Shudder/Hesitation in Powertrain - Toyota & Dealership Say...

[sage1]

Our 2015 with 15k miles has slowly been developing a felt hesitation when pulling an incline. Steep or not it feels like the engine is faltering except the engine is running smooth, no misses. No idjit lights or codes. You feel it in the pedal, floor and front seats. My guess was that it's the transmission trying to decide what to do. Usually occurs with a light foot on the fuel at 45mph to 60mph.

Took it in to Toyota and as expected they find no codes, they called the Toyota genius bar somewhere who said it's likely normal and the transmission is trying to find where it wants to be.... it's not shifting up and down, it's a shudder/hesitation. So further discussion with the service mgr and from his experience he thinks it's the torque converter locking and unlocking while receiving different input from the many sensors feeding the computer information. Not shifting but thinking it might need to... Will drive it with the laptop next week where if this is the cause it will be recorded. Most likely no fix though, considered normal. Did erase the the learned transmission learning data from the computer and disconnected power so maybe the blank slate will help too.

Anyone experiencing something similar? Thx S1

 

[gaijin]

I have not experienced this, but one thing you might try is switching the transmission into Power mode (switch on center console). This should change the lockup characteristics of the torque converter and the transmission shift points - maybe giving you a better insight into the possible root cause of the symptoms you are experiencing.

HTH

 

[slowride]

Our 2015 with 15k miles has slowly been developing a felt hesitation when pulling an incline. Steep or not it feels like the engine is faltering except the engine is running smooth, no misses. No idjit lights or codes. You feel it in the pedal, floor and front seats. My guess was that it's the transmission trying to decide what to do. Usually occurs with a light foot on the fuel at 45mph to 60mph.

Took it in to Toyota and as expected they find no codes, they called the Toyota genius bar somewhere who said it's likely normal and the transmission is trying to find where it wants to be.... it's not shifting up and down, it's a shudder/hesitation. So further discussion with the service mgr and from his experience he thinks it's the torque converter locking and unlocking while receiving different input from the many sensors feeding the computer information. Not shifting but thinking it might need to... Will drive it with the laptop next week where if this is the cause it will be recorded. Most likely no fix though, considered normal. Did erase the the learned transmission learning data from the computer and disconnected power so maybe the blank slate will help too.

Anyone experiencing something similar? Thx S1

Hopefully, a re-flash learn mode will do the trick... back to original factory spec...

Programming errors are more a problem than physical mechanical problems with many of these modern machines...

Just watch some Formula 1 racing to really appreciate how the electrical engineering "programming" side of modern vehicles is usually the major problem...

This is why my family abandoned Mercedes Benz ( after owning them from the 1950's to 2005's) in the mid 2000's for Toyota/Lexus...

Mercedes gave high trade-ins on the used POS's ( 1 year old) and sold the new one's at great discounts because they could NOT repair them correctly. ( Especially the BAMA Benz's ML's & GL's & R class early models TOTAL pieces of $hit. They should all be repurchased and sent to the shredder and be an ugly footnote in Mercedes history book.)

The Toyota product hopefully will be re-flashed, learn to love your driving style and the two of you will live happily ever...

Jeff

 

[chilibit]

A variant of what gaijin suggested would be to manually limit the transmission upshifts to 4th or 3rd and see if the symptom changes.

 

[SuperSid]

The transmission on my 2014 hesitates/shudders, too, under a couple of different circumstances: If I'm accelerating from a stop on the highway and keep the pedal pushed down the same amount the whole time, it shudders a little around 35 or 40 mph. But, if I let off the gas a little between 35 and 45 and keep the RPMs stable, the hesitation goes away and it shifts really smooth.

The other time that sounds similar to yours is when I pull into a steeply inclined and short driveway or ramp and sort of coast to a stop before braking. Right before the truck comes to a stop, it lurches forward a little bit and shudders, like there's slack in the drivetrain and it's catching up. I leave PWR on all the time.

 

[sage1]

Sid - Sounds the same. I'll update after they drive it with the laptop hooked up. Mgr thinks it'll show the torque converter locking and un-locking. Should be sometime this week when they replace my rotors under warranty.

 

[Toyo8696]

Has it had any type of repairs, maintenance or even the battery disconnected? If so, it will need to go thru a relearn process. I have the factory process from the FSM but it's too big to attach here.

 

[chilibit]

The other time that sounds similar to yours is when I pull into a steeply inclined and short driveway or ramp and sort of coast to a stop before braking. Right before the truck comes to a stop, it lurches forward a little bit and shudders, like there's slack in the drivetrain and it's catching up. I leave PWR on all the time.

My 13 does this and always has. I stop on a steep grade to deal with the gate and it feels like driveline lash. It is like the transmission is hunting. It is a bit crude but I don't get the impression that it is actually harmful. It does make me cringe if I have a passenger. Every vehicle I have has its idiosyncrasies. Some are rather endearing. This one is not. I am not normally using PWR.

 

[sage1]

Has it had any type of repairs, maintenance or even the battery disconnected? If so, it will need to go thru a relearn process. I have the factory process from the FSM but it's too big to attach here.

Rig only has 15k miles so only oil changes and the scheduled maintenance. They did do some sort of reset/reflash and disconnect the battery to ensure reset a few days ago. It hasn't been driven much since then and only in the flats. Will get it in the mtns on Tuesday.

 

[asr1]

I also experience a very similar issue in my 2015 (43k miles) - was an accurate diagnosis ever received and how to fix (if it is indeed a problem)? After a 30-40 min test drive my service centre tech suggests changing tyres, but I suspect it might be more than that due to the occasional slight shudder/hesitation.

 

[risban]

I posted this in the SQOD thread yesterday, but this may be a more appropriate place.

I have had my 2014 LX (64k miles) for three months and getting familiar with its behavior/characteristics.

I have noticed that when driving around 20-40mph range(especially in traffic) the drivetrain will USALLY make a thud/shudder when I lift-off or press the gas pedal. Is this normal? I do not hear/feel anything when moving from a complete stop.

Is this the same as drive shaft clunk or something different?

 

[40Man]

I posted this in the SQOD thread yesterday, but this may be a more appropriate place.

I have had my 2014 LX (64k miles) for three months and getting familiar with its behavior/characteristics.

I have noticed that when driving around 20-40mph range(especially in traffic) the drivetrain will USALLY make a thud/shudder when I lift-off or press the gas pedal. Is this normal? I do not hear/feel anything when moving from a complete stop.

Is this the same as drive shaft clunk or something different?

You can grease all your driveshaft zerks. If it is a driveshaft issue, that should solve it.

 

[asr1]

I had my propshaft removed, u-joints etc inspected and greased etc - no issues there

 

[lxid]

I have this issue also on my 08 lx with 150k It feels like driveline slack to me and occurs most often on inclines. I have it happen often when offroad in 4-lo climbing up. On road it only happens occasionally.

It's my only concern with the truck and have been really worried that it might be a bigger issue with the torque converter or transmission. I posted this a couple years ago:

driveline slack

 

[asr1]

I have this issue also on my 08 lx with 150k It feels like driveline slack to me and occurs most often on inclines. I have it happen often when offroad in 4-lo climbing up. On road it only happens occasionally.

It's my only concern with the truck and have been really worried that it might be a bigger issue with the torque converter or transmission. I posted this a couple years ago:

driveline slack

I don't experience any clunking - just a hesitation/shudder - almost like it's misfiring (but pretty sure it isn't)

Only from 50 - 65-ish mph and that too intermittently; very frustrating

 

[risban]

My LX has been serviced every 5k at dealership and recently had its 60k, so I am going to assume that it is not lubrication related.

My service advisor has also said the shudder is normal behavior, but it's tough for me to accept that.

 

[asr1]

My LX has been serviced every 5k at dealership and recently had its 60k, so I am going to assume that it is not lubrication related.

My service advisor has also said the shudder is normal behavior, but it's tough for me to accept that.

Mine had a similar comment
I wonder if a software update is needed. Any TSBs on this?

 

[SQRRRL]

I have a 2013. It shudders going from 1st to 2nd gear under heavy acceleration. While I had the recall work done I told them about the issue. They didn’t drive it they just said no service bulletin so they would not look into it any further. At least it’s documented before my warranty expires. : (

 

[32cls6speedmt]

Have you guys checked your transmission fluid level. Just a guess that the level might not be correct.

 

[SQRRRL]

Have you guys checked your transmission fluid level. Just a guess that the level might not be correct.

Yes