Truck hesitates on takeoff

2019 5.7 limited crew

I wasn't quite sure how to title this.

Saturday afternoon I pulled into the garage to run wires for bed lights and do an oil change. I ran wire Saturday. I didn't touch the battery or any existing wiring or fuses. Just ran some wire across the core support, down through the bay and along the frame.

Sunday I did the oil change. I touched nothing but the skid plate, filter cannister, oil pan, filler cap and dip stick.

I backed out of the garage last night so we could close the door.The truck just barely fits all the way inside. Like literally 18 inches clearance total, front and back. I had left the truck sticking out Friday and Saturday nights.

This morning I pulled back in to put the skid plate back on, and there was hesitation. It felt like when the E-brake is still engaged and the truck doesn't move at first and you're giving it extra throttle then realize it was still engaged. I backed up a little and went again, thinking it was just the brake rotor being a little seized up/rusty from the rain. It was fine.

An hour later I backed out again to go to town and when I put it in drive to go up the little slope to the subdivision street, it didn't go anywhere. I had revs but no forward movement until I had given it significantly more throttle. It never had any kind of thud as it engaged. Just had that same e-brake feeling. I should say, I had the E-brake engaged when the truck was inside Saturday and Sunday, but not today.

I went back and forth a few times and kept getting the same result. I went ahead and lugged it up the slope then tool a lap around the neighborhood and it felt weird. It settled down so I went ahead and headed for town. As I pulled out onto the main road, it felt ok then lugged again as I accelerated a bit more. It was also an uphill slope. So I pulled off and went up to a school to turn around. It's a steep hill and I had no problem. Went on ahead to town from there, dropped off a battery for core refund, sat about 10 minutes idling in the lot, then drove back past my neighborhood a ways, stopped, shut it off, restarted and took off again. I accelerated hard a few times with no issues. It felt like its normal self. I tried backing out and taking off from the driveway a few times an it was fine.

A few hours later I backed out of the driveway to test it again, and as soon as I started to accelerate up the slope it didn't move, then I felt a small thud and it took off normally. I repeated it a few times.

Any idea what this is? Maybe the throttle body not closing or something? It's still under warranty but I'm almost an hour from the nearest dealer. If it's something simple or if I bumped into a plug or something I'd like to check before I take it anywhere. I cant see how I would have caused this though.

 

[I don't know hardly anything about modern engines, but...] Could you have accidentally shorted something electrical-related with the wires you were handling since you didn't disconnect the battery?? A sensor or something that would be causing such weird behavior? I doubt an injector, but it kind of sounds like it could be fuel related.

 

When it doesn't move does it sound like the transmission is in neutral or park? Or does it sound like the engine is straining as if the parking brake is engaged?

 

Sounds like a torque converter issue maybe?? Definitely not a common issue here.

Assuming CEL is off? No warnings?

 

Did you accidentally drain the transmission pan instead of the oil pan? Check your oil level to see if it’s over full. Low trans fluid will give your exact symptoms.

 

Oh man. No trans fluid and double the engine oil sounds like a bad recipe.

 

I hope you figure this one out OP and report back.

 

I’m with @KNABORES sounds like you drained transmission fluid

 

When idling did you step on the brake and activate the engine shut off? I did that a few times when I first got the truck and when I put it into reverse the truck do not move until I gave it additional gas. It was like the emergency brake did not release soon enough. The only time I could ever replicate that issue was activating engine shut off when idling.

 

One more vote for @KNABORES suggestion; check to make sure you didn’t drain the transmission and overfill the motor. It has been done before…

 

Any update OP?

 

If you needed an allen socket or wrench to pull drain plug, and not a 14mm socket, you drained the trans.

 

Need update.

 

And only half the normal amount came out. And it was red.

 

OP was just spotted buying some WS fluid.

 

Wasn't a year or 2 ago that someone mistakenly drained the ATF and then added additional 8qt. of engine oil to the sump?

 

It was actually only a few Months ago.

https://www.tundras.com/threads/no-gears-after-oil-change-huh.113555/#post-2925424

 

Holy shit.
I have this exact same hesitation issue. It only happens when I park nose up on a hill. I go to leave and it feels like the parking brake is on until I give it more gas. There is no thunk just like I’m releasing the parking brake but it’s not on.

It did cross my mind that it could be low trans fluid. I’m going to check that today. Does anybody have any ideas?

 

Assuming OP posted this in the correct section, his truck doesn't have Auto Start/Stop.

 

If draining the trans by accident was what happened, it must be pretty common!

 

Thank you all for the replies. I'm so sorry I didn't reply. I completely forgot I posted this. I did drain the transmission pan, and I couldn't feel more stupid.

I've changed plenty of oil over the years but hadn't done it myself with this truck. The whole skid plate removal and cannister filter was new to me, it was getting cold (truck doesn't completely fit in the garage and it's not heated) and I was pressed for time.

