3rd gen engine braking on steep grades

driving in the mountains tomorrow.
How well does does the AT handle engine braking on its own? My old pathfinder had this. Go down hill, let off the gas, revs get higher, car slows down.

Does the 3rd gen taco do this or do I need to ride it in sport mode shifting between 1,2 and 3 the whole time?

 

You usually have to step on the brake to get it to shift down.

 

Assuming highway and not trail, right? I’ve never been that impressed with the engine breaking when not in sport mode. Just my opinion though.

 

General roads, highway mostly. One winding dirt road

 

Mine does this way better at speeds less than 30mph without Cruise Control on. Still have to feather the brakes some, depending on the downhill grade.

If on the highway with Cruise Control on, it does a nice job of down-shifting to maintain set speeds.

Edit: I think only the off-road and pro models feature this ability. I could be wrong.

 

Crawl control

 

It only does it if you have cruise enabled, in my experience. Or u can manually do it. I do it empty and it works well. I'll be behind people braking and in just engine braking.

 

The engine braking comes on with the AT, when you take your foot off the gas. Sometimes it’s a little too aggressive, and sometimes it seems not enough.

Like anything with this AT, it seems to have good days and bad days. Toyota certainly put a lots variables into the program. More than needed, in my opinion.

 

Good point.

 

It did ok. On longer stretches of highway it would hold speed going down hill in drive mode.

Down hill on Steeper windy roads I had to sport it over into 3-2-1. Even then it wasn’t great. Drop it into 2nd and rpms would go up but mph would keep going up. 17,18,19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 29, 32 (BRAKE!) Dammit!

Any suggestions?

 

Just use your brakes.

 

Yeah what he said. Engine braking isn’t an end all be all and on steep enough grades, the weight of the truck can still overcome the engine and push the rpms higher, like you experienced. Just combine the two. Engine brake, and if the truck is still slowly gaining speed, tap the brakes every so often to maintain the speed you want.

 

On steeper grades I dont think you can do much besides what you are already doing. On the steep part of my commute I put mine in s2 and it holds well but I still need to use the brakes occasionally. My Ect is off as well if it matters

 

Yup. I find my self pulsing them to slow down a bit but not really laying into em for long.

 

Yeah same. I have a manual so I’m engine braking constantly. My brake pads last forever.

 

Depends on the grade. Up to 5-6%, it does alright. Past that, good luck. The revs will definitely be high though 3,000 rpm plus

 

I had to teach my wife and daughter how to use the gears on their cars to navigate the steep part of our drive.
This was after my wife warped her rotors...

 

Thank you for the feedback everyone.

 

Only thing I gotta watch is converter temp. Easily hits 230-240 in the AZ heat while engine braking.

 

4-5,500 is where the best braking is