I gotta say I am not super happy with my '16 Taco after pulling trailer.

Haha you nailed it man. I'm way to masculine to read a simple owners Manual. Cause God knows I am way to manly to paint potery or kill something with more than a Rambo knife.

I'm just glad to have found a forum with so many helpful folks. Half of you are a bunch of a$$holes. Boy am I glad for that. Makes me feel like I fit in perfectly.


Next issue I have I will be sure to post a rant so I can get a speedy answer an save the loss of time it would take to read the manual. ;-) love you guys!

 

and stop being a dick to the OP, people. There have been tons of complains with the 2016 towing even with the ECT engaged. I hate to say it but @BlueT is right about a lot of things Toyota has done with the 2016. I am not sure I would consider driving a 2016 auto because of it felt to me and the complaints. The manual felt decent though.

 

Well you got the last part half right. It is always nice to be perfect at something although that isn't the orifice most aspire to from my experience.

 

I'm out

 

these little trucks don't have the towing or hauling capacity as say an f-150. They are good for looks, climbing and picking up the baby sitter. If you want to haul heavy you need a full size.

 

Cool. C Ya

 

I would totally agree. But a 2,200 pound loaded sled trailer is not much to tow.

 

I actually haven't seen "tons of complaints". I've seen mixed reviews. Two in particular stand out and both were long hauls. One was a guy towing through the Rockys IIRC and he was admittedly towing up and down very steep terrain. His wasn't so much as a complaint as it was the lack of power compared to full size trucks. The other was a stellar review cross country with a heavy load and not one issue.

I'd like to see the OP use the ECT on his next haul as recommended then report back with his findings. Will it be magical for him? Probably not, but I'll bet the revving will be decreased because the proper shift points will be engaged.

 

I do find it humorous how some are blow up at me for not reading the manual. Haha like this little ECT button is the god send of needs. Like it's going to take the Towing ability for Tacoma to Super Duty diesel. Hahaha

Like I said from the start. I didn't buy the Tacoma as a pure towing rig. I will probably tow my self trailer 12-18 times this winter. Aside from that I will haul my GSXR to the track with it. I was just let down by it considering my 02 Taco with a TRD supercharger (Manual) and my 2011 TRD sport (manual). My other Taco's I never used to trailer anything. Never had an Auto Taco before that I actually drove. Just a Red 01 I rebuilt and sold.

 

Welcome to the third gen side of town, OP.

Unfortunately, this is how it is for most of us.

 

100% agree with you. Hope to go back to get sleds and bring home from dealer before lift and 33's to get a true comparison. I am sure it will be better, but not a total different truck.

I am still wondering about re-gearing the truck. I have yet to have any input period on that issue. Maybe I should read the Owners Manual??? I bet it covers everything in there about what gear ratios to choose and what is best recommend to change to. Haha

 

The ECT button is there so dealers can re-assure test-drivers like me who are dumb-founded at the crappy acceleration they see.

 

Thinking about things. Years back I used my 2003 Infiniti G35 coupe to tow my GSXR to Tail of the Dragon and track days. 8 hour haul each way. Hell it pulled better than my Taco. But it was about 1,000 pounds trailer, gear and bike. So little less than half the weight.

 

My 2011 4.0 rev's to the moon when towing in the same situations as you, and it sounds like it's working pretty hard....??? As another posted said, it's just going to effect fuel economy, nothing else. This ain't your daddies 350.

 

My 2002 Tacoma pulls my 3500 lb Casita trailer surprisingly well until you hit any sort of grade. Then you are in third gear at 50 mph with a bunch of pissed off drivers behind you. Considering the 2016 has 88 more HP and 45 more torques, I think it should pull significantly better than what I am used to.

 

https://vimeo.com/27818768

 

I towed a couple of atvs 2 weeks ago and the combined weight, including the trailer, was just over 2,200 lbs. It stayed in 5th the majority of the trip and only downshifted on some of the larger hills. I'm in Georgia, so when I say hills, it's not like I'm climbing a mountain or anything. The ECT button makes a lot of difference. It's still going to rev, but it feels like it has more usable power with ECT on. This motor makes its power at a higher rpm than the 4.0 and so naturally it's going turn higher rpms. The thing that I noticed is even when turning higher rpms, the 3.5 is still much smoother than the 4.0 in my 08 taco. Overall, I thought it did pretty well and it averaged a little over 15 mpg for the 200 mile round trip. Since this is what I tow regularly, it's about perfect for me, but everyone has different needs and tastes. Try it with the ECT on and see how it does. Hopefully you'll feel better about it. Good luck, OP!

 

Hahahha i wish I had enough hair left for a haircut like that. Or even a Joe Dirt haircut.

 

The 3.5 did feel buttery smooth to me. I don't think high revs put more wear on the engine since this engine was engineered to rev high. Tons of high-revving Hondas out there with 300,400K on the clock.

 

You were likely way too high in the RPM range while in 2nd for the speed you had.