The U.S. NHTSA has received ten complaints of failure, but forums suggest the problems may be more widespread
Author of the article:
Jil McIntosh
Published Aug 06, 2024 • 2 minute read
![Owners complain about transmission trouble in 2024 Toyota Tacoma (1) Owners complain about transmission trouble in 2024 Toyota Tacoma (1)](https://i0.wp.com/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/driving/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/029A2488-copy.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=375&h=211&sig=4LXo971BCyHZxkdoVbvDCg)
- The U.S. NHTSA has received at least ten complaints over 2024 Toyota Tacoma gearboxes
- Dealers who plan to swap out the defective transmissions will have to wait for their replacements
- Owners are reporting problems affecting both automatic and manual transmissions
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We recently covered news of Toyota recalling its full-size Tundra pickup truck for engine issues, and now the midsize 2024 Tacoma may be experiencing some troubles of its own. While it hasn’t announced a recall or an indication that one may be coming, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has published ten consumers’ complaints about their trucks’ transmissions, on new trucks with low mileage. Two other powertrain-related complaints were for the engine stalling and not restarting; and for a failed universal joint bearing and subsequent driveshaft damage.
In some of the complaints, the owners stated their dealerships said the transmissions had failed and required replacement, including one where the technician “found metal shavings in (the) transmission fluid.” In addition, getting those replacement units appears to be a problem — that same person said the dealer reported that “there are no spare transmissions in the U.S. and that it could take 3 months or longer to replace.”
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Learn more about the cars
2024 Toyota Tacoma 3.13out of 5 MSRP $46,950 to $48,540
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The Tacoma is an all-new model for 2024, and it’s often tough enough to make enough transmissions for the assembly lines, without having to build more as replacements for them.
In a report from The Drive, it looks like NHTSA’s complaints file is just the start. That outlet compiled a number of complaints from social media and online forums, including “mechanics reporting multiple trucks in their shops with failed transmissions.” It appears drivers are having issues with both the automatic and manual transmissions.
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The story also references a video from Canada’s Truck King, where a Tacoma with manual transmission fails on camera as the hosts illustrate the truck’s rev-matching feature. An engineer with Toyota Canada blamed it on operator error. Watch the video yourself and see what you think.
It’s not the only video out there: Untamed Motors talks about issues with the transmissions. Another video from Pickup Truck Plus SUV Talk takes a balanced approach with the NHTSA complaints, along with an attempt to find if someone making videos about the transmissions actually exists (and apparently does not).
Whether the complaints to the U.S. agency will actually result in a recall has yet to be determined; so far, the 2024 Tacoma doesn’t have any recalls issued by NHTSA, nor with Transport Canada. Of course, if any emerge, we’ll let you know. In the meantime, no matter what you drive, you can check to see if it has any recalls by visiting Transport Canada’s website, or by contacting the auto manufacturer, either online or through its customer service number. You’ll need the vehicle information number, or VIN, which is that 17-digit mash of letters and numbers that’s on your ownership, or visible on the driver’s side of the dash through the windshield.
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Jil McIntosh
Jil McIntosh specializes in new-car reviews, auto technology and antique cars, including the two 1940s vehicles in her garage. She is currently a freelance Writer at Driving.ca since 2016
Summary
· Professional writer for more than 35 years, appearing in some of the top publications in Canada and the U.S.
· Specialties include new-vehicle reviews, old cars and automotive history, automotive news, and “How It Works” columns that explain vehicle features and technology
· Member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) since 2003; voting member for AJAC Canadian Car of the Year Awards; juror on the Women’s World Car of the Year Awards
Education
Jil McIntosh graduated from East York Collegiate in Toronto, and then continued her education at the School of Hard Knocks. Her early jobs including driving a taxi in Toronto; and warranty administration in a new-vehicle dealership, where she also held information classes for customers, explaining the inner mechanical workings of vehicles and their features.
Experience
Jil McIntosh is a freelance writer who has been writing for Driving.ca since 2016, but she’s been a professional writer starting when most cars still had carburetors. At the age of eleven, she had a story published in the defunct Toronto Telegram newspaper, for which she was paid $25; given the short length of the story and the dollar’s buying power at the time, that might have been the relatively best-paid piece she’s ever written.
An old-car enthusiast who owns a 1947 Cadillac and 1949 Studebaker truck, she began her writing career crafting stories for antique-car and hot-rod car club magazines. When the Ontario-based newspaper Old Autos started up in 1987, dedicated to the antique-car hobby, she became a columnist starting with its second issue; the newspaper is still around and she still writes for it. Not long after the Toronto Star launched its Wheels section in 1986 – the first Canadian newspaper to include an auto section – she became one of its regular writers. She started out writing feature stories, and then added “new-vehicle reviewer” to her resume in 1999. She stayed with Wheels, in print and later digital as well, until the publication made a cost-cutting decision to shed its freelance writers. She joined Driving.ca the very next day.
In addition to Driving.ca, she writes for industry-focused publications, including Automotive News Canada and Autosphere. Over the years, her automotive work also appeared in such publications as Cars & Parts, Street Rodder, Canadian Hot Rods, AutoTrader, Sharp, Taxi News, Maclean’s, The Chicago Tribune, Forbes Wheels, Canadian Driver, Sympatico Autos, and Reader’s Digest. Her non-automotive work, covering such topics as travel, food and drink, rural living, fountain pen collecting, and celebrity interviews, has appeared in publications including Harrowsmith, Where New Orleans, Pen World, The Book for Men, Rural Delivery, and Gambit.
Major awards won by the author
2016 AJAC Journalist of the Year; Car Care Canada / CAA Safety Journalism award winner in 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2013, runner-up in 2021; Pirelli Photography Award 2015; Environmental Journalism Award 2019; Technical Writing Award 2020; Vehicle Testing Review award 2020, runner-up in 2022; Feature Story award winner 2020; inducted into the Street Rodding Hall of Fame in 1994.
Contact info
Email: jil@ca.inter.net
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jilmcintosh/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JilMcIntosh
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