will_hergott
New member
What is the ECT button located on the center console? I have no idea what that is for.
ECT button
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240K'97T4R
New member
Although it may seem useless and probably is. It technically changes the shift points of when you transmission goes up a gear. It will give you more power from a dead stop so as not to wear on the transmission when you are towing something. It also uses up more gas so use it sparingly
KellyJ
New member
Changes the shift points basically, and makes for quicker and sharper shifts.
Say you apply 50% throttle from 0 MPH, your 4Runner will shift at 2500 RPM (just making up a figure here), with the ECT off. If you did the same thing with the ECT on, the transmission will shift at say 2750 RPM. Thats the jist of it.
Say you apply 50% throttle from 0 MPH, your 4Runner will shift at 2500 RPM (just making up a figure here), with the ECT off. If you did the same thing with the ECT on, the transmission will shift at say 2750 RPM. Thats the jist of it.
trd_4runnin
New member
All 4Runners have the ability to have the tow package added on, thus the ECT button came stock on all 4Runners (I think...). Also, I would imagine the ECT button would probably come in handy more often than just towing, like merging on the interstate, or traveling through the mountains. I don't use mine, but the location on the 96-98 4Runners is pretty crappy as I find that something has pushed mine in every now and again.
4reak
New member
hahah...i have told others that its like NOS as well. and some people actually believe it.
now i have another question, i was told by another 4runner owner that if you push the ECT buttion to turn it on, and click the O/D button so the light turns on saying O/D OFF, you are supposed to get more "power." anybody know anything about that?
now i have another question, i was told by another 4runner owner that if you push the ECT buttion to turn it on, and click the O/D button so the light turns on saying O/D OFF, you are supposed to get more "power." anybody know anything about that?
trd_4runnin
New member
You aren't really getting more power, you are using more of your powerband. As you probably know, your engine makes more horsepower as your RPMs increase. Turning overdrive off and turning the ECT on simply doesn't let the transmission shift into the last gear. It's the same as tacking out a manual. The longer you can stay in each gear the more of your power you will use so in essence yes, you will accelerate faster. This of course, comes at the cost of MPG and really isn't necessary unless towing or traveling through the mountains.
ECT on with OD off is supposed to give you the most power, ECT off with OD on gives you the best fuel economy. How much difference it actually makes in power and to fuel economy seems to be a huge debate.
If you look at a horse power to RPM graph off a Dyno you'll see that you get more power at higher RPMs.. so by shifting at higher RPMs you are running with more power. Running at higher RPMs though puts more stress on everything and adds additional wear to the engine. How much, I don't know.
There is a pretty good discussion of this over on yotatech. You can probably find more by doing a search there as well as searching here.
Yotatech ECT thread
If you look at a horse power to RPM graph off a Dyno you'll see that you get more power at higher RPMs.. so by shifting at higher RPMs you are running with more power. Running at higher RPMs though puts more stress on everything and adds additional wear to the engine. How much, I don't know.
There is a pretty good discussion of this over on yotatech. You can probably find more by doing a search there as well as searching here.
Yotatech ECT thread
kingbiscuit
New member
I average 17.5 mpg almost every fill up and I always have had the ECT button on. I turned it off this last fill up. I will report back.
will_hergott
New member
Thanks for the replies guys.
hulk311
New member
I know its been several years but what results did you get?
fatherohenry
Member
Ha! Several more years later and I was wondering the same.
A few years ago I switched to OD off and ECT on for 2 months in my '96 SR5. All flat, city driving in Sacramento, CA and my mileage actually improved.
I'll never miss an opportunity to click on a thread about the ECT button. So much folklore. lol I did search everywhere I could when I bought my Runner. After a year of keeping it off, I keep ECT on all the time now and think I gained .5-1 MPG every fill up on average in normal driving. I'm not sure where I read it but I think it has something to do with it taking more effort to unlock the torque converter to drop a gear when ECT is off. Could have been on the Tacoma forums or here. Not sure. A google search brings up some interesting testimonials.
Can't say the same about OD. I do turn it off when I'm crawling around campus, parking lots and downtown areas where I don't really go over 35 mph. I can't say that I've noticed a difference though.
The biggest thing that helped my MPG was combining highway driving and a tank of ethanol free gas.
Can't say the same about OD. I do turn it off when I'm crawling around campus, parking lots and downtown areas where I don't really go over 35 mph. I can't say that I've noticed a difference though.
The biggest thing that helped my MPG was combining highway driving and a tank of ethanol free gas.
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Endlessblockades
Senior Member
Zombie thread comes back to life! The ECT button is far from useless! Especially helpful if you do any drag racing in your AT 4Runner.