NewHilux.net

This was touched upon briefly in another thread ( http://www.newhilux.net/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=123&t=26906 ) but nothing definitive came of it so I'll throw it up again.

Occasionally, after a period of driving in 4th gear, it is noticeably harder to shift down to 3rd than is usual. It's hard to pick a pattern at this stage but it's definitely happening. The normal culprit would be a dragging clutch but there's no sign of that once I get it out of 4th gear so I don't think that's the cause. It seems to happen once the car has been driven for 30 minutes or more and has then been left in 4th for 10+ minutes. Going into 3rd after that and then back into 4th is notchy as well.

After a few gear changes it all seems to free up. Very disconcerting to say the least.

The vehicle has only done 1400 km so it's early days but it would be interesting to know if others have had this happen and have found a reason for it. This is a manual SR single cab 4x4.

Tight synchros maybe?? With a new box they can take time to bed in... sounds like an oil viscosity thing maybe??

What I mean by this is as you describe the sequence of events it sounds like the oil gets hot/thinner and the synchros don't drag to effect the gear changes until the temperature of oil reduce to thicken oil somewhat and synchros work more as they should... this sound reasonable?? Assuming this is true, slightly heavier oil grade during break in may help.

Gipsy, thanks for the response.

I'm eliminated tight synchros as the cause as it's actually developed over time rather than being there from new.

I wondered about the oil (which is obviously the factory fill oil) but the odd thing is that it occurs as I turn into a corner after a period in 4th, so I change down to 3rd with some effort but after going back into 4th subsequent changes back out of 4th within less than 5 minutes are fine - and there would be no change to the oil viscosity or box temperature.

Stop press: while I was typing this reply I had a call from the dealer who sold me the vehicle (I had also sent a query to them) and they've told me that it's a known problem related to the gearshift mechanism itself.

They have parts coming from Toyota next week and will fit them under warranty (obviously -it's less than 2 months old) which is all reassuring. He's talking in terms of a form of hydraulic lock in the mechanism somewhere but I don't have a workshop manual to refer to in order to see what he means.

I'll get more details when I go in next week and I'll try and talk to the mechanic doing the work.

So hopefully that fixes it.

good luck, sounds like the dealer came through in the nick of time... not sure about the 'hydraulic lock' explanation tho Wonder how many others have this problem without knowing? And how many recalls will result? Surely if this is a 'known problem' Toyota owes it to its loyal customers who recently updated their 'unbrakeable Hilux'!! Not good for Toyota PR PR

Gipsy wrote:Wonder how many others have this problem without knowing?

Indeed, there were a number of people who mentioned haveing a similar issue in the thread I referenced in my 1st post but none of them ever reported a fix so I wonder if they think that it's normal behaviour for the box?

Doesn't sound normal to me.... especially if Toyota knows about it

I took the vehicle into the dealer today for the fix. It's a 30-60 minute job.

If anyone else has the same symptoms the official Toyota reference is "TNF 54/16 - High Shift Effort" - apparently it's not common (or at least is not reported to dealers), CMI in Adelaide said that mine is the 1st instance they've seen.

Got mine done the other day, it appears to have solved the prblem so far

Hmmm I wonder if they changed the gearbox oil?? that should fix it

30 minute fix doesn't sound like a box out synchros bedded fix I vote for an oil additive????

In 1970 I bought a brand new corolla and it did this, the Toyota dealer did a 30 minute fix and I never had any more problems, they changed the oil!

The problem is not in the synchromesh or oil viscosity, those would be more likely to make it hard to get into gear, not out of gear.

The problem is in the detent mechanism in the gearshift itself which tightens up after a period of inactivity.

gjn wrote:I took the vehicle into the dealer today for the fix. It's a 30-60 minute job.

If anyone else has the same symptoms the official Toyota reference is "TNF 54/16 - High Shift Effort" - apparently it's not common (or at least is not reported to dealers), CMI in Adelaide said that mine is the 1st instance they've seen.

Thanks for this info mate.

Has anyone had problems getting into first gear? Sometimes I find that it doesn't want to shift into first, after sitting in neutral (eg at the traffic lights) or down shifting from a higher gear. Sometimes it doesn't want to go in and i have to force it in, and sometimes it only wants to go in half way. Would you think this is a synchro issue?

What did they do to fix it Gjn?
I am having exactly same issue with a 2015 SR 4x4, shift sticking after running in high gears for a time cannot shift down or up easily. If I stop the vehicle and then drive off problem goes away, at least for a time. Reported it at my 1000 service, now just had 10000 service reported again and told by Toyota service the gearbox was just wearing in but that explanation is clearly not the issue. They said had never heard of this problem with any other new hilux.

They replaced a part in the gearshift mechanism. Tell your dealer the fault is known to Toyota as TNF 54/16 "High Shift Effort". Mine was done by CMI Adelaide.

It takes very little time to perform the fix and thus far I've had no recurrence of the problem since the part was replaced.

Spoke with Toyota and they have ordered the parts and acknowledge this issue in the new model gearbox and the TNF 54/16 fault, sounds like a pin and maybe a spring component need to be replaced, awaiting order to come in from Japan, so hopefully sorted soon. Appreciate the help getting this sorted

Just had the same issue after a longish drive , hard to get out of gear , will see Toyota Monday for the fix .
Cheers for the info guys

Has anyone had this problem when trying to find reverse?

Just drove my mates MY18 SR5 with the 6 speed M/T - it's shockingly hard to find reverse. I'm thinking it might be a related problem to the TNF 54/16 - High Shift Effort fault.

Appreciate any input.

Reverse doesn't always fully engage for me either, I've got to let it move a touch to get all the way in from time to time, say once every 20 occurrences? I've a 2015 N70, it's done it since new. Work ute is a 2007 lux and this also does the same thing. I figure it's just the gears/syncro not lining up for best slotting the gear in. It's not really an issue since we'll need to be stopped to engage reverse anyway.

Thanks for that. If I move the gear stick between 5-6 before trying reverse it seems work better- but that might be just luck.

Yeah mate my lux has been doing exactly what you described sitting in 4th for a prolonged time then won’t change into 3rd but then comes good 2 min later. I’ve never said anything but I will be calling them next week after reading this
Cheers