No power compared to 2004 Gen4 V6

[8borerifle]

I traded my 2004 129,000 mile Sport Edition V6 for a 2011 SR5, both 4WD. The 2011 , even though it has 270 horsepower, feels much more sluggish than my 2004 did. Have other Gen 5 owners that have switched from Gen 4's V6 experienced the same decrease in throttle response an sluggishness? The 2004 felt much more powerful than the 2011. What is up with this? Are the Gen 5's that much heavier or did Toyota dumb down the computer program? Thanks for all your inputs, not happy with the performance!

 

[tamerunner]

Should have test drove it more. Transmission programmed for economy not power. More skinny pedal input and it will go. Power is in the higher rpm so use the sport mode to keep it there. Your gonna get flamed now.

 

[toyota4life]

I just did a 1000 mile trip with a lot of hills in my 5th gen and based on that experience concluded that I prefer the "feel" of my 3rd gen power delivery. The 5th gen has power but as mentioned above, comes in the higher RPM (around 3 K). The trans is also programmed to stay in higher gears (had to drop into sport mode on the steep hills so it would downshift and climb)

 

[Desert Dawg]

I agree; we have both a 2004 and 2014 model. The 2004 "feels" more energetic upon initial takeoff, but doesn't have the passing or climbing power of the 2014 model when using the higher rpm ranges.

 

[Taco04]

I just did a 1000 mile trip with a lot of hills in my 5th gen and based on that experience concluded that I prefer the "feel" of my 3rd gen power delivery. The 5th gen has power but as mentioned above, comes in the higher RPM (around 3 K). The trans is also programmed to stay in higher gears (had to drop into sport mode on the steep hills so it would downshift and climb)

My 2004 3.4l Tacoma is a dog on the hwy in comparison to my 2014 especially in the hills. Did they gear the 3rd gen 4runner different?

 

[ColoT4R]

We too have a 2004 and 2014 4Runners. Wife drives the new one and I commute in the 04'. The 04' is much "snappier" and the 14' does feel heavier and sluggish compared to it. I get 21mpg in the 04' and 17 in the 14' using the same driving style. I've chalked it up to weight but who knows. 14' is more comfortable and rides much better though.

 

[tomasallan]

I too have a 2004 SR5 and my 2014 SR5, mind you the 04 is only 2WD....

My 04 smokes the 14 in any setting, I was constantly on the lookout for the speedometer cause it always wants to climb on the 90/100 MPH range without me even trying, 14 on the other hand ........ :violin:

When 04 goes in overdrive MAN....you can really feel that pull.

 

[2014 Warthog]

I had a 2004 4x4 Tacoma and moved to the 2014 4runner.

The taco was a lot punchier. Lighter car but the trans locked up a lot faster and shifted earlier when using the same amount of pedal. Making the 2014 feel very sluggish in my test drive.

Loved the car anyway so bought it. I basically learned that if you want to jack rabbit start the 4runner you just pop the gas pedal down 1/4 to 1/3 the way an OFF IT GOES! It then locks up fast and upshifts later and you really take off.

I find that the 4runner I drove faster than the taco because the engine seemed to do better at higher rpm.

Gas mileage is /identical/ even though the taco was a 3.4 and runner is a 4.0 (Taco was also lifted as well as my runner)

So in my HO, I feel that, while there is a noticeable difference in the speed of converter lockup and shifting when going easy on the pedal, the end performance is pretty comparable overall once you learn how to get on the gas when you need too

 

[THEDK]

Is sport mode the "manual" shifting?

 

[FrontRange4Runner]

Most people equate throttle response with power. In reality, this is not the case. The 5th gen is programmed to have a much lower throttle response than the 4th. Basically all this means is that at any given pedal position (up to a point) the 4th is feeding more fuel to the engine than the 5th. Most cars these days will be at 100% throttle well before the pedal is actually all the way down. As said above just use more skinny pedal and you will get the desired result. If you don't believe me, just drag the 2 vehicles and you will see the difference. The #'s are around here somewhere, but I have no motivation to find them. Also, there is no "sport" mode. Its "sequential" mode just meaning that you can pick your gear. In "S" mode the engine and throttle mapping is the same. Having durability tested a ton of SUV's with (real) "sport" mode, I can tell you that said sport mode usually means that the vehicle was never really intended to be off road in the first place, is entirely geared towards on road use and will not hold up to the punishment that the Runner can handle.

 

[D Farms]

ive got a 3rd gen and my dads got the 5th, the 5th gen throttle is slower in automatic, but if you shift manually its a lot faster, the hp to wieght is like 16lbs/hp whereas my 3rd gen is something like 21lbs/hp. now i know thats not an exact measurement of how fast the trucks are, but the transmission on the 3rd gen, the automatic sucks too. the throttle response is really great on my 3rd gen, espescially with the 6" deckplate it really doesnt add to the peak hp but it revs up in the lower range a lot more quickly. the 5th gen is slow partially because its made to go that way, and also the computer makes it go slow unless you push the pedal down all the way.

