Most of us Probably have a "Recall" (CVT)

The dealer performed a software update, performed a solenoid valve inspection. They said “Valve body assembly replacement NOT required.
It does seem to shift smoother, not as jerky. Also feels a little more responsive but that could be psychological. Lol!
 
So earlier I said they removed the fake shift points, I was wrong. I just notice them a LOT less because I don't have to drive the car as aggressive because it's much more responsive feeling. Before I had to hit the gas hard because the car would stutter past 30mph.

Loving the change so far, really feels like a different car. Kinda worried they didn't replace any parts though..
 
So earlier I said they removed the fake shift points, I was wrong. I just notice them a LOT less because I don't have to drive the car as aggressive because it's much more responsive feeling. Before I had to hit the gas hard because the car would stutter past 30mph.

Loving the change so far, really feels like a different car. Kinda worried they didn't replace any parts though..
Yea, I have to correct my original statement as well. The shift points are still present, seems like I have to push the car a lot more to notice them now though.
 
I too, was disappointed that they didn’t replace any parts. I wonder how they determine when to replace and when not to?
That’s a good question. Also what I don’t understand is that they had to check my vin number first to see if the issue pertained to me. Even though my car drove fine to me they said that my vin number was on the list. And now I take it in and I’m having issues I didn’t have before. After reading everyone’s symptoms, it sounds like I have all the issues everyone else had, except all my issues came after taking the car in
 
I too, was disappointed that they didn’t replace any parts. I wonder how they determine when to replace and when not to?
They do a test drive, where they accelerate full blast to 40, then coast and observe the variation in RPM after it settles down from coasting. (They log the RPM on a Techstream, a computer connected ot the OBD port.) Too much variation, they replace a part.

Somebody posted PDFs of the detailed Toyota docs on another forum under a thread named "JSD Service Campaign Now Rolling Out" . It's in the 'technical instructions' document.
 
Well, it happened to me again today, even after getting my car updated this past Saturday. I was in Sport mode and the car wouldn’t shift to a higher gear. It stayed in like 3rd even after letting the car coast. The only way it stopped was right after I took it out of Sport mode. This has happened to me like 10 times since I’ve had the car. It doesn’t do it often. Oh, and I wasn’t using the paddle shifters at all. I almost always leave it in Sport mode while in “D”. I may have to make another appointment
 
Just got a call from the dealership and my valve body needs replaced. It’s on back order. It will be a minimum of 2 weeks for the part to come in but the guys said more then likely it will be longer an and that they really have no idea on the time.
 
Have you checked? Looks like a simple ECU update.

Input your VIN
Just got mine done this morning. ABSOLUTELY feel the difference. I didn't feel like it "faster" but the acceleration is much smoother now!

I should note before I took it in I was reading what other people where saying about how their Rolla felt after their update. So pre-update, I turned off the radio and listened to the engine on how loud it was and watched the tach to see the rpms and kind of just recorded the sound and feel in my head. I have always hated how loud the car was on just normal acceleration from a stop and my mom even commented once that my car was loud when accelerating from a stop.

POST-UPDATE the car is MUCH MUCH quieter on acceleration and the feeling of acceleration is much smoother. When I hit the gas of course the engine sound gets way louder, but for street driving its a much more pleasant drive. I wish I knew about this forum earlier!
 
Just an update:
I still don’t have my car since I dropped off on August 22. They keep saying that I can’t pick up the car and drive it because there might be damage to the CVT. They are still waiting for the valve part from Toyota.
It seems like I’m in the same situation as Blake as I have 2 weeks and counting.

Just got a call from the dealership and my valve body needs replaced. It’s on back order. It will be a minimum of 2 weeks for the part to come in but the guys said more then likely it will be longer an and that they really have no idea on the time.
Do they let you pick up the car back?
 
Just an update:
I still don’t have my car since I dropped off on August 22. They keep saying that I can’t pick up the car and drive it because there might be damage to the CVT. They are still waiting for the valve part from Toyota.
It seems like I’m in the same situation as Blake as I have 2 weeks and counting.



Do they let you pick up the car back?
I didn’t ask but they didnt say no. They told told me I could get a rental at no charge so that’s what I did. My thinking is, since Toyota know something is wrong already and I go out and drive it and something else happens then I’ll be sol since there’s already an issue.
 
I didn’t ask but they didnt say no. They told told me I could get a rental at no charge so that’s what I did. My thinking is, since Toyota know something is wrong already and I go out and drive it and something else happens then I’ll be sol since there’s already an issue.
Yeah they also gave me a loaner. Hopefully my car will be done by next Wednesday at the 3 week mark.
 
