2019 2020 transmission cooler missing

Good news is that the truck doesn’t go into limp mode when the transmission temperature warning comes on. Unlike the air pump failure. So we have that.

 

Where in the manual does it tell you to tow only in 4th gear?

 

Under the towing section. It indicates you should engage manual/S4 mode and engage tow/haul.

 

Well I do engage manual/s4 mode but then I slip it into s5 once I'm up to speed unless of course I'm crawling a steeper grade.

 

I thought it stated that as well. @ColoradoTJ said S4 was only recommended for braking when towing and when I reread the manual it appeared he was correct.

 

It specifically states engine braking.

Is there another blurp that states this to be exclusive of towing regardless?

 

I think it’s up for interpretation. The manual cites charging efficiency and engine braking as reasons for using S4 while towing but in my experience it also keeps the ATF temp way down.

 

4th is 1:1. 5 and 6 are overdrive. Towing in overdrive is not a good idea.

 

Perhaps someone has experienced this, but I'd like to see if anyone with a 19 or 20 has hit temp limit towing when in S4, tow haul mode on, and towing at 65 mph.

 

I agree and use the limiter in S4, but the manual does not seem to recommend it. Only tow/haul.

 

Hahaha, yeah sure.

The likely hood of anyone on this forum, reading the manual and following it to a T is less than .1%

Good test nonetheless and agree it should be tried.

 

I have towed in S4 and occasionally in S5 and never seen the warning. Knock on wood.

 

Where do you live?
What are your amb temps like while towing?
What weight you towing

 

No doubt circumstances play a big part, but I've seen several posts stating the TWL came on under less than severe conditions. I've towed mostly in the Ozarks and surrounding hill country so far in AR and E OK area. It gets a little warm here, lol. TT is ~6k lb.

 

Send your sample in through ups or fed ex, costs a lil bit but is worth it. I sent my UOA in on the 31st I believe, was supposed to arrive on the 3rd and still hasn't. Pretty pissed about it because I was excited to share the results here. Opened a claim with USPS but I doubt it amounts to anything.

 

Yeah true...TC lock up = good.

 

wait soo.. let me get this straight. you are saying your trans overheated its Toyota's fault but you have not brought it into the dealer as asked?

yup that makes sense.

 

Try in Drive see if it throws the warning

 

I’m saying that my trans temp warning light came on once in 30k miles, and that it never came on in 90k miles in my 2012.... difference being that my ‘12 had a supplemental cooler and my ‘19 doesn’t (even though I was lead to believe that it was identically equipped as my ‘12 was). So yeah, TOYOTA didn’t add a cooler to the ‘19s like previous years, therefore it’s their fault my temps are higher than before. Reason I haven’t taken to dealer is because I wasn’t born yesterday, and I know exactly how that experience will transpire. So my plan is to limit my frustrations and address it myself unless Toyota decides to make a move without me as the consumer having to jump through hoops like the op seems to be doing.

Any other questions/accusations?

 

Is your tundra supercharged?

 

nah

 

Yes.

 

Agree with him wholeheartedly. I was even told to do this by Toyota as well, take my vehicle in, get it officially notated, on a legal document. A repair order is a legal binding document that can and will hold up in court should anything ever happen. After bringing the concern to Toyota dealer directly And showing the proof of it. You have more of a case to stand on. Yes it's a PITA, but it has to be done. I've actually even been planning on taking my 3600 lb trailer in with me so I could really get the trans Temps extremely high. As sad as that sounds, yes, a 3600 pound trailer making trans temps Skyrocket is insanely sad.

 

I still think you should take it in and get it legally notated. Because what if they do issue a transmission cooler recall? If you don't have it documented before. You would have to go in get it documented and then wait for an approval to do a remedy. This way you're one step ahead where you can just say yep, I already brought my truck in for that issue and I would like the remedy scheduled ASAP

 

How many times do we have to tell you that "Only issues that effect the SAFETY of the vehicle are recalled"? The MOST you will get out of Toyota is a TIS advisement, but hey, if you want to waste your time for nothing, have at it.

 

Guys -- Sorry for this long post, but I have to get this off my chest. Please bear with me.

I have been monitoring this post (I admit that I gave up at page 13) and at least two other threads at Tundras.com on this subject for several months now. I have some level of common sense mechanically, but I don't pretend to be an engineer and will not weigh in on engineering or petroleum issues raised in these posts. So I don't have the ability to assess Toyota's engineering decisions regarding the likelihood of our transmissions failing - or more possibly - degrading in time due to higher temperatures. What I do know and trust is what has been extensively reported here by many owners - that the transmission temperatures on our 2019+ trucks are meaningfully higher than trucks from earlier years.

The higher temperatures may or may not have an impact on the longevity of the transmission (though I believe it probably will). However, I do expect it will affect the resale value of our vehicles. That is a real thing - and something that I will take a financial hit on when I sell. Importantly, because the change to no external cooler was not disclosed to me before I purchased my truck, it is unfair because I made my purchase without knowing it.

The issue of having a transmission cooler was important enough to me that before I purchased my truck in November of 2019, I called Toyota Customer Service to confirm whether the truck had a cooler or not. I did not ask specifically whether it had an 'external' cooler, but the service rep put me on hold, checked with someone or read something and came back to me to report that it did. At no time did he disclose that the external cooler had been removed and that now the cooling was exclusively going to be handled with a small liquid to liquid heat-exchanger puck.

The window sticker on my truck clearly states there is a transmission cooler, which is unchanged from stickers for pre-2019+ vehicles, so I had no reason to suspect that the external cooler had been removed.

So - what now? Posters here have had a couple of suggestions: One is for all of us to stop beefing and just add the external cooler ourselves. Maybe. But it is unclear whether Toyota might void the warranty on the basis of tampering with the factory system. Regardless of what you may believe about the Magnuson-Moss Act protection and if it would apply here or not, I'm not interested in having to absorb the expense of hiring a lawyer to protect my rights in a court fight against a team of litigators hired by Toyota to defend them. Even if I did this and won warranty coverage, I would be a financial loser - hugely.

Another suggestion that has been made is to switch to a higher quality ATF, whether fully synthetic or Amsoil or whatever, that would better tolerate high temps. Assuming you could even fully flush out and replace the WS ATF with the new better ATF. If I had a transmission failure after changing to something other than WS, I think Toyota might be well within their rights to say I hadn't used the required ATF and void the waranty.

So this seems to leave us as owners of a 2019+ truck with few options unless we plan to go without transmission warranty coverage. Further, I have probably been financially harmed by Toyota's failure to disclose this change to all of us, affecting resale value. (Forget the current truck shortage - when that passes, this will likely have an impact.)

Bottom line - Toyota sold me a vehicle that it did not disclose to me that they had changed in a meaningful way - either on the window sticker or through my call to Customer Service pre-purchase. It affects our truck's operating condition and likely all of us financially.

What has been their response? No offer of an extended transmission warranty or alternatively, the addition of external cooling if transmission temps are demonstrated to be high.

I don't believe this is ethical business practice and is certainly not what we expected from Toyota when we bought our trucks. It is the opposite. They need to address this issue now.

 

Caveat emptor