2nd Gen 2.7 Power loss and rough acceleration

I have a 2009 2.7 5-speed manual with 108k miles. It starts and idles smoothly and runs smoothly when it's under no load, but as soon as I give it a bit of gas, it vibrates and struggles to accelerate. It will barely keep 60 going uphill on the steepest interstate hills (I-77 into VA from NC or I-26 going into the mountains -if you're familiar with those hills). There's no check engine light and it seems like the engine is just starved of air or fuel. I checked air filter and it's not clogged. Haven't checked anything else yet. I'm wondering if this is common and there's a "go-to" thing to look for first. Thanks!

 

Maybe the catalytic converter is plugged up? I had an Mitsubishi pickup that did what you described and the cats was my issue.

 

I have a new to me 05 2.7 with 5spd and I have the same complaint, although mine runs good all the time just will not maintain 60 up any steep hill in 4th. Although it feels like it has great power down low. I did notice when parked an a hill my compression bleeds off fast, and my truck has noticeable VVTi rattle at startup, I was planning on starting a thread myself.

 

Is this a new to you truck or is it more of a recent problem?

i’ve had 4 toyota pickups (81,85,94,&06), all 4wd 4 cylinder manual transmissions & all have been dogs on the highway & under load. i think it’s just the nature of the beast…

 

@Avotaco, I bought it used with 86k miles on it. It seemed underpowered at the time, but it's much worse now.

 

I'm gonna take it to the local toyota expert. I'll report back when I get it back.

 

When was the last full tune up?

Have you moved to bigger tires recently?