 

[8borerifle]

Thanks guys, that is exactly what I thought, I bought the 2011 because other than the throttle response, I really liked the looks, ride and how quiet it is. I also have a 2012 Mustang GT with 412 horsepower and Ford did the same thing with a lazy throttle response (its an automatic due to a bad left knee). I owned a couple of 426 Street Hemi's (both stock) and the Mustang would destroy both of them in a 1/4 mile drag race, although just driving it around you wouldn't think so. Thinking about getting an after market tune to take care of the lazy response and slow transmission shifting. Anything like that available for the 4Runner?

 

[1engineer]

Thanks guys, that is exactly what I thought, I bought the 2011 because other than the throttle response, I really liked the looks, ride and how quiet it is. I also have a 2012 Mustang GT with 412 horsepower and Ford did the same thing with a lazy throttle response (its an automatic due to a bad left knee). I owned a couple of 426 Street Hemi's (both stock) and the Mustang would destroy both of them in a 1/4 mile drag race, although just driving it around you wouldn't think so. Thinking about getting an after market tune to take care of the lazy response and slow transmission shifting. Anything like that available for the 4Runner?

Nothing for shifting.

 

[gm350reratliff]

I will also add that my new TE "feels" slower than my 4th gen. I'm not complaining just an observation. Right off the lot it really felt slow however, after putting on 3000 miles (2500 in the last week and a half) it feels more responsive. I believe the lack of power we are feeling is a multitude of things. First off, the throttle is mapped completely different. Second, the 5th gens are heavier. Third, and this is only my guess, the engine starts producing torque later. Although it does make more torque, it seems to make it at a higher rpm. This seems to make the transmission react different than the 4th gen.

All in all, it's really not that bad. It requires more throttle input but once it winds up, it seems to go just fine. In the last couple weeks I've seen terrain from 1500' to 10,000' in elevation and haven't found a hill that it couldn't keep speed on. Passing on a 2 lane highway hasn't been an issue either. Also, most of these miles have been with lots of heavy luggage, 3 shelf units from Ikea, wife and two kiddos. FWIW, mileage has been 19 mpg. Not too bad considering how hard I've been pushing it.

 

[SurferRob]

I noticed it too when I went from my 2005 to my 2011. In the past 2 months I have gone to the 2014 and have noticed a big difference in how the 2014 accelerates. Not sure why but it feels a lot closer to the 2005.

All vehicles had less than 25 miles when I took delivery and I don't think my driving style has changed that much. I am really happy I switched.

 

[Intruder]

Do people no longer have leg muscles to push the gas pedal or something? On the weekend I was driving a single lane highway and pulled out to pass several RVs and pickups towing 5th wheels. Went from 100 km/h to 160 km/h (that's about 65 mph to 100 mph) no problem in a short time. I also have very heavy 285s, RTT, full skid plates, steel bumper+winch, and was loaded up with ARB fridge and other camping gear. :noidea:

 

[SurferRob]

Intruder, sorry, wasn't saying it didn't have power, was only saying the acceleration characteristics between the 2005, 2011 and 2014 were different and that the 2005 and 2014 were close to each other and the 2011 was a bit sluggish.

She does have some giddy-up when you need, no doubt.

 

[TErunner]

I owned a 04' SR5 (v6) and now have a 14' trail, and I am completely happy that we upgraded. I do think it feels maybe slightly slower off the line, but other than that it seems very similar if not better in most instances. I would attribute this to tranny tuning more than the engine itself.

 

[1engineer]

Do people no longer have leg muscles to push the gas pedal or something? On the weekend I was driving a single lane highway and pulled out to pass several RVs and pickups towing 5th wheels. Went from 100 km/h to 160 km/h (that's about 65 mph to 100 mph) no problem in a short time. I also have very heavy 285s, RTT, full skid plates, steel bumper+winch, and was loaded up with ARB fridge and other camping gear. :noidea:

No, they are just a bunch of whiners. Push the gas hard. It will go.

 

[Intruder]

Intruder, sorry, wasn't saying it didn't have power, was only saying the acceleration characteristics between the 2005, 2011 and 2014 were different and that the 2005 and 2014 were close to each other and the 2011 was a bit sluggish.

She does have some giddy-up when you need, no doubt.

I think that might be due to the dual VVT-i. I'm a former Acura VTEC owner (Integra and TSX) so I'm used to having the power band a little higher in the rpm spectrum. The VTECs feel sluggish too if you shift lower than 5k, but if you get it closer to redline you're in for a fun ride. I don't expect the 4Runner to have the same acceleration, but VVT-i has pretty much the same characteristics as VTEC.