Cruise Control on the 2016 TRD

Yeah one dealership wouldn't for me either. Had to use a different one.

 

You just need to learn the truck. I would prefer a different engine/tranny combo but this one isn't as bad as people want to believe. I have a 4x4 OR DCSB auto and will have no trouble getting 20+ this summer with 60lbs KO2's and hard on the gas. Something I will say I've noticed. Ect off and driving like a granny I was actually getting 16mpg on average. Once I started using ect, driving it a bit harder, and air up a little more my mpg's increased 20% or so. Also while cruising on the highway you need to find a speed that works for the conditions. Sometimes 70mph will utilize 5th and 6th but 75 with be in love with 4th and then kick it up to 80 and it'll be back to 5th and 6th. And this will be all on the same road too. Also when cruise is on and it downshifts to 4th on an incline sometimes it will not shift back up as quick as I like. To fix this I just apply a little throttle once it crests and it'll shift back up to 5th and 6th.

 

I am at the dealership, talked to a few techs here. They have not seen a problem like mine (ours). They have only seen a few 2016s coming in for service or ANY problems.

There is ONLY one new SR5 2016 4x2 on the lot; no other Tacos. Salesperson just told me they are having a hard time getting them.

I have pictures of the dash that my wife took when I was driving, and I have footage of the driving/shifting from my mounted gopro. I showed that to them.

From our conversation; I think they believe the issue, but will need time to check it out. I live out of town so I will setup an appointment to drop it off next week.

I am SURE nothing can be done, but if I (we) don't take it in and document it nothing will be done. This forum is GREAT, but it is NOT TOYOTA, so we need to take it in and document it.

The engine runs on a computer; there are ways for engineers to modify the torque curve; they just need to know about issues.

 

Yea, same here. 2.8 miles to work (uphill both ways LOL). Around 14 mpg. As soon as I get on some roads with less lights or stop signs it does go up and hiway 21-24.

 

My 06 V6 SR5 4x4 was similar. The parkway here has a 75mph limit and has a quite a few long inclines so it was very annoying. If I moved the shifter to 4th it would atleast hold a steady RPM and would shift back to OD when I moved the shifter back to "D". It was hopeless when I switched to 265/75R16 ATs Premium fuel helped but in the end I just dropped my speed by 10mph.

Have a 6spd Frontier now and it has no issue pulling the same hills in 6th with the cruise on or off, came with 265/75R16s stock and proper gearing.

 

that display looks great at night. Time for me to trade!

 

I also wanted to mention; I log ALL my mileage, fuel, service etc. I am doing MANUAL calculations for fuel consumption/mileage as well NOT just the computer

Note: The computer avg mileage is really close, but I at least go through 3/4 tank first before relying on tank average. Also tank has never been under 1/4 tank: not gonna risk running fuel pump dry for gas mileage calculations.

Coming back from dealership I did NOT use the cruise; outside temp 70F, after 50 miles ... avg was showing 16.8 mph ... I will do more testing until I take it in next week.

Who knows maybe it was the cruise all along and next week I will be getting 23 mpg!

 

Mine has done this since day one. I took mine on a trip last weekend and averaged 13 or so. I've had it in to the dealership and have a case with Toyota with no resolution. Tranny fluid was low as well and Toyota Corp is basically giving me the finger. Very unhappy with this situation on a brand new truck. Really annoying shifting up and down all the time. Kind of makes me wish I wouldn't have sold my 09 mt. I've heard of many, many people with this issue. Techs at the dealership were aware that this is happening so hopefully if enough people report it they will come with a fix.

 

Just an update. Mine is still doing the crazy shifting when on cruise. I am averaging 16 mpg no matter what. I have 9000 miles on it now. I have come to the conclusion that the 3.5L engine does NOT have enough torque/horsepower for highway speeds above 65 - 70 mph. From my research the Manual Transmission does not have any problems. With the cruise on, a small small incline will make the transmission continually shift. Without the cruise on, the speed will drop down 4 - 5 mph on a small incline and then pick up speed again. I think most of the Taco owners who are getting great mileage and fewer shifting problems are in the 55 - 60 mph range. My Taco also does fine at that speed without the crazy shifting, but I am mostly highway driving not around a city.

I sure wish there was an engine torque curve update to make this Taco function better. My ONLY complaint is the mileage and the shifting. I guess the shifting wouldn't matter if it got 20 mpg or the rated 23 mpg. My 2002 Ford Explorer XLT 4X4 with a V8 gets 19 - 20 mpg at the posted 80 mph here in Texas; and of course it has NO problems with power.

Hopefully they will come up with a solution. I have been thinking of test driving a 2016 4Runner as it still have the 4.0 engine in it.

 

I do mostly city driving, but I have used cruise some on the interstate, and it seems to work ok in my truck. At 75-80 mph, windy conditions on slight hills it will drop from 6th to 5th, but it goes right back to 6th as soon as I crest. The times it is switching gears, it doesn't seem abnormal. I have 3600 miles.

I wonder if the dropping to fourth is from what we hear about the ECU/transmission learning? Maybe it is operating on some bad data...

 

My gal's 2016 Runner drives like a beast compared to my 2016 Tacoma, when you push the pedal you feel that power right away. BTW shes averaging 18.4MPG in her Runner too. If I didn't need the truck bed for hunting, I'd have the runner. I offered to trader her during the week she declined. Doesn't like the seat height/visibility from the Tacoma and non-adjustable height. Also doesn't like the brakes on the Tacoma

 

They gave me a 15 runner when had my truck getting it's hood glued. I had it for a week and it was the worst thing ever. I couldn't wait to get out of it and back it my truck. The downshifts felt more aggressive but that's pretty much the only positive I could say about it.

 

Must be the shitty loaner

 

So from what I understand about the 2016 6 speed AT is that 5th and 6th are overdrive gears, ie top speed is achieved in 4th gear. So, it would make sense that when the transmission senses a need to accelerate past the 60 mph range, it's going to go to 4th.

 

Could be. I love my truck, but not a huge fan of the tranny and gearing.