2017 Toyota Tacoma Powertrain & Transmission Problems

There is a leak the rear differential. There is a recall on this issue

I was driving on the highway when my vehicle suddenly lost power. The engine light and traction control light came on, and I lost power, and the engine started sputtering. I had to pull off to the side and put on hazards. My Tacoma would only drive about 25 MPH after this happened. Based on a quick search, this is a very common problem in 3rd-generation Tacomas!

The Tacoma still has only 10,000 original miles. We yearly replace the oil when we have our annual vehicle inspection. The truck has been trouble since the beginning. Early on I noticed when going downhill, the automatic transmission seems to slip when applying the gas. I have taken the truck back to the dealer in Kona to be told that it is not part of the rear end differential recall some years ago. I asked them to make a notation of this should the transmission or rear end differential fail in the future. Recently, we received an informational letter from Toyota regarding something about a possible faulty high pressure fuel pump. I made an appointment at the dealer and since I was there asked them for tire rotation, oil change and annual vehicle inspection. I explained to the service writer that I still believe there is a rear end or transmission problem. At first, she said, the recall was never done and later said it was done. More importantly, I have been smelling gasoline when I exit the truck although I see no visible fuel on the ground. I believe that this is related to the fuel pump issue which I received the letter from you. I was told several hours after I dropped off the truck that the fuel smell was not related to the letter I received.

Transmission line was described by two auto mechanics (one from a Toyota dealership) as “rusted out” and “porous”, “low pressure/fluid” and “needs to be fixed”. I was totally unaware of the issue until I had to get my AC recharged. Note: this is a 2017 truck with 82,000 miles driven in Massachusetts. No warning lights went off.

as vehicle was being shifted from reverse to drive the shift lever locked up in neutral ! ! !

The contact owns a 2017 Toyota Tacoma. The contact stated that after shutting off the vehicle with the push-button keyless ignition, the vehicle was parked inside of the garage with the garage door remaining opened and the contact exited the vehicle. When the contact came back to the garage, he noticed that the vehicle was missing as it had reversed down the driveway inadvertently while the engine was off. However, the transmission gear shifter was on the drive position. The vehicle had crashed into two trees in the woods. No police report was filed. The vehicle was taken to a body shop and remained at the body shop, waiting for repairs to the front and rear passenger side doors, rear windshield, rear fender, and passenger side mirror. The dealer and manufacturer were not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 48,000.

I have been having several intermittent issue with the automatic transmission on my 2017 Tacoma TRD off Road with 43000 miles. Among them are as follows: It fails to shift correctly (hunting for gears) on the highway and hesitates to accelerate when needed, Also the transmission sometimes has a delayed engagement when putting it into reverse or drive from a standstill. The engine will rev up like it was in neutral then abruptly catch the reverse gear causing a loud and disturbing “BANG” and even some tire spin on the pavement. I also intermittently experience a loud “CLUNK” when slowing down to a stop in traffic as if the transmission is not downshifting properly from the higher gears to the lower ones and is forced to come to an abrupt halt. The dealer has performed a software update but this has not helped. The dealer also cannot replicate these problems because the issues are intermittent. I understand that a lot of 3’rd generation Tacoma owners are experiencing the same exact issues but it seems that Toyota is not issuing a recall for some reason. I believe this is a potential safety hazard and should be addressed.

EVERY SO OFTEN I HEARD A BANG COMING FROM THE DRIVETRAIN WHILE I'M DRIVING AND ALSO WHEN I PUT THE TRUCK ON REVERSE THE SOUND IT'S LOUD. I DON'T KNOW IT'S A TRANSMISSION PROBLEM OR THE JOINTS WITH THE DIFFERENTIAL. BUT IT'S GETTING BAD. ALSO I HAVE PROBLEMS WITH THE CHARGING SYSTEM AND IT WAS BROUGHT IN AND THE DAY THERE IS NO PROBLEM BUT FOR SOME REASON SOME TIMES LIGHTS WILL COME UP OUT OF THE BUE.

IDLE SURGES . RPM SURGE WHILE AT PARK AND IT SURGES WHEN ABOUT TO DRIVE FROM THE PARKING

TRANSMISSION WHEN IN COLD WEATHER. HAS A VERY SLIGHT THUMP WHEN COMING TO A STOP AS IF THE TRANSMISSION IS NOT SHIFTING DOWN SMOOTHLY IN GEARS. YOU SOMETIMES HEAR AND FEEL THIS THUMB WHEN DRIVING AROUND CITY STREETS . NOT AS MUCH AS WHEN THE WEATHER IS COLD OR AT STARTUP.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 TOYOTA TACOMA. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING 70 MPH, THERE WAS AN ABNORMAL SOUND COMING FROM THE ENGINE WITH GRAY SMOKE COMING FROM THE EXHAUST TIPS. THE CONTACT ATTEMPTED TO ACCELERATE HOWEVER, THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT PULLED OFF THE ROADWAY AND THE VEHICLE STARTED SHAKING. THE CONTACT IMMEDIATELY TURNED OFF THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO HIS RESIDENCE. AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC INSPECTED THE VEHICLE AT THE RESIDENCE AND INFORMED HIM THAT A SECTION OF THE TRANSMISSION TRANSFER CASE WAS MISSING. THE CONTACT HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED TO ROCHESTER TOYOTA (48 FARMINGTON RD, ROCHESTER, NH 03867) WHERE HE WAS INFORMED THAT THE TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 80,000.

