The only way to not have it engine brake is to put it in neutral that I know of when going downhill. I actually like the fact the truck has engine braking when I am towing but yes I understand it can get annoying when you do not want it to.

 

I have noticed my truck behaves differently in the summer and the winter. In the hot summer the trans stays engaged like you describe but in the winter it coasts. I haven't figured that one out yet.

 

If engine braking kicks in, you can tap the gas a little to disengage it and put it in the next gear.

 

You can disable engine braking by selecting "S" mode and 6th gear.

 

Thanks for all the replys. I like the downshifting when towing also. I haven't had the truck in the winter yet, so I may need to pay attention there also.

 

Even my first gen does this, but also only in summer. It's probably to keep the RPM's up to keep coolant circulating. Maybe the fan clutch is engaged when it does this so it also does this to suck more air through? idk...just ideas

 

I would imagine saving brake life had to have been a consideration. I like it. It means half the braking effort normally required for a given stop, or even less. In some situations just a quick tap of the brakes is enough to start the truck slowing down at the rate I need it to. I haven't made use of the feature like I really should but I'm sure if I had it would have been a couple more years before I needed any brake work.

 

mine coasts pretty damn good, unless the cruise is on, then the cruise will downshift after approx 10% increase in speed to try and slow down. too much engine braking in the cold slippery stuff can cause a slide, unlike an exhaust/jake brake that is usually tied into the ABS to shut off when wheel slide is detected.

 

you can coast, you just have to get some practice...

coasting in the 2nd gen involves just a little slight throttle, it's best learned when its quiet, no traffic, and on hills... you will learn that just the slightest throttle pressure and it actually coasts instead of compression braking.

you can tell by the sound of the exhaust when you are no longer compression braking and are not accelerating, or at least I can but I have an exhaust on mine.

 

my 2005 tacoma previously owned was way worse than the tundra at engine breaking..... tundra seems like it coast alot more

 

I tend to shift to neutral on long hills. It doesn't take much of a hill to keep speed over a long distance, you end up braking to slow down more often then not.

 

On some transmissions, shifting to neutral stops oil from pumping. Is that the case in the Tundra?

 

When you tap the brake and are still accelerating downhill, it will downshift to use the engine to help you slow down. Don't tap the brake if you don't want to slow down. Tap the gas to disengage the engine brake.

 

This is true... a pretty neat feature if you know about it, and try it....cruise will also slow you down if your going down hill....

 

Now thats a great question and I don't have a good answer. Tranny is a sealed unit so I'd guess they only issue could be heat build up.

 

Put her in s mode and select 6th gear..it'll be in 4th default.

 

Great info everyone! I tried S mode and it was hard to tell. I need to try it again and the accel tap.

 

Yah, shifting right away when taking off for the day I try to remember to use S mode and it goes into 6th gear depending on speed when you do it. Sometimes 4th gear going slow but mostly 6th gear. It does help doing this and leaving it like that if the engine braking you dislike. It seems to coast longer also and I like that, but if towing any load, I prefer to NOT do this and drive normal.

I actually think if you use S mode and in 6th gear, it does help mpg up to .3-.4 mpg since the higher rpms when engine braking (downshifting) sucks more gas. It works, have been doing it since 2009 or so.

 

Actually when your in nuetral you using fuel to stay at IDLE opposed to being in gear when you have the weight of the vehicle giving you foward momentum the fuel is actually being cut. Just a Tip!

 

Never tried shifting into neutral while going downhill and see if instant mpg when letting off the pedal entirely still stays at 99.9 instant mpg or not. I do know if you look at the instant mpg and are coasting to a stop, it goes up to 99.9 mpg when in gear. The less you put your foot on the pedal, the better mpg dah. I routinely coast to a stop since the tundra when letting off the gas slows down more than most other vehicles plus it saves on brakes in the long run not using them much. The people behind me don't like it tailgating me but they can pass if they want to before I hit the stop sign. Most people drive crazy and like idiots jack rabbit starts and at the last minute slam on the brakes hard before a stop sign, not good at all for best mpg.