Two weeks ago I took the car to the dealer for the 35K kilometers regular service, which was an oil and filter change, and general revision. Waited there for about two hours and paid the bill. When I was about te leave the premise, I was told that I had to bring the car back as they had to run a CVT update as soon as possible, so I went back the following day. They had the car for a morning as I had to go to work and couldn't wait for the car. They didn't say anything else when I picked up the car that day. However now I notice that the acceleration goes sort of smoother, I had realized that before the update the car had a higher revving all the time. I must mention that this car has had all its services done at the local official dealer where I purchased it, however there has not been any publicity regarding this update. My theory is that they only perform the update to those who take the cars to Toyota dealer, at least locally. I was grateful they did it, as this car is already out of warranty, I think that customers in the USA have a lot more protection than what we do in other countries.
 
My S Plus CVT-S is at this moment in for maintenance at dealership and was made aware of the campaign JSD. Its the second time they are updating the software. The first time was before they cancelled JOD. Now it's JSD. Just to be clear I've had no issues with my unit whatsoever. We'll see if there's a noticeable diference and post some feedback.
 
Just got the JSD done, I got the first J0D done back in April before Toyota pulled it. IT TOOK THEM 4 HOURS TO DO THIS. A simple firmware update, that took 4 hours. Car feels exactly the same. Waste of my time.
 
CVTs still bear the stigma of the first Nissan units only partially because the first batch was poorly executed.
North-American consumers simply didn’t get how those trans worked. Nissan’s forums were flooded with “mine has a defect too but the dealer will do nothing”.
The alleged “defects”? It’s stuck in first gear, it doesn’t change speed (well, that’s how it works!); engine rev like crazy but the car doesn’t go (false impression induce by the traditional association between movement and rev fluctuation).
Was it uniquely the North American consumers and reviewers that "needed" fake shift points? The other markets (europe, japan, etc) still don't have the fake shift points? Crazy, the IQ charts don't show North Americans as being marked stupider than anybody else. Is it because of more magazines with dolts for reviewers?
 
Thanks,I had not right to use to it (no remind or service drive for my VIN). So there it is, it seems that without no date limit, what is a little bit refer as "top secret warranty". What remain to see is how "top secret" this will be, significance if they will send a letter to exaggerated owners or just count on their proposal to check it out.
 
Was it uniquely the North American consumers and reviewers that "needed" fake shift points? The other markets (europe, japan, etc) still don't have the fake shift points? Crazy, the IQ charts don't show North Americans as being marked stupider than anybody else. Is it because of more magazines with dolts for reviewers?
Other markets have known CVTs for 60 years or so. It's new to NA (beside the marginal 1989 Subaru Justy). I'd say force of habit and lack of knowledge before «IQ». Plus, ans mentioned, the youth problems of the first mass-market implementations (GM-Fiat/Saturn, Nissan) resulted in a negative spin.
 
Got my update done this morning. In and out in 1.5 hours at the dealership. Once the car was updated and test driven I had a chance to speak to the tech who worked on it to see how things went. He said the car runs great and that the software was updated accordingly. He test drove the car with a laptop connected to the vehicle to monitor the performance. He said all was inline with the enhancements.

Once I drove off the lot the changes were noticeable immediately. Much peppier and responsive. Once I got on the highway up to 80mph I notice that all the vibration softly felt on the steering wheel, chassis and pedal feel were gone. I also noticed that the 20 mph shimmy also minimized to almost gone!

Have only driven it in normal mode. Will be driving more this afternoon in Sport mode and putting it thru the ringer to see how it acts. So far so good. Keep you posted.
 
Just got a 2015 corolla le a few months ago, I've noticed that sometimes it would shake a little around 30mph but clear up after a second or two.. Just figured it was normal for a cvt transmission. I guess that's what this recall is for? Anyways, took it in today to ask questions and they're taking a look at it for us and said it will take 2.5+ hours.

Once we are done ill post back and see what happened, really nervous

My 2016 LE did this and than a week later my CVT died on me and Toyota don’t want to fix it brand new car only 40,000 miles under warranty I got two lemon law attorneys and I called corporate and my car is under recall for several issues with the tranny and I’m under warranty so corporate gonna send out a different mechanic to check it out and see what happens from there if they don’t fox it I will sue the car cut off on my Abel times when I first got it brand new they said it was the battery and when you accelerate it dose you want to get up
 
CVT may jigger a little under hard acceleration, but at a specific speed is a bit odd. Might also come from something else (from tires to motor mount). The recall is to prevent abnormal wear but shouldn't change the way the transmission behave.



Potentially is the keyword. It's not necessarily constant abnormal wear. It's abnormal wear under certain conditions (related to higher rpm, apparently). Fingers crossed !