I had never seen the cannister filter setup before, but I ordered the wrench and watched a few videos. I had initially thought that since the new filter came with a tap that I would get all the oil from there. When only a quart or so came out, I went looking for the oil pan. I'm paranoid about draining the transmission so I looked online for the oil pan location. I looked at a pic and saw what I now know is the transmission pan. But I guess whatever pic I was looking at wasn't actually intended to show the oil pan. I don't know where I got the pic that day, but I guess I searched, and the pic mentioned oil or changing the oil, but that particular picture wasn't intended to shiw the oil pan. It was probably part of a set of pics detailing an oil change or whatever. Like I said, pressed for time...got in a rush.

The big thing is...this is a sealed transmission system, right? No dipstick, and I recall from my 2007 tacoma days that the transmission could only be drained from the top, using a pump. I havent searched it, but I'm guessing that's not actually the case. But my brain said "there's no drain plug for the tundra," so it wasn't even thinking I may be draining the wrong pan.

I drop the bolt and let it flow, and went back around front to clean up my towels and put away some tools. Ive always used a rubber dish pan, but we moved house and I don't know where it ended up, so I bought an enclosed catch pan. I never saw the fluid,and again with the low light I didn't notice the residuals looking red when I wiped the bolt to put it back. We've already established that I'm an idiot, but had I seen red I would have realized my error.

When I pulled out the catch can it felt a little light. I believe the pain drains 4 of 12 quarts of ATF, and I had pulled a quart or so of actual oil from the cannister, but the catch pan is 16 quarts so my pressed-for-time brain dismissed it as just the giant catch pan making it seem like less.

But what erased any subconscious suspicion I may have had was when I added all that new oil. It still boggles my mind that I got 7.5qts in there without anything overflowing. I only stopped at 7.5 because the dipstick reading was up slightly past the hash marks. But yet another thing I should have let sink into my brain was how I was seeing a little black on the dipstick. I just figured it was getting scraped off the inside of the dipstick shaft.

I can't make clear enough how obvious these signs WEREN'T to me in those moments. Looking back I'm like "you moron."

Luckily, I didn't drive it in the week between that initial short trip and when I drove it to the dealership. By the time I got 200ft away from the driveway it was normal and had no shifting problems in the 45 minutes to the dealer.

Dealership keeps it overnight so they can drive it cold. Guy calls, on speaker phone with his tech, probably expecting an argument. He said "who changed the oil on this last? The transmission pan is drained."

I told them I did and that I hadn't mentioned it because I just thought it was a coincidence. I was floored, and asked how the hell I could have at least 14qts of oil in there. The tech said "it'll hold that much. you arent the first person to do this." I said that made me feel about 5% better, but if they called back later and I didn't answer that I had likely jumped off a bridge.

So they said they would service it, replace all the fluids, and if that didn't work I would likely need a transmission. I hung up the phone and stared at the wall for an hour, trying to figure out how I had managed to be so stupid. For hours affdrward I just thought and thought about it. They called back later and said it was working normally, and I've been driving it a couple weeks with no issues. A Tundra owning buddy of mine congratulated me on getting the world's most expensive oil change.

For a few days I just kept asking myself how I could have done that. I'm a relatively car savvy guy. I've done a lot more complex automotive work than changing oil.

It took some time for me to piece together all the stuff I described above, and it showed me something...I am WAY too distracted. I have mild to moderate ADHD anyway, but factoring in how much I have my phone in my hand, a hectic technical job, moderate anxiety, and my evening schedule coaching sports and such, I'm just not allowing myself enough time to really be present and relaxed. This world's most expensive oil change has had a profound effect on me. My phone is down more, I'm multitasking less, and I'm getting away from the TV and reading a book before bed, etc. Provided my transmission continues to be OK, I've found this stupid folly of mine to have been worth the $600 price tag.

 

Just watched this. I had no codes, no spillage. Makes me wonder if another quart added would have had me in bad shape. Or maybe it's just that I hadn't been driving it. Shew.

 

Glad it all worked out for you in the end.

 

Better to have killed a transmission than a transmission AND an engine!

 

Shit happens all we can do is learn from it and move on. Glad it didn’t cost ya to much in the end.

 

I've done a few stupid things ... can't remember most of them now but some involved cutting myself with sharp objects or knives ... One bad cut happened during pandemic while filleting salmon at dusk (had a headlamp) by a river and I figured no way I'm going to the emergency room or hospital mid pandemic ... not sure which act was more stupid but I survived.

After that I reminded myself again:
a) don't rush.
b) no work at night if possible.
c) don't get too comfortable with any task even if you have tons of experience.

Seems like a,b and c applied to you.

Murphy's law ... At least you admitted and explained what went wrong and that's a big plus ... and you didn't have to change your user name

 

Holy cow! Thankfully the transmission didn't destruct. I would count your blessings on that. And next time you know what to do! (And not do)

 

Thanks for the sympathy. Luckily, I don't embarrass easily and I've never thought I was above doing something so painfully absent minded as this. I told my friends they could make fun of me, but they had to wait until I found out if I needed a transmission first. If so, I would need a couple days extra before they could start in on me...lol.

I'm not saying I'm glad this happened, but the clarity it's given me was sorely needed.

And I'm not changing the oil myself again. I certainly know what to (not) do now, but I've taken the privelege away from myself.

 

Don't let your one mistake prevent you from the satisfaction of doing it right the next time.

 

I'm gonna start with finishing my bed light install and go from there..lol