How does S mode work?

Something that I noticed is in 4th gear it will allow the engine to hit 6000 RPM. I shift to 6th by then. I think it will let the engine redline. I'll try on the way home...Because...





A good engineer is always a wee bit conservative, at least on paper. It will hold.
~ Mr Scott, Chief Engineer (Hire him please Toyota)

 

Yes, you can redline in whatever gear you want.

 

Top speed will prob. be in 4th at 6K rpm. I doubt these engines can pull an overdrive any faster especially with as much wind drag as we have.

 

Is there any way to keep the transmission from downshifting in S Mode? I am constantly driving in the mountains and the downshifting is driving me nuts. Is there any way to be able to lock the tranny in a gear so you can step on it on the uphill without a lurching downshift? This is an especially big problem when towing our drift boat.

 

Did you get the TSB 0068-12?

 

Anyone know about this? I have a 2018 and would love to find out if this is possible. Lots of hills around here.

 

I would like suggestions on this TSB 0068-12 as well. ??
Living in the hills causes constant down and up shifting. Not sure if using S-mode or ECT mode is best. Btw. I have a 2016 4x4 sport.

 

Buy a manual next time. Then you’ll have complete control.

 

This can be useful in certain situations off road where you don't want your transmission to shift to a higher gear because of the engine RPMs.

Think of tall sand dunes, water crossings etc.

 

Yes there is. If you put the truck is S Mode at a stop, then shift all the way down to 1st and take off, the transmission will hold that gear until you upshift. This is more like a manual mode since you are in control of the gears. As you upshift, it will stay in that one gear.

 

That.

I can put it in S1 before something steep or challenging when I may need to stand on the gas, and want mo power, not high speeds. Engine braking in S Something is also very welcome, at times.

 

Why does it always start in "4" though?

 

I did this on my test drive last week and it seemed to work this way which is highly encouraging since if I get a Gen-3 it will have a 1,000 lb camper on it up to 2/3rd of the time. I also do a lot of off road and snow for work so again, pretty important since they don't seem to make an MT for the Off Road build in dub cab / long bed.

So to be clear, it has to be from a stop though and of course it will auto up-shift when approaching redline. For further clarity, moving it to S while in motion and it starts in 4th, and you drop to 3rd, it will not allow you to work in highest RPM range and will auto up-shift to the highest gear you have currently selected. ECT mode will keep it in a bit higher RPM range by nudging the shift points up so along with S it will allow some degree of manual-like control.

Anything I am missing?

How does 4-lo and even crawl control play into this? Not blowing up driveline components when off roading is all about finesse, especially when carrying a load over rocks and holes.

 

Ovtune. Gear lock.

 

So you're saying if you stop, shift to S1, then drive like normal and cycle gears, say up to s4, then happen to slow down, then punch it, it'll stay in S4?

 

No idea really, I was taking it for a test drive and posted the scenarios above as verification / questions. I would think it would kick down.

 

S mode just sets an up shift limit, it neither prevents down shifts nor forces up shifts, but it DOES force down shifts. From a stop, it will shift from 1st through whatever S# you select. Starting from S1, it will stay in 1st until you shift it. Starting from S4, it will shift normally up to 4th gear. At 40 mph in 4th gear, you can force down shifts probably down to 1st, definitely 2nd.

I'd love if it gave SOME control over holding higher gears on the highway, but it just isn't really true most of the time. It does seem to encourage the trans to shift to a higher gear if you stay in S5 or S6, but it is still reluctant in my experience. Especially in cruise control, when the computer makes all the decisions, it just doesn't care what you really want .

 

If you guys want complete control you can get OVTune —> www.ovtune.com

He has a gearlock tune that will hold whatever gear you want to the rev limiter. Unlike stock that will upshift for you. Just throwing that out there.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2016-toyota-tacoma-ovtune-1-05-tune-development-thread.495735/

Lots to read. First post is most important, it’s updated by OP

 

All I know about S mode is I get 2 mpg more by using it all the time. That or my truck is just getting broke in more, I’m just now at 5k miles.

 

In other words. It works just like a automatic is supposed to work.