Tow/Haul Mode Usage

So I’ve been lamenting the poor power my 2014 1794 has compared to the 2007’s in my family (one SR5 and one Limited); even after I had a tuner done by DAP in Ft. Worth earlier this year. The tuner definitely helped some but it can still be pretty sluggish if you don’t ride 1st gear past the 3000 rpm threshold. I recently discovered the use of tow/haul mode when driving without a trailer and the vastly increased throttle response. I’ve enjoyed the heck out of that. Now it’s also not in 3rd gear at 12 mph coming out of an intersection turn! I like that. I did wonder whether there were any potential downsides or risk of damage so I went to my transmission man who is a general automotive expert, a Toyota and Lexus owner and a professional racer. His opinion is that you can run the truck that way on a regular basis; however, you’ll be revving the engine higher all the time (depending on how hard you accelerate in general), running higher fluid pressures than in normal mode and that the transmission temperature will be 10-15 degrees hotter. He says all of this will lead to the tranny wearing out sooner than need be. I’m
looking for THOUGHTFUL opinions about this please. Keep in mind that I drive around town a lot every day, I do t hot rod very often but I do really enjoy not feeling like I have to get out and push to get some power out of my “top of the line” Toyota. Thanks very much for helping me with this.

 

Welcome from NY.

 

The power is the same in the 5.7 from 2007 and 2018, the transmission shift points and revs are just different. It's all just changes in the ECU. I heard it was in response to complaints that the truck was top jumpy when starting off or off roading.
The tow haul button brings back most of that crisp throttle respond and shift points like the older ECUs run.
I drive with the tow haul on most of the time. There is no downside other than fuel economy and increased engine braking. Tow haul mode increases engine braking as well as give you that better throttle response. It will not hurt your truck one bit if you wanna drive in tow mode all the time.
One thing you could try is a pedal commander that you can set to a feeling that you like. Also a bullydog tuner can do similar.

 

All this ^^^^^!!

 

I used to use tow mode occasionally when not towing just for a little more power. Now I have the pedal commander and wished I got it sooner. The truck is more responsive and shifts are smoother.

 

Add a supercharger and be happy.

 

Ha! I was thinking of getting dap tuned but now your opinion might change my mind, but then again everyone has different experiences. In the manual it says to use the tow/haul button when towing or hauling, I like the “feel” of more power but at that point I’m just wasting gas. I only use it for engine braking on steep downhills or just use Sequential shift for better engine braking. If you have bigger tires go back to stock for best performance, if not then a supercharger will gain more power but is very expensive.

 

I use it when I want a little more oomph. Otherwise, without it is fine for me.