This truck drives a lot better in

S mode. I mean it flat out takes off in S mode. To me it drives better in S mode than ECT but ECT is better than D From here on out it is S mode for me

 

Finally...someone who likes their truck!

 

Should have bought a "S"tandard.....

 

Been driving that way since February

 

Yeah, I just started doing it to see if the AI shifting was behind my deteriorating fuel economy. I went from 16mpg to 20+.

 

Do you leave it in S4?

 

I mostly leave mine in S5. S6 if on a flat hiway with little to no headwind. S4 if I will be driving under 45mph for a period of time.

 

I live at 7000' and usually drive between 5000-11000'. I was in Phoenix for 10 days and this truck drives a lot better at 1200'! Woah!!!

 

How does (S) differ from (D) with ETC?

Uses a different map?

 

It doesn't use learned shift patterns (AI) from what I understand.

 

Mine holds 6th gear for much longer on inclines in S.

 

Try S mode with ECT on your in for a much improved drive.!

 

Been driving mine that way since my 2nd gen in 06.

No complaints!!

G.

 

Agreed! The amount of complaining about the drivability of the 3rd Generation Tacoma is rampant on this forum.

 

i was hating the AT until i started using S mode almost exclusively. S4 around town and S5 if a short hop on hwy. i no longer need to use ECT going up a steep hill...i just downshift.
i tend to use D only when driving 65 mph on hwy. i was considering getting the TSB everyone claims fixes things but now i may be
liking it. no sub for a MT but it is usable now.

 

I've been recommending using S mode around town for over 2 years now.

I think a lot of the transmission complaints regarding shiftiness would not be so prevalent had Toyota labelled things differently. If they programmed S4 to be "D" on the transmission selector, S5 as OD1 and S6 /D as ECO and a little light turned on the dash indicating such, people wouldn't be complaining as much. They would probably use D (S4) and OD (S5) all the time and think the truck shifts fine, when they set it to ECO they think the shiftiness is normal due to the truck trying to save gas at all costs.

But because everyone wants to set it to D and forget about it, people are complaining because in this case D doesn't drive like other cars or trucks in the past, not many have two OD gears (5th and 6th) like the Tacoma does now.

 

This is a winning post! You finally nailed it....also I never thought about 5th and 6th gears as overdrive.

 

5th and 6th are OD though...

 

So if you are in S5 and enter a freeway, do you just shift to S6 once you hit 60-65?

 

You are correct; however, jsinnard laid all the gears out logically, at least for me.