. Even tuning it you will maybe see less than 10hp increase
Been a Toyota mechanic 40+ years. Now a shop foreman/assistant manager. These videos help me to explain to the customer certain characteristics are normal. Not a problem. I have had customers complain about Trans down shifting into too low a gear at too high of speed because they mashed the accelerator pedal. Not in tune to their normal driving habits.
I own a 2020 Tacoma Double Cab TRD Off Road with a 6’ Bed. I absolutely love the automatic transmission. Coming back from a vacation in NorCal where I drove up PCH and the 101 with about 600lbs of camping gear and 2 passengers, up mountains and down valleys and up the coastline through Big Sur, I averaged about 23.5 MPG! That’s amazing for a six cylinder truck! The truth is if you drive 65mph consistently, the Taco will reward you with great MPG. I found that using 91 octane gas really helps with MPG as well. If I need power, you can as shift using the automatic as it is a manu-matic. Whenever I need power going up steep hills or off roading, I shift the gears myself. It also helps to when headed down steep hills to downshift and use the engine to help brake. I’m 15,000 miles into my truck and it kicks ass. Anyone complaining about power isn’t using the truck like a truck anyhow. Too many people drive their truck like it’s a Mustang GT, or Civic Type R. If you want to drive that way, for your safety and others, get a fast car. Excellent Video!
Thanks for those tips my 99 has 250k and will go another 100 but not on remote roads and extreme whe weather. Can't find manual and needed to find out about the autoshift
Very impressive, I watched another video saying the towing was very overestimates. He was saying that he had a hard time towing anything over 4000lbs. Good to hear your statement.
Used to tow our 1800 lb camper,1000lbs gear,people etc wit a 97 Pathfinder. Embarrassing! Had a line of cars backed up for miles climbing the West Virginia mountain roads up to our property. Now, I can actually accelerate with my '11 4.0 liter Tacoma while towing the same load! 145000 miles - still tight, no leaks or rattles and never let me down.
3rd Gen's annoying "gear hunting" can be resolved with a performance tune. I had two Tundras before I bought my Tacoma and I was ready to take it back for another Tundra until I did a little research. Everyone praised the Overland Torque Tune (OTT) for a number of reasons, the #1 was that it fixed the "gear hunting" issue. It should have come from the factory like this. Acceleration is immediate and shifting is totally normal now. Gas mileage is slightly improved. Turn on ECT and it rockets out of the gate. I was ready to take it back but now it's a great, quick and responsive truck. Best money I have spent on my Tacoma so far. (FWIW I have nothing to do with OTT other than loving it!)
(2022 ToyotaTacoma)wow u really answered all my questions about the vehicle. thank u for explaining to us dummies the high tech transmission operation in layman's terms. I have a better understanding and am looking forward to driving this nice truck with peace of mind.
OV Tune completely fixed all of the gear hunting issues on my 2016 Tacoma. It feels 100% better now. If anyone is thinking about it, I highly recommend getting your truck tuned
OV Tune helped with shifting in my 17' Tacoma sr5. It's a shame I had to pay over $700 for a tune to make my truck drive the way it should have straight from Toyota.
I have the KDMax tune and 5.29 gears and now love it...and true...we shouldn't have to do these things to make it work the way it should. I loved my 2012 Tacoma...i have a 2020 now...now like i said its driving the way she should. Engine and tranny are happy...so am I.
@J. Reid from all the discussions, its better than OV now. I haven't had that tune so I cant speak to how it would do but all I can say on KDMax..is wow! Well that and replacing my wheel and tire set up the dealer put on...which was procomp wheels and tires...the tires were MT's. They were 33's...I have a 3/2 lift, so I switched to Kenda Klever R/T's (same size) and KMC wheels..what a game changer as far as ride and they are just as aggressive looking and they r 10 ply...its like a back rub drivin now...runnin and drivin smooth and can take her offroading. Have a great weekend!
I got to skip all the way to 12:26. I love my 2022 TRD Sport access cab with the manual transmission! Way fun to drive, this truck is smooth and graceful.
Additional comment on my 4 cylinder 2wd 2023 Tacoma. Today, I was driving on the freeway up a five-mile long hill. I was doing 70 mph on cruise control, with no passengers or load. This is a hill that my 16 CRV will pull fairly easily, with perhaps a half-dozen up and downshifts. Temperature was in the high-70's. The transmission started upshifting and then a few seconds later downshifting, then repeating the cycle. In about five miles, it must have shifted sixty or seventy times. I tried turning off the cruise, then pushing harder on the accelerator . I also tried actuating the "ECT POWER" button, with no change. I didn't think to switch to manual mode. This all reminds me of the 1980's GM trannys that would regularly fail every 20K miles or so after exhibiting the same type of behavior. My 2006 6cyl Silverado could be put in "tow and haul" mode to prevent this type of problem. I like the truck otherwise, but I can't imagine this transmission lasting much out of warranty if this keeps up. My wife and I worked long and hard to afford this truck, and I am feeling sick about it. I studied your work on U-tube before deciding on this rig, and unfortunately I didn't find your comments on this issue until a few weeks after buying it. I called the dealer after this happened, and the service writer did not acknowledge ever encountering this issue. If I wanted this level of quality, I would have bought a Chevy or a Ram. Do you have any suggestions? Is there a computer re-flash to correct this? Bill Hattersley-Renton, Washington
Appreciate your info greatly. I’m old school but reluctantly just bought a 2022 Tacoma TRD off road. One reason I bought it was based on your videos. Somewhere you mentioned that only the TRD pro has crawl mode but my TRD off road has it? Thank you so very much for sharing your knowledge. I’m 64 years old and believe my Tacoma will be my last truck. My 2002 Chevy Silverado with 240,000 miles has been an excellent truck but the newer Chevy trucks seem to have many problems.
I just bought my very first Toyota 4 days ago. That Toyota happens to be a 2023 Tacoma SR5 Double cab 4x4. I'm infatuated with this machine. It's simplicity with a bit of extras. I stumbled onto this series, and I'm hooked. I'm learning as much as I can because I plan on keeping "Blackhawk" for a very long time. Thanks for sharing all that knowledge with us Tacoma owners. 🫡
My ‘17 3.5 AT Taco was wretched. It wouldn’t even hold 70-75mph on the freeway without slowing down, until it downshifted. Constant gear hunting. Multiple TSB’s did not cure it. Traded it on a 4r and was so much happier. I wish the aftermarket tunes were around back then.
I love this breakdown and information! I just bought a new 2022 Tacoma and have only had manual transmission before. So I appreciate the information about the automatic I'm getting when it's delivered soon.
Mine is also arriving soon. I’m a pinch leary of the new technology. I hear ppl talk about the transmission ‘searching for the right gear’ when faced w gusty winds. Have you you had any issues?
