Checklist for settings for towing?

[Sierra4]

I bought a trailer, and need to tow it home. I have not towed anything on my 2024 Land Cruiser before.

When i open the Owners Manual to the the towing section, i see a pointer to the Brake Controller section of the manual, and pointers to 8 safety features that need to be disabled.

If i disable the features, can i expect them to stay disabled across restarts of the LC?

I have a button on the right side of my steering wheel labeled "tow/haul", I can not find it mentioned in the Towing section of the owners manual. What does it do? Will it disable some of the 8 safety features automatically.

Has anyone created a single check list of all the settings that need to be adjusted, along with the disabling steps? My first reaction was that i need to make a checklist with instructions for each step, but i thought someone else might have done that.

 

[RideWithYanu]

Hey! I quickly generated this based on what’s available on the Owner’s Manual and what owners have shared based on their own reports. I sanity checked it, but will disclaim that I rarely tow with my J250 so am not experienced in this topic. Please validate for yourself for accuracy and against your own reasoning.

The source column says where each claim comes from:

• Toyota: the owner's manual or an official Toyota document
• LCF: an owner report on Land Cruiser Forum
• Tacoma: an owner report from the Tacoma forum (same TNGA-F platform and same TDA system)

Source documents

• 2024 Land Cruiser Owner's Manual (OM60U35U), PDF. This is Toyota's manual, hosted by LCF; the LCF index thread links the originals on Toyota's site.
• Toyota: MY25 Land Cruiser Driving Support Systems excerpt. This is the newer version of the TDA section.
• 2024 Quick Reference Guide. Covers the Tow/Haul switch and indicators.
• Toyota: 2025 Warranty & Maintenance Guide. Lists the towing maintenance schedule.

Short answers

Question	Answer	Source
What does Tow/Haul do?	It changes engine, transmission, and steering behavior for towing. The manual doesn't link it to any of the 8 systems.	Toyota: p.234
	Owners confirm it doesn't turn off the sensors	LCF: backup sensor thread, Tow Button complaint
	It cancels itself in L4, Drive Mode, or MTS. Turning it on also cancels Eco and Sport.	Toyota: p.235, p.436
	It keeps the engine running at stops, which costs fuel economy	LCF: Tow/Haul mode; Houghton 15k review
What turns off automatically?	Plugging in the 7-pin turns off the rear parking sensors, RCD, and PKSB	Toyota: p.212 footnotes
Can the truck do it for me?	Partly. Trailer Drive Assist (TDA) does when a trailer is detected on the factory brake controller. A prompt appears on the dash and you accept it. TDA then turns off LTA, LCA, PDA, and Emergency Driving Stop. LDA gives alerts only, parts of PCS are switched off, and DRCC stays available.	Toyota: p.266–267; MY25 excerpt
	Tacoma owners report TDA stays on until you answer "No" to the prompt after unhooking	Tacoma: 4GTaco TDA thread
	Early 2024 owners said the truck didn't recognize a trailer at all. That was probably before the TDA software update.	LCF: New from UK, Towing and adaptive cruise

The 8 systems: how to turn each off, and whether it stays off after a restart

System	How to turn it off	After a restart	Source
LTA	LTA button, right side of the wheel	Manual doesn't say. Owners say it stays off. TDA also blocks it.	Toyota: p.284; LCF: Lane Keep Assist
LDA	Dash settings menu	Manual doesn't say. Owners say it stays off.	Toyota: p.293, p.661; LCF: Lane Keep Assist
DRCC	Don't select it. Use regular cruise control from the mode switch instead. The manual warns not to use full-speed DRCC when towing.	You pick it each drive, so nothing resets	Toyota: p.213, p.318
BSM	Dash settings menu	Turns back ON every start	Toyota: p.331–332
Intuitive Parking Assist	Rear sensors go off automatically with the 7-pin	If you turn it off manually, it stays off	Toyota: p.340
RCTA	Dash settings menu	Turns back ON every start	Toyota: p.346
RCD	Automatic with the 7-pin	Would turn back on at a restart, but the 7-pin covers it	Toyota: p.212, p.352
PKSB	Automatic with the 7-pin. There's also a manual button on the lower left of the dash.	If you turn it off manually, it stays off	Toyota: p.356–357
PCS (not on the list)	Dash settings menu	Turns back ON every start	Toyota: p.281; LCF: PCS default off

Why it matters: a UK owner reports that leaving LTA and LDA on caused trailer sway (LCF: New from UK). Owners also say that once LTA is off, DRCC works with a trailer plugged into the 7-pin (LCF: Towing and adaptive cruise). Toyota's p.213 warning still says not to use full-speed DRCC when towing.

Checklist

One-time setup

• Break-in: no towing for the first 500 miles. For the next 500 miles of towing, stay under 45 mph and avoid full throttle. p.222
• Weight limits: p.212–216
  • Trailer: 6,000 lb max
  • Unbraked trailer: 1,650 lb max
  • Tongue weight: 9–11% of trailer weight
  • Over 2,000 lb: sway control device required
  • Over 5,000 lb: weight-distributing hitch required
  • Over 3,000 lb: two axles recommended
  • Total weight of truck plus trailer must stay under the GCWR for your model, listed on p.215
• Brake controller: p.455–457
  • Select the brake type first. This resets gain to 0, and a gain of 0 means no trailer braking at all.
  • Set gain to 5.0 as a starting point.
  • At 20–25 mph, push the manual slider all the way.
  • Adjust gain until it's just below the point where the trailer wheels lock up.
  • Owners say this setup isn't clear in the manual. LCF: tiny turbo tow

