2011 Transmission shudder in 4th gear

146,000 miles on highway driven, garage kept 2wd. Bought brand new. Never replaced trans fluid now it shudders in 4th gear just before shifting into 5th gear.
Is there a fix other than replacement?
Dealer says no and wants $5300 for a one year warrantied rebuild.
Edmunds says its worth $13,000 if running good and in very good shape.
Kinda hard to justify at this price with weak warranty.

 

Why don’t you try changing the oil and adding some Lucas transmission oil additive? It helps stops slips. That would be my troubleshoot before I do any major repairs. 9 years with those miles, that oil is toast.

 

Go purchase some shudder fix, I used it in my old school 3VZ and fixed then trans right up!! Good luck OP

 

Hank I have been a Toyota truck owners for over 20 years. First off never get a transmission rebuilt unless it STOPS working period. This shuttle is typical to Toyota trucks 5 speed transmission. It only happened to me once and never again to any of my other Toyota trucks after the first time. I would NOT recommend to add any additive to transmission oil. This is what I have done to all Toyota trucks, do a transmission drain and fill fluid using only Toyota WS Transmission oil every 15k miles and never had I had a shuttle even with my FJ with over 200k miles. Now I would recommend, due to all the miles on you 4runner, doing a pan and drain with Toyota WS Transmission oil every 500 miles for at least 4x and I bet your shuttle would be gone. If your going to do pan drain and fill you need to follow the procedure by Toyota to make sure your transmission is at the right level. This is what I do when the engine/transmission is cold, is drain the transmission oil then fill it up in a clean empty milk container and mark the amount of fluid that came out, dump the old transmission oil then add the same about of new transmission oil into the milk container to marked level and then into the transmission. If you do it yourself a case of Toyota WS transmission oil is a bit over $100 what you got to lose.

 

George
Thanks for the reply.
Q1)What do you mean by a pan and drain?
Q2) drain the oil 4 times driving 500 miles between changes?
Q3) What do you think is actually causing this condition?
Q4) Are you changing the oil on these transmissions every 15K
Q5) How much oil typically comes out on one drain? Less than a gallon?
I think youre on the right track with this procedure.
Q6)Are you using a heat gun and temperature reading device?

 

George
I think youre saying to only do less than a gallon at a time. I think the whole tranny holds around 14+ quarts so youre recommending a partial change every 15,000 miles? Not a complete flush?
In my case I think youre advising a partial change asap followed by three more at 500 mile intervals?
Sort of like a gradual refresh and flush over 2000 miles?
Where can I find the procedure to follow?

 

You can do a complete flush if you like and many have done it without any issues. If it was my 4runner I would do partial changes, since I do it myself. BTW MY cold transmission drain and fill on my 18 4runner was approximate 3.25 quarts. I think when you first drain the transmission you'll realize you should of done it a long time ago, I would bet it will be brownish purple in color. Once you do it the first time and then again you see the change to more a reddish in color and I would bet the shuttle would lessen in time then eventually go away. I would look up the procedure by google it or even YouTube it.

 

George
after first procedure I have no signs of a shudder. I cannot duplicate what it was doing. I replaced the filter and oil. I'll continue to do the 500 mile interval dump and replace. Thanks for the advice.

 

I have an 06 2UZ and have had this issues for the last 20k miles. I took it to a reputable place and the main tech has the same engine in his sequoia. He took a look at it and said everything was fine. They flushed (first time in 200k) and all associates work, tested the fluid and no metal flakes. Normally I’d say it’s the torque converter, my case seems to be unique. I might not be the only one.

 

I'm a fan of the drain and refill, a flush is sometimes too agressive and the clutches on your TC might slip. This happened to me with a Chevy at only 70,000 miles. The 4Runners transmissions are so much better in quality, but I'm still a fan of a drain and refill, which dilutes new fluid with old fluid which might have abrasive clutch material still in suspension, therefore giving the clutches something to grip to.

Disclaimer: These are the ramblings of a madman, but I know a few mechanics that have seen it happen too.

 

195,000 currently and still going strong after changing out filter and draining fluid two times at the 500 mile intervals.
Thanks for the recommendations guys.

 

Glad it's doing well.

 

Good to hear. I had a similar shudder on a previos 2006 Sienna 5speed transmission. I think it had over 100k with factory fluid. Once I did a pan drain and refill, it went away and continued to run normally until I sold it around 6 years later.

 

I had dealer repair my 2017 SR5 chronic shudder in "D" at low RPM and about 30 mph. Felt like washboard road for a few seconds. My repair was covered under warranty.
But I learned my issue was a failed torque converter Flex Lock solenoid and valve inside tranny valve body.
Perhaps dropping tranny pan and cleaning valve body Flex Lock solenoid could solve your issue. Drain and refill tranny fluid is considered safer than complete flush.

 

Can you post part numbers? Nothing comes up with that description.

 

Here is some screen shots of my online research on this topic. Reading many sources I found out the Toyota Flex Lock torque converter design had shuddering issues across many vehicle models going back many years.
There is lots of info on web. The Tacoma and 4runner have very similar trannys.
My 4runner was ultimately fixed by my dealer by installing a new tranny, but I had a warranty in effect and dealers seem only able to remove and replace components.
My old eyes have a hard time posting pics from my phone. Let me know if I can post more