Under powered

Hello all,
We just bought a new to us 2020 SR5 - 7800 miles.
After driving our 2001 for 16 years we’re surprised how under powered this 2020 feels in comparison. Seems to not have the bottom end acceleration nor mid range quick to pass that we’re used to. I know the weight difference is a factor, plus choked with CA smog but still. Do we just live with it? Is this normal?
Thanks for your input.
PS. Is this forum a good place to sell the 2001? “It has power”!!

 

The 4.0 makes about 100 more horsepower than your 3.4 did. They move fine. Step on the gas.

Did you test drive it?

 

I don’t find underpowered. It ain’t a race car and it does just fine on the highway and in town. You dropped ~37k-40k without a test drive ?

 

I long have you been driving the new 4runner? I think if you give it a week you will notice that it is not under powered. IMO I think it’s just the right amount.

 

Okay, before anyone else replies - YES it has power and runs beautifully, but not the quick effortless that we’re used to. If I really PUT MY FOOT INTO IT, yeah, she’ll keep climbing as fast as I want. Guess it’s just weight difference I’m feeling.
And YES of course I test drove it. I admit I’m ugly, but not stupid!!! haha

 

I went from the 5.7 liter tundra to the 4runner. A pedal commander makes it better, but yes, it’s not a peppy vehicle.

 

I’ve had it a few days. I think you are right .... a matter of getting used to it.

 

+1 that you have to use the pedal more to get the desired effect. Also +1 on the pedal commander. I have it on sport (+4) and now I don't have to touch the pedal much to get a quick response. For me, it felt sluggish only because I had to move the pedal so much.

 

The pedal is programmed for fuel economy, so you have to really step on it to get it to move quick. I assure you it's faster than your previous 4Runner.

And, the pedal commander and similar products are very popular here. It will improve your throttle sensitivity.

 

Thank you. That’s it. That’s a good way to say it ... not a peppy vehicle.

 

I felt the same way. I came from a tundra 5.7. Huge difference. I don’t even think it needs a pedal commander honestly. But I had one from my tundra so I installed it and it’s even better. Easily gets up to speed pretty quick

 

Yes, yes. Not so much sluggish as needing to move the pedal more. Thank you.

 

The Pedal Commander is a crisp $300 bill and to this old boy - worth every cent! As everyone says, does not increase horsepower but what a marvelous throttle response it offers - you'd love it!

 

Your the 3rd person to mention peddle commander. So now I have to ask. What is it? I figured it’s an electronic devise requiring back to the dealership and MORE money. But when you said you moved it from your Tundra to 4Runner, I had to ask.

 

It’s just a device you plug into the back of the gas pedal. Basically it just makes the throttle response more or less sensitive depending on what setting you put it on. Someone will ad a link hopefully

 

https://pedalcommander.com/products/pedal-commander-pc27-bluetooth-toyota-4runner?_pos=2&_sid=20dd070bb&_ss=r

Here you go.

 

Interesting! Thank you for the info. When you said you used it on both vehicles it intrigued me. Going to check it out.

 

Definitely something to look into. 1 mod that you will never regret getting.

 

Been running one in our 2017 SR5 for a few years now, when i installed it I didn’t say anything to the wife about it, because whenever i do little things to it i ask her if she noticed anything, and she always says no why did you do something. So this time i thought, I’m not going to mention it. So she comes home from work and says did you do something to the Runner, so i said why is there a problem with something? So she continues i was leaving work and scratched the tires. I knew what she did, but i said you did what, and she said i went to take off and the tires spun, and it never did that before. So i said you got some scratch in the Runner, she says yeah, so i told her about the PC. It really does up the throttle control, and i would replace it if something happens to it.

 

Thank you for the link. Is that what size motor I have 2.7 not 4.0?

 

there’s on a 4.0 V-6 option on the 4runners
I saw the link and i saw the option for 2.7. The pc27 model is the one you would need.

 

Hahahaha Oh that is funny! Scratched the Runner!! Hahahaha

My wife does the same. Never notices fixes on the car. Always have to ask. Always says no!

 

But how do you know what size motor I have? I don’t even know for sure, I’d have to look. I didn’t know there are two different sizes for the 2020’s. If I had to guess between the two I’d assume I have the 4.0, no?

 

all V6 4.0 with a 5 speed tranny.

 

Sport +4 is rad!!! I stepped on it and it chirped my tires. Freaked me out

 

That’s what I thought. But my friend above who sent the link already had vehicle info highlighted for me to get me to the correct one to order. For engine size it had 2.7 or 4.0. First off, I didn’t know that year had two different options and secondly he had 2.7 highlighted. I just don’t want to order wrong one.

 

Like the other fella said there are only 4.0 liter for the 2010-2022 model years. Weird how it’s even an option. The model number is PC27 for the pedal commander. U can usually find them a little cheaper through 3rd party vendors. Just a little tip

 

Thank you sir for clarifying and for all your help.

 

It might be an option I think because the 4runner, the Tacoma and the tundra all use the same one. The taco has a 2.7 engine option. And no problem. That’s what we’re here for

 

You're not alone. I feel the same about mine, it's severely lacking in low and mid range torque. It makes more power on paper than the older engines, but the power occurs high in the RPM range. Add in a high vehicle weight, a sluggish throttle response from the drive by wire throttle programming, and lazy transmission programming and ratios, and you get the sluggishness you describe.

As someone else said, "step on the gas harder". You basically have to drive this like you hate it. You can't drive it like a normal car, that's when it feels supremely slow. It almost feels like there's extra resistance at one point in the pedal to prevent you from pressing harder, I assume this is for fuel economy reasons. Push past this and it WILL go (as well as downshift a gear or two and generate a LOT of unpleasant sounding engine noise, lol).

I think it also depends on what you're coming from. People that have driven imports that make peak power at 7K rpm their whole lives are used to having to be aggressive with the throttle, while constantly stomping on the accelerator feels unnatural to people who have driven cars that make power on the low end.

I drove a 3rd gen once, it definitely felt stronger than something with only 180hp. I'm not sure of the tq peak in one of those, but it must be at a fairly low RPM. And those have an actual throttle cable, so the motor does exactly what your right foot tells it to do, not the computer's interpretation of it.