ECO mode?

[Username_here]

Do you stay in ECO mode, or PWR? I'm assuming eco saves fuel but am beginning to rethink. Plus, it's alot nicer to have the extra torque in power mode.

[Rob_Wood]

Do you stay in ECO mode, or PWR? I'm assuming eco saves fuel but am beginning to rethink. Plus, it's alot nicer to have the extra torque in power mode.

You've pretty much answered your own question.
ECO is usually for around town, short trips and lower speed zones.
PWR is really only designed if your pulling a larger load or going up long steep hills. Many tend to confuse Power with speed. It is not really a setting for highway use, it is really for larger loads.

[Cure]

Some will disagree with me, and thats OK.
However being a self-confessed OCD and pedantic person, I tried and tested extensively fuel usage in eco and power mode, mixed driving suburbs, peak traffic and some freeway driving. This was done over the period of few months, calculating fuel usage, monitoring gear changes (auto), EGT's, engine temps, transmission fluid temps etc - using TorquePro app and Techstream, detailed records of all kept etc.
I found it that I actually use less fuel in power mode than in eco.
Car also changes gears at "correct" speed and time.

These are my findings and there are many other of the same view on youtube.

So based on above, I drive my car in power mode all the time, I only wish it would remember it, so I do not have to manually press power button every time I start the car.

[ptommo59]

Hi Cure,

Been doing a lot of research on this topic due to a retrofit of the ECO/Normal/Sport Driving Mode switches on the 2017+ Non-Kakadu Prados which use the same pins to activate as the ECO and PWR mode switches on the Hilux (All the related info is on Pradopoint).

What we found from the Toyota Manuals and field use was that:

* The ECO mode dulls the throttle response and changes up gears earlier, plus modifies the Aircon performance which is aimed at allowing you to conserve fuel when stop start driving. You have to drive like miss daisy keeping the ECO light on dash illuminated (easier to do in the ECO mode than Normal) as much as possible to see any significant savings. If you just put you foot further down and drive normally it won't really save much at all.

* PWR/Sport mode enhances the throttle response and holds gears longer to give better performance off the mark and overall acceleration. On the Prado you also get a modification to the power steering assistance which is reduced to give more feedback but not certain if same on the Hilux. Again if you just drive normally you shouldn't see much increase in fuel use but if you switch to boy racer mode around town with lots of stop start it will.

* Normal mode is in the mid field but seems to be more on the ECO side for throttle response hence some of the complaints about poor take-off performance/turbo lag. Someone did say that the 2023 has been remapped to remove this issue and there is a Tech Bulletin dealing with Low speed hesitation and downshift which may possibly retrofit those changes on prior years but I haven't been able to access to confirm.

[Mhewitt]

Eco mode locks the torque converter more readily. Power mode maps the throttle response like a power pedal box.

[Cure]

Hi Phil,

I was reading your project on pradopoint with interest

So I was pretty much on the same page as per explanation from Toyota Manuals, except I actually do use less fuel when driving in power mode. Maybe its my driving style or maybe it is because car is lazier in eco mode and I am pushing it more trying to follow the traffic etc.
Whatever it is, power mode works for me.