Toyota To Replace Faulty 8-Speed Autos In 2024 Tacomas—But There’s A Catch

Pickup trucks like the Toyota Tacoma are supposed to be reliable and dependable, but several owners of 2024 Tacoma models in the US have complained about transmission issues. Toyota has swiftly jumped in and announced an official technical service bulletin, meaning affected trucks will be fixed free of charge.

The technical service bulletin was shared with dealerships last week and only covers certain 2024 Tacoma VINs, all of which have the available eight-speed automatic transmission. However, as this isn’t a safety recall, Toyota won’t offer a solution for all applicable 2024 Tacoma models and, instead, only fix those that have already broken or break in the future.

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Dealers have been informed that vehicles eligible for repairs must have at least one of six diagnostic trouble codes present. These codes indicate that either a pressure control solenoid actuator is stuck or a torque converter clutch actuator is stuck in the off position, the Tacoma4G forums note. Any eligible Tacoma with one of these six fault codes will have the entire automatic transmission and torque assembly changed.

While this is great news for owners who have already experienced a fault, or any other Tacoma owners who have a truck that may develop a fault in the future, it could be stressful driving around knowing your pickup could, at any time, develop a transmission fault that will require significant repairs. Hopefully, dealerships will have easy access to replacement transmissions and will be able to conduct repairs without inconveniencing owners too much. There’s nothing more frustrating than having your car sit in a workshop for weeks while a dealer waits for parts.

Fortunately, models fitted with the available manual transmission are not impacted. The 2024 Tacoma is one of the few trucks left that can be ordered with a stick shift, and while its 2.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder has been slightly detuned from 278 hp and 317 lb-ft (429 Nm) in the auto to 270 hp and 310 lb-ft (420 Nm), it’s definitely the transmission option we’d go with.