Highway Passing
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CJ3Flyr
Super Moderator
Q-V said:
Where are you? How many miles? When did you last put plugs and an air filter in? Are you pulling a 4 horse trailer? Do you have 500lbs of gear in the back? Do your tires have 24psi or 33psi?:awais:
Seriously though, there are so many variables. Are you saying sometimes it performs well and others it doesn't? Or are you saying you've noticed it being extra sluggish lately?
If it's always performed as it does then maybe that's the way it is... If it's been "lately" then maybe one of those things I listed above. :cheers:
Methodical
New member
and remember when you want to pass you want to have already started accelerating. Meaning when your going to pass, increase the distance to the car your going to pass, and use that distance as a runway to get a really good speed differential by the time you actually pull out into the other lane. I've observed a lot of people that only pull out and accelerate at the same time, and thats just bad driving IMO.
and be sure your pressing the pedal ALL the way. While the engine will labor similarly at close-to-floored and floored, transmission electronics pay attention to those things.
and be sure your pressing the pedal ALL the way. While the engine will labor similarly at close-to-floored and floored, transmission electronics pay attention to those things.
LandRvr Convert
New member
I briefly owned an '06 4WD Limited and I was very impressed with the power and acceleration, even with alot of "junk in the trunk".
I had good acceleration from a stand still at a traffic light and also at highway speeds.
I'd take it to a good mechanic and have a diagnostic run on it.:beer:
I had good acceleration from a stand still at a traffic light and also at highway speeds.
I'd take it to a good mechanic and have a diagnostic run on it.:beer:
Two excellent points. Don't wait until your in the other lane to pass, and also STOMP the gas pedal to the floor. If you stomp it, the trans will realize what's going on and downshift, and take off! If you apply increasing pressure on the gas but don't really stomp it, the trans probably won't change gears.Methodical said:
Just to answer a couple of questions, the vehicle has always behaved this way. There's only 20k miles on the odometer and it accelerates great in city conditions. But, at highway speeds (on flat prairie with no load), it just seems to take a long time for the engine to respond to the throttle. I'm sure that it's just 2 or 3 seconds of hesitation, but when you're passing a vehicle it's a bit disconcerting to wait for the power to come on.
Perhaps this is normal for the 4Runner, but my last vehicle (a Jeep TJ) had a surprising amount of speed and responsiveness while passing (without having to stomp the gas pedal).
Uneek has suggested dropping it into 4. What does that mean? Just moving the shifter out of D and into 4? The manual says "4: engine braking (shifting into overdrive is not possible)" so is this a safe thing to do?
Perhaps this is normal for the 4Runner, but my last vehicle (a Jeep TJ) had a surprising amount of speed and responsiveness while passing (without having to stomp the gas pedal).
Uneek has suggested dropping it into 4. What does that mean? Just moving the shifter out of D and into 4? The manual says "4: engine braking (shifting into overdrive is not possible)" so is this a safe thing to do?
CJ3Flyr
Super Moderator
Q-V said:
Ok, the TJ is a good reference point... It sounds like you're not getting the pedal to the floor to force the downshift. I agree with Uneek, try downshifting in '4' and then passing. The only way shifting to 4 and flooring can hurt is if you're going 30 in reverse. Also make sure the floor mat isn't under the gas pedal limiting the last 1/8" of travel. It's that last 1/8" you're looking for.
Next: The TJ probably had lower gearing so the engine was spinning faster (higher rpm) at 65mph making it feel more responsive. The lack of the 5th gear on the TJ also caused more engine wear and lower MPG. Try putting it in 4th prior to passing. If that fixes it then the gearing thing and having the extra gear is the "player" that's confusing you.
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The difference between "4" and "D" is overdrive. "4" disables overdrive, so if you're currently cruising in overdrive, shifting to "4" will cause the trans to downshift.
Quickly putting the pedal on the floor (again, on the floor, not near the floor) should cause the trans to downshift anytime, even if you're not in overdrive.
Quickly putting the pedal on the floor (again, on the floor, not near the floor) should cause the trans to downshift anytime, even if you're not in overdrive.