MY TRUCK STALLED WHILE DRIVING. I LOOKED UP WHAT COULD OF CAUSED THIS AND FIND OUT I MAY HAVE A CRANK POSITION SENSOR THAT'S MALFUNCTIONING CAUSING MY TRUCK TO STALL.

ON ONE OF MY SERVICES I MENTIONED THAT I FEEL THAT THE STANDARD TRANSMISSION WAS NOT SHIFTING INTO 2ND GEAR VERY EASY. BECAUSE IT'S NEW TO ME AND IT ALSO HAS SOME KIND OF ANTI ROLL I THOUGHT MAYBE JUST WASN'T WORKING THE PEDAL FAR ENOUGH OR JUST MISSING IT BUT IT DIDN'T SEEM SMOOTH. MY OTHER CONCERN WAS ABOUT SHIFTING OR THY LACK OF ENGAGING IN FOUR WEEK DRIVE. TOYOTA AGREED THAT THERE WAS A PROBLEM. THEY REPLACED THE TRANSMISSION AND SAID HERE YOU GO. UNFORTUNATELY THE SAME PROBLEMS ARE STILL OCCURRING. MY TRUCK HAS BEEN AT MAUI TOYOTA FOR MONTHS NOW. THEY ARE NOW SAYING THAT THEY REPLACED THE TRANSMISSION AND THEY AGREE THAT IT'S NO BETTER BUT THA IT'S IN RUNNING CONDITION. I HAVE BEEN TOLD TO ALL SERVICE HONOLULU WHERE I HAVE BEEN BASICALLY LEFT BLIND. I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE IS A CRITICAL SITUATION GOING ON SO I FIGURED THAT HAS PART TO DO WITH NOT GETTING ANY UPDATES. YESTERDAY MAUI TOYOTA CALLS AND INFORMED ME THAT THEY WILL HAVE MY TRUCK TOWED ON TUESDAY. VERY UNPROFESSIONAL AND HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE TO SAY THE LEAST. I DON'T WANT A NEW TRANSMISSION THAT ACTS LIKE ONE THEY SAID WAS NOT RIGHT. I WANT A PROPER FUNCTIONING VEHICLE THAT WILL LAST THAT'S WHY THIS IS MY FOURTH TOYOTA TRUCK.

THE VEHICLE SURGES WHEN BACKING UP IN REVERSE AND WHEN TAKING FOOT OFF BRAKE PEDAL IN DRIVE.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 TOYOTA TACOMA. THE CONTACT RECEIVED AN UNKNOWN RECALL NOTIFICATION REGARDING THE REAR DIFFERENTIAL. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO TOYOTA OF ORANGE (1400 N TUSTIN ST, ORANGE, CA 92867, (714) 639-6750) WHERE AN INSPECTION OF THE RECALL WAS COMPLETED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE REAR DIFFERENTIAL WAS LEAKING OIL. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN BACK TO THE SAME DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE REAR DIFFERENTIAL WAS LEAKING OIL AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED DUE TO THE REPAIR FEES. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND OFFERED THE CONTACT FIFTY PERCENT OFF TOWARDS THE REPAIR FEE. A CASE NUMBER WAS PROVIDED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 60,000. *DT *BF *TR THE CONSUMER STATED TOYOTA DIDNT FIX THE ISSUE. *TR

REAR DIFFERENTIAL SEEPING AND LEAKING AFTER SECOND REPAIR AND STILL NOT FIXED. ALSO SEEPING FROM FILL BOLT REAR DIFFERENTIAL, CARRIER GASKET, AND BOTTOM STUD AND CARRIER BOLT. IT ALSO POPS WHEN STARTING SOMETIMES.

WHILE ENTERING THE FREEWAY, PRESSING THE ACCELERATOR TO MERGE, THE TRUCK STUMBLED AS IF LOST ALL POWER FOR A FULL 4 TO 5 SECONDS CAUSING ME TO MISS MY CHANCE TO MERGE AND PULL OVER TO THE SHOULDER AND WAIT FOR A CLEARING. IT HAS DONE THIS SEVERAL TIMES BUT NOT THIS BAD AND THIS TIME I HAD MY KIDS IN THE TRUCK. THERE IS A TECHNICAL BULLETIN FOR THIS BUT MY DEALERSHIP WILL NOT PERFORM IT IF THEY CAN'T DUPLICATE IT.