That's the way mine has been since the day I got the car, unless you accelerate "hard". Personally I think it's great, as in "smooth" driving, you get full advantage of the nature of a CVT.
They show in "harder" acceleration as a marketing gimmick for ears that still associate rpm step fluctuations to feel "performance", but are otherwise pointless if not counter-productive for how a CVT normally works.
I'm actually wondering if they could be what render the high rpm management difficult to fine tune in the firmware.
It don’t matter they are suppose to replace the CVTS regardless and JOD cancelled because Toyota wasn’t coming that
 
I just scheduled my car for Friday, they said it will take 5 hours to perform work.

Service Campaigns:
Title
Special Service Campaign JSD - Remedy Notice Certain 2014 - 2017 Model Year Corolla Vehicles Certain 2017 Model Year Corolla iM Vehicles Certain 2016 Model Year Scion iM Vehicles
Status
Remedy Available
Description
An Electronic Control Unit (ECU) in the subject vehicles has improper programming that could lead a component in the Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) to unnecessarily cycle and experience abnormal wear. If this component becomes damaged, the Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL) may illuminate in the instrument cluster and the vehicle could experience a reduction of speed. After reaching a pre-determined gear ratio, the vehicle can be operated up to approximately 37 mph.
Remedy
Any authorized Toyota dealer will inspect the CVT control software and, if necessary, perform an update for that software at NO CHARGE. After inspecting the software and, if necessary, performing the software update, the CVT solenoid valve controlling the gear ratio in the CVT will be inspected* and, if necessary, the CVT valve body assembly will be replaced at NO CHARGE. A portion of the CVT solenoid valve inspection process requires the dealer technician to test drive the vehicle for a certain distance and at certain speeds. In the unlikely event that the vehicle is exhibiting the condition (i.e., DTC P2820 is present) before receiving this remedy, any authorized Toyota dealer will replace the CVT assembly at NO CHARGE. *: Some vehicles may be exhibiting certain powertrain malfunctions unrelated to the condition covered by this Special Service Campaign, that may interfere with the dealer's ability to perform the solenoid valve inspection. These powertrain malfunctions MUST be diagnosed and repaired prior to performing this Special Service Campaign (DO NOT perform CVT software update or the CVT solenoid valve inspection until these malfunctions are diagnosed and, if necessary, repaired). Resolution of existing powertrain malfunctions are not covered as part of this Special Service Campaign and should be diagnosed and repaired under warranty if still covered. If the vehicle is not covered by warranty, the customer is responsible for the cost of diagnosis and repair.
Campaign Date
August 2, 2018
Dealer Reference ID
JSD
 
Got my update done this morning. In and out in 1.5 hours at the dealership. Once the car was updated and test driven I had a chance to speak to the tech who worked on it to see how things went. He said the car runs great and that the software was updated accordingly. He test drove the car with a laptop connected to the vehicle to monitor the performance. He said all was inline with the enhancements.

Once I drove off the lot the changes were noticeable immediately. Much peppier and responsive. Once I got on the highway up to 80mph I notice that all the vibration softly felt on the steering wheel, chassis and pedal feel were gone. I also noticed that the 20 mph shimmy also minimized to almost gone!

Have only driven it in normal mode. Will be driving more this afternoon in Sport mode and putting it thru the ringer to see how it acts. So far so good. Keep you posted.
UPDATE: Took the car over the weekend on a field trip from SFL to Orlando and put 500 miles in less than 48 hours after my update last Thursday. Ran the car with cruise and without cruise. Ran it normal and in sport mode. Got up to 95mph on the turnpike without a hitch. Car is much more responsive and you can feel the power when before the update it was sluggish. Don't have anything negative to say so far about the update done. From my point of view my car is running and shifting better.
 
I'm worried about this CVT issue and future problems coming ahead, as at the end, it seems that Toyota is not taking full responsibility as it is not considered a security problem. I am afraid that sooner or later the transmission is going to start failing and then start spending big money. Would like to be able to change the car before, however it is not a possibility. Kind of disappointed with Toyota.
 
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I'm worried about this CVT issue and future problems coming ahead....Kind of disappointed with Toyota.
Yes to both. IMO, the "Fake Shi(f)t Points" (they're still there after the update, just floor it and watch the tachometer), put unnecessary wear on the CVT. They are fixing something that makes this design error even worse - but the basic error is still there. Though as I understand it from @jolly , most or all of the other manufacturers with CVTs do it, too.

I'm 63, and I was planning on this being the last car I ever buy. I'm going to have to think about that one some more.
 
I had the update software performed a few weeks ago. There is a noticeable difference for the better. But, then, my car revved very high (while in Sport Mode) which it has done in the past. It won’t change to a higher gear. It’s like it’s stuck. The only way to get rid of it is to get out of Sport Mode. I called them back and the Service Tech asked the mechanic who said this is normal. There is no Freakin way that is normal. A few hours later a Service tech called me and said that if I’m concerned to bring it back for a Diagnostic for $178 dollars! After that incident, this will be the last Toyota I ever buy!
 
