Cruise Control

On a slight hill that the 4R can't quite hold a preset speed in OD the cruise control shifts down for 2 seconds, up for 2 seconds, down for 2 seconds, up for 2 seconds and so on until I intervene. It doesn't shift down and stay down.

Also, in general, cruise control seems like it's working too hard to stay in OD even on steeper hills causing excessive shifting instead of staying kicked down to 4th. In many cases I can turn CC off and hold my speed on the hill even in OD when CC can't do the same.

Another issue, going down hills. CC will shift down to third on a hill in an effort to maintain the preset speed. The computer has the ability to apply braking so I'm wondering why it doesn't do that instead of shifting down to 3rd.

I've gotten to the point that I don't use CC on any hills anymore (up or down) because it pisses me off so much. Has anyone else experienced these issues?

Since these experiences were on a long road trip to Utah there are no hills around me for the dealer to test so I don't know if it's worth mentioning.

Thanks...

 

That sounds pretty normal. The 4Runner has an ancient engine and transmission. The transmission is only a five speed, which means gears are way longer than today's current 8, 9, and 10 speed transmissions.

Additionally, the 4.0L isn't exactly a powerhouse. With all those attributes combined, and hilly terrain, the 4Runner is going to be doing a lot of gear hunting.

 

Standard Toyota cruise. Manually downshift into a lower gear to prevent the ECU from doing it.

My 2010 Tacoma did the same thing until I supercharged it then plenty of power to not kick down so much.

 

It's more than manageable to drive with the CC off on hills with manual shifting. It's crazy that Toyota screwed up the programming so bad! It's about the only gripe that I have with it. No vehicle is perfect.

 

Compared to my prior car, Subaru Outback with 150HP, the 4R seems like a beast! The CVT transmission in the Outback it's advantages on the highway but it definitely sucked off road (or any other time you needed to mash the go pedal).

 

This issue has been eliminated with 4.56 re gear. Just got back from a 2000 mile trip and it handled hills, cross winds and 75 to 80 mph fine no gear hunting.

Mpg takes a hit 75 to 80 mph but was happy 16 to 17 mpg with these speeds.

Not sure if accurate but I have heard the laser cruise control is more aggressive with the logic. Going old school turning off the laser cruise control has different behavior i have been told. The gear hunting pre regear it didn't help for me. But everyone has a different rig and use case what they use it for.

 

I typically bump it over to 'S' mode when going through hilly areas to prevent gear hunting. CC seems best on flat highways.

 

It's just one gear down and ride the slightly elevated RPMs.

 

Just shift into S4 or S3 and stay there with hills. You paid for the whole tachometer, use the whole tachometer.

 

set it in S4 before a hill with the CC on and it’ll be fine

Some say that the OTT mostly fixes this issue. I don’t have it installed yet although I’m considering it. Look it up, there’s a thread on this forum and the tuner seems really responsive to questions

 

Mine CC hit the brakes going down a steep hill the other day, surprised me.

 

I think that's the laser CC kicking in. Yes it's startling when it happens.

 

Yes, that's what I do. 4th will handle most hills just fine. If not I pop it down to 3rd.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I suspected the gear searching in OD was normal but just wanted to make sure.

 

For anyone considering mods that add weight. The gear hunting gets incrementally worse with weight and wind drag. If your not happy stock it only gets worse.

Anyone else watching their engine and transmission temps while under load? Higher rpm I was concerned it would be generating more heat. My transmission temps are low due to transmission cooler. Oil spikes 5 or 10 degrees when cruising at 80 mph @2800 RPM. Both still below the coolant temp of 190. I am assuming lots of air flow at speed helps.

 

The KDMax 10.0 tune I got did make a difference with shifting on hills. Sad to say, though, they got bought out by YotaWerx back in March 2024, and nothing's been heard since. We were told KDMax customers would be fully supported, but not a peep has been heard since March.

Not sure if YW even exists any more.

 

First response pretty much sums it up. Not a particularly sophisticated cruise system managing a motor that doesn’t like higher rpm’s, paired to a tranny that wishes it had a few more gears. Gen3 Taco is a similar experience btw.

It is at least pretty comfy out on the highway, so rather than get frustrated, if there’s hills or traffic, I just turn it off.

 

Normal. On hills it's maddening to have CC on. I turn it off until it levels out.