Mike07SE
New member
Sounds like you might need to bring it in somewhere and get it checked over and maybe tuned. I've got the V6 4x4 and mine accelerates pretty quickly when rolling into the throttle (no downshifts, 5th gear). When needing to pass and overtake it winds out very quickly. For example, yesterday I was driving home from NYC with my fiance and her brother in the car. What seemed like for miles we were stuck behind this guy who just couldn't keep a steady pace on the Hwy and everytime I moved over to make a nice and easy pass he would start pacing me until I got blocked by another car in front of me and would have to get back behind him. I had a real good opening eventually when the road opened up to an extra lane and STOMPED IT! By the time I had passed him my truck was just tapping 100mph and still pulling hard.
hesitation
my 07 V8 takes a second from the time I floor it until it starts accelerating hard. I THINK it's the tranny kicking down (2?) gears, but it feels almost like turbo lag. It runs SPOT on in every other way, it doesn't feel like a miss or other engine irregularity.
normal?
my 07 V8 takes a second from the time I floor it until it starts accelerating hard. I THINK it's the tranny kicking down (2?) gears, but it feels almost like turbo lag. It runs SPOT on in every other way, it doesn't feel like a miss or other engine irregularity.
normal?
boston_kevin
New member
You have to keep in mind that the 4Runner (4th gen) is a drive by wire setup which uses throttle position sensors and input from the gears to figure out the best solution. Either jam the accelerator to the floor or downshift to 4th. You won' hurt anything by doing this.
Methodical
New member
dropping to 4th will make no difference. When you jam the pedal the tranny will drop to 2nd or 3rd depending on your speed. The important thing is to communicate to your car by mashing the pedal that you are going to pass. Once it realizes that, the shifting program changes and the computer even turns off the A/C to gain some extra power.
Uneek
Super Moderator
I should've been more clear in my previous post.
In mountainous driving, I'm at 3000-8000' elevation. The grades are steep enough that there are runaway truck ramps, several from summit to the highest elevation. This is the Lake Tahoe area in CA, Interstate 80. Typically, I have 4 passengers total and a full load of gear, at times packed where I can barely see out of the back window. I would say the 4Runner is probably 75% of its load.
If I'm planning a pass, I'll get on the gas and take it out of D and into '4', depending if it's in the overdrive gear or not, it'll shift down to 4th or 3rd. (I haven't found myself in a situation where I needed to "floor it".) The RPM at 65-70mph is right about 2000, give or take in OD. The RPMs then jump to either 2500 or 3000 depending on which gear it was and going into. The 4Runner from then on just pulls ahead regardless of grade. Once on a uphill stretch, it pulled with ease from 60-80mph so I can pass.
I agree with everyone else who posted, the slight lag (from getting on the gas and an actual response) is due to throttle by wire and probably set up in a way that it's not super sensitive.
In mountainous driving, I'm at 3000-8000' elevation. The grades are steep enough that there are runaway truck ramps, several from summit to the highest elevation. This is the Lake Tahoe area in CA, Interstate 80. Typically, I have 4 passengers total and a full load of gear, at times packed where I can barely see out of the back window. I would say the 4Runner is probably 75% of its load.
If I'm planning a pass, I'll get on the gas and take it out of D and into '4', depending if it's in the overdrive gear or not, it'll shift down to 4th or 3rd. (I haven't found myself in a situation where I needed to "floor it".) The RPM at 65-70mph is right about 2000, give or take in OD. The RPMs then jump to either 2500 or 3000 depending on which gear it was and going into. The 4Runner from then on just pulls ahead regardless of grade. Once on a uphill stretch, it pulled with ease from 60-80mph so I can pass.
I agree with everyone else who posted, the slight lag (from getting on the gas and an actual response) is due to throttle by wire and probably set up in a way that it's not super sensitive.
Methodical
New member
the extra driving ranges are not for passing, they are to cut off gears that the transmission shouldn't use during hilly or high torque situations. Mashing the pedal for a pass is what the car expects, and does everything that shifting by hand does, and much more.
snap315
New member
Wow...
I must have a freak 4Runner (V8) since she jumps when I press the pedal even half way down. In fact, I almost never floor it unless I really mean to smoke someone.
And I find that she passes VERY WELL at highway speeds (65-75Mph). I've never felt there was a lack of responsiveness or power.
:awais:
I must have a freak 4Runner (V8) since she jumps when I press the pedal even half way down. In fact, I almost never floor it unless I really mean to smoke someone.
And I find that she passes VERY WELL at highway speeds (65-75Mph). I've never felt there was a lack of responsiveness or power.
:awais:
