2016 Tacoma 6th Gear at 30mph

All current engines are designed to run a few hundred rpms above idle at full throttle. They are lugging

 

Just s friendly FYI:
'16 automatic transmission, 3.9 differential
'16 manual transmission, 4.3 differential

 

I have had mine for almost a week now. Did quite a bit of highway driving over the weekend unfortunately. I think it is a matter of getting use to it and knowing how to drive it. Getting use to it shifting all the time I think is how it is. Going along at highway speed if you come to a hill I am use to just gradually giving it a little more gas and the vehicle would just build up a little more speed and not downshift. This truck will always downshift. I'm not that guy who is always kicking the vehicle into passing gear on the highway so it is going to take a bit of getting use to. I got into a traffic jam and that time when you are moving at like 20 and traffic speeds up again to like 40, it is a bit awkward. This is where the ECT button or going to S mode would help. I didn't try that yet but will have to drive in heavy traffic tomorrow so will experiment with that. I don't have any problem from a start, I think it accelerates fine. If you want it to go faster you just have to give it a bit more gas. It is different than other vehicles I have driven, it's like the gas pedal has a conservative feel or if you put your foot in it it knows you mean business.

 

Because it's a 6 speed most likely...

 

I drive like a grandma so I think the 6 speed will be great for me!

 

I do too, that's why I have trouble when it downshifts on the highway, in the back of my mind I feel like I am driving crazy...

 

I also have a 2015 Highlander with a v6 and 6 speed auto. It does circles around my 2016 Tacoma v6. The Highlander has a nice constant/consistent acceleration through the gears up and down. My Tacoma seems to shift into higher gears before it should and creates the lugging feel. The engine seems to struggle and the exhaust sound even changes to a more muffled sound.

 

No way man... The most hated thing on my 2006 was the cruise control, which I used ALL the time.. if I came to a small hill it would downshift (to 4th) and set me back into the seat till it got back that 1 km of speed.......It was way too aggressive.... I did not like that and could not change it...

This tranny, on exactly the same hill, on cruise smoothly shifts down to 5th and does not try to win the NASCAR race to get to the top of the freakin' hill (like my '06).....!!! But if I put it in ECT... It'll do the same thing...!! Leave it alone... chill out... enjoy the ride...

Great improvement Toyota..!! I love your new Tranny... I have options.. I like that.... I just need to learn what they will do or can't do.... so far I'm a believer....

Well done Toyota..!!

 

Exactly.....except that it does shift automatically through all the gears below your selection. So there is no need to "row" through the gears.

 

After reading this thread, I have been keeping my transmission in S6 at all times for the past three days. I have been interested to see that in driving the same way on the same routes, I am seeing about 2 MPG better on my ECO monitor. This is with a TRD Sport DCSB 4x4.

 

where were you keeping it? S5? S4? Drive? ECT ON?

S6 should be no different than Drive

 

What is this "s mode" everyone is talking about?

 

Look at your gear shifter...its to the left of D. It allows the driver to shift through the gears manually or limit the transmission on the highest gear the driver chooses, such as 4th gear. The trans will not shift into 5th or 6th, etc.

 

Before the experiment, I was keeping it on Drive with ECT off. I had not even thought of trying out the S mode prior to reading this thread. This is now the fourth day in S6 with ECT off, and I am still seeing 2-3 better MPG on the instantaneous MPG readout. I have just under 700 miles total on the truck. I can definitely tell that acceleration is less with this transmission configuration.

Can anyone explain this? I am in general a light-footed driver and that has not changed regardless of the transmission setting. I do live in hilly terrain, and I wonder if the S6 mode is keeping it in higher gear on the hills.

 

Drive mode driver has no options:
The transmission has 6 gears. In drive the truck accelerates through all 6 gears in a normal fashion based on speed, terrain, load, etc. and automatically up-shifting and down-shifting as needed.


In S mode, the driver has some options:
Same 6 gears: 1 through 6. When S mode is selected it defaults to 4th gear. The driver then has the option to up-shift to 5th and 6th gears by pulling rearward on the shifter, or down-shifting from 4th to 3rd, 2nd, or 1st gear by pushing forward on the shifter. The driver an manually shift through the gears like a manual transmission except without using a clutch.

Another option with Smode is the driver can choose to limit the number of gears the transmission can use automatically. Rough example; driving in slow stop and go traffic. I don't want the truck to use 4th through 6th gears, I choose 3rd gear in S mode and leave it. While driving in that kind of traffic the truck will shift through the gears of 1st through 3rd but will not shift any further. It will automatically shift between the three gears as needed. That can be changed at any time by the driver based on need. I use it in town when I don't want it shifting into 5th and 6th gears because my truck starts lugging in city traffic.

I hope this helps. Please add to this if I've missed something.

 

I drove in this AM in pretty heavy traffic. I tried both ECT and shifting. ECT makes it really peppy but not something needed in traffic. The shifting worked pretty well, I will continue experimenting with that. The S6 idea sounds interesting.

 

Pretty much nailed how I drive mine and use ECT.

I drive like there is a glass of water on the dash I don't want to spill. If I want a tad more aggressive driving I will opt for the MX-5.

No issues with shifting. I can barely feel the truck shifting up. Sometimes I feel it shifting into second on the way down.

 

in mine to shift to higher gear from 4th i push forward and to shift to lower gears i pull back on the shifter...

 

It sounds like some of you are saying that s6 will keep it in the higher gear instead of down shifting? This sounds unlikely to me

 

I agree and yet I am still wondering what else could account for my increased MPG figures. I was originally trained as a scientist, and the only variable I have changed in this driving experiment is using the S6/no ECT transmission setting as opposed to the original D/no ECT setting. I am assuming that the 'average MPG' widget in the ECO and multi-information panel is still reporting the data consistently regardless of the transmission setting. My driving style, route, altitude, weather, tire pressure and payload has remained unchanged.

PS: A key point on any experimental result is if the results can be reproduced. It would be interesting if others would try the S6/no ECT approach for a few days, changing nothing else, and see if the MPG figures improved.