@@hothmobile100 I just picked up a 2wd 4banger yesterday , and it constantly shifts . Very annoying transmission . I hadn't of needed to get somewhere , I would have taken it right back to the dealership !!
@@indycharlie I wonder if damn Toyota of USA does this on purpose to get us to buy the 50,000 dollar Manuel transmission 4x4 package. Other countries do not allow corruption so I bet the manual transmission Hilux is cheaper in South America and Australia. I wanted the manual transmission but in damn USA you have to give thousands and thousands more to Toyota for it.
I just bought a 2021 Tacoma TRD and love it! The auto trans is fine and if it bothers you in the normal mode you can switch it to tow mode and change the shifting to higher rpms
I have had my 21 almost a month and he really explains a lot of what this transmission is doing. But I do wonder the same thing....$300 for pedal commander or press a button on the dash for instant performance! LOVE MY TACOMA!
@@mikegabler5124 I think people overthink things regarding their Tacoma transmission shifting points. Just get in and drive the thing knowing that the transmission will shift automatically as it is supposed to! I will not be “modifying “ anything on my Tacoma.
Great explanation about the AI and the cruise control. One buggy thing in my 2005 Taco was how she would downshift 2-3 gears when going up hills while using cruise control, obviously wasting gas.
That was less a bug and more just the lack of low end torque. The old 4 speeds on the 3.4s are worse in that regard, even if the 3.4 is considered indestructible.
Thank you for explaining about the transmission shifting issues on these 3rd gens now I understand as to why the 6spd had so many complaints from owners btw spot on as when you mentioned these trucks are not for luxury nor smoothness it's a truck not a car what do u expect lol
I tell you I had a 2010 Toyota Tacoma Trd 4 x 2 loved it it was great I had 348,000 miles on it when I finally gave it up and I regretted it. Then I got a Nissan frontier that I’ve had for a few years and it was great I’m head great power didn’t have but it wasn’t a Toyota and I had such a great experience with my first Toyota that I decided to buy a 2023 recently and I have to say because of this transmission if I had only known I would have kept looking around and maybe try the new Nissan frontier out. This one is a 4 x 4 which I did not have some getting used to the quirks but this transmission I’m really understanding why you see so many late model Tacoma‘s on the used car lots when you didn’t used to ever see a Toyota Tacoma on a car lot there was only a few years old. I’m gonna give it a try for a couple years but I have a feeling I will probably get rid of it and probably go with the Nissan again. I’ve basically been sport shifting to try to alleviate the aggravation but it’s just ridiculous really and I’m actually not happy with my new Toyota and it will probably be on a lot after a couple years if I can deal with it that long. Disappointed in my purchase there’s so many things right about the truck but the drivetrain needs to be right and it is wrong!
What I don’t like about my 2018 Tacoma is when driving at highway or street velocity you let off the acceleration and the truck slows down by itself (doesn’t Coast).I really hate that about it but it’s a beast off-road to say the least.Great video.
I will say the transmission isn't the smoothest or the most responsive. However it has gotten better with driving I think the learning feature definitely has some benefits. 2021 TRD Off Road.
Waiting on my new Tacoma … giving up manual Matrix. Wanted a manual … but my partner wants to be able to drive my truck. The things we do for love. Luckily my daughter is taking my old car … so I will be able to drive the stick whenever I want.
AMD is awesome in explaining everything,all the details you’ve said about the automatic I experience. Love the channel an keep the videos coming bro!!!
I had the 2011 Tacoma OR for 9 years and just remember the throttle response and overall drive feeling much quicker if I were to leave the transmission set on 4th gear, essentially avoiding the overdrive gear. The shifting wasn't lazy and slow in 4th gear the way it was in D.
Ive got a 2018 sr5. I drive it in s mode and control the upshifts from 3rd gear up. Let it down shift on its own unless goin up hill and i need to downshift. Whenever i come to a stop or slow down i reset it to 3rd gear and repeat. Im use to it at this point, kind of a Manual/auto hybrid. Beats the hell out of how it controls the tranny on its own.
I asked the service department regarding heavy towing with my 2022 Tacoma near Max capacity. The service guy said that he did a lot of towing, so coming from a good source that understands the Toyota and also Towing in general. He said with ETC on keep the gear shifter in the S position for local driving. On the highway at cruising speed it's okay to switch into the D position and let it go into overdrive. Back to S when off the highway and there will be speed fluctuations. For going downhill he said to keep it in S and let the engine do some of the braking. It is designed for engine braking. Pulse the brakes as well. He basically said to split the workload between engine and brakes for going downhill. I also verified that the gear shift in the S position is a gear limiter. Not a gear selector. It does not let it go above the selected gear but it will go below. They probably have some safety overrides. Let me know what you think about this information with regards to towing at Max capacity, 6400 lb.
Thanks for explaining AI control and force value stuff and coast control thingy. Lol. New 4 cylinder truck and after 900 miles it is reading my mind and shifting better. New Sub !!!
When you drive about 2000 miles/ month as a real estate agent, and this transmission saves you about 2 or more tanks of gas a month, you kinda let it do its thing! as I sit here, considering I drove the truck home from St Louis Missouri, 577 miles when I got to my driveway, it now has 2734 on the odometer and I am 2 days shy of a month. 07 Tacoma took 2 gas station stops and 1/2 tank to get down to St Louis. This truck only required 1 fuel stop to get home. Big difference!
The external transmission cooler was done away with at some point in 2020. Early 2020 Tacomas have it, but later 2020 Tacomas do not. My 2020 Tacoma has a build date of Oct 2019 and it has the external transmission cooler.
Thanks for the video. I enjoyed it. I have the c60 automatic in my Toyota Innova Here in the Philippines, behind the 2.8 L turbodiesel. No need for a transmission warmer here. The car doesn't even have a heater. LOL just had the transmission service at 30,000 miles. Lots of stop and go traffic here
Another awesome video. My understanding from for the '20 and newer, the external transmission cooler was redesigned so that it was an internal cooler located within the radiator. This applied at least to trucks with tow packages.
You correct and some 2020's along with all the 2021's have had program change so the shifting fixed it's night and day over my old 2017. Absolutely love the difference don't need a tune.
Thanks for reinforcing my choice of the manual transmission in my first ever Tacoma purchase this summer! Very interesting videos and I'm really enjoying your channel and the info specifically on the Tacomas.
You will not regret it. I have a 2018 Tacoma TRD Off Road V6 extended cab, and it is my daily driver. The manual is so much fun to drive, and if you know what you are doing you can get 24-25 mpg highway and 20-22 city all day long. The automatic cannot even touch that.
The 6 speed auto is why I went with a frontier. That and the 2gr isn't my favorite in a truck. I like it just fine in my car. Appreciate your videos as always.
