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2007 FJ transmission "shudder"

164K views 123 replies 61 participants last post by  dgodesky 
#1 ·
I've read the thread on this and something is not quite adding up
I have a 2007 that I have owned since it was new. Now I'm at 77K miles and a "shudder" that felt like torque convert lock up starts happening. I had recently changed the battery and the Technician at our local Toyota dealer said that the power interruption might have had something to do with it. So the Tech reset the Computer and the shudder stopped. Now 4 weeks later it has returned.
This only happens in 4D at around 20 to 40 mph with RPM around 1200-1500.
if I switch it to 4 it goes away. If this was mechanical failure wouldn't it still shudder? I think it must be the computer. I wanted to change to synthetic fluid at around 30K miles but dealership recommended not. "fluid is good to 100K miles" they said.
My FJ is equipt with Diff Lock and Atrac. but of course I dont drive this way unless needed.

Thanks in advance.
Ray
 
#2 ·
The shudder could be the torque converter or an engine miss. If it's an engine miss you will only feel it when the torque converter is locked up. When the converter is unlocked the misfire is absorbed by the fluid inside the converter. A good tech with a scanner can drive the truck with a scan tool and see if the shudder is the trans or an engine miss. If the shudder is the converter a fluid change may help. There is also a product on the market called "LubeGard" which you can buy at most transmission shops. If the converter clutch is glazed this product may help. It's similar to posi additive as to how it works.
 
#3 ·
I am a new member to this forum, but have found valuable information here before. For what it is worth, I learned a very valuable lesson about this transmission shudder from some other posts which saved me much $$. I have a 2008 FJ with 66k miles. The shudder just began in the last 2 weeks. After finding that others have experienced this issue, I looked further and found that there appears to be some faulty transmissions in service.

Just yesterday, I visited one of my local dealers to have the shudder checked out. I was also armed with the information provided by others from this forum. Within 2 hours, the dealer told me I needed a new transmission which is where the fun began. I purchased the FJ as Certified used (from a dealer in a distant city) which I now know means that Toyota has applied an extended warranty to the vehicle. While the dealer told me that I needed a new transmission, they were not in direct control of authorizing a replacement. I had to leave the vehicle and have an adjuster from the "extended warranty" company look at it today. They made the dealer jump through a couple of hoops, but ultimately authorized a replacement transmission. This is scheduled for next week. I did learn that the transmission is pretty much "sealed" so the lay person cannot even check the fluid level or change the fluid. There is no dipstick.

The transmission was replaced under the 100k mile Powertrain warranty. If you still have that coverage, I would encourage you to keep up the pressure with the dealer.

I found the information available of this forum, invaluable and a great help. Thanks to all the members that post here.
 
#29 ·
There's one time that having the extended warranty paid off.:cheers:
Why not replace the oil yourself for less than $100 and see if it helps. My 07' has 67k miles. I changed the oil "in case". The stuff was jet-black.

You have little to lose and lots to gain. Oh, and Jimmiee is a transmission specialist, so believe what he says....
X2, jimmie knows his stuff.:wave:
 
#4 ·
Thanks for the replies!
The Tech got no errors from the ECU but got the shudder when he test drove it. After he reset the ECU it did not shudder. I've gone through the Tranny fluid thread and will change fluid soon. I dont remember anybody(posting)that they solved this issue with fluid change either. I dont understand the "learning" the ECU does after its reset. I'm thinking it maybe a programming error or a single component in the top gear (worn band?) because that's the only gear i can get it to do this. in the range the shudder happens a person driving a manual would have downshifted (due to low speed).
I'm a bit ADHD on this I know.
Is there a way to reprogram the ECU to adjust the shifting?
Oh and my warranty is expired. yeah...

gotta go; somthing shiny over there...
 
#7 ·
Alright now here is another curveball. I have adjusted my driving habit for the past week. I have shifted into 4 when the Shudder would normally happen and back into D when out of the range. Today I left cruise control on 40MPH in Drive on the slight uphill roads this all started happening on. The Tranny downshifted on its own and DID NOT shudder.
interesting...
I'll keep you all posted.
 
