Eco mode question

When you put the 4R transmission shifter into S mode, does that do something electronically so that the truck runs/shifts differently, or does it simply turn off the Eco display?

 

Turns it off.

ECU designers probably figured if you're in sport mode you no longer care about economy.

 

To my knowledge the "eco" light is basically a vacuum sensor that sense throttle & tells you that you are running the engine instead of coasting or very light throttle. I turned the eco light off on the test drive. I hated it flashing on & off.
The "S" mode does nothing but limit the top gear. If you slap it into S it turns to 4th gear. Therefore the top gear available is 4th (we use this in the city; you can shift up to 5th & down during braking. If you begin in 1st it will only stay in first gear. If you choose 2nd it will use first two gears & soo on.
I hope I am correct and clear with my description.
Ryan.

 

I only ever use s mode off-road, when I want to control what gear it’s in. For instance, on a long steep hill climb, I’d lock it into 3rd gear, to keep revs and power high; if I left it in regular auto, I’d get part way up, and it would jump to 4th or 5th and bog down, killing all of my momentum.

 

eco light is probably the most useless feature.

 

Agreed. I was just wondering if the truck ran different in S mode vs Eco, or if it was simply a ruse by Toyota. I know most every other automatic transmission allows you to shift from 'D' to manual shift, where you can select the highest gear you want to end up in, and shift up or down, and thought maybe Toyota just called this 'S' mode to allow manual shifts if wanted.

 

I turned off the Eco light but frequently keep and eye on the Eco bar while driving.

I do the same. I like 1st gear - 4x4 Low for going down steep hills while off road.

 

I put it in 4th s going up a hill that causes to transmission to shift too much down shifts .. now if I had the V8 4Runner engine , works great , not much down shifting going up hills ...

 

I'm pretty sure S mode only sets a max gear level (i.e. 4th or 3rd is highest gear it will use).

Here, straight from the horses mouth (Owner's Manual):

 

From my experience using S mode, I know you can shift to 5, and the truck will shift the same as in D. You can also bump the shifter up or down to change the max gear at any time.

So, my original question was if there was any difference in performance or driveability in Eco (D) vs S mode, with 5 selected, other than the Eco bar being gone.

 

I would say there is no increase in performance but there is a great improvement in drivability. You can hold gears, you can downshift to help braking or you can downshift to pass on the interstate.
Ryan.

 

I can't really tell if it shifts differently in S mode or not.

I use it a lot, when I want to keep the truck from constantly downshifting. I also use it to engine brake as others have mentioned.

Same. I usually use S3, but will drop to S2 or even S1 depending on terrain. For steep hills, 4LO and S1 kicks ass!

 

will the thing shift automatically in s mode? wait im confused now.

 

Welcome, I believe my response in this thread (#3) should answer your questions. If you have any further please explain further.
Ryan.

 

Yes. It shifts automatically as usual, it just won't exceed the gear you have selected (1-5).