NewHilux.net

Hi
I've just purchased a new SR5 (2.8 auto) and I don't know if this is normal.
6th gear won't engage or lock in unless I'm going down hill or back the throttle off.
When it does go in I can only maintain speed on level ground or down hill.
When I accelerate only to maintain speed up the slightest of hills the lockout just lets go.
The Vehicle is empty with no load and at Highway speeds of 100 to 110 KPH
I find It's better to just put it in 5th and leave it there, at least it maintains constant revs.
I'd like to know if it's normal or there's a fault. The way it is makes 6th gear useless.

Thanks

Mike K wrote:Hi
I've just purchased a new SR5 (2.8 auto) and I don't know if this is normal.
6th gear won't engage or lock in unless I'm going down hill or back the throttle off.
When it does go in I can only maintain speed on level ground or down hill.
When I accelerate only to maintain speed up the slightest of hills the lockout just lets go.
The Vehicle is empty with no load and at Highway speeds of 100 to 110 KPH
I find It's better to just put it in 5th and leave it there, at least it maintains constant revs.
I'd like to know if it's normal or there's a fault. The way it is makes 6th gear useless.

Thanks

Mines the same. As sugaris and beta have said in other topics there will be an auto software update, which i hopes allows 6th gear to hold alot better.

I'm glad it's not just me then as this is driving me nuts.
The dealer told me there's been no reported issues and there is nothing wrong.
Does anyone know when this update would be available?

Mine does the same thing... Jan 2016 build (march delivered) SR auto.

Mine is only 2 weeks old so I would imagine any software updates would have been done.
I think It's wishful thinking.
Fortuner and Prado would have the same issue you would think, having the same setup.
Sooner or later let's hope Toyota will fix this.

I have been having the same problem. I now have 10000km and it will hold 6th a lot better now. However i found you need to be doing 110km/h plus for 6th to lock out properly. As in, sitting on cruise on a 110kph freeway. It is actually another gear on top of the old 5 speed gearbox. 120kph on your speedo is actually only 110kph real speed. Double check with your gps speed reading on a flat straight road.

Sounds like the drivetrain is overdriven too much! Don't put big tyres on then!

The issue is that 6th gear is a 2nd "overdrive" gear. and it is geared very tall because of this.

I am hoping to overcome this issue when I regear in the future and bring 6th gear to a more useable speed by making it come in alot sooner.....like 85-90kph as it should, along with a much better low range crawl speed due to the regear.

the other way to make it work better is to power up your engine so the increase torque holds the top gear better.

I know it's a tall gear but I think it should still pull it. The manual does, it's similarly geared and it has less torque.
I think it's just a lockout issue. I'll let it go until the cars done 10k. If by the I'm still not happy a torque locker or a chip will be next.
My last 07 Hilux had a chip fitted and it made a massive difference.
It would pull in top with the lockout engaged over most hills.

Does anyone have the issue where you slow down and you accelerate again ie turning into a street the car over revs?

Yeah mine does it, it's like you're a really bad manual driver if that makes sense. Seems worse when cold...

I've only done 500 k's though, goes in on Monday for it's "check up" I'll mention it along with a few other things...

Thought the economy would be better but still early days I guess, also hasn't done a DPF burn yet either...

Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk

since my regear, my 6th gears works well. on flat level ground I can get it to engage just on 80kph and it holds up mild inclines well at 100kph. not to mention the fuel economy and low range benefits. Drove to Dargo from Melbourne the other week and averaged 10.2 per 100.

hellrazor1381 wrote:Does anyone have the issue where you slow down and you accelerate again ie turning into a street the car over revs?

Yes mine does and on some days it’s really bad and doesn’t do it on other days.
I’ve asked Toyota to have a look into it but can’t fault it. The tech suggested that the ecu get reset to cleared my driving habit but I told him that there’s no point to this as it will simply relearn to do it again. So no fix for me then. Yet.