#8 ·
Just a SWAG but probably the reason it didn't shudder is because when in cruise the PCM keeps the line pressure higher and torque converter lock-up is switched on and off rather than modulated on and off. So you have less slip and shudder while in driving in cruise control.
 
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#57 ·
Have several 4x4 Tacoma in my fleet all automatic transmissions. What I can add, only use Toyota Transmission fluid when you have the auto transmission serviced. I have the transmissions serviced every 60 thousand miles at my local Toyota dealer. Have two trucks in the fleet with will over 200,000 miles no problems the auto Transmissions. Had my wife's Lexus transmission serviced at a local oil change shop with in a month the transmission failed. The fluid used did not match the Lexus fluid standards and was not compatible with the Lexus transmission per the Lexus mechanic.
So be safe as I have with my fleet only let Toyota service you auto transmissions.
 
#14 ·
How's your gas mileage? There's no reason to keep your transmission out of overdrive. Overdrive is there to increase your gas mileage and keep your engine in it's best power band. Your computer does this by watching the load on your engine along with the input and output speeds, temperature, altitude, etc. Now if you're towing or driving in the mountains then keeping your trans in 4th gear is a good idea in many circumstances.
 
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#12 ·
I talked to ace converters earlier in the week they said its more common then people realize and that next to sports cars fj's are the most common converters in his shop and he gave me the entire run down on his operation after he cracks the T-converter open. So all that being said and because my truck is a 2011it is goin on the lift saturday so I can over night the T-converter from sw florida to california and back hopfuly sometime next week
 
#13 ·
He probably made that statement because he specializes in FJ converters. Believe me of all cars on the road the FJ is on the bottom of the list when it comes to torque converter problems. What he will probably find is the converter clutch friction material is glazed from slippage and fluid deterioration. When this happens it's usually an easy fix. Replacing the friction material is all that's necessary. In your case hopefully you are getting more that a clutch disc replacement. Ask about how they furnace braze the fins and if they have to machine the turbine and stator for bigger Torrington bearings? Ask what else they do to make your converter last. Also ask him how much he will charge you if in 2 years the clutch glazes up again. Most performance converter companies will have a set charge for this refresh service.
 
#15 ·
Guys, I'm having this same dilemma on my FJ as reported here earlier this year.

I've got the 2007 @ 87,000 miles and drive the FJ as a commuter with ~15K/year. I've noticed the shudder since early March and quit driving it until I could have it checked.

o I had a non-Toyota repair center look at it and they agree it's coming from the transmission/torque converter. They found a similar issue seen on 2005-2009 Tacoma's and gave me a copy of the Toyota Service Bulletin (T-SB-0096-09 Torque Converter Flex Lockup Shudder) to take to a local Toyota dealer as it calls for a flash reprogram on the ECM. (NOT - a transmission replacement first).
o Of course, my local Toyota dealer pointed out - "this doesn't apply to the FJ"... Their $94/hr assesment is that I need the proverbial $392 transmission flush using 15qts of synthetic transmission fluid. That doesn't look like it's benefitted many of the posts I've read so far on this!
-They also hedged with "would probably expect the transmission to need replacement if that doesn't work" - @$2900 + labor ~ $3500-3800!
o Oh, and the dealership has given me the number to the Toyota Customer service hotline 800 331 4331 to let me work out my frustration directly.

Hmmm, seems like it's a KNOWN problem which Toyota is passing onto their customer. Is there any other hope other than looking at a likely transmission replacement?
 
#16 ·
Welcome to the Forum. I have seen several converter shudder problems fixed with a transmission flush so I would try that first. You have nothing to lose. I would normally recommend flushing with a good synthetic oil instead of the Toyota oil but in your case I would let Toyota do the flush in case it doesn't work and if it doesn't work at least you followed their instructions and can proceed with trying to get them to replace your transmission under warranty.
 