It seems that Toyota will not accept publicly what is wrong with this CVT issue, this company is very powerful after all. I had been checking their other models, and from the small ones to their bigger vehicles, it seems that the majority bring a CVT now, as several other brands do. I think that many Corolla owners are completely unaware of this situation, and those of us who know about it, are very anxious. Let's all keep ourselves posted about any new information, that is why I'm very grateful to the founder and members of this forum and hoping for the best to everyone.
 
It seems that Toyota will not accept publicly what is wrong with this CVT issue, this company is very powerful after all. I had been checking their other models, and from the small ones to their bigger vehicles, it seems that the majority bring a CVT now, as several other brands do. I think that many Corolla owners are completely unaware of this situation, and those of us who know about it, are very anxious. Let's all keep ourselves posted about any new information, that is why I'm very grateful to the founder and members of this forum and hoping for the best to everyone.

please share my video to help spread the word

 
I had been checking their other models, and from the small ones to their bigger vehicles, it seems that the majority bring a CVT now, as several other brands do.
That description would apply more to Nissan or Subaru. CVTs are more and more common but manuals and regular AT are still in a number of models outside of the Corolla and the C-HR (imported directly from Europe). Hybrids also use a «CVT», but those are totally different beasts.

I think that many Corolla owners are completely unaware of this situation, and those of us who know about it, are very anxious
I'm 63, and I was planning on this being the last car I ever buy. I'm going to have to think about that one some more.
Well in Canada we do receive letters (and phone calls, depending on dealers) even for service campaign not identify as "security recall". Otherwise, yes, one need to be pro-active by checking the Toyota recalls/services web page.
As far as reliability, despite everything, so far CVTs don't show any worst reliability statistics than regular ATs (except for some - not all - botched first batch units from Nissan years ago). Indeed only time will tell but firmware updates are far from uncommon in modern designs, including regular AT from various brands.
 
No, that's for North America (TrueDelta, Consumer Reports).
Thank you for that. I suppose that is the best that can be done for our situation.

The fake shift points put North Americans with CVTs in a category by ourselves. We can derive no knowledge about the longer term durability of the Toyota North American CVTs from the rest of the world's experience, because Toyota didn't inflict fake shift points on the rest of the world - just North America. Which is a shame, because I understand that K-series CVT has been around quite a long time in other parts of the world. I get more depressed the more I think about, hence my endless ranting - I do expect this to be my last on the topic. (I've already edited a lot of crap out of this post.)

Other manufacturers, who also implemented fake shift points in North America, but not the rest of the world, and did it before 2014, might be able to tell us something. But it sounds like at least some of them (Nissan) had problems of their own.
 
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I have my appointment for Monday. She mentioned they will check my current version and reflash/reprogram if needed. Interested to see what they say.
 
Those first problematic Jatco-Nissan did not have fake shift points. ;)
Right. But they had other, more serious issues. So their reliability before/after fake shift points may not be helpful. In fact, trying to infer anything from the other brands, as I was speculating on, is probably completely useless.
 
Had my appointment Monday sometime (I just dropped it off Sunday night).. by 9:30 am I got a call from the service department saying it was all done. Nothing wrong with it.. just needed to install the new software. Thought it was a little quick but hey, they got it done.

Picked it up after hours so I couldn't talk to the service manager.. On the sheet it listed off everything done/needed, one of those was test drive. From what I've heard/read they need to go on a somewhat decent length test drive to gather data. However, my mileage in vs mileage out was only 1 mile. So, it surely looks like they didn't really drive it.

Should I push back at them or just accept it as is? I don't really notice a difference before/after the service bulletin. The car is used for my daily commute and I'm pretty easy on it.
 
From what I've heard/read they need to go on a somewhat decent length test drive to gather data. However, my mileage in vs mileage out was only 1 mile. So, it surely looks like they didn't really drive it. Should I push back at them or just accept it as is? I don't really notice a difference before/after the service bulletin.
They don't need a long drive : they only need to reach 40 mph then coast to 0 so the computer can confirm the RPM curve is as expected.
A longer distance is needed only if they need multiple trials to achieve the coast part safely (without braking) because driving environment.
You shouldn't feel much difference, unless your trans was previously affected by the "abnormal wear" this service aim to prevent.
 
Just checked mine, looks like my Corolla needs it.
I just put in my VIN and noticed the same result.. Toyota performed a software update back in April for me (J0D code) while the new one is coded as JSD. The campaign date for the new one is also listed as August 2, 2018. Hopefully it's just an hour software update and drive away into the sunset lol
 
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