anyone else hate the "brake assist" on our trucks??

That would be pretty nice. No good reason to put 1940's technology on a 2012 truck when discs are a much better option. Drum brakes suck, but apparently you haven't figured that out yet.

 

I hate it when the engine breaking cuts in and my face hits the windshield

 

It took a little time to get used to it. The first few times I thought "What the hell?" I didn't know about these features on Toyotas. Finally, I read up about it and slowly learned to deal with it. I like it now. There are many steep hills in my town, and it's easy to coast to speeds of over 40 in a 25 zone. I don't have to worry about it now. And I am saving gass because the injectors turn off.

 

I notice most of the guys complaining about this have newer trucks. It must be a lot worse/noticeable in these new trans because my 06 hardly does it at all

 

Engine braking only kicks in when you lift your foot fully off the throttle... So if you don't want any engine braking then don't lift your foot fully off the throttle.

 

I will give this a try.., thanks for all the responses. It's mostly just annoying, and my wife always looks over at me with that look of "WTF are you doing?"

 

Yes, I get that same look. I tell her, "It's not me!"

 

I find the engine braking to be well-matched to the rush-hour traffic flows here. It's easier for me to drive the Taco smoothly than the 4-speed Impreza.

Keep in mind these are 4000+ lb trucks with most of the weight in the front. Engine braking is a necessity on slippery, downhill roads. Psychologically it's similar to the rumbling jake brakes on big rigs.

The rear brakes do only about 30% of the work. Some race cars run a single brake disc in the rear, relying on an LSD to distribute braking forces to both rear wheels. You don't see this on production cars due to the lack of redundancy.

 

I don't mind it. But there be lots of big hills around here.

 

I was under the impression the brake assist would only kick in at high speeds, ie when the brakes need assistance. Does it kick in every time the drivers foot comes off the pedal? This seems like it would cost more mpg in the long run. When "coasting" on a flat up to a stop, isn't better for your mpg to coast to a stop? Wouldn't Engine braking cause you stop early, then need to apply gas to get to the stop sign or light, hence hurting the mpg? Or even worse while coasting to a stop going up a hill, the brakes don't need any assistance then... Im guessing it only kicks in at certain speeds? Anyone talk to dealer about it?

 

Seems to only be over a certain speed and if you're off the gas for a certain amount of time. Dealer doesn't know shit...

 

No. Brake assist comes on when you blip the brake pedal. If you want to coast, just take your foot off the gas.

 

Im no expert but if we had discs in the rear without any weight in the bed you can bet your ass end would lock up sooo fast! no weight plus excessive braking = a bad time... especially in wet and icy conditions.

 

For driving down steep mountain roads the engine braking on these trucks is awesome!

 

I think that Brake Assist and Down-Hill Assist Control (DAC) are different features.

Brake assist
http://www.toyota-global.com/innova..._technology/technology_file/active/brake.html

HAC and DAC
http://www.toyota-global.com/innova...echnology/technology_file/active/dac_hac.html

Neither say anything about down shifting to control down hills speeds. This lead me to think it is a feature of the Transmission and not the Brakes.

 

DAC is for offroading when going down extreme inclines in 4WD LO. According to the owners manual DAC is most effective when the automatic transmission is shifted into 1st gear.

 

You might be thinking of emergency brake assist. The onboard computer measures the time from the point your foot leaves the gas peddle to the point your foot applies the brake. If this time interval is very short, (This is when you slam your foot on the brakes and say damn where did that car come from?) the computer judges this to be an emergency and increases the pleasure in the brake boosters. I am sure someone more educated in this can better explain it.

 

Just like most that complain about it riding like a ... gasp! Truck, or women.

They should have purchased a Lexus instead.

 

Yes, a Lexus Tacoma. I'd like to see that. Wouldn't buy it, but would like to see it. Pearl white, black leather interior, air ride suspension ???

 

Brake override