Low RPMs and when to use D 4 3 2 L ?

Hey all.

Just bought a 2009 TRD-OffRoad.

Would like to know the basics of when to use the 4 3 2 and L options. I'm pretty much always in my comfort zone of using D for everything. Recently started experimenting with using 3 2 and L to break with the engine going down a hill but really not sure if I'm doing it right and what to look out for.

My Tacoma also tends to stay really low on the RPMs. Idling is usually about 650rpm and basically NEVER goes over 2,000 when driving. Even going up hills. A little concerning. Should I be switching to lower gears when going up hills or is the 4.0L just that good..?

Lastly, when offroading should I pretty much always stay in D? Even when 4LO is engaged?

Thank you!

 

Use your gears to control speed on descents

 

Around town where speeds will never be over 45ish I run in 4th gear. If in D the truck wants to shift to overdrive and when it does that while maintaining slow speeds you have zero power if you need to accelerate, at least until the truck downshifts. You and the truck will be happier. You'll get better fuel mileage too. For normal driving where speeds will be above 45 I normally just put it in D. The exception is when towing, or carrying heavy loads. Use 4, or lower, all the time.

If the truck feels like it is straining drop down to a lower gear. It won't hurt to run rpm's up there, you need 3500 rpm to get all of that engines torque. You have oversize tires that are robbing power as it it. Your truck should be in lower gears more often to offset that.

Mountains may require a little different approach. I almost always go to 4th gear and lock out overdrive, and if necessary sometimes 3rd going up hill. Unless you're towing I can't imagine needing to go to 2nd. The transmission will still shift normally, it just won't go any higher than 4th or 3rd etc. On downhill runs I downshift to what ever gear will slow me to the point where I rarely need to touch the brakes. That usually means I'm in 2nd or 3rd most of the time. It would have to be a pretty steep hill and in a place where speeds under 20 mph were needed to go all the way to 1st gear on the road. The only thing that could cause damage is downshifting to far, when going too fast. Downshift 1 gear at a time and allow the truck to slow enough before going to another lower gear.

Off road you may find low range helpful. It will allow you to creep VERY slowly while still maintaining engine speed so you don't kill the engine. This works great for slowly going down steep hills. If I'm in low range that usually means 1st gear only. But there may be places where you can move faster and rather than shifting back and forth between hi and lo range you may want to just leave it in lo for a while.

 

I live 6 miles from the closest asphalt road and it's pretty hilly and curvy. There is a 15mph speed limit that I try to respect, so I usually put the taco in 2 until I get out the gate. It eliminates excessive shifting and braking and helps keep me in good graces with my neighbors.

When driving on sand at the beach, I'll use the appropriate gear according to how fast I am going.

Sometimes towing, the following factors (weight, wind resistance, grade and speed limit) can make the transmission wander between gears on up hills and even flat ground with enough wind resistance.

 

Really like this through explanation !

 

the engine is not struggling because the truck is not armored with big tires.

low RPM is fuel efficiency. The motor is designed to make torque available at low RPM and be driven at low RPM like a truck. Higher RPM burns more fuel.

 

If it helps: Not sure about other years, but the 700R4 in my 2014 has intelligence and monitors/senses speed gains when going downhill and frequent brake application and makes downshifts on its' own as required in an attempt to control speed downhill. I also believe it may take steering input into account as well. I have experienced automatic shifts all the way down to "2" when on steep downgrades in northern New England. As soon as you apply throttle again, everything goes back to normal and you're back in "5".

The first time this happened to me was about 4 months into ownership at 104,000 in the middle of nowhere, and I thought the transmission was gone, or at least on it's way out and ready to fail. Several members in here explained what was going on when I reached out for input.

 

Really the only time you need to utilize the options below D are when towing / long descents / when gear hunting is detrimental (ie trying to climb / get through mud etc). Brakes are meant to STOP a vehicle.... N O T to hold a vehicle at speed down a long descent, this is where you use gears.

The trucks computer/tranmission will NOT allow the auto transmission to select a "wrong gear" IE 1st going 60mph. You can "downshift" on the gear selector to 1st ("L") at 70mph and it will downshift to probably 3rd gear but until you slow down to a set threshold of speed it will not downshift and overrev things.

 

^^^^^^^^ Some good advise. I apply these same principals with my 3rd gen. My first Toyota Truck with the 3.0L 5-Spd you could really dial in the engine and transmission to suit the driving conditions. I tend to use S-mode in my 3rd gen like a manual in some ways.

 

Should be Reving to 2500-3000 going up hills. It would be struggling to pull the next gear if it shifted at 2000 rpm going up a steep hill. The engine would lug very bad trying to pull from about 1200 -1400 rpm.

 

To hijack this a bit. If I am in 4 lo, does the gear selector make a difference? IE 4-3-2? Or is 4-Lo 4-lo?