Issue with driving at slow speed

Hey everyone,

I have a 2016 Tundra SR5 Double Cab 4.6L. First time truck owner and it's great, don't think I ever want to go back to a car, I use it for recreation and commute. However, immediately after I bought it, I started running into intermittent issues at slow speeds. Either leaving my driveway, taking off from a red light or stop sign, and even slow riding the parking lot, I felt like when I pressed on the gas it acted almost as if it were in neutral and would only rev loud and not move forward much until it finally shifted into gear. It didn't feel normal and it definitely didn't feel like that when I was test driving it along with other 4.6L double cabs. I took it to the dealership and they told me it was perfectly fine and no error codes came up from diagnosing. I told myself OK maybe this is just normal for a V8 truck - I didn't know. But it kept doing it after I took it home - so frustrating.

After some research, I did an "idle-relearn" which seems to have fixed it for the moment - haven't driven it enough to feel completely comfortable about it yet, but it seems to drive like the other 4.6 double cabs I test drove before purchase. I was thinking maybe the previous owner hauled heavy loads on a daily basis and the truck was used to that style of driving? Any one else run into this? If you have, do you know what the root of the problem was/is and did you do anything to resolve yet?

 

That doesn't sound normal. I would take a toyota tech with you on a test drive and get it to act up.

 

Did you put gas at a shady place? Some times if you get watered down gas it’ll give a degraded combustaion vs normal gas and can cause your gas to pull and act funny

 

Mine only does that from a cold start. If i start mine and immediately shift into gear mine does something similar. Now i let it idle down about 20 sec before I shift and never have an issue. Its like the transmission needs to circulate some fluid before you shift. Maybe have the transmission serviced.

 

Take to another Toyota dealer, get a 2nd opinion??? Bad gas??? still under warranty???

 

I haven't, but maybe the previous owner has. I bought it with 18k miles and I've put on about 4k so far. I stick to the top tier brands in my area which is Chevron, Shell, and Mobil. Thanks for that info though... That's interesting but not completely surprising that a gas station would do that.

 

2013 Bdl Cab 4.6 (68K on the odo) and I've experienced the same thing when pulling away at slow speed or shifting into D after backing out of a parking spot. After resetting the computer (unhooking the battery for 2 hours) I've not noticed it since.

 

Yeah, still have all the factory warranties. Basic warranty will expire soon though, 36 months/36,000 miles. Will go to another Toyota dealership if it happens again at the level it was before i did the idle-relearn. It's possible the previous owner put bad gas in it.

 

Hope it gets resolved quick

 

n2deep: yes! I noticed that happening so I began to let it warm up and it was doing it much less but the issue didn't completely go away. I assumed newer vehicles didn't have to go thru a warm-up process after starting but it appears I am wrong. I owned a 2006 corolla before this and never had to warm it up, but I also do live in South Florida

bvia: That's amazing. I unhooked my battery for about 30 minutes, not sure if that was enough time. It feels better, but not 100% sold yet due to my time behind the wheel since that.

 

Keeps up posted on your findings cause my mother in law and Gma experienced this same issue last week and we ran the gas out and it went away, when driving got through atelast all the rpms.

 

Will do and glad to hear they got rid of it!

 

UPDATE: 24-May-2018
Well the truck went back to sounding like annoying vacuum cleaner while driving at slow speeds (0-20mph). Sounds like too much gas being used for the amount of force being provided via the gas pedal.

Sometimes it wouldn't make the sound but that was only when I had it warming up for a whopping time of 45 seconds to a minute and a half. I could tell this is the right time before taking off because the RPMs would suddenly dip to 800-900 from 1100-1200 and the the engine calmed. Anytime I drove off before any one of those factors the truck wasn't complying.. So thinking that even 45 seconds was probably a ridiculous amount of time to warm up, I unhooked the battery again, this time for three hours - and just as last time it started driving beautifully. It didn't have that vacuum cleaner sound and it purred deep and clean while smoothly shifting.

A day later it started doing it again, it sounds like my shop-vac is under the hood during this process.

Not sure what to do...I was really hoping unhooking the battery was going to solve my problem.

A) Try emptying out the gas tank completely? I have already run it down to "4 miles until empty" then refilled.
B) Take it a different location Toyota dealer for second opinion?
C) Is this a lemon and should I trade now to get the most value?
D) OTHER - I'm all ears

Thanks everyone for all the help before and in advance.

 

Thanks for the update! Sorry to hear it’s still there.

A) looks like it’s not a gas issue
B) doesn’t hurt getting 2nd options
C) wouldn’t say it’s a lemon just yet
D) try checking fuel filter, fuel pump. I mean it’s a 2016 you shouldn’t see any issues with needing to swap out parts. What’s the mileage? Check your EGR valve maybe it’s clogged or dirty. Maybe go to autozone and pick up a fuel additive/cleaner. But first things first check your fuel filter and egr should be simple to check those first and go from there

 

Sounds like the clutch fan is staying engaged.

 

Thanks, super helpful info! My mileage is about 23k now. This sounds like it can be a DIY project? I'll YouTube that to see if I can get any luck, plus look into the fuel additive/cleaner. I have no warning lights on the dash, and according to Toyota there's no error codes so "nothing's wrong". In your opinion, do you think they would still service or more importantly replace these parts for me @ no cost, i.e. powertrain warranty service without proof of requiring repairs? I guess I could just ask them and see what they say too.

 

I personally do not suggest adding any type of fuel additive or cleaner. Did this one time to my previous truck and had to replace fuel pump and charcoal canister after about 2 days. Maybe just coincidence but I don’t think so. Take it to another Toyota dealer and tell them to fix it. Tell them that you are leaving it there until they correct the issue. Keep us posted.....

 

Your ECM will set codes but will never set the check engine light, you light will only set if it repeats. I know with GM/Ford that’s how the ECM works. Maybe the tech at Toyota can share with you the codes that have not set yet. They can also get you your trucks current condition, all the sensors that record data... not sure if they will share this with you but won’t hurt to ask. I’m able to get all this info for Ford/FCA/GM but no Toyota since we don’t supply the ECM yet for them, we only provide the safety sense equipment for now.

Anyways would first take to another dealership to get a second opinion.

 

There is also a thread in here where you can ask true Toyota mechanic would also ask there as well

 

https://www.tundras.com/threads/ask-the-toyota-mechanic.2404/

 

^^^^This!

 

I think my 2016 does the same thing. When the truck is cold it almost feels like the transmission is slipping at slow speeds especially shifting between 1st and 2nd gear. The engine will rev up a little bit before engaging during on the gas off the gas maneuvering like in a parking lot, but only when cold. It also has a small delay when shifting into D after start up. Out of habit I always wait 30 secs. and let the engine idle down before moving. I bought the truck used with 27k miles and didn't notice this for first few weeks of ownership. I'm due for a service and will mention it when I bring it in, I'm still under bumper to bumper. Will first try the relearn procedure.

 

Yes, this sounds so familiar. However, this happens when my truck is completely warmed up as well. My issue happens even immediately after spending three hours of highway driving. I re-posted this in the "Ask the Toyota mechanic" thread, I'll keep you all posted.

I'm curious if that relearn procedure will work for you, it worked for only just a limited time for me.

 

this. ^

 

Along with having the check the viscous fan hub, request that they check the transmission fluid level. You would have to leave it at the shop long enough for the transmission to cool to the right temperature range.

You might want to go to a different dealer though, anyone who says that there can’t be an issue if there are no fault codes /warning lights has just proved that they are blatantly ignorant.