My 85 Toyota Deluxe Extra Cab with the 22R 5 speed manual transmission still runs great after 206k miles. Small head gasket leak now, but not really losing coolant. The plastic inner cab parts are rotting away, and the bed is rusting out.
I had the 2015 Taco manual, and now I have the '21 manual. As i do prefer the 6 speed of the '21, i am not as pleased with how smooth it is compared to the '15. Ive been driving manuals all my life, and that '15 was a beautiful transmission.
My ‘22 TRD Pro 6MT is much harder to drive than any other manual I’ve ever driven- including sports cars. Was not expecting that. I love the truck, but sometimes it’s a chore.
@@Tigbead the gearbox is great. Super precise & geared decently. First is crazy short though. The clutch is the hard/weird part. It engages/disengages about halfway through the pedal travel, but it is super imprecise. It is very hard to feel it engage. You basically have to have muscle memory. For me it can make driving the truck a bit of a chore, and can be clunky sometimes. The accumulator is basically a hydraulic buffer on the clutch pedal, and can really take away from the feeling. Does that make sense?
I bought my 2019 TRD OR Double Cab, new in JAn of 2019. I now have 125k miles - many in 4WD. I obviously drive a lot! The truck does shift often, but honestly to me I rarely notice it. I do notice the truck performs wonderfully off road and on. I drive mostly rural highways and average 45-55 mph for long stretches. I average 21-23 MPG (not counting 4WD). We have quite a few vehicles, much more expensive than my Tacoma, but to me this little truck is a TREMENDOUS value!!!
I had a 2007 4cyl manual 5 speed trans and it had the touchiest damn clutch I ever drove and I've never owned an auto trans until I got older and bought a 2012 SR5.
Awesome series so far AMD. Really appreciate the details of all aspects of the Tacoma. As far as the engine and transmission are concerned. I can put up with the computer controlling things as long as they are reliable long term.
You said it right ; is a truck not a Lamborghini not a Ferrari not Maserati, ( IS A TRUCK ) what a truck supposes to be. Simplicity is a beautiful thing for us daily driver's. 🙂
i love the look of the new tacoma, but after test driving the 2021 4cyl & V6, i decided not to buy it bcuz the shifting absolutely SUCKED. salesman tried rationalizing the shifting as normal, but no thanks bro. initially i was disappointed, but now i am so glad i decided to keep my 2003 stickshift tacoma V6 (5VZ-FE) with 194,000 miles: simple, straightforward, no fooling around with computer programming or software updates or tunes for the automatic tranny. i love how mine drives & shifts and realized i will never get rid of it. cheers all
I have a 1995 Toyota Tacoma with 475,000 mi on it. It's a five-speed four wheel drive. Runs great. I rented a 2021 Tacoma. Nice vehicle but was disappointed with the gas mileage. I think I'll hang on to my 1995.
This was informative. Explains a lot about quirks I notice in my 2021 Taco AT. It's my 2nd gen 3 and seems more responsive than my 2018 was, but still kinda indecisive sometimes. I think either the AT or the engine is tardy to the meetings on occasion. Take the good with the bad I guess. I love everything else about it and I drive like a grandma anyway.
Great video ,I have the 2021 Ford ranger with the 10 R 80 10 speed and it's turned out to be great , it too is adaptive and after a few hundred miles it learns the driving habits and really has become very smooth and comfortable.
Great video. I recently purchased a 2023 Tacoma TRD Sport v6 with automatic transmission and brought it into the dealer with 1,600 miles on it and I stated it seems to surge, buck at partail throttle. This is partial throttle is 75 percent or more of my driving....so pretty annoying. Dealership claimed normal and called it hunting. I said it is not hunting and hunting is something else. I also stated that I place transmission in manual mode to eliminate the hunting aspect and the surging, bucking remains. Thoughts? Thank you for the great content.
The most annoying thing about Taco shift points is when you slow down to take a turn and as you round the apex, the very instant you start to press the gas, the transmission upshifts, the engine lugs, then you have to press the gas a little more to get the engine to downshift, and it downshifts two gears. In order to get it to drive normally, you have to enable ECT PWR. Unfortunately, there is no way to have it default to ECT PWR enabled.
Desperately annoying,but the only relief I found so far was the OVTUNE it fix a lot of the logging part, I would love to hear AMD opinion about the ovtune in the long run! I love it so far going into 5 months using in taco 😎
@@Ramonperez590 Is that just a plug and play thing? I’m also a Toyota master tech and I want to say I ran across something like that on a taco. It plugged into the dlc and shifter assembly and you had to put it manual mode if I remember correctly
@@sultan10ful I don’t own a taco but I just happened to see a plug and play thing on a customers truck. I have a 2000 tundra and I plan on keeping it for as long as possible
Really appreciate your explanations of the detailed operation of this truck. I am trying to decide whether or not to sell my 2011 F250 and the Toyota Tacoma is at the top of my choices for replacement. Your information is helping me to narrow down everything considerably. Thanks!
@@antman9049 Which way are you leaning? Be interested in hearing your perspective or evaluation of the Toyota. My F250 has been a great truck but also expensive to maintain. It has 250k on it, all stock, but EGR deleted.
Great info, as always your videos are very informative. I have 2019 SR, 4 cylinder. I am getting about 27 miles a gallon on my normal driving, Shifting no issues-So far.
4 Cylinder Automatic, my normal drive is on highways, I do gentle acceleration, cruise around 60-65, no hard braking. One can joke: drive like a old Man.
I have found that I just put the transmission in the "S" setting and shift manually between 4th and 5th gear. Unless I'm out on the interstate running about 70 mph, I never use 6th gear. Much less annoying shifting up and down. I also have a scan gauge connected to the OBD socket. I monitor engine oil temp, water temp, transmission temp and alternator output. I always wondered why as soon as I started the truck, with in just a minute or so, the trans temp started to move up. Even before the engine oil temp does. Now I know. Thanks AMD. Love your vidoes.
I actually sold my '23 tacoma over this issue. I had no doubt the truck would've lasted hundreds of thousands of miles, but I couldn't find ease knowing I'd be putting up with annoying transmission shifts for the life of the vehicle. Aside from the gear hunting, the truck was fantastic and I absolutely loved sporting it as a daily driver. That being said, I wish Toyota would have bought fully into the idea "a truck is a truck" and excused the slight fall in fuel economy (probably less than 1 mpg if we're being honest) and opted for a smoother, better operating transmission. I would avoid the current Tacoma until this gets resolved.
Unfortunately it doesn’t always holds a lower gear when going uphill. Gear hunting when going uphill is a common problem, especially when towing. I’ve had to put the transmission in manual mode and control the shifting when towing a trailer uphill to keep it from constantly shifting up and down. Toyota needs to do a rethink when programming this transmission. This happens even when in ECT. A true tow haul mode would be good!
