Transmission Issue

[BJane]

Mine was a faulty transmission pump. It took 2 weeks to get the pump from Japan, then another 2 weeks to get the seals, I was told. I have a 2024 First Edition in meteor shower color. It was in the repair shop at the dealership for 5 weeks.

First vehicle in my life with transmission problems, and I have been driving for a while. Thankfully, it was under warranty, and it has been running OK since. Just need to take it in for the software update recall next. I bought mine used with over 5,000 miles, and now it is 14,000+ miles.

 

[LCtrek]

Welcome to the asylum.

Thanks.

To add more context, I think most of the failures are caused by manufacturing swarf. It's causing pre-mature failure of solenoids/ oil pumps/ etc. Same issue as what was found in the Tacoma's. These new fancy transmissions have very small tolerances from what was found in the antiquated 4/5/6 speed transmissions. For comparison, I came from a Ford Raptor with an early 10r80 transmission. This thing shifts like butter compared to that. The 10r80's have a true design flaw in the CDF drum that causes rough bucking shifts. This has nothing on that dumpster fire of a design.

 

[KWLC250]

My 2025 with ~5,000 miles on it will shift hard (almost like the jolt is coming from the rear of the drivetrain) when it's aggressively down shifting (almost like a poorly rev matched downshift) if I'm slowing to a halt quickly in traffic. I've also noticed that when the transmission is cold I have a hard time shifting it out of park. I'm also one of the ones that can hear a high pitched sound coming from the center console (though I thought that was likely related to an inverter of some kind), I did see a post on one of the FB groups of someone mentioning a high pitched whining from a failed transmission pump which led to the tranny being replaced.

I'm 50/50 on mentioning to the service dept. I'd like to note the issues so it's on file if something comes up later (after I install a suspension lift), but also wonder if it's just normal?

 

[LRD]

My 2025 with ~5,000 miles on it will shift hard (almost like the jolt is coming from the rear of the drivetrain) when it's aggressively down shifting (almost like a poorly rev matched downshift) if I'm slowing to a halt quickly in traffic. I've also noticed that when the transmission is cold I have a hard time shifting it out of park. I'm also one of the ones that can hear a high pitched sound coming from the center console (though I thought that was likely related to an inverter of some kind), I did see a post on one of the FB groups of someone mentioning a high pitched whining from a failed transmission pump which led to the tranny being replaced.

I'm 50/50 on mentioning to the service dept. I'd like to note the issues so it's on file if something comes up later (after I install a suspension lift), but also wonder if it's just normal?

It's Toyota's new Normal...

 

[ultane]

My 2025 with ~5,000 miles on it will shift hard (almost like the jolt is coming from the rear of the drivetrain) when it's aggressively down shifting (almost like a poorly rev matched downshift) if I'm slowing to a halt quickly in traffic.

I'm 50/50 on mentioning to the service dept. I'd like to note the issues so it's on file if something comes up later (after I install a suspension lift), but also wonder if it's just normal?

Miss Daisy’s has done that a few times. It has been discussed on here more than a few times. I never mentioned it to the dealer(s), but wish I had..

 

[KWLC250]

I never mentioned it to the dealer(s), but wish I had..

Did something happen in the end with your transmission? Or are you just wishing you had documented the issue for the future?

 

[ultane]

Did something happen in the end with your transmission? Or are you just wishing you had documented the issue for the future?

Nothing happened, yet.. but I do clutch those worry beads. I just wish I it had documented with Toyota.

 

[WeGo250]

I'm genuinely curious about this as well. I am dealing with a similar issue with one of my LCs and based on what I've seen up to this point, most transmission issues appear to come from Hamura built trucks.

Curious where we can find/see that info?

Thanks!

 

[rysn]

Did you ever get anything resolved? I’m in a very similar situation. I also live in SLC and take my 2025 off-road quite a bit and if I remain in 4H, the trans temp will go up pretty quick. I only got the warning one time when I was driving up cottonwood canyon to ski, but that’s because I’ve been pretty cognizant of it ever since. No snow on the ground just heavy traffic. This also happened recently on a simple inclined dirt road but I was only going 10-15mph.

Seems a bit crazy to me that people recommend using manual or switching to 4L when it’s completely unnecessary and a $70k vehicle.

Curious where we can find/see that info?

Thanks!

The NHTSA Vin Decoder. View full vehicle report, expand entries per-page to 100 and scroll to the bottom.

 

[WeGo250]

The NHTSA Vin Decoder. View full vehicle report, expand entries per-page to 100 and scroll to the bottom.

Thanks. Well, mine is from Hamura, and I tow right up to capacity, but I've had my tans fluid changed and checked and everything looks go so far.

 

[KWLC250]

I have a 25' Trail Dust Premium that was made at one plant, and my wife has a 25' Meteor Shower LC LC (Base) made at the other plant. And we've both said that the downshifts are rough. So I don't think it's based on the plant (the rough down shifts at least).

