I've been having this problem with the tranny for about 4 years, and it's not getting any worse (which is why I haven't looked into it), but the time has come for me to sell the Runner. I'll be sad to see her go, but that's another story.

So anyway, when the truck starts, either in the morning or after it's been sitting for a couple hours, if the tranny isn't warmed up, it won't shift out of first gear. And when the tranny IS warmed up, I have to give the gas a very quick flooring to "pop" it and then it's fine . It doesn't slip at all, even when taking off hard.

The reason I ask if it's the torque converter is because if I don't force it out of first, the amount of torque it puts out is comparable to 4WD Low. Can someone help point me in the right direction? BTW, she's got about 160,000 on the original tranny.

 

Doesn't sound like a converter issue to me. I would look into the shift solenoids first. Is your fluid level OK, and color good. Have you had the fluid changed and had something other than the recommended fluid added?