2020 Gear Hunting Like CRAZY!

This is the milage I got driving from Tacoma WA to Hood River Oregon in my 2019 off road. cruise set to 80mph, many passes of slow left lane drivers, and a mountain bike on a hitch rack. If I set it to 65 I'll get 24-27mpg on flat highway.

The only transmission issues I've experienced are the occasional hanging onto 3rd or 4th gear with cruise control in going up a hill. Frankly I've come to the conclusion the reason people are constantly complaining about the transmission is because they can't drive. If you are not steady on the pedal it will do weird things, this isn't just a Tacoma problem every auto does this; only difference is the 6th gear is extremely long for gas milage so it always has to downshift if you want more power. I truly do not get all the complaining.... It's a truck, the gas milage of all trucks go's to crap 75+ mph.

Mind you I'm 34 and bought this truck a year ago, it is MY FIRST Auto ever... I've always hated driving automatics as I've never liked them shifting when they feel like it. That being said I have no problems with the way it drives. learn to control throttle Inputs and you can control when it shifts. Though I guess just whining about it is easier... Lol

 

I’ve been really impressed with this 2020. My 2017 would do some random stuff here and there, like downshift two or three gears when one gear down would’ve been fine. I did have a few times that the 2017 would downshift and hold a lower gear for longer than normal, but it was pretty infrequent. My 2020 will cruise in 6th and hold it pretty well. I never complained about my 2016 or 2017, but this 2020 is definitely my favorite.

I don’t know how expensive re-gearing is, but you could also check into OV Tune. I think it also helps smooth out the shifting and throttle response. Might be worth a look if it’s a lot cheaper than a re-gear.

 

Not sure I agree but thanks for the input. I CAN NOT make the stupid thing go into 6th even with the bs Sport shift. It has a brain and no amount of "throttle input" will change what the truck does while using cruise control. I am very glad you got a great truck. I get above EPA on every other vehicle of any kind I have ever owned except these trucks...disappointing at best.

 

Maybe somthing mechanically is wrong with it as that'd not normal. I'd record your gas milage by taking photos and writing yourself emails, also video of the shifting behavior. See what the truck gets at 60mph on flat ground over 30 miles or so. Use this to get the dealer to go over it and figure out why it's so bad.

If they can't fix it keep recording and keep getting them to look at it, depending on your state you can lemon law it if they don't fix it. If you're indeed getting 9 somthing has to be wrong.

 

Warranty says no dont they to a regear OR tune?

 

With a re-gear they could try to blame driveline failures on that, I would guess. I think others have had warranty work completed with OV Tune without issue. I’m not sure that they can identify the tune without knowing to look for it. That’s based on past reading on here about the tune. Not sure if anything has changed in that regard recently.

 

But 29mpg is definitely not the standard experience on those trucks, right? Fuelly suggests your number is an outlier.

 

I have a 3/20 Texas build OR DCSB AT, with 265/75R16’s, steel hybrid front bumper, Martin OR roof rack, carry approximately 50lbs of gear, and a have an Extang Exceed tonneau.

Mixed driving avg 16-17mpg, on highway at 70-75mph, get avg of 17-19 depending on terrain and wind.

I was actually surprised how well the 2020 shifts compared with earlier models and don’t experience the gear hunting you describe. If I am in exceptionally hilly terrain I go into S5 mode to keep it from shifting into 6th, but that is rare. I live in the Hill Country of Central Texas, and in the land of 85mph speed limits, if I run at 85mph my mileage drops down as low as 13.5mpg, depending on the wind.

I have checked my speedometer calibration and it is actually more accurate with the 75 profile tires and reads approx 0.5mph low at 65mph.

I hope this helps you with your comparison and that they find out what your problem is.

 

That is really sad to hear. My '19 hasnt seem this issue.. yet?.Gdam!

 

How did you go 44.4 miles, average 27.1, and only have 144 miles until empty? That would give you around a 7 gallon tank if those numbers stayed constant. I'm genuinely curious.