Already did most of 2020's and all the 21's are reprogramed. I have zero issues compared to when I had my 2017. I don't have gear hunting issues at all anymore.
I decided to buy a new Tacoma this year. Bought a V6 automatic 4 X 4 SR. I hated the way it drove. I also hated the payment, so I so it to Vroom. Even made a few hundred bucks! I would have much rather had the manual.
im 40 years old been driving subaru sti since i was 21, till recently i got me a 2021 taco sr5v6 4wheel .. no complaints .. to all complaining about auto trans hunting for gears , try driving in traffic for years in manual lol..
I bought a 2019 Tacoma TRD PRO with AT off the showroom floor 6 mos before Covid. Boy did did I get lucky on the price!!! Replaced all suspension with FOX 2.5 DSC Reservoirs, Icon Delta Joint Upper Control Arms, Katskin Leather Interior, Steel Rear Bumper. Truck run fantastic , paid for, and the last truck I’ll own!!! It will be in my will!
The constant shifting and limp throttle response almost had me selling my ‘21 TRD Sport 6 months after purchasing. KD Max tune completely changed the driving experience and ended up keeping the truck. Thanks for your videos.
I only just got a 2017 Toyota tacoma off-road. Never thought I would ever own a Toyota truck. This video explains the little things I've noticed about it. It sure drives great
I just got a 2017 with 30k miles. The transmission is a bit quirky but I noticed when driving on Montana highways it likes “ect power” mode. I have never owned a Toyota either but so far I really like it.
Due to this video, I bought a 2019 Tacoma, TRD Sport, 4x4 with a manual transmission as the author didn't have a lot of good things to say about the automatic. The manual trans is a "good unit" but the truck has "too tall gearing". You have to rev the engine up way higher then I'm used to in order to take off in either first or reverse gear. So against what I've heard online about how bad the Tacoma's automatic transmission was, I bought one. The auto is perfectly fine and has NO quirks. I'm totally happy with my 2019 Tacoma, TRD, Sport with auto trans. It was a costly mistake but I'm totally happy with this truck and auto trans!
I have been binge watching your videos lately and you are the only channel that I give a thumbs up before watching. May the lord bless you too.🙏
he is a treasure!!
My 2018 Tacoma started an occasional 30-50 MPH shudder. After dealer saw it, they said I need a new transmission and torque converter. $8500! I bought it used at 95k miles last year and put 10k on it. I tow a small 6x10 enclosed trailer with only tools in it every day. I've never heard of this happening in a Tacoma with 100k miles.
Drain and fill the transmission fluid and see if the shudder goes away. It's possible the transmission fluid is dirty and affecting torque converter operation.
I ALWAYS watch his videos...learning so much about the Toyota, even if, I do not own the model in question. Thanks load for helping all us untrained DYI out there.
Well let me teach you something I'm 52 years old my father bought the first 1976 Toyota pickup in Southern California when I was a little boy growing up and it was the best damn pick up out there all these modern Toyotas are not as good as the old ones
@@Americafirst-i8q That's the same for pretty much any vehicle.
I think this video has definitely sealed the deal for me getting a manual transmission tacoma. No AI automatic computer for me!
Somebody give this guy a raise! Very good explanation, thanks!!
I can’t get over the delivery you have. Straightforward without the BS others use. I wish more were like you. I’m a subscriber and you get my vote for being squared away! Press on sir!
I'm really enjoying this series. Thanks for putting it together for all of us. I was fortunate to be able to order a '16 Tacoma SR 4x4 with the 2.7 and the 5 speed manual for my everyday work truck. I always wanted a Toyota and the available manual tranny is what sold me.
Got the same rig! only complaint is the factory gear ratio with 33’s is not a great combo
That sounds like a great truck you have
@@Doomzdayxx I have really enjoyed it. Just a honest little truck. No issues so far at a little over 100K miles.
Man I live in Southern California and the manual Tacoma is my white buffalo
Thank you for another great review. I traded in my 2018 4wd tacoma for an 18 offroad 4runner. Now, I smile to myself everytime the transmission shifts the way it should! No regrets!
They fixed that in 2021 with program change I have zero issues love it over the gas gussling 4runner or you could have off just did a ov tune or another kind of tune for a easy fix
Did the same thing. My 2018 Taco was enraging to drive. Junk. My 21 TRD ORP 4Runner is a dream in comparison.
@@robertblack6630 ov tune barley does anything
@@foxracing125a kdmax
Im planning on trading my 22 Tacoma pro for a solar octane TRD Pro 4Runner next year
This one of the most comprehensive lessons I have ever taken. Perfect, thankyou, im going to test drive one, and now that I know this, the jeep gladiator has some real competition! Going vehicle shopping very soon...
Can confirm the coast control. This was a feature I didn't know about and it blew my mind when I was coasting down a hill. Very cool.
Our 1993 Toyota Pickup 4 cylinder 22R-E with the G58 manual transmission still runs great.
For what its worth;
I bought a 2018 Tacoma and experienced some of the "problems" of the automatic. I decided that generally since a transmission will upshift when it doesn't have enough power that I would increase the power a bit. Although the TRD air intake and the TRD CATback exhaust were panned as not helping power, I can state unequivocally that first the TRD intake increased mileage by 1.5-2 mpg right off the bat. Then I added the TRD exhaust to get the increased amount of air out of the motor. I did this instead of playing with the electronic throttle. I am extremely happy with the truck now. I completed this work in the summer of 2019 and have absolutely no complaints. IMHO, if Toyota just put those accessories on the truck at the factory or upped the power by 20 hp, there would be no transmission issue.
Excellent work, keep it up.
I put in an S&B CAI and had it tuned, and went from 17's to 20's. Planning on deleting the 2nd cats with a y pipe, but no cat-back plans yet. I am curious to see what a proper re-route can do for the truck.
I just got a tune and that works for me on stock. But now that i'm looking to replace my stock tires to 32in and offroad tires. I might need that intake and exhaust.
@@brucey5585 The stock tires are 265 70 16 are 32" well 31.8
@@brucey5585 if you throw on intake and exhaust and don’t tune for it you will see 0 power gains outside of placebo. Even tuning it you will maybe see less than 10hp increase
I Hope All Mechanical Like You , Wishing For You The Best.
Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge! Very insightful, you are a valuable man for the Toyota community. Keep doing what your doing.
Been a Toyota mechanic 40+ years. Now a shop foreman/assistant manager. These videos help me to explain to the customer certain characteristics are normal. Not a problem. I have had customers complain about Trans down shifting into too low a gear at too high of speed because they mashed the accelerator pedal. Not in tune to their normal driving habits.
