Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2018 Toyota Tacoma owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
I HAVE HAD BELOW ISSUE AT 57000 MILES ON MY TACOMA. I WAS TOLD BY THE DEALER THAT I AM NOT UNDER THE WARRANTY, AND COPORATE THAT THERE IS NO RECALL FOR MY TRUCK BY SEARCH VIN, BUT ITS CLEAR IM EXPERIENCING THE SAME ISSUES AS BELOW AND SEEING OTHER VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE EXPERIENCING THE SAME ISSUE, SO ITS CLEAR THIS TRUCK WAS BUILT WITH THE SAME DEFECTS. The Plano, Texas-based manufacturer sent a safety recall report to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) stating they will recall 6,046 2018 Toyota Camry, 2018 Toyota Highlander, 2017 Toyota Sienna, 2017 Toyota Tacoma, and 2017 Lexus RX350 vehicles built between Oct. 2 and Nov. 3, 2017. Toyota stated in the report the affected vehicles contain brake booster vacuum pump assemblies with improperly machined oil galleys. The vacuum pump is supplied oil from the engine to seal and lubricate the pump vane's movement. …
When I go to accelerate at low speed my vehicle shudders shakes and vibrates, no engine lights or codes have popped up, the issue is somewhere from transmission to the rear end. Im guessing transmission or torque converter. With my vehicle only having 136,000 miles and is well taken care of this is ridiculous, I have checked drive line and tires and everything seems to be working as it should so it has to be something internal
2018 2WD Tacoma. Auto transmission. Ever since new and even today, when traveling 30-40 MPH and slowing to anywhere from 10-25 MPH, and then trying to accelerate, the engine and/or transmission stumbles/hesitates for at least a full second, and then the engine races higher and a hard transmission downshift occurs jerking your head and body back and sending the vehicle into a fast acceleration.
My 2018 Tacoma is experiencing issues with the transmission jerking and shaking. It is not safe to drive. It is currently sitting parked because we can no longer drive it. We are out of a car due to this issue. Is there anything that can be done to get the problem resolved?
Acceleration delay/hesitation, unp? Try telling a driver what to doredictable and dangerous computer transmission combination. I now have just over 4000 miles on my 2018 Toyota Tacoma or 4x4 dcsb. Purchased in July, got a software update in August at about 1100 miles. While the throttle response improved post update, the hunting for gears and what gear do I belong in confusion has not really improved. I might have been able to live with some of the gear hunting/confusion, but the one issue that just kills me every time, is a delay from pressing the pedal until the vehicle accelerates when I am in a coast at approximately 15-25mph. I can literally press the pedal, count 1, 2..and then the truck revs aggressively and kicks into gear as if it's now overcompensating for the delay as opposed to what should have just been a gradual increase in speed. …
Vehicle exhibits a stumbling condition and loss of power when applying heavy throttle to accelerate from a stop or slow vehicle speeds. While driving under moderate throttle at approx. 45-60mph the vehicles engine feels as if it is misfiring and not running on all cylinders with a heavy delay in throttle response when the throttle is applied to increase vehicle speed. Issue has been brought up with multiple Toyota dealerships and also with Toyota corp customer service. There is a software flash to correct this issue but Toyota refuses to offer it to customer with manual transmissions because their TSB's do not list that manual trans. There is a 145 page forum thread regarding this issue where customers are resorting to flashing their trucks on their own to avoid the dangerous driving condition these trucks are exhibiting. …
2018 Tacoma automatic transmission shudders, hesitates and misses at speeds between 35-60 MPH. This happens constantly. Slight pedal and low RPM's in 5th and 6th gear is when it's most noticeable. On occasion, there is a more serious miss, which feels as if you have turned the ignition off at 50mph and then right back on. This does not happen frequently, 4 or 5 times in the 20,000 miles I've driven it. The shudder has been looked at by Toyota on 3 occasions, and has bee shrugged off as a "typical characteristic of the vehicle". Toyota north America made an appointment for me to see the service manager who rode with me and felt the shudder and missing. He had me test drive a 2019 v6 automatic off road and it also had the shudder and missing in the same range. The final outcome was that it is a characteristic of the vehicle and there is nothing that can be done. …
The vehicle stalls intermittently. It is as if the traction control system is cutting throttle input for 1-2 seconds. This occurs in heavy stop and go traffic. Specifically, if accelerating to 10-15 miles per hour, then stopping, then attempting to accelerate again, the truck suffers an engine stall. The traction control dashboard indicator does not light up during this occurrence; however, the engine performs very similar to instances when the traction control does operate. The stall also occurs when slowing down to turn into driveways, etc. There is no required intervention to correct this issue; it simply lasts 1-2 seconds, then operates as normal. The vehicle was taken to two different dealerships (both Toyota). Neither was able to replicate the issue. I was told the vehicle did not have any error codes and there was nothing that required service. …
Safety issue regarding the Toyota Tacoma v6 with 6spd automatic. Sluggish from a standstill, if starting from a coast, there is a dealy until it accelerates, the vehicle downshifts abruptly into 4th gear if a gust of wind or any incline crossover, bridge, overpass occurs. The vehicle will lock downshift to 4th ramp up RPM's to 3300 and above, after cresting the 3300 rpms still occurs, it will eventually upshift into 5th gear, but will hold 5th gear at 55mph and above sometimes indefinitely, other times, for miles then shift into 6th, all the while driving on a flat surface. It is unsafe, cannot properly tow anything, and subsequently, the mpg's are substantially less than posted due to the defects with the transmission. Toyota forums are up to 145 pages of unhappy Tacoma owners suffering the same issues, while Toyota takes the stance it is normal. …
Driving vehicle on a side street going approx 20 miles per hour . Car started shaking and lost majority of power. Was able to get car back to residence (only got a couple of blocks away) when heading to destination. Had vehicle towed next day to same dealership who had recently replaced fuel pump under a recall (paperwork for this recall is what was experienced /stalling dangers) . Dealership told us not fuel pump but wiring harness needed replacement because rodents ate the wiring ( soy bean covering on newer vehicles )and engine lost power because of this . Thank goodness not on a highway going 75 MPH. When this happened as we very well could of been . Told we need to deter these rodents from continuing any more damage . Wonder why company would use a product . Thank you.
Transmission complaints in other Tacoma years
Frequently asked questions
How common are transmission problems on the 2018 Toyota Tacoma?
NHTSA has 29 complaints about the transmission & drivetrain of the 2018 Toyota Tacoma, 14% of the model year's 209 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2018 Toyota Tacoma transmission problems?
No. NHTSA lists no transmission & drivetrain recall for the 2018 Toyota Tacoma, though it has 3 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2018 Toyota Tacoma transmission problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 7,000 miles, and 82% before 25,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.