S Mode

Per the manual you are supposed to lock out 6th any time you are towing. If you have a way to monitor transmission temps you will see a drastic rise in temperature if you are towing and shift to 6th gear.

 

Don't get me wrong.
I love this Taco and still think it's better than the 2019 Ranger I traded in to get here, but...

This engine is a dog. The 2.3 Ecoboost in the Ranger is light years better. Higher horsepower and loads of torque. Yes in the summer here when the air coning off the road surface is close to 150 degrees that turbo does lag - A LOT. Especially from a stop light or when you are having to pull out on to a busy road. But when you are at speed and passing on the freeway it shoots and scoots. I find the V-6 NA Toyota engine lacking and I'm having to learn how to drive it and play to its strengths and not to its weaknesses.

Very excited to see what the new I-Force I-4 Turbo Charged Toyota engine will do in the 2024 Taco. My guess is they will have it dialed in and firing great by 2026 or 27.

 

All good hometown. We’re here to agree and disagree. That’s what solves issues (sometimes). The thing to do would be for you to sit shot gun in a Taco that someone “claims” to drive well.

It’s unfortunate it doesn’t suit your needs or wants. I myself, like fast saws. The feel/sound of a high pitched saw through wood is tops for me. I like performance. I build methanol/nitro carbs and sure as hell won’t try to sell a product that won’t deliver. I feel Toyota did alright. Although, I would prefer a 5.0 straight six for a truck engine. Or the yellow banana’s 4.7L.

IMHO this engine performs. Yes, down low I have to utilize ECT and a bit of trickery if I want a strong launch. I was willing to show ya’ll the trickery at Irwindale’s 1/8 mile, but the bank doesn’t own the truck anymore, so forget it, lol. Quickie, I almost beat a 5.0 Mustang convertible there back in the day in the 63 C10 Apache with a modified straight six (L6). Dude was looking over with a smile and kept a peek on the hood. Cracked me up.

The best part about this engine is mid to top end torque where no trickery is involved. You’ll feel the advancement at 3500 and 4500 rpm’s. I’m sure you do?

 

Yep. will be interesting to see how many buy the 1st model year 4th gen.

 

Took a trip to have breakfast with my kiddo for Fathers Day. Started out in Phoenix at around 1,800 feet above sea-level and then drove up to Prescott which is right around 5,400 ASL if I recall. Arizona people will know this drive well - up "the hill." It's a drive I've done hundreds of times in other vehicles and most recently the 270HP @ 5,500RPM / 310TQ @ 3,000RPM Ranger. It tackled the ride smoothly and with ease, but the 278HP @ 6,000 / 265TQ @ 4,600RPM Yota Engine struggled the whole way, lurching between gears and hunting the whole time. Even on the plateau where it was mostly flat, the head wind was enough to have the transmission struggling. On the way up I left it in the default D mode and on the way back I used various combinations of S and ECT to see what I could do to help smooth it out. No joy....

This is a drive I do often and usually loaded with camping gear in the back. So with that in mind, I'll be looking to add some go-fast-goodies in the form of cold air intakes, better Y-Pipes and a cat back to see what I can get. Maybe a tune. I think getting just another 20 foot-pounds of torque into the transmission will help it out. It felt like it was close but kept vacillating between 6, skipping 5, straight to 4, then to 3rd, and back to 5, then into 6 and we lather, rinse repeat like a barbershop quartet warming up. Humm HUMM HUMMMMM!

 

Usually when i'm headed to flag from Phx or Payson from phx, anywhere going to high country where i need to climb, i keep it in S mode and in 4th gear to keep the RPMs up, otherwise it's just annoying and inconsistent.

 

I'll give that a go next time in a few weeks. I did lock out 6 for a stretch but locking out 5 felt almost punitive on the engine. - I guess so is going from 6 to 4 then 3 and back to 6 now that I think about it.

Does the '23 have a Trans Cooler? Ton's of space behind the grill. If no, I might add one for these kinds of trips. A little more fluid capacity and then keeping it cooler too.

 

The high revving engine is a little unnerving and annoying for some. But, that’s where the power is.

I do use S-Mode exclusively while traversing the 3 mountain summits of the PNW. At times I’m in S-3 climbing at 4500+ rpm. Also descending steep grades in S-3 and S-4 at 3500 to 4500+ rpm.

There are only a few stretches on my 5.5 hour drive to the cabin that I’ll use D and Dynamic Radar Cruse Control. Just D and or combined with ECT doesn’t do it mountain driving IMHO. That’s been my experience. Toyota’s ECU and TCU programming for emission reduction and better MPG’s just doesn’t work in the mountains has been my findings.

For best performance and control while in the mountains use S-mode. Also, keeps me engaged while driving on a long road trip. That applies loaded or unloaded. Especially applies while loaded and towing.

 

There used to be 2 transmission coolers. One external and one internal inside the rad. Toyota removed the external one half way on model year 2019 or 2020 if memory serves me right.

 

Would have to be sometime in 2020 as my truck was built in jan 2020. It still has the external trans cooler.

 

My August built 2020 doesn’t have the external Cooler. I think April and prior still had them.