I own a 2020 Tacoma Double Cab TRD Off Road with a 6’ Bed. I absolutely love the automatic transmission. Coming back from a vacation in NorCal where I drove up PCH and the 101 with about 600lbs of camping gear and 2 passengers, up mountains and down valleys and up the coastline through Big Sur, I averaged about 23.5 MPG! That’s amazing for a six cylinder truck! The truth is if you drive 65mph consistently, the Taco will reward you with great MPG. I found that using 91 octane gas really helps with MPG as well.
If I need power, you can as shift using the automatic as it is a manu-matic. Whenever I need power going up steep hills or off roading, I shift the gears myself. It also helps to when headed down steep hills to downshift and use the engine to help brake.
I’m 15,000 miles into my truck and it kicks ass. Anyone complaining about power isn’t using the truck like a truck anyhow. Too many people drive their truck like it’s a Mustang GT, or Civic Type R. If you want to drive that way, for your safety and others, get a fast car.
Excellent Video!
I tuned mine and got about 24.6 doing 80-85 mph.
@@270emanmhhh if you aren't you going to explain how, it just sounds like bluffing
@@araldf 245/75r16 tires is how. 35 psi.
Thanks for those tips my 99 has 250k and will go another 100 but not on remote roads and extreme whe weather. Can't find manual and needed to find out about the autoshift
I love my 2019 tacoma. I have towed 6000lbs with it through hills and managed to get 16.5 mpg. The truck has preformed just like I want it to so far.
Very impressive, I watched another video saying the towing was very overestimates. He was saying that he had a hard time towing anything over 4000lbs. Good to hear your statement.
I'm calling BS
@@randyreilly2031 "down hill"
Used to tow our 1800 lb camper,1000lbs gear,people etc wit a 97 Pathfinder. Embarrassing! Had a line of cars backed up for miles climbing the West Virginia mountain roads up to our property. Now, I can actually accelerate with my '11 4.0 liter Tacoma while towing the same load! 145000 miles - still tight, no leaks or rattles and never let me down.
I put mine in a mode so doesn’t go into overdrives and will only need to pull into 3rd if very steep grade with my camper weighing around 4000 lbs.
Outstanding discussion! While impressive, you've made me feel even better about buying the six-speed manual transmission.
Glad I got my Manual taco in 19’ TRD pro. We’ll be the obsolete ones here shortly. Great discussion and review 👍
3rd Gen's annoying "gear hunting" can be resolved with a performance tune. I had two Tundras before I bought my Tacoma and I was ready to take it back for another Tundra until I did a little research. Everyone praised the Overland Torque Tune (OTT) for a number of reasons, the #1 was that it fixed the "gear hunting" issue. It should have come from the factory like this. Acceleration is immediate and shifting is totally normal now. Gas mileage is slightly improved. Turn on ECT and it rockets out of the gate. I was ready to take it back but now it's a great, quick and responsive truck. Best money I have spent on my Tacoma so far. (FWIW I have nothing to do with OTT other than loving it!)
I've heard about the OTT tune but I am hesitant as to if it will in any way affect the trucks long term reliability.
Then only car channel where I hit the thumbs up button for new videos even before watching! 👍👌👏.
I have a 2021 Tacoma Pro Magnuson supercharged 3.5L with a Manual Transmission and love it.
(2022 ToyotaTacoma)wow u really answered all my questions about the vehicle. thank u for explaining to us dummies the high tech transmission operation in layman's terms. I have a better understanding and am looking forward to driving this nice truck with peace of mind.
OV Tune completely fixed all of the gear hunting issues on my 2016 Tacoma. It feels 100% better now. If anyone is thinking about it, I highly recommend getting your truck tuned
I’d love to hear AMD OPINION ABOUT THE OVTUNE have it on my taco for about 5 months absolutely love it so far!!
OV Tune helped with shifting in my 17' Tacoma sr5. It's a shame I had to pay over $700 for a tune to make my truck drive the way it should have straight from Toyota.
I have the KDMax tune and 5.29 gears and now love it...and true...we shouldn't have to do these things to make it work the way it should. I loved my 2012 Tacoma...i have a 2020 now...now like i said its driving the way she should. Engine and tranny are happy...so am I.
I hear a lot of good feedback on the ovtune haven’t driven a truck with it yet. Anyone local with it? (Chicago area?
@J. Reid from all the discussions, its better than OV now. I haven't had that tune so I cant speak to how it would do but all I can say on KDMax..is wow! Well that and replacing my wheel and tire set up the dealer put on...which was procomp wheels and tires...the tires were MT's. They were 33's...I have a 3/2 lift, so I switched to Kenda Klever R/T's (same size) and KMC wheels..what a game changer as far as ride and they are just as aggressive looking and they r 10 ply...its like a back rub drivin now...runnin and drivin smooth and can take her offroading. Have a great weekend!
the transmission is the only thing I can complain about my taco. it shift to damn much! nice video!
Excellent one my brother. I listened twice. This is a dream "car channel" for sure. What a quality instruction!
AMD, You made a compelling case in support of the manual transmission. Hopefully some day it will be offered again with the 4Runner.
I got to skip all the way to 12:26. I love my 2022 TRD Sport access cab with the manual transmission! Way fun to drive, this truck is smooth and graceful.
Additional comment on my 4 cylinder 2wd 2023 Tacoma. Today, I was driving on the freeway up a five-mile long hill. I was doing 70 mph on cruise control, with no passengers or load. This is a hill that my 16 CRV will pull fairly easily, with perhaps a half-dozen up and downshifts. Temperature was in the high-70's. The transmission started upshifting and then a few seconds later downshifting, then repeating the cycle. In about five miles, it must have shifted sixty or seventy times. I tried turning off the cruise, then pushing harder on the accelerator . I also tried actuating the "ECT POWER" button, with no change. I didn't think to switch to manual mode. This all reminds me of the 1980's GM trannys that would regularly fail every 20K miles or so after exhibiting the same type of behavior. My 2006 6cyl Silverado could be put in "tow and haul" mode to prevent this type of problem. I like the truck otherwise, but I can't imagine this transmission lasting much out of warranty if this keeps up. My wife and I worked long and hard to afford this truck, and I am feeling sick about it. I studied your work on U-tube before deciding on this rig, and unfortunately I didn't find your comments on this issue until a few weeks after buying it. I called the dealer after this happened, and the service writer did not acknowledge ever encountering this issue. If I wanted this level of quality, I would have bought a Chevy or a Ram. Do you have any suggestions? Is there a computer re-flash to correct this?
Bill Hattersley-Renton, Washington
I originally thought I wanted a Taco until I read a bunch about the engine and trans. Made the 2020 TRD Pro Runner an easy choice.
