North Australian FISH FINDER TM forums

Any one had or heard of issues towing long distances with a 2002 manual Hi Lux? It has the 3.3 litre petrol engine, I know that's not going to be a problem but the matter of Hi Lux gearboxes does seem to raise a few memories of them not being all that good for towing, especially using top gear.

Any advice appreciated.

I don't think its good to use overdrive (6th gear) when towing. I never had a problem, but I don't think is recommended.

Hilux have never had a good gearbox when it comes to towing...
I was reading an article recently from Toyota, it's the main issue they are
addressing for the next series soon to be released.

I had a 05 with the 3.4l V6, did plenty of towing and 4Wding and the gearbox gave up at 110000km. I worked it pretty hard in that time so not to sure a reflection on the Toyota box or my miss treatment of it!!

All 4 cylinder gear boxes may give out prematurely under heavy towing (hilux, triton, courier, bt50, dmax etc..).

If you avoid towing in 5th and have discipline to stay in 4th you will probably get away with it for a lot longer. Good advice for both cruisers and patrols etc... too

Never tow in overdrive. im no mechanic but i know how much it cost to replace a gearbox solely due to towing a caravan in top gear.
no probs in an auto of course. they have more brains than us humans

Have an 05 hilux diesel auto, its the wifes car, and have to say it tows my 6m boat like a piece of poop. Would say my little 2.8L triton manual does a better job, put it down to being an auto.

mike davis wrote:Have an 05 hilux diesel auto, its the wifes car, and have to say it tows my 6m boat like a piece of poop. Would say my little 2.8L triton manual does a better job, put it down to being an auto.

I have the 05 SR but in the manual . I don't tow in 5 th but it tows my 6m platey fairly good. My tyres are on the bigger side so itd sits on 100 km comfortably. Any more it just sucks all the diesel for little gain. Gear box is ok but I just replaced the clutch in my Lux at 150 k. I would say over 80-90k would be towing my boat.

Mike can you elaborate on " piece of poo" as I'm considering upgrading to the auto in 12 months or so.

I've got a 2014 Hilux D4 Auto, from this model they upgraded the auto gearbox to a 5 speed which I think is the same as the prado. I had the same vehicle but in the a manual previous to this and I think the Auto does a much better job towing my boat. With the introduction of the 5 speed auto they whole gearing is different and it's fantastic to drive.

I have an 08 GX 120 Prado D4D turbo diesel 6 speed manual and have never had any probs towing my 4.6 Renegade, I always tow in 5th but not in 6th. I forget the boat is even on the back sometimes

Thanks fellas, sounds like stay out of top gear and she'll be fine

For sure Dick. Just do a google search of towing in top gear and read the proper replies - ie not from people who say they have done it with no problems so far.
listen to the mechanics.
I blew up a gearbox nth of Broken Hill from doing just that. trying to save fuel (even on flat country) and putting it in top gear (5th) even on flat terrain
turned out it was cheaper to get a new box than pay for the repairs. so much for saving fuel hey! $4k for the box

from what i remember, it is all to do with the overdrive gear being much smaller than the main gears and they just cant handle it.

in the auto there are no problems because the gear boxs will shift before any damage is caused

towing in 5th under 85km is not ideal or up steep inclines when she works hard and is under load. On a flat hwy over a long distance she is fine in 5th just drop to 4th if climbing a hill and she starts to drop off speed. Thats when 5th will blow.
Basicly its the same in all gearboxs, 5th- 6th are simply a overdriven gear and are small in comparison to other gears which is where the problem arrises
Doesnt matter what 4wd it is they all are in the same boat in this regard but even though im a Toyota man the best manuals are patrol boxes but just cant stand the pushrod boat anchor its attached too

Thanks Nomad and Scottie

Hey Balou, I generally tow from kununurra to wyndham which has a lot of hills in its 100km of road, usually take the hilux as my triton is only a two seater. The 05 hilux automis only a four speed so I tow in 3rd gear all the way sometimes in 2nd up some of the bigger hills. Most of the time top speed will be no more than 90km. Saying that I have driven my dads 2010 manual hilux and it seemed to handle my boat a lot better than the 05 auto hilux. Wen we do upgade will be leaning more to the manual side in either a hilux or landcruiser