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#17 ·
I too have a 2007 FJ with a "shudder" problem. Of course the dealer recommends replacing the transmission for $$$$. I have never been off road in this vehicle. Seems to me that there are a lot of FJ's out their with this same problem. Has anyone asked Toyota about a manufacturing defect? Recall maybe?? Guess I'll just keep driving it until tranny goes entirely, then figure out what to do.:mecry:
 
#18 ·
Why not replace the oil yourself for less than $100 and see if it helps. My 07' has 67k miles. I changed the oil "in case". The stuff was jet-black.

You have little to lose and lots to gain. Oh, and Jimmiee is a transmission specialist, so believe what he says....
 
#19 ·
FYI, I had this issue on my 07 Tacoma 2wd. It is the rear transmission mount. I was out of warranty but purchased the revised mount for $50 I think. It solved the issue in the Tacoma. Here is that TSB T-SB-0132-08. May be an inexpensive thing to try before everything else.
 
#20 ·
FYI, I had same flutter with my 07 FJ. Spoke with a few of my gearhead buddies and consensus was to change fluid before anything else. Mine had ~90,000 and I've never had transmission fluid change.

Well, its been two weeks and the flutter is completely gone! Hopefully it stays that way.....my guess is that it will. NOTE: Transmission guy told me that after time the fluid breaks down and since the trannys of today are so sensitive it causes the problem.

My advice to anyone with flutter? GET THE FLUID CHANGED! Cost was $120 versus thousands for new tranny.
 
#22 ·
I had a dealership drain and replace the fluid in my 2008 90k FJ. It certainly helped but didn't fix the problem. Don't waste your time calling Toyota directly. They offer no help at all. I think Im going to have to just replace the torque converter. Are there any aftermarket transmission enhancements or a better replacement torque converter out there.
 
#23 ·
Did you get a full flush? How many quarts did they charge you for?
 
#25 ·
A full replacement would be 16 to 20 quarts. If they just did a normal 4 quart service then this would not fix a shudder.
 
#27 ·
i have a 2008 FJ with same problem. between 40-50km/hr shudder. took it in the other day and they flushed the trans 3x, installed new fluid and cleared the computer memory. seems to of fixed the problem, been trying to get it to shudder but shifts nice and smooth. tech said the fluid was dark and a bit low.
will continue to monitor it as it is a certified used toyota with 8 months left on warranty.

2008 FJ Sandstorm. 3in old man emu lift, TRD exhaust and cold air intake, arb front bumper with winch and extra lights. air-raid throttle spacer, heated seats, arb full roof rack and dee zee rear ladder.
 
#28 ·
opps forgot. I did take it to the Toyota dealership for the trans service.
 
#30 ·
Mine had the shudder also and I had the transmission flushed yesterday and now the shudder is almost completely gone! I feel that this will eliminate the shudder after driving it a little more.:clap:

We had a communication breakdown at the independent transmission repair center as they only dropped the pan and added back enough oil to top the level. Their idea of a fluid exchange and mine I guess was different! Adding a few quarts to old fluid is like changing your engine oil and not changing the filter..... I made them flush out all of the oil again like it should have been the 1st time.

I tried to get my Toyota dealer to do the exchange and they wouldn't do it! They kept claiming that the fluid was lifetime.....:flame:

~Tony
 
#31 ·
Okay so I have joined the party. My 2007 FJ started this shuddering a couple weeks ago. It has 95k on it. My girlfriend is the daily driver of it so when I first felt it I thought it was the road because it was barely noticeable. Since then it has gotten bad. The first mechanic I took it to thought it was a CV joint. I didn't really believe that was the issue because the shudder occurs right at 30mph and only shuddered when in 4D. It doesn't shudder when in 4. I decided to take it to the dealer (Toyota of Grapevine) and they immediately diagnosed it to be the torque converter going out. They told me I would need a brand new transmission at the cost of ~$5,300. My warranty expired 3 months ago so neither the dealer nor the aftermarket warranty company are willing to help. After speaking to the service manager they advised they could replace the torque converter and that would fix the issue. Hmmm... wonder why they recommended a new transmission then. I took it to a friend of a friend (a certified mechanic) who has more than 20+ years working with only transmissions. He said 9 out of 10 times he would agree that it is the torque converter but does not jump to that conclusion on the FJ's. He says he is 99% sure I need neither a new transmission nor a new torque converter. He believes flushing the transmission with new fluid will solve the problem. I have called Toyota and submitted my issue to them. I am supposed the hear back from them to see if they will take care of this issue. Neither Toyota nor the dealer will admit this is a common problem with the FJ's. I have my fingers crossed they will help cover this issue since it is only 3 months out of warranty. If they will not help me I will first do the transmission flush and see where that gets me. If that does not help I may replace the torque converter as it is much cheaper than a transmission. The dealer says they are so certain that is the issue and if it does not resolve they will stand by the work. Not really sure what that means. I am going back to the dealer this Wednesday with some of the valuable information I have read on here.
 
