Transmission gear hunting

Can anyone tell me how to fix gear hunting. I've seen getting transmission tuned or a vf tuner. Who all can do that? When driving at 45 mph give or take on flat road it shutters or kinda skips when light on gas pedal. Shifting seems a little weird from 3rd to 4th. Thanks

 

Welcome
There’s a million threads and opinions here on the subject. There’s also a dedicated section on tunes, as it’s a popular subject.
In the end, I’ve accepted this truck was designed to up shift til it can’t no more.

 

I bought my '21 TRD OR AC knowing that there were major differences between the 3.5V6 with AT vs my '06 TRD OR AC 4.0V6 with MT. As other posts may explain, it's a "learning" transmission. Combined with the 3.5V6 and it's narrow power band (at higher revs), my new Taco is vastly different. That said, I've adjusted to it, and it's adjusted to my driving habits. Over time I've accepted the difference and am happy with the truck.
Adjust your expectations and give it some time - you may find that it'll get less annoying.

 

It’s not truly fixable, just treatable. Even with regearing and a tune it won’t behave like most other vehicles. If it bothers you substantially right now, your money is better spent on a different vehicle than chasing half solutions.

 

Any reputable tuner will let you try their tune at no cost. You won’t go back to stock, so plan to pay about $400 after the test drive.

 

Get the tune. It'll be the best upgrade you spend on the truck
KDMAXX tune for the win! I've heard good things about the OTT tune as well but no experience with it
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...aree-and-twtaco.713699/page-382#post-28404322

 

Get an OTT tune, it will be a major upgrade and eliminate the gear hunting. This link will show you where you can get it done nearest to you. https://overlandtailor.com/retailer-locations

 

Trade for MT

 

Get a manual






I'm a Dick, I know.

 

I'd try the latest tsb flash for this truck if having issues with the transmission gear hunting. I bought my 2020 with it already done. No complaints at all once the transmission learned my driving habits and everyday road conditions. Its a much improved version over my tundra.

 

Sounds like you may have other issues too. Have you had the fluid level checked? Any Mods? Did you buy it used?

 

I bought used. 55k miles. It's not bad. I test drove and I didn't notice anything off. Only had a week. It may just be the way I drive. Just curious if a local transmission place would have capability to fix or my normal service place. It does have a level kit on it

 

Also. Went through yellow light this morning and the dashboard said break and beeping. What was that? No cars around me

 

Just had OTT Tune last month done. Night and day difference. No gear hunting and throttle response is amazing. I chose lite/medium. Plus they did all tsb updates.$500 Heard KD Maxx is very comparable.

 

Welcome Casey. Great looking truck. Some folks think the transmissions shift weird and some don't seem to be bothered by them. I went with the KDMax and happy with it but OTT is very popular too. Check with both and see who it closer to you. Just curious... what size tires are those? 265/75r16?

 

OTT or KD Maxx will fix the transmission shifting points I’ve had both but I’m on OTT now. Both very similar tunes

 

Where are located, sir? I can point you to the closest KDMax Pro tuner. The tune will definitely correct the gear hunting, as well as give you a more responsive throttle, stronger acceleration, and more low and mid range power. It really is a night and day difference!

The warning on the dash sounds like the pre-collision system triggered for some reason. It may have been a false positive, or it may be the PCS needs calibrated, which has to be done by the dealer. If the grill was swapped without a recal, this can cause issues with that system. It doesn’t always, but it can. The Toyota documentation states if the sensor is disturbed in anyway, it’s supposed to be recalibrated.

 

What grill do you have? It appears that you have a 2" spacer in front and I assume a 1" block in the rear. Most folks don't seem to need any adjustment with a lift but if you have the OEM grill with the TSS sensor in the OEM position then you may need to tip the sensor down a tad bit with a washer. I added the TRD Pro grill with 21 miles on truck when I was at stock height and had a weird situation like you described. I added a washer to tip the sensor up a little and never saw it again. Once I lifted my truck I removed this washer that was tipping the sensor and have never had a TSS issue sense then and I'm on 4400 miles. This issue isn't that common but it does exist. Also, I don't buy into having the TSS sensor calibrated, tipping it up or down(depending on which grill you have) seems to resolve the issue if it's due to a lift. Having said that, there's plenty of folks that have lifted thier truck with the OEM grill and plenty of folks that have used the Pro grill on unlifted trucks without issue.

 

You don't need a manual to select the best gear. It is really easy to just downshift and leave it in a lower gear until you are driving faster. You'll get better performance, better fuel mileage and both you and the truck will be happier. Best of all, it's free.

BTW, this will happen to ANY vehicle. Some are worse than others. They are all designed to shift the transmission into higher gears as much as possible in an effort to get better fuel mileage. But under the conditions you describe you're in no-mans-land. At 45 the truck thinks you're accelerating to a faster speed and tries to upshift. But if you maintain that speed the truck doesn't know what to do. Just because it is an automatic doesn't mean you're not in control. Under those conditions I manually downshift every vehicle I've ever owned.