Questions about my new 2021 Tundra Limited

Good Morning Y’all. I recently picked up my new 2021 Tundra Limited Double Cab. I’ve owned many trucks before this one but never a Toyota product. I have two issues that you probably can shed some light on.


1. LED headlights: They do not automatically turn on when the wipers are set to anything but “Off”. Is that the way it is supposed to be? I thought it was a federal requirement. Is it because the LED Daytime Running Lights are considered bright enough to pass the federal requirements?


2. Transmission operation: Consider this scenario. I descend a hill at 30 MPH or less, easing completely off the throttle (slow enough that the engine braking is not holding the truck back). When the road levels off at the bottom of the hill, I gently apply power to continue at the same slow speed. The torque converter seems to have disengaged, or the transmission is slipping/freewheeling, or it has shifted into too low of a gear. The engine RPMs increase for a second or two before the transmission upshifts/grabs, sometimes jerking as it does so. This concerns to me as I live in a hilly-to-mountainous area. When the roads start getting snow or ice on them, this sudden “grab” of the transmission may lead to loss of traction and control. IS THIS NORMAL?


Using the TOW/HAUL mode or the Select Shift (“S” Mode) seem to prevent this condition. However, I am a volunteer firefighter and you can understand that messing around with the TOW/HAUL button or Select Shift (“S” Mode) is not what I need to be focusing on when responding to a call.


Thanks in advance for your input.

 

Edit: Welcome to the forum!

1. I don’t think that’s a federal requirement, rather a law in some states, so they probably wouldn’t make it standard operation.

2. Sounds fairly normal. Normal driving mode will unlock the converter at 0% throttle and when you depress the throttle once again it will re-engage and select its desired gear. Tow/haul tends to keep the converter locked when going downhill to promote engine braking. (someone feel free to correct me if I’m wrong)
I doubt the jerk or engagement of the converter will cause significant traction loss, especially if in 4WD.

 

+1 on this. and just a little addition to #1, a lot of cars have that feature but it's not a federal requirement.
and for #2. That's normal operation