Before each trip p.211, p.213, p.220

• Tire pressures on truck and trailer, trailer sitting level, ball height matches the coupler, cargo secured, mirrors legal
• Safety chains attached, lights tested. Recheck after a short drive.
• The 7-pin sits right next to the exhaust, so route the cable away from it. Camp-Inn Forum

Every time you start the truck

• Accept the TDA prompt on the dash
• LTA off, LDA off
• Turn BSM and RCTA off again, since they come back on every start
• Use regular cruise control, not DRCC
• Press Tow/Haul. Shifting to L4 or picking a drive mode cancels it.
• If you use driver profiles (My Settings), check the settings after switching drivers, since profiles can overwrite them

Driving p.212, p.220–222

• 65 mph max, or lower if posted or if your trailer's limit is lower
• Following distance: one truck-and-trailer length per 10 mph
• On downhills, don't leave it in D. Use M with gear 6 or lower.
• If the trailer sways: hold the wheel straight, ease off the gas gradually, and don't brake
• When parking: chock the wheels of both the truck and the trailer

After the trip

• Retighten the hitch ball and bracket bolts after about 600 miles of towing. p.222
• Pull the hitch ball when you're not towing. p.217
• Turn everything back on, and answer "No" to the TDA prompt.
• Towing puts the truck on Toyota's special operating conditions maintenance schedule, which adds front/rear differential and transfer case oil changes, propeller shaft lubrication and bolt checks, and chassis bolt torque checks. Toyota Warranty & Maintenance Guide, maintenance chart, footnote 9.

The manual links only jump straight to the page in browsers that support #page= on PDFs (Chrome, Firefox, Safari desktop). On a phone, they may open at page 1.

 

[DubDub]

1 question, 2 statements:

1) What kind of trailer? If like me, and you don’t have trailer brakes (enclosed utility trailer for my lawn mowing side hustle), the trailer brake controller is useless.
2) The tow/haul button (as far as I am aware) is all about shifting pattern. I find it useless for my towing application (<3klbs, less than 45mph on flat grades from property to property).
3) Read through what @RideWithYanu posted for sure. The nannies are the most annoying part of towing, especially in reverse. Remember the exploding cone. It needs to be diffused or your dash, well, explodes!

 

[RideWithYanu]

1 question, 2 statements:

1) What kind of trailer? If like me, and you don’t have trailer brakes (enclosed utility trailer for my lawn mowing side hustle), the trailer brake controller is useless.
2) The tow/haul button (as far as I am aware) is all about shifting pattern. I find it useless for my towing application (<3klbs, less than 45mph on flat grades from property to property).
3) Read through what @RideWithYanu posted for sure. The nannies are the most annoying part of towing, especially in reverse. Remember the exploding cone. It needs to be diffused or your dash, well, explodes!

If you don’t have the Nannie’s off with a trailer hitched, the first time you shift into reverse the system will demonstrate what it looks like for a machine to experience a panic attack. It’s really quite humorous, except you have somewhere to go!

 

[GR8Santini]

Yanu - You awesome, great info sir!
Deserves its own technical area under towing.

The LC tows really nice when you take time to setup correctly.

• Gotta understand the Nannie’s. When I turn off the LC I have to go back through my tow check list.
• Safety first. It’s really tight around the receiver hitch. I find adding a screw on chain link on each receiver chain loop makes hooking up safety chains easier.
• Make sure your lights work. You’ll be using either 4 or 7-pin depending on the trailer size. The LC only recognizes that a trailer is back there with the 7-pin connector, not the 4-pin.
• Go slow, & just enjoy the right lane if on the highway. By the way, the Premium's camera system is nice for keeping an occasionally eye on what’s going on back there.
• Use tow mode. This changes the throttle pedal response, & helps keeps the powertrain in the torque band with shift selection. Don’t be surprised if your LC doesn't go into OD @ highway speed.
• Balance the tongue weight correctly by how you load the trailer.
• The mirrors actually work pretty well trailering.
• The electric brakes are to assist, but don’t depend on them. Brake very early. Do as you see fit. My test is after loading the trailer to set the brake controller gain while in a parking lot, sitting still in Drive, & move the dash brake controller lever to full & adjust the gain so it just barely holds the vehicle & trailer from rolling.
• When loaded & @ highway speeds she’s going to get thirsty - you’re going to now understand just how small a 17.9G fuel tank is!

 

[Bad1975]

TOW/HAUL also affects VSC and ABS via the Trailer Sway Control which will use a combination of vehicle and trailer brakes if equip'd to limit and control the sway if detected, so it's more important to use than just for managing the shift pattern.

This is also the reason it's important to properly setup the brake control per the load being used.

I've had the system activate once towing across the desert in my Tundra and can say IME it's quite effective, it disabled cruise control when I crested a hill entering into a long valley and was met with immediate strong side winds and applied the trailer and vehicle brakes and immediately got the sudden sway under control. Almost needed a diaper on that one.

Admittedly I don't use it all the time when towing on either platform, because it will often hold lower gears for way too long IME, so if it's not windy or allot of grades I will turn it off completely or only use when not climbing grades. If windy it is on and only gets turned off momentarily to allow a gear change sooner. In the Tundra it will also apply brakes including the transmission brake on descents whether using Cruise Control or not, not sure what the 250 does, but it doesn't have a trans brake like the tundra.