2.7 with the 6 speed auto

I really like being the one to decide when, where, and how much the tranny winds up and when it shifts, or doesn’t. Driving a manual for me IS automatic and something an AT won’t equal until neuralink is part of on-board systems. The 2.7 isn’t a racehorse but it sure is dependable and stress free.

 

I like my truck being an automatic. Just care free, and my girlfriend can drive it. I have a manual car when I wanna hit the twisties. 420whp E85 tuned WRX with full bolt ons and upgraded turbo/headers and complete STI swap tranny and suspension

 

I only have the one ride so it has to serve all my needs even if it can’t quite cover all my desires. Last truck was an auto, just too boring being again my only ride even if it had a 4.0.

 

Interesting how that is. I'll drive from point A to point B and not remember shifting.

 

I have a 2023 2.7L 4x4 auto. I never feel like the truck is lacking power but I also rarely have the bed loaded up or tow anything. It is definitely geared too tall in general though and it will slide into 4th or 5th too early. I find myself using the "Sport" mode and limiting the transmission to 4th or 3rd gear very often....like every damn day. I've heard good things about the OTT tune. I'm curious about how that feels. I love the truck and I plan to keep it for a very long time.

 

The crawl ratio in my 2.7 is way better than the one in the 3.5 I did Imogene pass without batting an eye

 

I don’t quite understand the argument that you have to totally load up the truck otherwise you’re not using it.

I hell household garbage, wood, tiles, small appliances, mountain bikes, groceries, and other stuff with mine.

I would describe it as light to medium duty, for which it is perfectly capable.

If you bought a four-cylinder truck and expect it to do heavy duty stuff, maybe you should be getting a full-size truck?

 

This may not address your issue, but like you I love my 2.7L! I have a 2012 Prerunner with the 4 speed auto and I wanted to start pulling a camper in the Colorado mountains. The camper weighs 3000 empty, but you know you’ll end up with 1000 more pounds once the stuff is all in. Need a new truck right? Nope. Being an adventurous type I installed the URD supercharger and now the truck is an amazing tow vehicle capable of all altitudes and grades. I think this was and a good, but not great trade off as the SC was about $5500 plus a shift kit and transmission cooler, but the truck was low mileage and not expensive to start with. The downside is gear hunting and only having 4 gears I end up driving it like a manual when it’s hilly. When going up steep and long grades I’ll end up in 2nd gear which is RPM limited to about 65 mph, but I’ll usually set it to 60 to keep the RPMs reasonable. The power is through the roof above 4000 RPM and the truck went from the standard 2.7 “sleepy” to “supercharger alert” at all RPMs.

I’d do it again, but it sure would be nice if I could get more gears or even an electric overdrive add-on.

 

Bought a '23 SR 4x4 a few months ago and I gotta say, this is the most out-of-sorts drivetrain I have ever owned. The 2.7L is fine and does all that is needed for a light duty truck, but the transmission calibration and gearing are horrible. Constant gear-hunting and always in too high of gear. It's fine if you putts around town, but on the highway it gets confused, particularly at speeds over 60mph. The slightest throttle input or drop in speed, the transmission starts hunting. On top of that, the gearing is way too tall even with the stock 4.30 gears. They might as well call it a 4-speed, cause the only way it gets to 5,6 is with a tailwind or going downhill. If you're a current manual owner, this auto transmission will drive you insane. I added an OTT tune which helps (but does not cure) the gear-hunting, and I'm taking it in for 5.29 gears in a couple weeks. Hopefully this makes it more tolerable.

 

I’m really interested to hear what you think of the new gearing. Please let us know.

 

I found a great gear ratio calculator if you’re interested or thinking about re-gearing:
http://www.grimmjeeper.com/

Here’s a screenshot - stock 4.30 gears on left, 5.29 gears on right

 

I have 5.29s, OTT tune, header and skinny all terrains 235/85/16. Also a lift, topper, and some added weight it drives better now with the lift added weight tires etc then it did stock. Gears were the biggest difference totally changed how the truck drives, i would recommend a header as well its worth the money. Keep the tire size/weight minimal i would not go bigger than a 235/85/16 or 265/75/16. I got prebuilt diffs from ECGS it was under 2k to do the swap and ship them back you wont be disappointed. The truck is still slow, but its how the truck should have felt out of the box. This was with my wife, dog, and 4-500 extra lbs of crap in the bed still gets decent mileage too.

 

Yup

 

The 2.7L in 4x4 access cab is legit as a daily driver.

That 6AT paired to the 2.7 doesn't hunt for gears as much as the V6.

Keep it light and it'll be a great truck, even off road.

 

Interesting - I would think the 4 cylinder would hunt more.

 

Different gear ratios stock 3.90 to 4.30s plays a part but the 4 banger stock will gear hunt a ton at highway speeds

 

most likely going with 5.29 soon, after my trip to expo west and the drive wasn't fun. I know I need to embrace the slowness but I want some drivability

 

I have a 2020 SR 4x4 2.7 AT and I love and hate the truck both so much, for all the same reasons everyone else mentions with downshifts and hunts.
I drive up to the mountains every year to a hunting cabin and the struggle is real in that scenario at highway speeds. Around town on the flat NJ roads the transmission is more tolerable on a good day. The truck is super sensitive to environment/weather changes it seems like.
I also have a weird idle/heavy vibration with power loss issue that no mechanic has been able to diagnose - they just look at me like I have 6 heads and say "it's a 4 cyl..." I got tired of paying $150 diagnostic fees just to be told it's normal. I'm on a mission to figure it out myself with no automotive background.

What makes me look even worse in their eyes is I have the truck lifted 1.7" on Bilstein 6112s with Cooper 265/75/16s ATs. Which by the way, if anyone goes this route with the billy 6112s I'd definitely recommend doing your preload and spring research first, because my truck is way too light for the 600lb bilstein springs at the higher circlip settings - I plan on backing it down closer to a 1" lift (I'm at #10 / #8 now) Only seems to be an issue on roads.

Also I should mention for the hell of it that the dealership I bought my truck brand new from, with the additional care plan for like $2k+ more, refuses to touch my truck at all because of the lift. They wouldn't even check my battery health They already got my money so, to hell with me.

THE GOOD NEWS: The truck is GREAT off-road. Even with the open diffs it just floats over the sand. Can do a lot of things with ease that larger trucks struggle with, especially in tight trails - this is why I will be keeping the truck and turning it in to an OR beast over time. I can't justify driving this truck daily for the rest of its life with the road annoyances, so when I'm done paying it off next year I'll probably be getting a Honda Passport or Pilot to daily.

@Nyrob 's post gives me hope for the future

 

Tune, regear, keep tire size, added weight to a minimal will completely change how the truck drives, its still slow but tolerable

 

The 4 banger loses 50hp when the AC is turned on