I know I'm a 2nd gen, but I like the 3rd gens. I'm not trying to start shit, just a bit confused....which happens

 

Something is fucky with that transmission learning. Check with the dealership to see if you have any relevant TSB's and if not have them reset the transmission learning. Or jump over the the regional section of the forum and see if anyone nearby has Toyota Techstream (the dealership software the Toyota techs use) and have them reset the transmission learning for you (or just buy a copy of the software and the needed OBDII cable from Amazon) . Resetting the transmission learning will be a rough jeeky ride for the first 300 miles and won't be fully dialed in for several hundred more miles, sorta like the first 1k miles when you drove it off the dealer lot, but that should unfuck whatever screwed up thing the transmission learned the first time to make the truck dive that way.

If all else fails you have two real options:

1. If you still love the rest of the truck then OVT stopped taking new orders for their direct swap out tune this past spring, but did so because they are switching over to a new tuning platform where the end user can use canned tunes and then make their own adjustments. If it wasn't for OVT I would have already gotten rid of this truck and either bought my 2nd Gen back or move to a diffrent manufacturer. But everything runs butter smooth now and the transmission now only shifts when it should.

Here is the original tune thread, not worth trying to read the whole thing as it's ludicrously long but post 1 is very informative and shows you what you can also expect with the new tuning platform.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2016-toyota-tacoma-ovtune-1-05-tune-development-thread.495735/

And here is the new thread for vF Tuner which is the new tuning platform
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/vf-tuner-for-the-3-5l-tacoma.662948/

2. Your other option is to get rid of that truck.

 

The total miles left is not part of the milage calculation, it's just on the screen. I think you thought he was showing a picture at fill up but he wasn't. He was just stating that he calculates the milage when he fills up and then showed this picture, not taken at full up, to compare his calculation vs the trucks calculation. Trip mpg is calculated from the time you cut the truck on till you cut it off again, not since last fill-up.

 

Gotcha. I don't have a "miles til empty" on the 2nd gen. It just threw me for a loop I have 2 different trips in mine. I use one for fill ups and the other for oil changes.

 

2020 OR 6A, 15k miles here. I had some gear hunting issues on a road trip when going through some of the worst mountains trying to hold 70. What I started doing was taking hold of the reigns myself, floor or downhill get it up to 75 80 and then relax it uphill and just keep the rpms low. “Hyper miling”. Never left 6th. But, yeah if I left it at cruise at 70 it would have some interesting shifting habits on the hills. But, 6600 miles of road trip and about 15k total ownership and it only seemed to “gesr hunt” when it’s taking a big hill. It drops from 6 to 4 because 5 is also an overdrive gear so it drops below that when it needs torque. I’ve also had luck leaving it in S5 since 6 is a tall gear don’t need it. Keeps it at around 2k rpm which is fine and doesn’t drop down to 4th as much.

 

Currently i couldn't ask for a much better truck out of my 2020. It consistently gets over 23 mpg,...its quiet, the auto tranny performs excellent, and the choppy ride is becoming more compliant at 3400 miles now. I'm still amazed at all these complaints if they are for real....this is a fine truck, it just needs to be driven a few miles before you condemn it.

 

My 19 has been great for 16k, no caps or redundant exclamation points needed.

 

FYI I get 21.5-22.2 average mpg when I look at history at fill up. that is 60% highway 40% stop and go driving with the a/c on
I dont have the shifting issues you have at all....it shifts just fine.
2020 TRD Pro

We will see this fall when I start drag racing again pulling my 20ft enclosed trailer to the races what I get and how it handles the light load (2800lbs.

 

i ONLY ' calculate " MPG = gas in / miles run !!!!

that gadget gauge in front of U on the dash is Inaccurate !!!!!!!

with a EFI system it does NOT ACCURATELY calculate the EXCESS Fuel RETURNED to the tank !!!!
( starbux conversational logic to many means that should increase MPG.................. NOT !!!!!)

 

at 85mpg short of driving a Hybrid or some other ' E ' vehicle

U are burning 35% more fuel........... maybe more with the LESS THAN AERO effect

of Highr Lifts.........bigger tyres outside the fenders + various other appendages

that easily Would NOT fit into the EPA ' Shed ' which IS more like a LAB

NO way any midsize pickup could make the advertised MPG under SAME circumstances

regardless of HP ......engine sizes or displacements

 

Ya I took video and recorded each tank since we bought it. The techs head about blew off when I showed him the 38 shifts in 1 min...