 

[UCF.BSEE]

Since experiencing an issue with one of my Land Cruisers, I have been following discussions about transmission failures across social media groups and this forum. One pattern I have noticed is that the reported failures seem to involve Hamura built vehicles.

I could be wrong, and I recognize this is based only on what I have seen online. However, I have yet to see a documented transmission failure involving a Tahara built Land Cruiser. Our Tahara built LC Premium has been exceptionally smooth, which makes me curious whether there is any correlation between assembly location and these transmission issues. As these transmissions likely come out of the same factory, I wonder if there is some sort of variation on the production line that is causing these effects during assembly.

 

[WookieBait]

Since experiencing an issue with one of my Land Cruisers, I have been following discussions about transmission failures across social media groups and this forum. One pattern I have noticed is that the reported failures seem to involve Hamura built vehicles.

I could be wrong, and I recognize this is based only on what I have seen online. However, I have yet to see a documented transmission failure involving a Tahara built Land Cruiser. Our Tahara built LC Premium has been exceptionally smooth, which makes me curious whether there is any correlation between assembly location and these transmission issues. As these transmissions likely come out of the same factory, I wonder if there is some sort of variation on the production line that is causing these effects during assembly.

All of the transmissions are made in the same place, not sure what information you are finding that no Tahara built LC has had a transmission failure but i find that hard to believe.

 

[desertstriker8]

Mine is K and just had the pump fail. Waiting for that and the gasket to show up to then find out of my transmission is also damaged

Not good man

 

[UCF.BSEE]

All of the transmissions are made in the same place, not sure what information you are finding that no Tahara built LC has had a transmission failure but i find that hard to believe.

I’m certainly not suggesting that a Tahara built truck cannot experience a transmission failure. My point is simply that, of the transmission failure reports I’ve seen, all have involved Hamura built vehicles. I agree that the transmissions are produced at the same facility and distributed to both plants. I’m only speculating that there may be a production or assembly difference at Hamura contributing to these failures that does not appear to be occurring at Tahara.

 

[Bad1975]

Plant build has no effect, since the transmissions are built by Aisin and simply shipped to the plant and bolted in.

 

[UCF.BSEE]

Plant build has no effect, since the transmissions are built by Aisin and simply shipped to the plant and bolted in.

I work in OEM manufacturing and have seen firsthand how components from the same supplier can be installed differently between plants, resulting in different failure modes. In this case, it could be something as simple as how Hamura connects the transmission fluid lines to the radiator, potentially introducing contamination, while Tahara may use a slightly different installation method. So yes, plant specific build processes can certainly have an impact when there is variation in installation methodology.

 

[RideWithYanu]

I work in OEM manufacturing and have seen firsthand how components from the same supplier can be installed differently between plants, resulting in different failure modes.

Toyota is famous in the manufacturing world for the opposite of what you’re saying. Academics even study and teach it to people going to school to learn about automotive manufacturing, because they are so famous for addressing and preventing exactly what you are suggesting. They have definitely missed the mark in the past (2009-2010), but their corrections to per-plant procedural drift are again well documented.

Kaizen and Yokoten are specific terms interested folks could use to research more.

 

[halaweh]

MR AI says:-

There is no evidence of a transmission defect specific to the Hamura plant for the Land Cruiser 250 (Prado).


However, early production runs of the Land Cruiser 250 have exhibited a known transmission fluid pump issue, but it is a supplier part defect that affects vehicles assembled at both Hamura and Tahara equally.


1. The Transmission Pump Issue


Symptom: Owners experience a loud, distinct buzzing or whining noise coming from the center console/transmission area when stopped in gear with the brake depressed. Some owners also report harsh downshifts (notably from 2nd to 1st gear).


Cause: A faulty transmission fluid oil pump in the Direct Shift 8-speed automatic transmission (Direct Shift-8AT).


Fix: Toyota dealerships replace the faulty oil pump with an updated part design (or swap the entire transmission assembly if metal shavings are detected in the fluid) under warranty.


2. Why It Isn't a "Hamura vs. Tahara" Problem


Shared Components: Both the Hamura and Tahara assembly plants use identical Direct Shift-8AT transmissions shipped to them from Toyota's central powertrain manufacturing facilities (such as the Kinuura or Yoshiwara components plants).


Equal Occurrence: VIN tracking among owners in enthusiast forums shows that pump failures occur on vehicles produced at both the Hamura (Hino) facility and the Tahara facility. The defect stems from an early batch of supplier-made pumps rather than an assembly error on the plant floor.

 

[RideWithYanu]

Equal Occurrence: VIN tracking among owners in enthusiast forums shows that pump failures occur on vehicles produced at both the Hamura (Hino) facility and the Tahara facility. The defect stems from an early batch of supplier-made pumps rather than an assembly error on the plant floor.

Please ask MR. AI for the citations on this statement, I’d definitely be interested in reading the sources (even if they do confirm what I would assume to be the case).