I own a 1990 SR5 V6 Auto 4x4 and noticed a little button at the bottom of the shifter panel. It has 'normal' and 'power' on it. I have only driven the truck in 'normal' as I've only driven around town, not highway. I want to know when to use the 'button' As my truck is now loaded for moving out of state, I guess I'm going to enjoy it when I get to the bottom of hills

 

It means just that more power in between shifts... It also means no overdrive... <lousy gas mileage... Now will be a good time to use it, while your truck is loaded and going up hills!

 

it holds your gears and makes you accelerate faster or easier towing. toyota's been putting those in since the early 80's i think.

 

The above post kind of confused me? How does it 'hold the gear' and 'makes you accelrate faster'. Should I only use this going up hills? How bad does it kill the fuel mileage? Thanks guys, great bunch of folks here in Mini Land

 

Think of how long it takes to shift when you got your foot to the floor. basically that.

 

It's Vtec

 

Quoted from Wiki.answers.com

Answer
ECT stands for Electronically Controlled Transmission. When you push the button in, there should be a light on the dash that says "ECT POWER". This changes the normal shift times (based on engine vacuum, rpm, and throttle position) to a later point. This means simply that the engine rpms will go higher before shifting to a higher gear when you're accelerating. It helps build speed more quickly but uses more gas to do so.

 

Can you push it while moving or should you engage it while in park.

 

push it whenever

 

Ok cool!!

 

BYE & Little Neon Those answers were helpful thanks. I don't want to screw up my truck's drivetrain by operating it without the proper knowledge. Since this truck did not come with the owner's manual I am asking questions to prevent doing something stupid.

I'm going to use the ECT in the mountains of PA until I get to Ohio, should be 1 or 2 tanks of gas I figure. And then I'll be able to see if there is a big change in MPG. The trip to MN will hopefully be uneventful.

I used to live in Cocoa FL, Graduated from BCC; and lived in Mesilla,NM so I KNOW I'm in good company here!

 

I used the ECT on the way out to MN, and thought it was straining the engine. I did not use it on the way home to NJ, just left the Overdrive on and it ran the same. I am not sure if the speedo is working right, so I just cruised with the flow of traffic the best I could. I mainly ran the truck at 2500-3000 rpms max the whole trip. It seems to like 2000-2500 best for fuel mileage and handling IME.

 

4x4 auto V6... what mileage did you get? lol.

 

20+ MPG the roundtrip, mostly due to the mountains in PA and WS. I'm basing this on the tank being 13 gallons like i was told, and it fills; and running 265-285 miles with 1/8th tank left. What number do you come up with? I ran 2500 rpms most of the time/guessing it's 60mph

 

Hmm... Excab's have 17 gallons... 4x4 v6 xcabs should have 19gallons
265-285 shouldn't be too bad considering its a 4wd V6

 

Huh? I did not know the fuel tank on my 4x4 V6 Xcab is 19 gallons? I was told by someone it was 13 and stopped filling it at that! I'm going to see how much it will take the next fill up. I thought I was filling the tank at 13 gallons since it did not seem to take any more when being filled. So if it is 19 gallons divided by 275 miles= 14.5 mpg. That seems more realistic since it's a 4x4 V6.

 

I know the reg 2wd 22re's got 13-14 gallon tanks.

 

I wonder if the previous owner(s) had replaced the current gas tank from a salvage yard and got a 13 gallon tank instead of the 19 gallon? I know one time during my trip I had the gauge marker reading past the 1/8th mark, and had 285 miles on the OD. I dared not run out of fuel because I was in the hinter boonies of WS! That and I know that repriming a fuel injected engine is not something that's considered fun to do alone!