Tow Button complaint

[dbirling]

Wondering if there are many people on the forum that tow? I just picked my LC1985 up in late December, I was a longtime Jeep owner and one thing I wanted was more towing capacity which the LC has plenty of for my needs.

My only grip is the tow button seems to do very little, you manually have to turn off a short list of warning sensors before towing, all of which likely could be toggled with the tow button. This could probably be fixed with a software update. I did reach out to Toyota via Instagram messenger asking if a fix could be made, and wonder if more people need to complain. Just a thought.

And if you don't want to that's fine as well
Cheers all!

 

[Gabel1]

I tow a 2 ton TT with no issues. What specifically is your gripe?

 

[phillips_th]

I have a 20224 LC LC and a 2000lb trailer. Here in Colorado we are constantly either going up a steep grade or down one. The tow button seems to allow more engine braking and better shifting going up. I'm not 100% sure what else it does but using the engine for braking is very important.

 

[dbirling]

I have a 20224 LC LC and a 2000lb trailer. Here in Colorado we are constantly either going up a steep grade or down one. The tow button seems to allow more engine braking and better shifting going up. I'm not 100% sure what else it does but using the engine for braking is very important.

Did you manually turn off all the warning features the manual suggests? I wish the tow button did that for us, that’s what they could likely fix via software.

 

[phillips_th]

Some of the features turn off automatically. However, I think plugging something into the 7-pin connector may cause that instead of Tow Haul button. It would be really nice for Toyota to outline what happens when this button is pushed vs plugging something into 7-pin. I have read plugging something into the 4-pin connector has different impacts (i.e. Cruise Control/Dynamic Radar Cruise Control). For towing in general they say (pg 212) to turn off Lane Tracing, Lane Departure, Dynamic Radar Cruise Control, Blind Spot Monitoring, Intuitive Parking Assist, Rear Camera Detection, Parking Support Brake. Sheesh, that alone would take me 20 minutes rooting around menus. Some of these turn off automatically when you plug something into 7-pin.

There are folks on the forum that have reverse engineered what happens. The manual is gigantic and it may be buried in there. The manual does imply that whatever driving mode (Eco, Normal , Sport) you had the vehicle in, is overridden when you push Tow Haul. It would be REALLY nice to have a simple table that outlines the vehicle response to using one of the connectors and using the Tow Haul button. As a software guy I think in terms of "use cases". Perhaps I'm over-simplifying. For example:
Case 1: Installing a Bike carrier on the hitch - I've read all hell brakes loose with the sensors/auto-braking, Assume not pushing Tow Haul button. Nothing plugged into the connectors.
Case 2: Towing a small trailer with no on-board brakes using 4-pin connector. Using Tow Haul mode. < 1650 lbs.
Case 3: Larger trailer with electric brakes using 7-pin connector. Using Tow Haul mode
Case 4: Larger trailer with Electric/Hydraulic brakes. Using Tow Haul mode.

Are there any towing experts out there?? HELP!!!

 

[dbirling]

Some of the features turn off automatically. However, I think plugging something into the 7-pin connector may cause that instead of Tow Haul button. It would be really nice for Toyota to outline what happens when this button is pushed vs plugging something into 7-pin. I have read plugging something into the 4-pin connector has different impacts (i.e. Cruise Control/Dynamic Radar Cruise Control). For towing in general they say (pg 212) to turn off Lane Tracing, Lane Departure, Dynamic Radar Cruise Control, Blind Spot Monitoring, Intuitive Parking Assist, Rear Camera Detection, Parking Support Brake. Sheesh, that alone would take me 20 minutes rooting around menus. Some of these turn off automatically when you plug something into 7-pin.

There are folks on the forum that have reverse engineered what happens. The manual is gigantic and it may be buried in there. The manual does imply that whatever driving mode (Eco, Normal , Sport) you had the vehicle in, is overridden when you push Tow Haul. It would be REALLY nice to have a simple table that outlines the vehicle response to using one of the connectors and using the Tow Haul button. As a software guy I think in terms of "use cases". Perhaps I'm over-simplifying. For example:
Case 1: Installing a Bike carrier on the hitch - I've read all hell brakes loose with the sensors/auto-braking, Assume not pushing Tow Haul button. Nothing plugged into the connectors.
Case 2: Towing a small trailer with no on-board brakes using 4-pin connector. Using Tow Haul mode. < 1650 lbs.
Case 3: Larger trailer with electric brakes using 7-pin connector. Using Tow Haul mode
Case 4: Larger trailer with Electric/Hydraulic brakes. Using Tow Haul mode.

Are there any towing experts out there?? HELP!!!

I would think, though I'm not a software engineer, that the software is common or similar to the Tacoma, Next Gen 4Runner, and the LC250. And if the behavior is the same that it could be improved.

Some trucks apparently when you push a similar "Tow Mode" button also have multiple saved trailer setups, and all the safety settings automatically switch over, and that feels like a much more polished experience.

Could enough customers reach out and see results? It's not unheard of for software to fix user complaints in other products, and this seems fixable.