If you don't need a bed then for sure
Amd, you the man!! Thank you for taking the time to make these videos. Love learning all the nitty gritty.
Appreciate your info greatly. I’m old school but reluctantly just bought a 2022 Tacoma TRD off road. One reason I bought it was based on your videos. Somewhere you mentioned that only the TRD pro has crawl mode but my TRD off road has it? Thank you so very much for sharing your knowledge. I’m 64 years old and believe my Tacoma will be my last truck. My 2002 Chevy Silverado with 240,000 miles has been an excellent truck but the newer Chevy trucks seem to have many problems.
2022 and 2023 TRD Off Road and TRD Pro both have crawl mode. Congrats on your truck, they're terrific.
2022 TRD sport MT,blue crush...love it!
I just bought my very first Toyota 4 days ago. That Toyota happens to be a 2023 Tacoma SR5 Double cab 4x4. I'm infatuated with this machine. It's simplicity with a bit of extras. I stumbled onto this series, and I'm hooked. I'm learning as much as I can because I plan on keeping "Blackhawk" for a very long time. Thanks for sharing all that knowledge with us Tacoma owners. 🫡
Love mine too!
Does yours have the clunky hard shift lag shift?
@jaymz0074 oh, that comes standard on all A/T 6 speeds. I compensate with the ECT setting until I get the OTT some time soon.
My ‘17 3.5 AT Taco was wretched. It wouldn’t even hold 70-75mph on the freeway without slowing down, until it downshifted. Constant gear hunting. Multiple TSB’s did not cure it. Traded it on a 4r and was so much happier. I wish the aftermarket tunes were around back then.
I love this breakdown and information! I just bought a new 2022 Tacoma and have only had manual transmission before. So I appreciate the information about the automatic I'm getting when it's delivered soon.
Mine is also arriving soon. I’m a pinch leary of the new technology. I hear ppl talk about the transmission ‘searching for the right gear’ when faced w gusty winds.
Have you you had any issues?
@@dieheartedofficial my 4 cylinder does not seem to do that. I wonder if the v6 only searches for gears?
@@hothmobile100 I just picked up a 2wd 4banger yesterday , and it constantly shifts . Very annoying transmission . I hadn't of needed to get somewhere , I would have taken it right back to the dealership !!
@@indycharlie I wonder if damn Toyota of USA does this on purpose to get us to buy the 50,000 dollar Manuel transmission 4x4 package. Other countries do not allow corruption so I bet the manual transmission Hilux is cheaper in South America and Australia. I wanted the manual transmission but in damn USA you have to give thousands and thousands more to Toyota for it.
I just bought a 2021 Tacoma TRD and love it! The auto trans is fine and if it bothers you in the normal mode you can switch it to tow mode and change the shifting to higher rpms
How switch to tow mode?
Press the ECT button on the center under the AC controls.
I have had my 21 almost a month and he really explains a lot of what this transmission is doing. But I do wonder the same thing....$300 for pedal commander or press a button on the dash for instant performance! LOVE MY TACOMA!
@@mikegabler5124 I think people overthink things regarding their Tacoma transmission shifting points. Just get in and drive the thing knowing that the transmission will shift automatically as it is supposed to! I will not be “modifying “ anything on my Tacoma.
@@edwardl.990 They fix the issue in 2020 my 2021 feels great compared to my old 2017. People just like to complain
Great explanation about the AI and the cruise control. One buggy thing in my 2005 Taco was how she would downshift 2-3 gears when going up hills while using cruise control, obviously wasting gas.
That was less a bug and more just the lack of low end torque. The old 4 speeds on the 3.4s are worse in that regard, even if the 3.4 is considered indestructible.
Very good, I’d love for him to make a video on the Toyota Camry’s 8-Speed transmission. It’s one of the most annoying transmissions I’ve ever driven!
I am thinking of buying one, your videos are amazing. Thank you for sharing your wealth of knowledge with everyone. God Bless.
Thank you for explaining about the transmission shifting issues on these 3rd gens now I understand as to why the 6spd had so many complaints from owners btw spot on as when you mentioned these trucks are not for luxury nor smoothness it's a truck not a car what do u expect lol
I tell you I had a 2010 Toyota Tacoma Trd 4 x 2 loved it it was great I had 348,000 miles on it when I finally gave it up and I regretted it. Then I got a Nissan frontier that I’ve had for a few years and it was great I’m head great power didn’t have but it wasn’t a Toyota and I had such a great experience with my first Toyota that I decided to buy a 2023 recently and I have to say because of this transmission if I had only known I would have kept looking around and maybe try the new Nissan frontier out. This one is a 4 x 4 which I did not have some getting used to the quirks but this transmission I’m really understanding why you see so many late model Tacoma‘s on the used car lots when you didn’t used to ever see a Toyota Tacoma on a car lot there was only a few years old. I’m gonna give it a try for a couple years but I have a feeling I will probably get rid of it and probably go with the Nissan again. I’ve basically been sport shifting to try to alleviate the aggravation but it’s just ridiculous really and I’m actually not happy with my new Toyota and it will probably be on a lot after a couple years if I can deal with it that long. Disappointed in my purchase there’s so many things right about the truck but the drivetrain needs to be right and it is wrong!
What I don’t like about my 2018 Tacoma is when driving at highway or street velocity you let off the acceleration and the truck slows down by itself (doesn’t Coast).I really hate that about it but it’s a beast off-road to say the least.Great video.
I will say the transmission isn't the smoothest or the most responsive. However it has gotten better with driving I think the learning feature definitely has some benefits. 2021 TRD Off Road.
Terrific info. It explains a few things I have noticed in my first 700 miles of driving 2021 Limited.
Thanks again AMD! I’m always looking forward to your excellent videos!
Very interesting about the coasting of the engine
Always wondered why it felt like a shutoff and stall with an automatic transmission
Waiting on my new Tacoma … giving up manual Matrix. Wanted a manual … but my partner wants to be able to drive my truck. The things we do for love.
Luckily my daughter is taking my old car … so I will be able to drive the stick whenever I want.
AMD is awesome in explaining everything,all the details you’ve said about the automatic I experience. Love the channel an keep the videos coming bro!!!
I had the 2011 Tacoma OR for 9 years and just remember the throttle response and overall drive feeling much quicker if I were to leave the transmission set on 4th gear, essentially avoiding the overdrive gear. The shifting wasn't lazy and slow in 4th gear the way it was in D.
I have an 2007 trd off-road manual trans and 4th gear is by far the nicest working gear
Ive got a 2018 sr5. I drive it in s mode and control the upshifts from 3rd gear up. Let it down shift on its own unless goin up hill and i need to downshift. Whenever i come to a stop or slow down i reset it to 3rd gear and repeat. Im use to it at this point, kind of a Manual/auto hybrid. Beats the hell out of how it controls the tranny on its own.