On the subject too with 6th gear mine will pop into 6th around 100km/h but will sometimes remain in 5th. It doesn’t bother me as it gives the revs a chance to assist in some higher temps for passive regeneration on the DPF.
The engines seem to take a stupid amount of km to work in, I reckon mine started getting better after around 11000km and now on 22km I swear it’s getting more responsive too. Fuel consumption is around 8.9-9.1 mixed driving per tank but have seen as low as 7.9 on all highway.

Another trick being my first diesel auto (last car was a manual petrol) is not to stomp on the accelerator when wanting to overtake or climb a high but to squeeze it softly tricking the ecu to hold the current gear using the available torque instead of kicking back 2 gears and reving it’s nuts off with all noise and no action.

I noticed over reving only when the car is cold (for example in the morning, first start). It does that for one or two km's and then its all good.

6th gear is a "ghost gear" as Max mentioned it already.

My car has only done 2600 km, so still running in, but the fuel usage is a bit higher than what I thought it would be on 2.8 litre engine.
I am getting 11.5 to 11.9 litres per km (70% freeway driving and 30% suburbs). As per my signature, I have most of the accessories fitted and know the fuel usage would be up a bit. However I had pajero 2015 model with all the bells and whistles you could think of and bigger engine (3.2 l) and that car was using about 9.5 to 10 liters per km.

Alot of guys with 200's, particularly who tow heavy vans etc are getting lock up kits installed and also gearbox remaps to get better use of the 6th gear. I don't tow too much weight with my 200 and 6th kicks in between 100 and 110 ok. Would be nice if it kicked in a bit earlier but....meh.

Locking the gearbox in 6th when towing is gunna end in tears. Both 5th and 6th are overdrive gears

I wonder if TC is too "soft" for this car or lock-up clutch is not designed for heavy duty. I have seen many reviewers complaining about the revs being disconnected and engine droning at constant rpm, one reviewer even thought it was a CVT. Then there were tests where with the empty bed fuel consumption was on pair or even superior compared to competition, but when towing 3t trailer fuel consumption went through the roof compared to competition.

It seems to me that lock up clutch engages at certain low rpm difference between engine and drive, but when pulling some heavy stuff the TC is not capable of matching rpm close enough for the lock up clutch to engage.

Wonder if this can be sorted with software or is it too much of a hardware issue? I think it depends on the lock-up clutch, how much it can withstand and how much harsher the shifting would be if it engaged earlier.

Here is the nice demonstration how Mazda solved this problem (they used full-range lock-up clutch and even smaller TC):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqHGnfnQPk4

I'm in a market for new pickup, I would really like AT, but I'm having second thoughts.

grunf wrote:I noticed over reving only when the car is cold (for example in the morning, first start). It does that for one or two km's and then its all good.

6th gear is a "ghost gear" as Max mentioned it already.

My car has only done 2600 km, so still running in, but the fuel usage is a bit higher than what I thought it would be on 2.8 litre engine.
I am getting 11.5 to 11.9 litres per km (70% freeway driving and 30% suburbs). As per my signature, I have most of the accessories fitted and know the fuel usage would be up a bit. However I had pajero 2015 model with all the bells and whistles you could think of and bigger engine (3.2 l) and that car was using about 9.5 to 10 liters per km.

I’ve got just over 31,000 on mine, was getting 9L with the tub and most accessories. Now getting same as you. Noticed huge difference when the tray went on. I run full bar work, roof rack, LR tanks blah blah and tip 2.8 on the scales with just me and the permanently mounted 80L Engel in it.

Best I get on just pure motorway driving is 9.5 as soon as I do anything else, average is back to about 11.8.

Is there an easy way to see if lock-up clutch is engaged or not, is there a custom Pid (for Torque app) or some other indicator that would tell you that?

I can tell when it's locked up by the torque converter temp thats shown on my scangauge. The temp drops straight away after lock-up.
Silverfox