 

Agreed, if i'm keeping it in S4 going up the hills, the RPMs will get above 4K easily but i haven't found this to be a bad thing even for longer stretches, truck seems to do well with it

 

A little long, but hopefully worth the read…
I live at 1000 ft. elevation and work at 6000 ft. I use S mode the whole way up and the whole way down, and I shift it/drive it exactly as I would shift a manual. While I know S mode is simply just a gear lockout, that still means it downshifts immediately 100% of the time, just as a manual trans. As far as upshifting, I am already winding out the RPMs beyond the point the trans would normally upshift 99.9% of the time, so my upshifts happen immediately 99.9% of the time too. So even though S mode is a gear lockout, it absolutely can be used to shift like a manual or paddle shifter, because when I’m shifting around in S mode, I’m not making premature upshifts at too low of RPM - THAT is the only scenario that it will not upshift immediately, and that’s more operator error for upshifting too soon. I’m actually glad that it will override and stay in a lower gear when it needs to because there’s nothing fun or good about lugging your engine. My old Subaru Outback had paddles on the steering wheel and there were so many times that I would be turning the wheel on an uphill hairpin curve and I couldn’t hit the paddle while rotating the wheel once already in the turn. That was because often I couldn’t even find the damn paddle in time because the paddles followed the wheel around instead of being in a fixed position where you can always go straight to them (like your blinkers). That lead to so many frustrating times where I’d be bogging/practically stalling in 2nd or 3rd gear up a steep curve (not looking at my actual steering wheel to see if it was upside down, sideways, 25*, etc…), so I simply would have to let it bog sometimes until I got thru the turn safely, THEN I’d find the stupid paddles and could finally downshift. Of course I never had that issue n the Tacoma because the shifter never moves, but it’s nice to know that if I had a cup of coffee in my hand and couldn’t get to the shifter, that isn’t going to bog or stall on me like the Subaru. So I say Toyota’s (lockout) S mode is far superior at least for me, than Subaru’s (non-lockout) paddles.

I do this drive almost everyday, and I upshift and donwshift in the same exact spots on this 40 mile round trip route that I used to shift my old manual 5 speed Tacoma on (the only exceptions being the times that I don’t need to downshift because my 2021 has enough power to pull some hills in 4th that my old 1st gen Taco had to be in 3rd for). So, I really don’t understand when people say “all it is is a gear lockout, it can’t used to shift like a manual trans”. Yeah, it can and I do all the time. If you disagree, then I’d honestly like to know what’s a scenario where it won’t shift on command, besides trying to upshift too soon?

 

I could not agree more. You get this as well.

This is how I think of S-Mode too. Especially in mountainous conditions.

I even use it in the city in certain areas or situations when I need to be aggressive due to asshole drivers. I’ll hold it in 2nd or 3rd giving me instant access to the power band instead of being in “D” 5th gear and hitting the throttle to then experiencing slight lag and it finally shifting down to 3rd due to Toyota’s ECU and TCU eco programming called “forced value”. This is when you are in “D” and wait for the ECU and the TCU to have a meeting to then decide what it wants to do, not you. S-Mode wrestles control back to the driver to some degree.

Really the only time it didn’t downshift for me was when I was going too fast (road speed) trying to get into second. The input from me was ignored until I slowed down (road speed) and then it would go into second. Any of the other times no problem. But don’t be scared of seeing your trucks engine rpms jump up to 4500 or 5500 rpms.

Times when it’s flat road, not busy and I’m leisurely driving along in the city or country I’m fine with the quick shifting to 6th eco programming. I’ll even see the benefits of better MPG’s. I’ll use DRCC too.

But when conditions warrant it, I’m on that shifter like a manual transmission. Thank goodness for S-Mode. The unsung hero of Toyota’s eco, lower those emissions programming.

 

Yes to all that. I drive mine pretty much identically. Good point about downshifting when going too fast and it not doing right away; I didn’t think of that when I typed my comment. I’m personally glad that it overrides it in that scenario as well though, since it’s avoiding unnecessary redlining of the engine. And I admit, I’ve found myself a handful of times habitually pulling the shifter toward me to go to 4th gear (as i would when shifting from 3rd to 4th on a normal stick shift) and the truck downshifting to 2nd instead. But that’s my operator error from driving a stick for so long that it takes some getting used to the fact that all upshifts are pushing forward and all downshifts are pulling back on this truck (unlike rowing gears on a regular manual).

 

Haha… yes did that as well when first getting used to S-Mode. Brain fart of thinking about driving a manual. Drove a manual professionally and personally for years. However, very used to S-Mode now. Use it every day in my daily commute and on vacation road trips. Even have my wife trained on using it. She likes the added control as well.

 

Quick follow-up note of thanks. Completed our 9 week, 6500+ miles adventure and wanted folks to know how much their advice helped. Some remarkably beautiful and steep terrain that was made more safely and enjoyably passable by everyone's S-Drive advice. Thank You - Thank You - Thank You!

 

Glad to hear it worked out. Awesome you looked into this before your long trip to be informed and to stay out of harms way. Also, possibly preventing damage to your braking system. I's scary the amount of folks out there whom have no clue or don't care when it comes to towing safely.

 

"There's an old saying. The gear you go up in is the gear you go down in."
Crossed the Continental Divide a half dozen times, drove Going to the Sun Road to Logan Pass (without trailer of course) and many other mountain passes while towing. Yours was the most useful, easily remembered, and actionable advice I received Les - thank you!