Moderate (?) acceleration from a stop

I always drive with ECT on, and drive 90 miles a day to work, 80mph most of the way on hilly West Virginia interstate and I get 19.5 -20 mpgs every time and I never turn ECT off, even when on interstate, I don't think it does much to 5th or 6th gear anyways

 

Try it with traction control off. My opinion is on sharp turns the traction control is cutting throttle due to rotational speed differences between the inside and outside tires.

I feel the traction control is overly sensitive.

 

This can be confusing for new owners.

The Tacoma automatic transmission allows for manual control, without a clutch.

S mode only sets a limit to the top gear that the transmission will shift to.

It displays that top number on the dash, but from a complete stop, the transmission will start from 1st gear and shift up to the number displayed on the dash.

If you flick the shifter forward into ‘5’ displayed on the dash in S mode, it will shift through the gears from 1st to 5th.

With ‘6’ displayed, it will shift from 1st to 6th gear.

With ‘3’ displayed, it will only shift up to 3rd gear and then hold there.

When slowing for a stop, you can also shift down from S mode ‘4’ by flicking the shifter back down to ‘3’ displayed, and then another flick to ‘2’and yet another to ‘1’ which will then be displayed on the dash. A little like a manual transmission, of course with no clutch.

Now, as you accelerate away from the stop, the transmission will hold in 1st gear until you flick it forward, at which point it will shift to 2nd gear and will hold it there until you flick forward again to 3 at which time it will shift to 3rd gear.

You can then manually shift into 4th, 5th and 6th. And then back down again.

Check out the + and - symbols on the shifter console for S mode.

Some owners complain about the transmission hunting between 5th and 6th or 4th and 5th gear on inclines or when traveling in the mountains. Yes, more low end torque in the 3.5 engine might help with that.

But, by using S mode, you can keep the transmission from hunting and keep it in the gear that you desire.

You’re in control of the RPMs, MPHs and gears with this Tacoma transmission. I think some owners don’t realize that.

Try it out. You have a manumatic transmission in this truck, and you can tell it what to do, similar to a manual transmission.

Not all automatic transmissions can do that through all of their gears.

It’s really pretty easy. Instead of initially shifting to D, just move it over to S mode and leave it there, unless you want 5th or 6th gear.

Also, there’s the mesojdm “always on” feature that can be installed too.

Or, you can manually shift it, which negates the need for using the ECT button.

I’ve owned several manual transmissions, and they were great.

With the automatic, you can eat your burger, fries and drink any time that you like while driving.

 

I get this sensation on my 2nd gen. 2005 the traction control isn't defeatable. It's really the only thing I don't like about the truck. When test driving a 2017 I had the same thing happen the OP describes and it's downright dangerous.

 

My 17 when it was sub 2000miles was retarded. Now it gives me the power when i need it. I lost the rear end, interior rattle and HPFP lotto. My engine and transmission have been fine.

 

My 2nd gen 4.0L auto was similar. If I was pulling into traffic I had to give it more throttle than I'd like or it would upshift too soon. I have a Frontier now, the accelerator is very responsive with good modulation, half pedal travel feels like half throttle.

 

I had mine cut out twice on me in the middle of an intersection and it felt like I got rear ended when it kicked back in. The second time it happened it made a terrible grinding noise too. The dealership said they "could not duplicate" and the corporate office seems to not care their trucks are hesitating in dangerous situations. They pretty much said there was nothing they could do

 

You can't drive a 3rd gen like a 2nd gen. There's just weird gearing, torque curve, shift points and gear ratios. It was something I noticed when trading my 2011... they're different. You gotta put your foot in the 3rd gen to get it to move.

I couldn't take it. ECT buttons, S mode... I don't want to hop in a vehicle with an automatic transmission and try to solve a Rubik's cube puzzle before I drive. I'll just row a stick.

By the way, the MT has no hesitation off the line. But first gear is also terribly low.

 

Guess it depends if I’m going to keep the truck for a while or not. If not I’d rather take that $800 to put towards a new truck. Maybe I was spoiled with my old f150 but I loved that damn ecoboost

 

Some trucks with older ECU versions did, mine included (04B10). Can't speak for 04B11,12, or the '18 M/T version.

If you punched it just after letting the clutch out, the truck would literally nose over, wait for a second, then take off. Note that I'm not talking about lack of torque at low rpm, and no it wasn't the traction control limiting power. The truck would literally "die" for a second. After tuning, this doesn't happen any more FWIW.

Again, not trying to justify the tune's cost. Just putting more info out there for everyone. There are variances in these trucks that preclude painting them all with a wide brush.

 

With my M/T Sport Oct/17 build,
On dry pavement I could spin the stock rear tires coming off the line, and if I kept it floored it would give a little squawk when shifting into second. With the Duratrac 265/65/17's I can only get the rear tires to spin once or twice off the line and a quick chirp going into second.

If I'm just cruising along and the RPM's are below 2500 and you just suddenly floor it, nothing, slow acceleration, can get scary getting on the highway, but if you get your RPMs up sooner or drop a gear it's like there is a different engine in there.

1-2500 Granny pedal won't spill grandma's tea only slowly move the pedal
2500-4500 Good working torque and acceleration you realize that the gas pedal works
4500+ Did they add a turbo to this granny motor?

It reminds me of an old vehicle I once drove that had an old turbo on it, if you where not at the right RPM and hit the gas you sat there and waited while it "spooled up" then when it hit the magic rpm the oh shit factor came in.


It's not like other trucks 1000-2500 they have torque and throttle response, ours have gas mileage.

It's more like a sports car than a truck.

IMHO they screwed up.

Trucks need low rpm torque and low end throttle response when they are working or playing. Sports car is only good for getting there.

 

If you love the truck, this issue can be fixed for $800 with the Orange Virus Tune. And no, it won't void your warranty.

 

I typically just floor it to the MPH I want to hit and then ease off to save MPGs.....Seems to work pretty well

 

Considering that it's a two-ton pickup with a V6 or 4-pot, I don't see how the acceleration could ever really be much better than moderate.

 

For my driving applications, I will trade the lower end torque for the added HP in the mid/high rpm range.

Had a Dodge Dakota quad cab, 4x4 with a 4.7 v8 auto. Similar weight, similar length. I could easily spin the tires at a stop, however, trying to merge with traffic on an interstate onramp could get hairy at times with the accelerator pegged. It had plenty of torque but less HP than the Tacoma. I don't have any issues with merging with traffic with the Tacoma on the same onramps. I'm one who likes to accelerate for an opening than slow down for one.

 

Truck drives the same. Owners just getting used to it.

 

Imagine it's a turbo sports car. Kinda even sounds like one!

 

after driving my tacoma for 2.5 years i can say ive adapted to its power band.
last week i borrowed my inlaws tundra for a day and now my tacoma feels like im always
pulling a trailer. fortunately im ok with how it drives.
it kind of reminds me of my 4cyl 1982 datsun pick up until you floor it. lol

 

Ouch…not like an 1982 Datsun four cylinder!!!

I took a second test drive this afternoon...40+ miles. Lots of town driving, four lane highway, two lane highway, driving in neighborhoods, accelerating into traffic, turning left into traffic, driving on hills, etc. I used cruise control and had no problems. I drove it with the transmission in all modes. Once I became aware of its idiosyncrasies, it was just fine. Sometimes I had to press a bit harder on the gas pedal than I was used to, but when I did, it responded quite well. I really like the “S” option and used it when I disagreed with the transmission’s choice of gears. I also like how easy it is to manually shift gears. I think that I’d use the “S” frequently when driving in town traffic. I tried the ECT and right now I think that I’d limit its use to towing or driving in mountainous regions. Time will tell.

The Tacoma ain’t no Ram Hemi, but for me it will be OK. It’s a very nice truck and will fit my lifestyle just fine. I’m a 75 year old recovering car nut who lives in the country with eight miles of hilly gravel road to travel every day. The Off Road package was meant for me.

 

Put a Shiftsense Pro V2 in your truck. 15 min. Install. Shifts Superb. No gear hunting. Much better than with the ECT on. Smoother . Just plain puts the fun back in driving.