I STARTED HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THE VEHICLE SHIFTING FROM 4TH OR 5TH GEAR WHEN ATTEMPTING TO REACH HIGHWAY SPEEDS WHICH IN THIS AREA IS 70 MPH. THE TRUCK WOULD STICK AND THE RPMS WOULD GO ABOVE 3000 RPM. I HAD TOYOTA OF MIDLAND LOOK AT THIS ON 03/07/19. IN APRIL I CONTACTED TOYOTA CORPORATE AND TOLD THEM OF THE PROBLEM AND THEY ASSIGNED CASE #1904152129 AND SENT A CORPORATE REPRESENTATIVE HERE ON 04/24/19. THE CORPORATE REP, ALONG WITH A LOCAL TECHNICIAN, HOOKED UP A COMPUTER AND RODE WITH ME AND WITNESSED THE SHIFTING PROBLEM. THE CORPORATE REP. SAID THAT THIS WASN'T ANY FAULT OF THE VEHICLE AND THE LOCAL TECHINICIAN SAID THAT HIS 2017 TACOMA WAS DOING THE SAME THING. ON 01/22/2020 I BROUGHT MY TACOMA IN FOR IT'S 30K MAINTANCE AND TOLD THE SEVICE WRITER ABOUT THIS ISSUE AGAIN. THE SERVICE WRITER SAID THAT HE HAD EXPERIENCED THE SAME THING WHEN HE OWNED A 2017 & 2019 TACOMA, AND REMEDED THE PROBLEM WHEN HE TRADED FOR A 2020 TACOMA.. THIS IS MY FAMILIES 5TH TOYOTA VEHICLE; IT WILL BE MY LAST TOYOTA.

TRANSMISSION DOES NOT ENGAGE (SLIPS) IN FIRST GEAR FROM A COLD START UP. I AM CONCERNED THIS DEFECT MAY CAUSE AN UNSAFE SITUATION IN THE FUTURE.

TRANSMISSION FAILS TO START OFF IN 1ST GEAR ESPECIALLY WHEN UNDER A LOAD SUCH AS A/C ON DURING A HOT DAY. ALSO CONSTANTLY SHIFTING FROM 6TH TO 4TH THEN HOLDING 4TH FOR A SHORT DURATION THEN SHIFTING TO 5TH AND IMMEDIATE BACK TO 6TH THEN STARTS THE PROCESS OVER AGAIN. I HAVE VERIFIED THIS IS THE CASE WITH EVEN NEW 2018 MODELS THE DEALER AND TOYOTA STATE THIS IS NORMAL OPERATION. THE ISSUE IS WE NEVER KNOW WHEN IT IS GOING TO OCCUR. WE CAN DRIVE FROM LIGHT TO LIGHT AND SOMETIMES IT LEAVES IN FIRST FROM A COMPLETE STOP AND OTHER TIMES IT DOES NOT. THIS IS DANGEROUS WHEN MAKING UNPROTECTED TURNS IN FRONT OF TRAFFIC. THE MOST RECENT OCCURRENCE I WAS MAKING A LEFT TURN IN FRONT OF TRAFFIC AND THE VEHICLE REFUSED TO ACCELERATE AT THE NORMAL RATE WITH THE THROTTLE NEAR THE FLOOR IT EVENTUALLY GRABBED FIRST GEAR AND BEGAN TO ACCELERATE NORMALLY JUST IN TIME TO AVOID A COLLISION. AS STATED THIS ISSUE IS MORE APPARENT IN THE SUMMER HEAT OF LAS VEGAS NV. FELLOW CONSUMERS SUGGEST THAT I INVEST IN A 3RD PARTY "TUNE" THAT RESOLVES THIS ERRATIC SHIFTING BEHAVIOR BUT THE COST IS NEARLY $800 AND I DON'T WANT TO VOID MY MANUFACTURER WARRANTY BY APPLYING A 3RD PARTY SOFTWARE REPAIR BUT THIS IS DESCRIBED BY FELLOW OWNERS AS "THE ONLY FIX". THE ISSUE IS WELL DOCUMENTED IN TOYOTA OWNERS FORUMS AS WELL AS OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS BUT TOYOTA HAS THEIR HEAD IN THE SAND AFTER RELEASE OF THEIR 2ND REVISION TO THE SHIFTING PROGRAM OVER A YEAR AGO. ALSO, IT SHOULD BE MENTIONED THAT DUE TO THIS CONSTANT ERRATIC SHIFTING (CRUISE CONTROL EMPHASIZES THE ISSUE) WE HAVE NEVER ACHIEVED ANYTHING CLOSE TO THE ADVERTISED MPG EITHER WE AVERAGE 14 CITY 20 HWY 16-17MPG COMBINED. 20 HWY MPG IS ACHIEVED WITHOUT CRUISE CONTROL, WHEN USING CRUISE CONTROL THAT HWY MPG DROPS TO 18.