It’s time we put the new 2024 Toyota Tacoma hybrid on the TFL Truck Toaster endurance challenge. The Tacoma hybrid we have is a brand new Trailhunter model. It’s an off-road pickup that is rated to tow up to 6,000 lbs. We hook up a very heavy trailer and make the slow climb up a windy mountain road in August heat. This endurance test has failed a Chevy Silverado 1500 V8, a Ford F-150 V8, and a Ram 1500 twin-turbo I6 before. Will this turbocharged 4-cylinder gas/electric hybrid survive this? Let’s find out!
Under the hood of this truck is a 2.4L turbocharged I4 that is mated to an electric motor. The total power output is 326 horsepower and 465 lb-ft of torque. This combination is sending the power to the wheels via an 8-speed automatic transmission.
We are using a Banks iDash DataMonster gauge to monitor temperatures of the vital components. We notice that the transmission fluid temperature is very warm when we start the climb in Boulder, Colorado. This is an 8-mile climb with average speeds between 20-25 mph. This is a very tough test because there is not a lot of air moving into the vehicle’s radiators.
We register a failure on this test if
- the vehicle pulls power and slows down to protect itself.
- the vehicle shows any powertrain error messages or warning lights.
- the vehicle starts to steam or start leaking or exhibits another visible failure.
Spoiler Alert: This Tacoma hybrid pulls this heavy trailer up the mountain without any shortage of power and without any error message, but… Take a look near the end of the video. The automatic transmission temperature gets very hot at the top of the mountain. Still, this Tacoma passes this towing torture test. Great job!
