Your thoughts....

IIRC, my old SR5 turned 3,000 rpm in 5th gear at 75 mph. Steady as a rock. Sold it at almost 200k miles and it was running fine. (Starting to rust, but the 22R-E engine was good to go.)

I don’t see any reason that the V-6 can’t run all day long at 2,000 rpm. Until I get a tune, S4/S5 is my go-to. If anything, I would bet that lugging the engine at 1,000 rpm could lead to carbon build-up (?) and maybe that’s the reason for the ‘cleaning cycle’. (IDK?)

For the OP, I wouldn’t worry at all about S4/S5 and shifting at 2k.

 

Fingers crossed!!

 

I did test drive the truck. Maybe not long enough. I love my truck and I like the way the transmission works in s-mode or ect. I was just curious about longevity of higher rpm driving.

 

possibly its a good truck because of the way it was designed........move on to a 2024

 

Same for me.

Well, it was an SR5 but the salesman said they were similar. (OMG, they are all SR5s!)

I drove it for a year before I got the OTT Tune.

During that first year, I never used the ECT button...or S-mode; didn't know about gear-lock.

I wasn't heavy with the pedal and basically baby'd it the whole time.

I also signed onto this board 5 months after purchasing my TRD Sport.

It was then that I discovered all these complaints about the Third Gen.

I've read the transmission learns your driving manners/habits early in ownership.

Does this have any effect on the way the transmission operates moving forward?

That's up for debate.

All I know is, the first year (before my OTT Tune), I was not having noticeable transmission problems folks mention.

 

My taco is 4 years old and don't see any issues with the way the tranny shifts or engine revs. It is pretty different from my 2 Generation but then this has to do with computer related data. I drive it in D 90% of the time. Never use the ECT and never could understand the S part or care for it. Over all the Tacoma needs at least 2000 rpm for it to perform when passing. I can live with it.

 

I guess my OP wasn’t clear. I should have left the comment about the transmission out of the post. My question was about driving around with the engine rpm around 2000rpm and longevity. I appreciate all the responses.

 

I drive around in S5 almost exclusively mainly on the freeway around 2000 rpm. As others have said I highly recommend getting the OTT tune for responsiveness and better shifting and haven’t had a single issue. I wouldn’t worry about it!

 

Man, the internet has turned everyone into a bunch of nervous Nellies! OP: enjoy your Taco and quit looking for shit to be concerned about. Now you should worry about that mole on your back that's starting to look like Richard Nixon!

 

So, after getting to the speed limit...my truck ranges around the 2K/RPMs--that's the sweet-spot.

Keep in mind, this is for an automatic transmission.

I suspect programming aims to get the transmission to that range.

So, the transmission lives in this realm and the question is:

"driving around with the engine rpm around 2000rpm and longevity."

I've not had any ill effects since switching over to an automatic transmission in 1996.

I tried to teach my wife how to drive manual transmission on a NEW 5/Speed '93 Isuzu Rodeo...3 years later, I bought a NEW Automatic '96 Accord LX Sedan.

 

I’ve found my enjoyment goes up as my presence online goes down; coincidentally.

honestly, I don’t even know what the whole S4, S5 thing even is, and ECT, I just plain forget it exists.

 

I read thru that pretty fast, but I did not notice anybody suggesting the thing that converts your ECT swtich from default off to default on. It seems like you are happy with the truck, it just seems to need that button pushed most of the time. Simple fix.

Edit to add: Search "tacoma ect button always on"

$34 at:
https://www.nsautolighting.com/prod...de-automatically-on-default-on-module-harness

 

My wife's 2017 Elantra has S-Mode and I never used it...neither did she.

It wasn't until I got my OTT Tune that I was aware of S-Mode...basically it "Gear Locks" the transmission up to S4/S5. (It won't shift past that gear)

ECT is recommended for towing.

The More You Know. (Insert flying rainbow star here)

 

thanks @TacoTime55

 

I try to keep my RPM's under 1500 for best gas mileage - even cruising at 70+ I can easily get 20+

 

One time, I shifted into race mode to see how fast my Tacoma could go and it just went backwards. These transmissions are really confusing.