Weak acceleration uphill

Hi, I just recently bought a 4runner offroad and realized I barely can go faster than 60 mph uphill. I would like to ask if It's normal for this type of truck since it is my first 4runner. I haven't tried to floor the gas pedal due to safety concern so I would like to ask you guys before taking it to the dealership to check.
Thanks in advance!!

 

You can barely go faster than 60mph when climbing? How steep of a grade are we talking? Also, pedal to the metal? Traffic in front of you? I’m not 100% familiar with TSS, but I would assume it’ll slow you down if you’re coming in close to another vehicle whether in cruise control or not. I have 10 ply 295’s, 3” of lift, and when I put the pedal to the floor on a steep incline my rig still gets moving. Doesn’t move as fast as stock, but it’ll still throw you back in the seat and get going. If you can barely go any faster than 60mph then I’d say there’s something definitely wrong. Although, no offense to you, I’m inclined to say there’s some user error here but all things are possible.

 

4runner definitely isn’t built for speed, but there should be no problem going uphill faster than 60. Unless you are fully loaded and towing something. Also, if you owned a faster vehicle before than you will definitely be feeling that 4runner is on a slower side and you have to step on that pedal to get it going faster.

 

Thanks y'all for the feedback. I was by myself in the car and didn't load anything and no traffic in the front. I noticed it was lack of power when I went up hill even though I applied more on gas pedal. Not sure If it's because I was using eco mode or there is really something wrong with the car. Again, It is my first 4runner so I would like to hear more about your opinions before taking it to the dealership.

 

You could try putting it into sport mode, that will drop you into 4th gear, that may help. I would try flooring it once to make it down shift just so you can get a feel for it, don’t be scared. Welcome to the forum.

 

Thank you for the advice. I definitely will give it a try. I have experienced the lack of power since day one so It makes me thing if it's just how the car is. I understand it's not a sport car (I owned challenger r/t before), but it's just weird for the car to be hard to pass 60mph going incline, especially when I didn't load anything in the car.

 

Also you never really said- used"? new? condition? miles? if used was it properly serviced? Pretty vague details thus far

 

Have you looked into getting a pedal commander?

 

This. Sea level or high passes in Colorado? Gen 1 & 35's? Yeah, I could see that. 2020 and stock? Might be an issue. Or not. What safety issues would be present if you mashed the go pedal? I do it all the time - it's my manual sport mode. What gear are you in when you have the problem?

 

You guys are going 60?

 

My apology for not providing enough info. The car was brand new 2020 trd off road. It works fine, but just something makes me concern like when I put my foot on break it makes sound which the best I could describe is like the sound U skip songs in CD player. Another thing is I can hear some sound like ticking behind the dashboard, but not sure If it's just how the engine sounds like. And of course, I feel lack of power whenever I go incline no matter If it was on hills or on freeways. The reason why I avoid going fast because I want to prevent the car from rolling over if anything happens.

 

Also I just realized 4runner does not have eco mode. It's just eco indicator which indicate how efficient my driving is. I took the car to the dealer once to check with the brake sounds and they said it could be just the brake booster and the ticking sound is completely normal. They also told me to bring it back whenever I come in for service and they will look into it. It makes me suspect if its because the car is still under warranty that's why they avoid to spend to much time and effort on it since they make no money out of it. I plan on going back again to check with the lacking of power issue and hope they let me test drive with other 4runner. I trade in my 2019 challenger for 4runner cuz I love going off road like camping or fishing. I'm going to modify the car soon after making sure nothing wrong with the car.

 

Can you describe not going more than 60? I just took a road trip today and went on a mountain pass with a 7% incline grade and the 4runner had absolutely no problem accelerating up hill. Your pedal is on the floor when you’re going up hill and you still can barely go 60?

 

I didnt floor it, but did apply more on pedal gas. I still haven't get used to driving 4runner ,like driving my dad's tundra, yet so I was kind of afraid I was going to rollover if anything happen ahead. I guess Ima try flooring it next time.

 

You cant really say it has an issue with acceleration if you haven't opened it up. Thats probably your issue

 

I think I know how to check if you have a problem. Try accelerating 0 to 60. Official numbers are 7.3 seconds. If your are far off than take it to your dealer.

 

I can see why you might be concerned about rolling it. Coming from the Challenger, you're sitting up much higher and more upright in the Runner, so it probably feels top heavy. You'll get used to that. In fact, I like sitting up higher as the visibility is much better. Find a straight, quiet back road and stomp the gas pedal from a stop. Get it up to highway speed if you can safely. It's not muscle car fast, but does fairly well for a heavy, aerodynamically challenged truck. You probably just need to put some miles on it till you get used to the differences. I live in Colorado and have driven over passes well above 10000 feet, and had no problems maintaining speed and accelerating going up over the passes. I can't help with the noises, but hope they aren't anything major and the dealer takes care of you.

 

Floor it baby!!!

 

I just purchased my first 4Runner, 2015 Trail bone stock with 100k on the dash and have absolutely no problems pulling WV hills/mountains. Coming from a 2019 Dodge with a 5.7 hemi I do notice you’ve got to get on the gas a little more but no problem pulling say a 7% grade at 75/80mph.

 

You should probably post pictures of your 4Runner too - we like pictures!

 

I appreciate y'all for all the advises. Definitely, I will test it and keep your update. I'll post picture of the car as your request as well.

 

I asked a similar question a few months ago when I just got my 4Runner... yes it's a little sluggish going uphill.

 

If you end up at the dealer, you can bet somebody will jump in it and floor it.

 

After your "free" oil changes are done add a Sprint Booster.
It will take out the lag in the acceleration and make the 4Runner feel less sluggish.

 

So I floored the gas pedal and realize it barely reach 2500rpm. It could not shift up to 3rd gears either. I took it to the dealership and they recommended to leave the car so they could check, but they said the car could reach 80 mph with no problem and no codes were thrown as well. Therefore, the best I could do is to leave the car there. I wonder if the car needed to be broken in to be able to shift or function normally. Any ideas?
(In addition, my car has 606 miles on it)

 

yes, they say that car need to be broken in and transmission learns as you drive it for first few thousand miles. BUT no way that it wouldnt change to 3rd gear or not reach 2500 rpm. Definitely something wrong with your 4runner and they have to fix it. Better give you a new one. Can’t wait to hear what they say. Keep us posted.

 

If you are soft on the pedal and gradually pressing the gas, you may not be punching it enough to allow it to down shift, therefore you are grandma driving. I would get on a the open road and give it some gas to get it to shift. You should be able to drive around 35MPH, then punch the gas down a bit and take off while its down shifting speeping up to 60. On a large summit hill, if you don't get enough speed at the beginning, you could be stuck going that fast and punching it would not down shift, or if you did it would rap to 6K RPM and sounds like the engine will blow which you don't want to do.

 

Good point. Follow the break in pattern which is in the manual. Something like not holding a steady speed for more than x time, and not going faster than x speed for x time.

 

Also, when you go to the dealer, test drive another 4runner and you will instantly know if smth is wrong with yours or they all like that

 

Use the go peddle... All of it.