Cruise Control

2011 TRD 4.3
Is there any kind of adjustment to the cruise control to tighten up the range? Up & down in small hills the cruise will kick it down a gear the overshoot the set spec up to 5mph over. Then not kick back in untill 2-3mph under. Also, downhill the cruise releases and the truck speds up way beyond the setting. What do you think? rick

 

Nope. All electronic. Software controlled.
Sorry.

 

I frankly think there should be a TSB on the Cruise Control to speed the response and tighten up the range. My 96 Chevy automatic does much better in terms of sag at the bottom of a hill and lag/overshoot going up and over a hill. It will maintain plus or minus 1mph.

I just got back from a 6400 mile trip and that was the most irritating thing I encountered. The damn thing would drop 2 mph at the bottom of the hill, starting up the next w/ a 2mph deficit, then when it couldn't maintain the speed by dropping down to 4th, it would slam into 3rd and scream over the top, overshooting by 3-4 mph then dropping back to 5th. It was easy to apply pressure to the throttle at the bottom and maintain the set speed without downshifting, but then, what's the point of Cruise Control if you have to do that?

It's also very irritating to "engage" cruise control and not know when/if it takes over due to the glacial response time of the cruise and the electronic throttle not giving any feedback to the foot as to when it has reached the set speed. I'd engage it, release the throttle and it would sag, grunt for a while in 5th until it got to within 5 mph of the set speed, then downshift to 3rd and overshoot the set speed before dropping back to 5th.

 

Cruise control is not designed for hilly roads. Its for relatively straight roads with undulating areas. If the trans is downshifting a couple of gears, then shut off the cruise and drive the vehicle.
I have 100% zero issues with the cruise.
Cruise cannot see a hill coming.
Of course it's going to lose a few mph.
Cruise is an aid.
If you see a big hill coming, step on the gas and help it before you get in that downshifting situation.

Learn to feel what the truck wants.
Experiment.

 

The point being, my Chevy doesn't have such issues on the same road, like I-5, because it responds to sags & overspeeds much quicker than does the Taco. There is too much hysteresis designed into the system for it to respond properly. Interstate highways are designed with low slopes to keep vehicles at a constant speed. Toyota has dampened the systems beyond reason.

 

New 2014 Tacoma 2wd, auto, v6 kicking down 2 gears up hills and overshooting the set speed by 5 mph or more. The dealership where it was purchased won't even look at it, stating that you shouldn't use the cruise on an incline. That is just plain crazy talk. I have several other vehicles that all maintain their speed within 1 mph on the same hills. Never had an issue until this one.

Up until this Toyota, it was more than 30 years brand loyal to another manufacturer that recently got out of the small truck business. Too bad this will likely be the last Toyota for such a simple thing.