Towing problems- No transmission cooler on 2020 TRD Pro

This debate over "tow in D+, D-, D(x5+y23)+(a34/(34z*xyz13))" is wearing me oot (Canadian).

Tundra is towing champion.

That statement supersedes the following: aftermarket coolers, API designation BobIsTheOilF*ck, FarmerDudeOnYouBoobPoursVariousOilsAtAmbientConditionsAndMakesUnscientificAndBaselessClaims.






Spraynard.

 

Right eh, I have no idea what your talking aboot.

 

Really? That’s like saying I’m selling a house with an A/C unit & a heater.

When it’s freezing outside it warms the house up to 85 degrees, and when it’s 100 degrees outside the same heater acts as a cooler while blowing 85 degree hot air in your house.

You’d be full of hot air if you were told that garbage after purchasing a home.

 

For what it's worth, my temps were 200 to 220f while driving in Texas without a load in my '21. They now range between 180 and 210f based on the traffic and how hard I'm acceleration and stopping. 40 to 10degree difference is a pretty big for me especially when I get a camper and especially when the ambient air temps get above 100f. I think you can be fine without one if you live in cooler regions and don't tow much or if you live out in the country (my highest temps are always city stop and gos). But if you do plan on towing alot and you live in the heat I think it's worth it based on my anecdotal observations.

 

I drove from houston to austin few months ago without anything loaded or being towed, only me in the truck. Temp got up to 235!
Outside temp was 60-70’s

I’d caution If you plan on doing any long road trips over 3 hours. Temps will get to the 240 eventually the longer you drive, especially in summer.

 

Ever heard of a heat pump? A lot of homes have them.

 

FWIW, I emailed Toyota with the following question:

Please help me to better understand towing with my new Tundra. I am not finding a clear answer in the owner's manual.

I am towing a roughly 4,000lb travel trailer. Does Tow/Haul mode work when the transmission is in "S4" or only "D"? And is it okay to tow in D or do I need to be in S4 to avoid overheating my transmission?

This was their written response (which wasn't as thorough as I wanted, as it didn't really answer all of my question):

Response By Email (Roy G.) (06/28/2021 09:42 AM)

Dear Mr. *******,

Thank you for contacting Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.

We are very sorry for any delay in responding to your email.

We are sorry to learn of your concerns with locating towing information in your 2021 Toyota Tundra owners manual.

In the interest of guest satisfaction, we researched your inquiry. From our available resources, the tow/haul mode should be used with transmission in D while towing.

The TOW/HAUL pattern select switch is a momentary-type switch.

• If the shift lever is in the D position when the switch is pushed once, tow/haul control will be performed. If the TOW/HAUL pattern select switch is operated again, or the ignition switch is turned off, tow haul control will be cancelled

We appreciate your feedback about the Tundra owns manual, as it is through communications such as yours that we become aware of our customers' expectations and reactions. It also provides us with valuable insight when planning and developing future products and services to increase our customers' satisfaction.

Thank you for taking the time to email us, and giving us the opportunity to assist you.

Your email has been documented at our National Headquarters under file #210623002296. If we can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact us .

Sincerely,

Roy G.
Toyota Brand Engagement Center

 

The recliner engineers are right s4 all the way!!!!!

 

Roy G was quoted in this thread but I think the person who posted it isn’t here anymore and his thread was deleted. He answers a lot of emails it seems.

https://www.tundras.com/threads/19-20-discussion-on-missing-ambient-cooler.73176/

 

Welcome to the forum and thanks for posting this information. I'm convinced and plan to just put it in D tow/haul and let it roll in the future.

 

Thanks. I've been lurking for a while and soaking up good info, so I thought I'd finally join.

Last week I took my TT out and monitored TFT while driving in T/H mode in D. Outside temperature ranged from about 100 to 106, and my transmission was hanging out at about 220-230 deg F. It runs at about 205 when not pulling. Hotter than I would like, for sure, but it's not keeping me up at night. My 2020 Tacoma (with transmission cooler) would run at about 200 while pulling the trailer (185 or so without).

 

Pretty lame answer. I'll stick with S mode and my trans cooler.

 

And here comes the arm chair engineers!!!

 

https://youtu.be/I8upLk9jlcQ

 

t

This has been an interesting phenomenon in many threads in this forum. Don't know why people assume that they know more than the engineers that designed the vehicle.

 

It’s not as simple as you’re making it out to be. What I find interesting is how we go round and round and several people on each side choose to characterize the other’s position in a way they aren’t willing to own.

“Trust the engineers” isn’t the ultimate trump card it’s meant to be when one of these engineers—speaking candidly on condition of anonymity—says (1) deleting the ext cooler was a bad idea made from a value engineering standpoint (read: not with long-term reliability as the top consideration), and (2) Toyota has seen defects in trucks due to high temps. Source: post 133

 

Toyota isn't just run by engineers. They're also run by finance, decision analysts, and managers. So when management says, our tundra needs better margins, you know what they do? They remove grab handles and have meetings on failure rates of parts and make decisions based on general use. So I'd say the Tundras with the coolers are what the engineers intended and the current truck is the one they said should be ok.

 

I didn't write or imply "trust the engineers", but I understand how you inferred it.

I think we agree the trans cooler delete was a bean counter decision thrust upon the engineers. Still this has nothing to do with my post which is in reference to anonymous debate of correct towing position on an internet forum.

I have no idea what your first paragraph means, is it in reference to my post? I really have no "side", especially not an internet forum.

Really? But, Anheuser-Busch only employs brewers, right? They don't have accountants, marketers, etc. helping make decisions on how many of each of their lagers are produced, do they?

 

No. We don't agree, lol.

After working in management accounting, finance, and financial forecasting for over 35 years in two different Fortune 500 companies and directly supporting the CEOs and COOs (all engineers), I promise you we don't force any decisions on them.

We give them whatever financial analysis they need and request, help them interpret the data where necessary, and answer their questions. We also often changed the results to support the results they wanted to see or relay to the investment community.

Then they did whatever the fuck they wanted.

 

Ahhh, I see. You quoted Kanobi’s post regarding armchair engineers, and the post he quoted mentioned S-mode and the cooler. I thought your reply was referencing the cooler, but it looks like you were talking about towing. My bad. First paragraph wasn’t necessarily aimed at you anyway.

 

You guys don't have the right equipment to tow! This is what I use.

 

In theory, I agree with the folks who say that if Toyota says to tow in D, that's what we should be doing. However, there are a lot of folks here with 2019-2021 trucks who have reported lower transmission temperatures when towing in S4 than when towing in D. So that's what I would lean towards unless I decide to add an auxiliary cooler.

 

Or just buy a truck that is engineered correctly with a trans cooler. 2022 better have the proper cooling.

 

My guess is the cooler that used to be on the tundras is gone forever. They may put a bigger puck on the new one but would be surprised if they go back to the old style

 

Some of us have proven it with the trucks we have. I have not replaced the transmission in the 2000 or the 2008 and both have been tortured.
Maintenance and proper driving would be my guess why they have lasted. I prefer to add a cooler to my 21 which I will drive as I have driven the others.
I think for the overall average buyer(non car person)it is safer for Toyota to say D instead having morons blow up their motor.
What do you all use the S mode for?