Taking a Deeper Look at Transmission Overheating in 4Hi

[Rock Doc]

Haha agree but not in a Prius that would be more embarrassing at least I look cool while overheating.

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[Joey_Midnight]

I havent been up any trails but i have used 4hi in my ORP on highway up hill in a straight line of course and didnt see any any temp changes while pulling a car trailer. Not sure if that helps your data collection

 

[timelapse]

Haha agree but not in a Prius that would be more embarrassing at least I look cool while overheating.

I havent been up any trails but i have used 4hi in my ORP on highway up hill in a straight line of course and didnt see any any temp changes while pulling a car trailer. Not sure if that helps your data collection

This is helpful. At higher speeds it doesn't seem to be an issue.

 

[jarussll4]

Mine is a Land Cruiser 250 with the same drivetrain. Could not find a thread there so here is my info

• Transfer Case: All wheel drive
• Transmission Shifter Position: “D”
• Drive Mode: Normal then sport as I saw the temp climb
• Vehicle Speed: 15-40mph Regular twisty road non gravel, slow/go due to curves.
• Duration: 30 minutes.
• Additional Weight: Just 4 passangers and luggage..
• Tire Size: OE
• Transmission Cooler: Just the Stock mini tiny cooler
• Other Details: Mine went off on a regular asphalt road from the bottom of the Hwy going up to Idylwild, CA. My wife was driving her Prius and she had to pass me as I had to stop for over 15 minutes for tranny to cool back down. The Altitude gain was about 3500ft.
• Temp Outside: 75 F
  
  Gravel hilly roads takes about 10 minutes for the tranny temp to get to240F (OBD measured) if not switched to manual or Low.

 

[time2playandy]

I drove up a steep FS road today. About 20 minute climb. Tire size 265/70/17. Slow going at times. In 4H. 150 lbs. cargo. 60 degrees F out. I watched the trans temp gauge start to climb pretty quickly. Got to about 3/4, then I switched to manual and kept it in 2. 4 Lo was way too slow for the road. Ridiculous for an off-road vehicle (that I otherwise love).

 

[jarussll4]

 

[bax767]

Happened to me in my TRD Pro on a recent trip up a hill in Nevada.
4 Hi
Shifter in D
ECO mode
5-10 mph, at fairly heavy throttle
2 Pax, mostly empty in back
Stock tires & wheels, aired down to 18 PSI
Overheated approx 3 minutes after starting the climb
Outside air temp = 70 degrees F
Trans Cooler: No
Other details: Dealer checked it out, took oil sample - no metal, no apparent damage. Said that they are seeing lots of complaints from their customers about this, and are expecting Toyota to issue a service bulletin.
I’m now running hills in 4 Lo, and not seeing any more overheats.

 

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Skip to 7min mark
Here a 3rd gen tundra, granted its over GVWR as well as modified
But interesting

 

[Gunnison]

Sorry I'm a little late to this, I've taken a hiatus on a mountaintop that my Accord got me to cuz my 4Runner had these issues. Instances of overheating have happened both off-road (switched to 4L) and on-road (switched to manual 2S).

• Transmission Shifter Position: "4HI" (off-road) and “D” (on-road)
• Drive Mode: Normal
• Vehicle Speed: 10-25 mph (regular twisty roads, slow go due to curves and narrowness, rocks off-road)
• Duration: 15 minutes.
• Additional Weight: 1 passenger, no luggage
• Tire Size: 265 /70 R18 116T SL BSW
• Transmission Cooler: Stock
• Other Details: Altitude gain was minimal, on road case maybe 500 feet.
• Temp Outside: 70's F

Like everyone has said there are obvious workarounds but it's still an annoyance, particularly on-road having to switch into sport mode to go up something my Honda can get up no problem, and off-road when I have to keep switching it back and forth from 4LO to 4HI just based on speed.

 

[kehyler]

I'm not sure whether the 4runner has one, but anyone try pinning the transmission cooling thermostat open temporarily and repeating a climb known to cause an overheat event?

 

[ropdykex11]

have been ripping off-road with a very heavily loaded roof and cargo area, constantly in 4hi and using 4lo when necessary. over 12k miles now, with at least 1000 of those in heavy off-road situations. no issues for me, and i keep an eye on it constantly.

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