Is sluggish acceleration normal for a stock 5.7L Tundra?

I went and checked out a used 2020 Tundra Platinum Crewmax yesterday (50k miles). The truck has a solid service history, a little bit of that typical rear hitch rust that tells me the previous owner towed, but otherwise in great shape. The 4WD took a little bit longer to engage than I usually see, but it didn't slam or anything weird. So might've just been the parking lot speeds I was moving at.

The dealer did some solid service work when they took it in, and it rode fantastic. Super comfortable. All except the acceleration. I'm not ultra familiar with these Tundras, but I expected that V8 to put me back in the seat. It did not. Didn't even feel like it really wanted to break the rear tires loose. It felt exceptionally controlled/sedate.

Does this seem concerning to anyone, or is this normal for the 5.7L out of Toyota?

If this is normal for the stock 5.7L, I have a few ideas to address that throttle response:
- something like a cold air intake
- free-er flowing exhaust (expensive, but maybe down the line)
- something like a pedal commander

I'm going into this assuming I'll need to swap transmission fluid, and diff/transfer case fluids in the next 10-20k miles.

Just curious what tips you all might have on this. Thanks!

 

My 14's throttle response was slow compared to my 07's.

 

Reading through this forum I vaguely remember seeing someone say they drive their Tundra in tow/haul mode all the time. It makes things a little livelier. I'm coming off a turbocharged midsize truck, so I'm looking for a little excitement in my driving life.

 

The throttle response is pretty mild, I’m guessing for economy. Push the tow haul button and it remaps the throttle response for towing heavy trailers. Unloaded with tow/haul pushed it will be very snappy. There’s even a secret beast mode you can activate by pressing tow/haul and then holding down the traction control button for more than 3 seconds.

 

Either get a tune or pick up a throttle controller. Your stock air box is a cold air intake, you can do the SABM (stock air box mod), you can drop in an aFe filter, and switching the stock tubing (from air box to throttle body) to something that is more like a straight tube. All those should help the engine run better, will them magically make it faster, no. For a real change you will need to either tune, add a throttle controller, or supercharge. Upgrading the exhaust will help more if you have already done the above changes.

 

https://www.tundras.com/threads/general-supercharger-thread.85513/page-445

 

Perfect information. Pretty much confirms my suspicions. I'm not looking for power, I don't think, just better throttle response. It sounds like there's nothing wrong with the engine (no weird noises), it's just the mild stock settings. Much appreciated everyone!

 

It's definitely not peppy off the line with a normal pedal depression. If you stomp it, you can definitely chirp the tires from a stop/dry road. Tow Haul mode helps with the mapping and gives you a little more up your skirt if that's your thing. Tundra is a pig though and probably weighs twice your midsized truck and a comparison to anything turbocharged isn't really apples to apples.

As for your intended mods:
- CAI - dont. Tundras already have them.
- Look to a Dirty Deeds bolt on catback system. You'll get a little performance gain, but it's not like a turbo charger.
- I cant remember if it's Banks or Bullydog that makes the better "pedal commander" device, but some searching on the forum will answer that.

 

Banks

 

Oh great call out on the Banks/Bullydog device. I'll look into that right now! Thanks!

And sorry, I don't mean that I'm looking for turbocharged performance, i just mean that I like a little excitement in my drive, is all. Apologies if I didn't communicate that very well.

As a follow-up, the sticker in the door panel of this Platinum CM Tundra (4x4) said a payload of 1,180 pounds. The salesman insisted it's 1,600, with a tow capacity of 9,400 pounds. I'm pretty sure the tow capacity is 9,400 if it was 4x2, but it's 8,800 with the 4x4. The payload one tho.... Like c'mon, it's 1,180 like the door sticker says, right??

 

It's the sticker. Some members have gotten on the scales and found the sticker was off by 50ish or so lbs (in our favor). YMMV

 

Banks for the win, but a tune would be way better.

