Anyone use the auto-transmission to manually shift gears?

Yeah, I was afraid it would not be just like the BMW's. It's such a fine drive train. But at least the Tacoma's AT sounds like it does give some flexibility. I was mainly wondering if anyone uses the "manual shift option" to negate some of the troubles I hear of with its transmission. Sounds like not every one does that.

 

Never use mine for everyday use. If I wanted to shift gears I would have gotten a manual. To me shifting an auto kinda takes away from why I bought an auto in the first place.

 

This for me too. Or sometimes when I'm really bored I'll do all of the shifting.

 

If I was to trade mine in and get a manual will it make as cool as you?

 

I absolutely use "S" mode manual shifting when crawling in 4Lo. Other than that I don't have much use for it unless managing speed while traveling down long mountain descents.

 

. . .and don't forget "no clutch" in crawling traffic. I'm getting too old for that crap. Been there, done that.

G.

 

Dunno about the "cool" part but you will probably see a 50% decrease in the passive-aggressive baby category. For you, that would probably be a significant enough upgrade to justify the cost.

 

I can't stand the incessant shifting back and forth between 4-5-6 and locked up/unlocked torque converter. I manually shift it sometimes to make it more pleasant to drive. We live in a rural area and will put it in 5th in the "can't be in a higher gear than this" position (labeled as "S") to block 6th for cruising on windy local 45 mph roads. Using "S" won't force an upshift and won't prevent a downshift. "S" position only means it can't be in a higher gear than what is shown.

Shifting to "S" from D will allways default to 4th which is a pain if you're already in 5th or 6th (it will force the downshift). I wish it would default to whatever gear you are now in.

That said, I love the really tall gearing. All the new cars are going to more gears and slower rpm in top gear to meet the stringent EPA fuel economy regulations. But the new Tacoma is geared for '40 mph per 1000 rpm' which is taller than any other car I've driven. That's only 1750 at 70 mph. It's very comfortable for cruising on the loop around the city on level ground. But the tall gearing coupled with the low engine torque make it downshift on the slightest grade.

 

I use s4 for around town, s5 for highway, drive for interstate. I get better mpg using s4 and s5 for town and highway use, and it keeps the tranny from shifting too much at low speeds.

 

I can't speak for the 6 speed Aisin tranny on the 3rd gens, but the Aisin a750e on the 2nd gen's has got to be one of the more solidly built trannies out there. Since 2012 truck brand new I have been slapshifting gears on mine. It gives me something to do while I drive and it gives me a reason to listen to that blower whine. Nothing has failed on mine at all and I'm approaching 80K on it. I should also add that by manually shifting the gears you are allowing better response over just throwing it in D and driving forward like a senior citizen. Many 2nd genner's do it for that very reason. I would imagine the same holds true for 3rd genners.

You have to remember most Taco owners are city folk who tend to spend a lot of time locked in stop and go traffic trying to get to their jobs so they can pay their shiny pretty truck down to nothing owed to the bank.

As a disclaimer I literally just modded upgraded the valve body today for more solid and firm upshifting as well as 4-5 shift up flare, but that is a common occurance across a lot if not all Tacoma's out there. Plus the tranny was allowing a lot of power to blow through, so I needed to do that.

I'm not going to defend anything. I'm just stating what is known and what works out of all the different methods of driving these tanks.

 

When pulling onto the freeway or interstate I manually shift. I start in S2 and manually shift to S5. I get the best acceleration and power that way. In town I use S4 for everyday driving. S5 for normal freeway or high way driving. And the gas mileage went up 1 to 2 MPG. 6th gear on these trucks is way to high and useless. ETC mode seems to hang too much in gear before shifting. Sometimes I forget and get back to manually shifting.

 

100% agree - That's the only way to get on the highway. I also get a jerky acceleration at times. It seems to be a motor thing.

 

It only really works to limit up shifting and only to a certain extent.

 

I youse S mode every day around town I tow a 2,600 pound Utility Landscape trailer, it helps save my breakes on the downshifts as well, I'm getting a consistent 15 - 16 miles a gallon towing this way that's pretty dam good in my book lol

 

I used to shift my 4.0L automatic more than I'd like, Living in a mountainous region it seemed like a constant battle. On ascents the transmission would hold gears too long to the point that the engine would knock/ping. On descents the transmission would downshift with brake application per design, but not always, or too agressively.. easing back onto the throttle it would upshift hard with a thump. Annoying behaviour, no TSB or fluid change ever fixed it. Driving it manually would mask the logic issues.

Back in a manual truck now and couldn't be happier. To be fair I've driven plenty of automatics that worked just fine.

 

If you are a motorcycle or bmw person the shifter operates backwards in the sport mode. You have to pull it back to down shift and slam it down to up shift. It will disappoint if Ya are thinking it is like your 328i.

 

Any time I get a Rental or Loaner I end up getting so extremely bored that I end up shifting the Automatic thru the gears

 

I use it for towing and engine braking only.

 

Don’t hurt yourself clutching for stop and go traffic. I’ve been copying what the big rigs do for years - shift to 1st or 2nd, let engine idle govern your speed and keep a long opening ahead of you. Then watch idiots pass you and pile on their brakes ahead while you cruise merrily along going your own speed.

 

Uh "stop" I am not wrong requires disengagement of the clutch. I mean if Ya want to keep the engine running.