ECT and S4 when towing using 2019 Tacoma

i just towed a 3,000lb travel trailer 1,000 miles. I used S4 and didn’t even know about the ECT Button.

When towing, am I supposed to use the ECT button AND also use S4 gear?

(The salesman saw my Rpod that I bought the truck to pull and never mentioned either the ECT or gears for towing—not his job I guess)

 

ECT is recommended

 

Ect is basically tow haul mode in other trucks. It will help out especially if you have grades or a headwind

 

Without ECT, you'll want to drive the truck off a cliff (with or without you inside).

S4 sounds about right, considering that, completely unloaded, anything ~77mph and under, I get BETTER mileage in 5th than I do in 6th... that little motor just struggles with a way-too-tall 6th gear.

 

It's in the manual. Read it. ECT is recommended for towing.

G.

 

What is S4? Sorry for not knowing!

 

moving the gear selector (auto trans) over, it defaults to limit the transmission from shifting above 4th gear (keeping trans out of over drive gears). Of course you can shift it up and down, forcing downshifts or changing the top gear limit to most any other gear.
in other words, it's the shifter in the auto

 

There is no requirement to use either S-4 or ECT when towing, but if it makes your drive more enjoyable, go for it. I tended to use ECT and D when towing my boat. S mode is for engine braking when descending long steep slopes and we don’t enough a large amount of those where I live.

 

the owner's manual says to select ECT mode when towing and to use S-5(i think) or lower.

 

S-mode keeps trans temperature low and ECT is recommended when towing.

 

S4 means the transmission won't shift above 4th gear. The higher engine RPM is easier on the engine and does help keep everything running cooler. It has ALWAYS been recommended to stay out of overdrive when towing. Different vehicles have different ways of accomplishing that.

That is the most important part. Using ECT will change transmission shift points. It will stay in low gears longer when accelerating. And on most vehicles will downshift more aggressively to help with engine braking.

When towing light loads you can probably get by with just driving normally. Especially on level ground. But with 3000 or more I'd stay out of over drive. If you didn't use ETC, you didn't hurt anything. It may have been a little better driving experience with it though. But just putting the shift selector in "D" and pulling 3000 lbs is going to overheat the transmission and lead to premature failure.

 

Ect for city towing. Otherwise highway makes no difference

 

That is incorrect.

 

Ever heard of overdrive gears?

 

S-4 is correct

 

S5.

@gudujarlson has his own crusade about the semantics of the language used in the manual, but reading the manual as it is implied says S5 and ECT, not S4.

 

I used S4 recently most of the time towing a boat with some other gear around the op's weight. Tried ECT on and off. Imo, seemed sort of a crap shoot at that weight.

 

Does S-4 keep the torque converter locked and does that generally keep the transmission fluid from overheating?

 

s-4 will definitely keep the temps lower than running in overdrive. i know 4th can be locked but not sure if it's locked at all times.