My 2014 Toyota Prado started doing something annoying about three weeks ago, and I keep hoping it will fix itself. When I pull away from a stop, the gearbox holds the gear too long, then drops into the next one with a small thump. Around 40 km per hour it sometimes hesitates, as if it cannot decide, and on Friday the revs jumped for a second before the car caught the gear. The car has about 154,000 km and mostly does city driving with a few long trips on weekends. My brother says it is just old fluid and I should change it and forget about it. My neighbor says a rough shift can come from a sensor or software, so changing fluid without a scan could be a waste of money. A friend at work told me never to ignore gearbox trouble, because a small fault turns into a very big bill if you keep driving. Another colleague said the heat and stop and go traffic are harder on these gearboxes than most people think. I read a page on last night to understand the usual causes, and it explained how fluid, sensors, software and worn parts can each cause rough shifting, which made me stop guessing. Since I work near Industrial Area 10, I have been asking around for Trusted advice on rough gear shifting near Industrial Area 10, because I want someone to test the car properly before talking about parts. My questions are easy. Is it safe to keep driving to work while it does this? Does a computer scan show the real cause, or only part of it? Did anyone here fix it with only a fluid change, or did it need more? And how long did your car stay at the workshop, and was the final price close to the first quote? Please share what happened with yours. Thanks for reading.
