How do you shift your auto?

Do modern automatics have an inclinometer to know when they need to downshift for engine braking? If not, then it is very wise to work the manual gear select while going downhill. If you ride the brakes going down a mountain pass, they can overheat and fade, then when you need them they don't work. Most folks that have spent their lives here in CO don't know this and it baffles me.

If you're driving around town on generally flat terrain, or the interstate, you are correct about just leaving it in drive. Fussing around with the sport mode is going to put unnecessary stress on your transmission, which is apparent in the clunky shifting described by the OP. I'll be the first one in this thread to say they should have gotten the manual if they wanted to be a speed racer

 

Ahh, yeah. I was thinking the “other” guy.

 

Thanks I feel old now.

It’s probably not a huge deal and truck just being truck but it’s a tad peculiar that nothing is mentioned in my manual other than appropriate speed and no mention of throttle input or RPM. I’d rather venture with nothing gained than risk an out of warranty transmission.

I appreciate everyone’s participation. I’m going to reach out to Toyota Corporate to see their thoughts on this. I’ll check back and update this thread for those who are curious as well.

 

I will let off the accelerator when shifting gears with an automatic, and do so often. If I'm in traffic where I'll be driving no more than 45 mph I shift down to 4th gear until conditions change. At those speeds getting out of OD really improves both performance and fuel mileage.

If I'm in mountains I've found it MUCH better to read the road and downshift BEFORE the engine starts to struggle. The transmission is reactive and will only change to a lower gear AFTER you lose momentum. By downshifting earlier you often can get up an incline in a higher gear than you would if you wait for the truck to shift. And coming down mountain passes I keep it in a gear to maintain a speed where I rarely have to use the brakes.

 

There’s something built into the brake system. I don’t know the technicalities but if I tap the brakes it’ll usually downshift a gear on a steep enough decline in drive. Assuming I bang around the gears like a speed racer just shows you how these 3rd gens can’t read through a thread worth a damn! 2nd gens don’t have a sport mode and anyone buying ANY Tacoma to feel like a speed racer is even more useless than the second half of your post.

edit: welcome to the forum. Consider being more helpful and less judgmental.

 

If you have it pinned in D it shifts itself from 4 to 5 on it’s own under heavy throttle. That’s the way it works. It’s no different if you have it pinned in 4 and bump it into D.

 

New to the Auto shift here.
Had a 08 4banger 5 speed for the last 9 yrs. Driver ran a red t-boned me totaled it.
Dammit!
Anywho got a 12 tx pro trd v6 auto.
It has the cat back trd exhaust.
I find myself pulling it in to 4th slowing down?
Guess I like the sound and am not braking. For the most part I let it do it’s thing.
Gotta say the interstate was trying with 4 banger but the v6 just gets it!

 

I use 4 and even 3 or 2 when driving down steep hills and grades in the mountains. Even when not towing.

to answer OP - I don’t wait or anything - I just shift.

 

'Overdrive' to me is when it slams into a 'middle gear' between 2nd and 3rd like when accelerating on an on-ramp. I don't have any button or any indicator of whether it's actually OD or not. It's a double shift right before 3rd during moderate to heavy acceleration. to get up to highway speed. I don't hit 4th till around 65-70 which is where I normally set cruise.
Whatever it is, it's super annoying.

'15 TRD Sport V6 Auto

 

I will add that engine breaking is a real thing in extended downhill situations unless you want to cook your brakes. Happens all the time.

I would either be going a speed where I know the truck won't want to be in 5th when I shift it up to D, or I let my foot off the gas a bit. I don't know if that's what the intended method is though.

 

I just put it in low and let it creep. Offroad anyway.

 

You're the guy creeping to town in front of me every morning...

 

Sure am, use my flux capacitor to teleport to Canada every day just for you!

 

Ironically my brother lives in KC MO, haha. But yeah same concept as letting it creep in low offroad

 

The first time the engine break kicked in I wasn't expecting it. So on a certain amount incline (not sure the exacts) if you just let off the gas and tap the brake it'll start engine braking automatically. Annoying when you want to coast, but all you have to do is tap the gas to make it stop.

 

It downshifts and unlocks the torque converter and the injectors stop spraying fuel. It’s now a giant air compressor bleeding off energy and speed.

 

I use 2 leaving my neighborhood regularly. It's hilly, twisty gravel roads with a speed limit of 15 for 3 miles to the gate. The next 3 miles I usually shift to 3 until I get to asphalt.

If shifting from 4 to D, I generally hold the speed I want to be at with a steady throttle and make the shift.

If I'm towing moderate to heavy weight, and need to manually upshift, I get to an rpm where I know once the shift happens I won't be low in rpm, then I let off the accelerator as I make the shift.

 

How do you shift your auto?

To go forward direction: I place it in D (Drive).
To go backwards direction: I place it in R (Reverse).

 

I quoted someone else And the first part of my post I was agreeing with you! The post I quoted was saying there is no reason to ever select anything other than D for the forward gears. There are tons of reasons to select gears with an auto, and some reasons not to bother. The main reason being engine braking, so whichever way your truck achieves that with the smoothest shift would probably be the best bet. Sport mode is no different than selecting 3 or L etc. on any typical automatic from the last few decades, so the best advice IMO is to just experiment and find the smoothest way to make that shift happen, and you're good to go.

2nd gens and 3rd gens really aren't very different anyway. The computers in both are going to monitor your throttle input and shift appropriately, which is why working through the gears "manually" is always clunkier. Best of luck!

 

Enlightening. Thank you for taking time to read the post.