#32 ·
Here's what I felt in my '07 FJ. I'm a strong believer in replacing ALL the fluids soon after the break-in. I've done it in all the vehicles I've ever owned. This was the first one with an auto trans. So what I did was have it flushed at 70k km (about 45k miles.) When I got it back, it shifted differently. I don't know if it was a re-flash of the ECU or just a reset of the ECU, but after the flush, it seemed to stay locked up longer and not as quick to unlock or downshift on increasing the throttle. I also noticed that it would keep a lower rpm when cruising around town. After a couple of years (my yearly mileage is pretty low) I started noticing that it would sometimes upshift harshly like when you crest a big hill on the highway. Something it never did before. I also noticed something else that happened very rarely like once every few months. When coasting down a very long hill around town or approaching a stop, it would do something like the shutter. The tach would jump back and forth about 900 rpm and you could feel a shudder. If would never do it just driving on level ground. So I was approaching 150k km (about 90k miles) and decided this time to just do a drain refill. They are very leery of doing a flush and was told I was just borderline the first flush I had done. They only wanted to do the drain refill but I argued and won. I figured there was no use in arguing the second time around. Anyway, after this drain refill, the harsh shifting is gone, the normal shifting feels much smoother when accelerating normally, there is no harsh shifting when cresting a hill on the highway, and it's back to quick downshifting when applying more throttle. There must have been and ECU reset since I had to reset things like the seatbelt chimes and radio stations. So now the trans operates like new with slightly higher revs around town (about 200 rpm @ 30 mph). It no longer holds lock up if I accelerate a little. If shifts much smoother at highway speed when overtaking or cresting a hill hill on cruise. I haven't experienced any shuddering but then it's only been a few months (though I just finished an 1800km road trip). The only difference in driving between the two trans services is that for the second one I had more off-road driving since I'd gotten a Griffon and was a lot more in the woods than the first one. But that was mostly slow going one fairly good trails with nothing too difficult. So that's my story. I have no idea why there should be so much difference in the trans operation between the two types of service. Time will tell if I should have had it flushed the second time.
 
#33 ·
Glad I found this thread after I replaced my transmission, MAS and well ya it wasn't cheap!

My story in a nut shell. I've got a 2007 FJ auto, i've had a weird preload/shutter ever since I got my rig with 2 miles on back in 08. I told my local Toyota Service place countless times and they never could "duplicate" the issue. I also had them install a TRD CAI kit on it and i've had code blow ups several times. They finally replaced the MAS and removed the TRD CAI due to it throwing codes, (they still are in talks with TRD about this issue). This happened in August.

Now in June of 2014 the shudder became way worse, between 1000 and 1500 RPM's it would shudder sometimes pretty bad until I either accelerated or decelerated. Initially the Toy techs said it was a CV issue I said BS. The CV boots needed replacing so while I had it in there for that I had them check it again and low and behold, oh ya you need a knew tranny and torque coverer... Extended warranty contacted they only cover $2000 of it. SO I was left with a chunk of change to cover. There goes my knew Expedition one FB!!!!!

So in essence I have been through this, it sucks, but what gives? Is this a factory issue? Can we start discussions about a class action lawsuit? I am already wanting to compile evidence of issues with the TRD CAI kits and start a class action lawsuit for that heap of headache!

Oh well just my 2 cents!
 
#34 ·
Oh oops I forgot I have 118,000 miles on her. 117, 998 of my driving.
 
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