I asked the service department regarding heavy towing with my 2022 Tacoma near Max capacity. The service guy said that he did a lot of towing, so coming from a good source that understands the Toyota and also Towing in general.
He said with ETC on keep the gear shifter in the S position for local driving. On the highway at cruising speed it's okay to switch into the D position and let it go into overdrive. Back to S when off the highway and there will be speed fluctuations.
For going downhill he said to keep it in S and let the engine do some of the braking. It is designed for engine braking. Pulse the brakes as well. He basically said to split the workload between engine and brakes for going downhill.
I also verified that the gear shift in the S position is a gear limiter. Not a gear selector. It does not let it go above the selected gear but it will go below. They probably have some safety overrides.
Let me know what you think about this information with regards to towing at Max capacity, 6400 lb.
Thanks for explaining AI control and force value stuff and coast control thingy. Lol. New 4 cylinder truck and after 900 miles it is reading my mind and shifting better. New Sub !!!
When you drive about 2000 miles/ month as a real estate agent, and this transmission saves you about 2 or more tanks of gas a month, you kinda let it do its thing! as I sit here, considering I drove the truck home from St Louis Missouri, 577 miles when I got to my driveway, it now has 2734 on the odometer and I am 2 days shy of a month. 07 Tacoma took 2 gas station stops and 1/2 tank to get down to St Louis. This truck only required 1 fuel stop to get home. Big difference!
The external transmission cooler was done away with at some point in 2020. Early 2020 Tacomas have it, but later 2020 Tacomas do not. My 2020 Tacoma has a build date of Oct 2019 and it has the external transmission cooler.
Thanks for the video. I enjoyed it. I have the c60 automatic in my Toyota Innova Here in the Philippines, behind the 2.8 L turbodiesel. No need for a transmission warmer here. The car doesn't even have a heater. LOL just had the transmission service at 30,000 miles. Lots of stop and go traffic here
Another awesome video. My understanding from for the '20 and newer, the external transmission cooler was redesigned so that it was an internal cooler located within the radiator. This applied at least to trucks with tow packages.
You correct and some 2020's along with all the 2021's have had program change so the shifting fixed it's night and day over my old 2017. Absolutely love the difference don't need a tune.
@@robertblack6630 I was going say, I haven’t noticed really any issues with my 2021 TRD off-road compared to the earlier 16/17
@@robertblack6630 just got a 22 and still has the laggy shift issue.
@@bigcmcg3946 after about 900 miles my new 4 cylinder 2022 SR is shifting better.
@@roadtaco3924 I’ve got the v6 with about 1100 on it. Still very noticeable
Thanks for reinforcing my choice of the manual transmission in my first ever Tacoma purchase this summer! Very interesting videos and I'm really enjoying your channel and the info specifically on the Tacomas.
You will not regret it. I have a 2018 Tacoma TRD Off Road V6 extended cab, and it is my daily driver. The manual is so much fun to drive, and if you know what you are doing you can get 24-25 mpg highway and 20-22 city all day long. The automatic cannot even touch that.
I regularly get 24.5mpg in my 2018 4x4 auto. Just throwing that out there. 210 mile trips.
The 6 speed auto is why I went with a frontier.
That and the 2gr isn't my favorite in a truck. I like it just fine in my car.
Appreciate your videos as always.
But then you’re driving a Nissan
@chasehelmick6025 at least it has a little balls and its better than a domestic.
My 85 Toyota Deluxe Extra Cab with the 22R 5 speed manual transmission still runs great after 206k miles. Small head gasket leak now, but not really losing coolant. The plastic inner cab parts are rotting away, and the bed is rusting out.
Another bonus of the manual is the key start.
Best Taco channel on the Tube! Thank you!
I got the KMD tune on my ‘18 3.5 L, all the trans issues went away. I couldn’t stop laughing for the whole 30min test drive. HUGE difference.
I had the 2015 Taco manual, and now I have the '21 manual. As i do prefer the 6 speed of the '21, i am not as pleased with how smooth it is compared to the '15. Ive been driving manuals all my life, and that '15 was a beautiful transmission.
My ‘22 TRD Pro 6MT is much harder to drive than any other manual I’ve ever driven- including sports cars. Was not expecting that. I love the truck, but sometimes it’s a chore.
@@rj12345rj can you explain what makes it different? Higher catch point? Mushy gears?
@@Tigbead the gearbox is great. Super precise & geared decently. First is crazy short though.
The clutch is the hard/weird part. It engages/disengages about halfway through the pedal travel, but it is super imprecise. It is very hard to feel it engage. You basically have to have muscle memory. For me it can make driving the truck a bit of a chore, and can be clunky sometimes. The accumulator is basically a hydraulic buffer on the clutch pedal, and can really take away from the feeling. Does that make sense?
I bought my 2019 TRD OR Double Cab, new in JAn of 2019. I now have 125k miles - many in 4WD. I obviously drive a lot! The truck does shift often, but honestly to me I rarely notice it. I do notice the truck performs wonderfully off road and on. I drive mostly rural highways and average 45-55 mph for long stretches. I average 21-23 MPG (not counting 4WD).
We have quite a few vehicles, much more expensive than my Tacoma, but to me this little truck is a TREMENDOUS value!!!
I had a 2007 4cyl manual 5 speed trans and it had the touchiest damn clutch I ever drove and I've never owned an auto trans until I got older and bought a 2012 SR5.
Awesome series so far AMD. Really appreciate the details of all aspects of the Tacoma. As far as the engine and transmission are concerned. I can put up with the computer controlling things as long as they are reliable long term.
The best video I ever see , Informative . Transmision software update. Thanks
You said it right ; is a truck not a Lamborghini not a Ferrari not Maserati, ( IS A TRUCK ) what a truck supposes to be.
Simplicity is a beautiful thing for us daily driver's. 🙂
My 2018 TRD 🌮 was shifting bad and mileage went down.
83k : though it needed 90k trans service.
Was a weak battery.. all good now!!!!
5.29 and custome tune, really makes the truck drivable :)
Great video I did the 91 octane ov tune and the truck drives great now I was seriously considering getting rid of the truck before the tune
Excellent presentation my friend! Very well done! Thank you for all the great information! 👍
thank you for all your information I love your channel
i love the look of the new tacoma, but after test driving the 2021 4cyl & V6, i decided not to buy it bcuz the shifting absolutely SUCKED. salesman tried rationalizing the shifting as normal, but no thanks bro. initially i was disappointed, but now i am so glad i decided to keep my 2003 stickshift tacoma V6 (5VZ-FE) with 194,000 miles: simple, straightforward, no fooling around with computer programming or software updates or tunes for the automatic tranny. i love how mine drives & shifts and realized i will never get rid of it. cheers all
I have a 1995 Toyota Tacoma with 475,000 mi on it. It's a five-speed four wheel drive. Runs great. I rented a 2021 Tacoma. Nice vehicle but was disappointed with the gas mileage. I think I'll hang on to my 1995.
