2009 Toyota Tacoma Prerunner V6 SR5 with 230,000 miles is lurching when in first gear, transmission?
Bought it used a month ago and it wasn’t happening as much. I am guessing it’s the transmission but I would like some suggestions. It happens once in a while when you’re at a stop and take your foot off the gas. I checked the vin in the Toyota app and the first owner did all regular scheduled maintenance at the dealership for the first ten years. I checked through all service records, a total of about 50. I called the dealer that did the maintenance and asked if there was ever transmission service done or if the 55k, 60k, 65k, etc recommended ever entailed a transmission fluid change. They said it was most likely done at the 100k service but couldn’t tell me if it was done for sure. I would like to assume the transmission fluid had been changed but I can’t. This is what I THINK I learned from Scotty that I want to apply to this situation:
-change fluid every 75,000 miles
-if it’s never been changed DONT mess with it
-never flush it unless it’s a very last resort because it could dislodge debris and make it worse
Tell me if I’m wrong, but at this time I can’t confirm if it was ever changed, it’s a sealed transmission and I don’t have the tools or gumption to check the fluid myself. I’m in Maryville TN and I asked on Nextdoor for mechanic recommendations, called around and most won’t even look at a sealed transmission. I called a local transmission guy, mom and pop business and he said he can take a look tomorrow. To be exact here, this is what I am looking for help with:
-should I let someone try to change (not flush) the transmission fluid?
- is it better to leave alone and watch longer? If it’s not broke don’t fix it?
-lurching from a stop, could it be something other than transmission?
-if in Tennessee/east TN does anyone recommend a good mechanic? I doubt Scotty is available and I don’t like dealer service centers.
should I let someone try to change (not flush) the transmission fluid?
Depending on the present condition of the ATF, see here -
https://carkiller.com/scottykilmer/qa/atf/
is it better to leave alone and watch longer? If it’s not broke don’t fix it?
If the fluid smells burnt and is black, yes. See above link.
lurching from a stop, could it be something other than transmission?
Any codes?
if in Tennessee/east TN does anyone recommend a good mechanic?
You’re a little over 3.5 hrs away from Scotty. You could try to email him and set up an appointment to analyse your vehicle -
https://carkiller.com/scottykilmer/qa/contact/
All the best and please let us know what your local mechanic says tomorrow.