spacejase wrote:hello
I have a 2013 auto hilux which I noticed in very steep descents in l4 1st gear there was always quite a delay in the torque convertor locking up and it seemed to do so only after rolling without any braking for some metres (ie had to get the revs up) and once there was lockup there was still much less engine braking than manual 4wds I was driving with.
I found that I was rolling a lot faster than other cars in front of me and there were many sections where I had to use the (foot) brake, engine brake as well as the rear diff locker and was still rolling reasonably fast- is this normal? This felt unsafe
looking for possible solutions also
my hilux is low km and never towed, don't have any other issues with auto changing on the bitumen etc
thanks in advance
Hi spacejase,
I will assume that your Hilux is a diesel with the 4 speed auto? If so you have a A340 with a 2.8:1 1st gear, which is typical for a 4 speed. The manuals are 5 speed, so use a 3.8 to 4.4:1 1st gear depending on the gearbox, so will definitely have much better down hill engine braking. My V6 petrol Hilux also uses A750 5 speed transmission which has a 3.5:1 1st gear which I find ok for most down hill descents, but occasionally applying the brakes is necessary on the very steep hills. The best and probably most popular option is to fit aftermarket reduction gears in the transfer, but that’s not a very cheap alternative.
My last 4BY was a GU Patrol with 4 speed auto and it had the same issue, but I found that going down very steep descents was best done by rolling forward in reverse gear and controlling the descent with the throttle. This worked surprisingly well and provided I didn’t do it for a very long time, the transmission didn’t get too hot. However, I haven’t tried this method in the Hilux to date because the 5 speed seems to give enough engine braking to control the descent with minimal foot braking. I do know that in some cars, the Pajero in particular won’t allow you do it as the TCU goes into alarm, but it worked ok in the Nissan.