Cruise Control - High RPMs on hills

These engines are designed to get max HP and torque around 4600 RPM. Running 3000 RPM won't hurt a thing. Don't use cruise control in hilly terrain.

And just because it is an automatic doesn't mean you don't have control over which gear is best. If you wait for the truck to downshift it only does it AFTER the engine starts to struggle. A good driver reads the terrain and anticipates where you'll need to downshift and will do it manually BEFORE the engine starts to struggle.

 

Haha I live in an area called “north hills”. I work on a mountain. There is no way to avoid hilly terrain here.

I’ll just have to deal with it by the sounds of it.

If only the tundra or 4Runner Trd pro had the same features as the Tacoma. I would have freaking bought one instead. I need blind spot monitoring and I also like 360 camera, it’s great for tight spaces.

 

Seems like the problem is improving itself. Yesterday it was “skyrocketing” over 5k RPM. Today it’s down to 3k. Wait til tomorrow, it will probably only “skyrocket” to 2k

 

par for the course.. in my opinion it seems the trucks are under geared and no low end tq.. probably for the epa. my 2017 just seemed so difficult to keep at a steady speed (over like 55 mph) on the highway, hit the slightest incline and the truck either slows down too much or down shifts so far that the rpm has to go over 4000 rpm.. cruise control is even worse, it seems to shift down way too late which is why it has to spin at 4+ thousand RPM. very annoying truck to drive on the highway in my opinion and all that is unloaded. once you put a 5000 pound trailer on the back it really gets annoying..... not very refined. can't believe its still the same way on the 21's.

 

I have a 2020 and mine is the same. I hardly use cruise any more.

 

Yea. Makes me sad I would have to avoid cruise on a 47k vehicle.

 

My truck does the same thing. I pulled a trailer and it was even worse (obviously)

I think it would be more appropriate to know just how much fuel is being used at these higher RPMs. Just because the RPMS are higher does not mean you are using more fuel. Have you ever driven a manual transmission and kept it in gear or down shifted for that matter and were not on the throttle?

I wish we had a real “eco” button that came from Toyota. The bar chart is nice/ but it’s pretty dumbed down. A real wideband read out and live fuel usage read out would be the telltale.

 

Your truck's transmission is now configurable for different driving situations according to the owners manual.


Most automatic transmissions have a single OD gear, your truck has two so its characteristics will be different from others you may be used to.

 

They'd also not have the reputation for reliability like they do.

 

I don't know anyone who has said redlining is normal. 6K is redline in these trucks. We're talking about 3500, which is the power band in these trucks.

 

If you dont want your truck to shift automatically then what other option is there? Is the A/T truck supposed to know what gear you want it to be in?

 

I know you’re not having any problems with your transmission .
But dude your shift knob as got to go .

 

I used my cruise control on the highway yesterday and it would downshift 1 gear (6 to 5) going up an incline. The RPMs would rise to around 2.5k IIRC going up the incline. It worked exactly like I expected. And for the record I have stock suspension and tires.

Here is the big difference though. I was only going 68mph and the inclines are gradual. You said you were driving 70-75 and work on a mountain. I could see where at your speeds and the steeper mountain roads it is going to downshift to a lower gear and rev higher.

I think widely varying opinions of how these trucks drive is due to the way they are being used. I am very happy with mine but It is relatively flat around here and the speed limits are mostly 65 on the highways. If I lived in a mountainous region and was driving on roads with a higher speed limit I might not like my truck nearly as much.

 

Nah, lets act like toyota intentionally designed the gear point bad to damage the engine, or maybe it is the EPA, I dont know, anyone but the driver must be the problem for sure.

 

Thats a good tip. Maybe I'll try that too. I don't mind bumping it down a gear to prevent it from over downshifting.

 

Rtfm

Cruise control 101: don't use it on massive hills.

 

Yeah that is just an internet photo, l replaced that shift knob as soon as l got the truck home from the dealership.

 

To many times to count.

I drove Toyotas for 15 years, and the 3rd gen just wasn't for me, at all. No torque in the low rev range, right where a truck needs it. Plus, I just needed a bigger truck, have had 3 2nd gen Tundras, don't need a big ass half ton. All GM forums don't compare to this one for entertainment.

 

Got my 2017 vftune to 2.0 is drives great. I haven’t tried the MW tune because I loved how the 2.0 vftune drives. Someone near you may do it for you for a small fee.

 

100% true. Ascending to Flagstaff on I17 north.