Auto Transmission surge

[Dawba Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Dawba]

I have a 2011 D4D Auto Prado VX ( recently acquired) with 140,000kms. The previous owner did some towing with it as it has electric brakes fitted. The tranny seems to surge mostly coming out of a roundabout under gentle acceleration. It seems to want to change down gears then thinks better of it. If you accelerate hard or throw it into sports mode it doesn't surge. Last service I asked the Toyota service guys to look at it. They weren't sure of a solution so changed the tranny fluid with no improvement.
Any suggestions ?? Take it back to Toyota or a Transmission specialist?

[Bushbasher Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Bushbasher]

Wasn't there an ECU re-programming to sort the shift changes? The auto box has it's own separate ECU module and I believe there was either a recall or a programming fix for the 150 D4D autos.

[Riv39 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Riv39]

The only two i remember was surging whilst on cruise control and the hesitation at 2400rpm.

[MacroP Member Find all posts View Profile Close MacroP]

Ask for the kick-down delay update at Toyota thanks to older posts on this forum. For Diesels 150's only though. Mine does (did) the same as you describe. Happens especially when coasting through traffic lights around 40-45kmh and then when I put my foot down light to moderately I get the surge (powerloss for second) before kick-down. If I put my foot down hard, it kicked down easily and I was away but I don't like driving like that around town. Also happened when coasting around large roundabouts at the same speeds as listed above. Was easy to replicate when I knew how.

My local dealer charged me $60 or so (I thought this was rude) so just to check if it had had the update (including the update if needed) and came back that it could accept the update. They had not heard of the issue until they checked which didn't give me much confidence. Yep, my car needed the update. Chalk and cheese difference now. Haven't had the problem since the update around 6 months ago.

[Dawba Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Dawba]

Thanks heaps guys. The dealer did tell me they checked for updates and that it was already up to date. Just not sure if that was for the Auto. I will ask at the next service.