TRD Sport Tranmission

I have had 3 Tacomas before. Last week, sold my 2006 SR5 4x4 and bought a 2016 trd sport 4x4. Still figuring things out about it. Yesterday took my first long drive to Reno with it. Question: I've never owned a "sport" model. My understanding is that it is supposed to be a more road truck and less of an off road compared to the TRD Offroad. Now, I'm used to turning the truck on and putting it in "Drive" and just driving around. If there was snow or mud, just to be on the safe side and have more traction, I used the heavier gears, which living in California, didn't happen much. With this sport model, I constantly use the "S Mode" like I'm using a stick shift because the "Drive" just lacks the power it requires to accelerate. Don't get me wrong, I'm no youth, trying to burn rubber but particularly when on the freeway, going up a hill, I feel the need to use the "S Mode". What am I seeing here? What is happening? Is it safe for me to use that feature or am I hurting the transmission?
Any help is appreciated. This truck just drives way different compared to two gen 1's I had any my 06 which had 185000 miles on it.

 

S mode = Street mode (to me anyway)
TRD = TuRD
You now have a turd gen Tacoma , It has little power below 3000 rpm. This is one of the most common complaints about the 3rd gens. I often use s mode on the street because I don’t want it to shift into 5th or 6th (overdrive gears) when driving the street.

 

Purchase the shift sense pro. It's changes the shift points to where they should have been from the factory. It's been single handly the best purchase I have ever made for this truck and let's you forget about the not so great shifting the truck originally comes with. The problem isn't the power. The problem is the truck tries to go to 6th gear at 30mph so when you need to get on it it bogs down and shifts 3 gears down. Now when I'm doing 30mph it holds 3rd gear and drives wonderfully with power ready to go

 

S mode is a gear limiting feature. If you have it in S mode and the number on the dash says 4, it will shift as normal upto 4 and no higher. The other thing you can do is put it into 1 and hold gears longer while accelerating and then shift to 2 and upwards. The transmission will still shift outside of your selection to protect itself.

 

The “S” mode is just a shift limiter. I.E. will not shift past what ever gear it shows. So if it says 4 the truck will not shift above 4th gear but will shift in between 1,2,3, and 4 you do not have to down shift or up shift as you decelerate or accelerate. If you read in the manual it tells you to use this while towing on the highway and to limit the truck to 5th gear as the highest selectable gear, basically like turning off overdrive.
@Speedfreak beat me to it

 

it seems like this automatic transmission was designed for a diesel engine

 

Check with with the dealer to see if TSB 62-18 is applied ( wide open throttle hesitation ). If from a dead stop, you gun it, and it hesitates before engaging, that's a known issue. Report it as throttle hesitation from a stop and trying to pass slower vehicles ( which is a legitimate safety concern ) and reference 62-18. My local dealer applied it to my '18 Sport and it drives like a different truck, i.e. like it's supposed to.

 

@sean english does your truck have the ECT button? This is what most people seem to use if they want more from each gear. This is also what the manual says to press while towing.

 

Couple of questions 1) we’re the technicians reluctant 2) could/did the technician provide proof said TSB was performed 3) how long did this procedure take?

 

*checks calendar* nope, not time yet.

 

- tech/service writer had no issue with performing tab
- tech placed a sticker on the inside of the hood with tsb number
- took less than 1 hr to complete the work
- work was done on my daughter’s ‘17 Offroad

 

Good to know. I reached out to one of the local dealers inquiring about, waiting to hear back. My hope is they are as accommodating as they should be.