Love your knowledge. Quick question I bought a 2022 a it feels like it shudders a little
This was informative. Explains a lot about quirks I notice in my 2021 Taco AT. It's my 2nd gen 3 and seems more responsive than my 2018 was, but still kinda indecisive sometimes. I think either the AT or the engine is tardy to the meetings on occasion. Take the good with the bad I guess. I love everything else about it and I drive like a grandma anyway.
Put some Lucas in and get a tune
One of only two trucks that still offer a manual. Hats off Toyota!
Great video ,I have the 2021 Ford ranger with the 10 R 80 10 speed and it's turned out to be great , it too is adaptive and after a few hundred miles it learns the driving habits and really has become very smooth and comfortable.
Great video. I recently purchased a 2023 Tacoma TRD Sport v6 with automatic transmission and brought it into the dealer with 1,600 miles on it and I stated it seems to surge, buck at partail throttle. This is partial throttle is 75 percent or more of my driving....so pretty annoying. Dealership claimed normal and called it hunting. I said it is not hunting and hunting is something else. I also stated that I place transmission in manual mode to eliminate the hunting aspect and the surging, bucking remains. Thoughts? Thank you for the great content.
The most annoying thing about Taco shift points is when you slow down to take a turn and as you round the apex, the very instant you start to press the gas, the transmission upshifts, the engine lugs, then you have to press the gas a little more to get the engine to downshift, and it downshifts two gears.
In order to get it to drive normally, you have to enable ECT PWR. Unfortunately, there is no way to have it default to ECT PWR enabled.
Desperately annoying,but the only relief I found so far was the OVTUNE it fix a lot of the logging part, I would love to hear AMD opinion about the ovtune in the long run! I love it so far going into 5 months using in taco 😎
@@Ramonperez590
Is that just a plug and play thing? I’m also a Toyota master tech and I want to say I ran across something like that on a taco. It plugged into the dlc and shifter assembly and you had to put it manual mode if I remember correctly
@@Trex6767 no its a tune you download into the ecu
@@Trex6767 i did that ovtune in my day and night difference i found a local tuner in my are it only cost $200 highly recommended
@@sultan10ful
I don’t own a taco but I just happened to see a plug and play thing on a customers truck. I have a 2000 tundra and I plan on keeping it for as long as possible
Appreciate your knowledge. I feel better knowing my truck is normal. :)
Really appreciate your explanations of the detailed operation of this truck. I am trying to decide whether or not to sell my 2011 F250 and the Toyota Tacoma is at the top of my choices for replacement. Your information is helping me to narrow down everything considerably. Thanks!
Dude I’m literally in the same boat but my f250 is a 2012😂
@@antman9049 Which way are you leaning? Be interested in hearing your perspective or evaluation of the Toyota. My F250 has been a great truck but also expensive to maintain. It has 250k on it, all stock, but EGR deleted.
Great info, as always your videos are very informative. I have 2019 SR, 4 cylinder. I am getting about 27 miles a gallon on my normal driving, Shifting no issues-So far.
That is very impressive - my 2019 4cyl SR gets maybe 22 mpg highway and probably 18mpg in city driving - do you have manual transmission?
4 Cylinder Automatic, my normal drive is on highways, I do gentle acceleration, cruise around 60-65, no hard braking. One can joke: drive like a old Man.
@@Gman-sb3zf I am an old man, and drive like one … 27 vs 22 is a huge difference… oh well, very surprising but good for you
Great information. Thank you
I have found that I just put the transmission in the "S" setting and shift manually between 4th and 5th gear. Unless I'm out on the interstate running about 70 mph, I never use 6th gear. Much less annoying shifting up and down. I also have a scan gauge connected to the OBD socket. I monitor engine oil temp, water temp, transmission temp and alternator output. I always wondered why as soon as I started the truck, with in just a minute or so, the trans temp started to move up. Even before the engine oil temp does. Now I know. Thanks AMD. Love your vidoes.
Which scan guage did you go with?
@@johnyoung5482 Scan Guage II
I am driving my 2023 in S4 almost all the time. There’s no question the power band is better. More torque, less bullshit.
Great video, I love my tacoma, but the stock maps/shift points are absolutely awful. After i put a OVTUNE on my truck it DRIVES LIKE A DREAM.
Wonderful video series, AMD!
Can't wait for your videos on the Toyota Trailhunter series!
I actually sold my '23 tacoma over this issue. I had no doubt the truck would've lasted hundreds of thousands of miles, but I couldn't find ease knowing I'd be putting up with annoying transmission shifts for the life of the vehicle. Aside from the gear hunting, the truck was fantastic and I absolutely loved sporting it as a daily driver. That being said, I wish Toyota would have bought fully into the idea "a truck is a truck" and excused the slight fall in fuel economy (probably less than 1 mpg if we're being honest) and opted for a smoother, better operating transmission. I would avoid the current Tacoma until this gets resolved.
I sold my '23 too, but not because of the tranny. The truck was terrible from the day I picked it up
Unfortunately it doesn’t always holds a lower gear when going uphill. Gear hunting when going uphill is a common problem, especially when towing. I’ve had to put the transmission in manual mode and control the shifting when towing a trailer uphill to keep it from constantly shifting up and down. Toyota needs to do a rethink when programming this transmission. This happens even when in ECT. A true tow haul mode would be good!
Already did most of 2020's and all the 21's are reprogramed. I have zero issues compared to when I had my 2017. I don't have gear hunting issues at all anymore.
I decided to buy a new Tacoma this year. Bought a V6 automatic 4 X 4 SR. I hated the way it drove. I also hated the payment, so I so it to Vroom. Even made a few hundred bucks! I would have much rather had the manual.
Just started watching these videos and subscribing. Wow, this is the most technically informative info on the Tacoma. Well done and thank you.
I have a 2019 Tacoma w/ manual transmission and absolutely love it . Thanks for the videos.
im 40 years old been driving subaru sti since i was 21, till recently i got me a 2021 taco sr5v6 4wheel .. no complaints .. to all complaining about auto trans hunting for gears , try driving in traffic for years in manual lol..
Your videos are very informative and help build my confidence in the decision to get a Tacoma. I am actually looking for a truck like experience.
I own a 2021 Toyota Tacoma SR5 rear wheel drive. Back in my hometown I get 30 MPG! But in the city where hills are everywhere I get about 15 MPG.
Thanks for the video. My new Tacoma is coming soon, I can't wait.