 

Torque comes in at higher RPMs on Naturally Aspirated (NA) vehicles like the Tundra 5.7L compared to forced air induction. This gets worse at higher elevations as well. Not sure where you live.

Plus these weigh 5,700 lbs compared to the lighter truck you were in before.

It may feel slower but the 5.7L Tundra accelerates well.

A 2022 Ford ranger does 0 to 60 in 6.8 seconds to a 2020 Tundras 6.4.

Edit: I daily drive a work provided 2020 Silverado 2.7L 4 cylinder turbo and own a 2018 Tundra. The chevy feels faster yet isn't. Chevy is 7.1s 0 to 60mph to the Tundra's 6.4s

 

Great data and points! Yeah, the turbo torque (especially now that twin scroll turbos have helped reduce turbo lag) feels great. I appreciate the info!

 

Hit the tow/haul button and see if it feels better.

 

My '08 5.7 is scary fast when I floor it, even with 225k miles on it.

My '21 is a lot slower. I like driving the '08 more.

 

They changed the throttle mapping from Gen 2 to Gen 2.5 (2014+) Tundras.

 

If you want to snap necks and smoke your tires, tow/haul button and then turn traction control completely off.

https://www.tundras.com/threads/trac-control-off-tow-haul-beast-mode-confirmed.8116/#post-121137

 

I'll say they did!

 

Watch out for groups of 35+ mailboxes in a row though.

 

That scares me if the salesman is insisting payload numbers from a brochure compared to what the actual truck states. That means he has no idea what he's doing other than trying to regurgitate information he read online and closing a sale. But then again, he's a salesman...

 

I think the fake spontaneously self flooring Gas pedal shit show from a few years ago had something to do with it. There were accelerator recalls to existing trucks but they may have changed the throttle setup from factory in years after that. My 09 was strong and linear and responsive at all speeds and then I was pestered by family into allowing the accelerator recall. The first attempt gave it a hair trigger feel. My wife would lose her shit at me because just going over rutted roads would make my gas pedal foot shiver and cause the truck to lurch. She'd flip out at me and I'd tell her it had something to do with the gas pedal recall she made me do.

Then the accelerator had a recall "fix" done to it to smoothen the response back out and I don't think it was ever quite the same as before they started molesting it.

 

I was arare of this from the beginning as well.

Any service, I specifically said to the tech, do not mess with the accelerating software/hardware!

 

My Tundra is sluggish, but like others mentioned, turn on tow haul mode and it is quite responsive, so the power is there, just not realized. That's why there is an aftermarket of throttle response controllers out there.

Also, the CAI is a waste of money, don't do it or expect any appreciable performance upgrade.

On a side note, you mention that you believe the truck may have towed. I would recommend you get a scan tool that has the ability to read the "thermal degradation" counter on it. Not to turn this into a "do I need a transmission cooler" thread, but it's worth looking into the value on the counter...since the 2019-2021 doesn't have a cooler.

 

I have an OBDII USB device to plug into my laptop. Would that work to pull the thermal degradation counter info? Or I assume I can go to an auto parts store for their scanner and it might pull it. This is great info. One of the things the dealer did was replace the rear brakes (not the fronts). I read some Toyota literature that the Tundra tow/haul mode simulates a mechanical limited slip diff by using the rear brakes in some way. That could explain why the rears were more worn, and it might also indicate the previous owner towed a lot more than usual. Just a thought. Again, the truck drove absolutely fabulous. It was a pleasure to drive with no thunks, clunks, or anything like that. So it's probably fine, but I appreciate this advice. It's a good "trust, but verify" action to take.

 

Banks PM (iDash highly recommended) and a SABM will give you exactly what you are looking for:

 

Seriously? Which years was this offered?

 

My father had a 2011, who he gifted to my brother in law with about 194k on odometer and that thing still literally jumps off the line when you accelerate in comparison to my 2018 and now my dads 2019. Massive difference.

 

The 2014+ trucks with Tow/haul and VSC button can do it. It’s impressive.