We reported at the beginning of August that 2024 Toyota Tacoma owners were having transmission problems. Not all of them, mind you, but enough to make the issue known on forums, Facebook groups, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration site. These complaints have since made their way to Toyota, which has published an official technical service bulletin for affected trucks. The fix? Replace the transmission and torque converter altogether.
The TSB surfaced this week on tacoma4g.com with instructions for owners to see if their pickup is affected. Only Tacomas produced during a certain run seem to be included, and they’re all automatics. There’s no official total yet and there may never be if it doesn’t turn into a safety recall.
Also because it isn’t a recall, Toyota dealers won’t conduct the transmission and torque converter swap unless the truck breaks. At least one of six diagnostic trouble codes must be present, which signal a stuck pressure control solenoid actuator or a torque converter clutch actuator stuck in the off position. That means a Tacoma’s VIN could fall into the parameters of affected models but not receive new hardware unless something fails.
This is much different than Toyota’s mass recall of 2022-2023 Tundra pickups with the non-hybrid twin-turbo V6. In that case, the manufacturer is replacing roughly 102,000 engines that could fail due to debris inside the combustion chambers. Affected owners can have their Tundra’s engine replaced before it fails, though not all have been that lucky. Tundra owner forums and Facebook groups are full of people posting their trucks broken down on the side of the road. It’s not a fun place to be.
It’s important to note that Toyota is stepping up and making the repairs when necessary without charging the customer a dime—as it should. The automaker could’ve tried weaseling its way out of its responsibility to make things right with the customer, but it’s not. Toyota is ordering dealers to replace entire transmissions and torque converters rather than picking them apart to repair one broken piece that might have also affected a dozen others while malfunctioning.
If you’ve got a 2024 Tacoma with a warning light on the dash and strange transmission behavior, now would be a good time to drop your dealer a line and see if you’re covered by this new TSB.
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