Paddle Shifters?

[Piggy]

Well, in case anyone wants to jump down this rabbit hole, someone is already selling "genuine" paddles on ebay: Toyota Genuine Land Cruiser 250 paddle shift switch left and right Set | eBay

 

[Piggy]

Found this:

TOYOTA GENUINE PADDLE SHIFT For LAND CRUISER 250 VX

Transform your Land Cruiser 250 VX with the TOYOTA GENUINE PADDLE SHIFT for enhanced driving performance. Order now and elevate your ride!

easycars.jp

 

[perigree]

Note on the engine response, not only is the LC much heavier, but under heavy throttle application I’ve noticed it occasionally gives up on applying hybrid power. I believe the electric motor controller can lose sync with the engine output shaft when RPMs rise rapidly and abort supplementing power to not bog down the engine. Also note there’s potentially multiple clutch packs that need to engage. Engine output shaft clutch pack to electric motor module, and then transmission input shaft to whatever is going on in the transmission (would not be surprised if there’s some combination of clutch packs in there as well).

I will be following this thread as well. I came from. A MK7.5 Golf R DSG and used the paddles extensively to select gears.

The main use case for me that affects both the Golf R and LC surprisingly is sport will keep your revs high, e.g. it’ll force you to cruise on the highways 1 gear down from the top. So for the LC, 7th and sit at 2k rpms. With paddles it’s nice to be able to leave the engine response in sport, but be able to shift up and down from there based on conditions I can see ahead. Mostly opportunities for passing, it’s nice to be able to downshift preemptively and then get on the throttle. Or shift up to tallest gear when it’s clear.

The transmission shifter gear select is sadly inverted from God’s chosen configuration otherwise I’d be happy with that.

 

[Nuke]

Note on the engine response, not only is the LC much heavier, but under heavy throttle application I’ve noticed it occasionally gives up on applying hybrid power. I believe the electric motor controller can lose sync with the engine output shaft when RPMs rise rapidly and abort supplementing power to not bog down the engine. Also note there’s potentially multiple clutch packs that need to engage. Engine output shaft clutch pack to electric motor module, and then transmission input shaft to whatever is going on in the transmission (would not be surprised if there’s some combination of clutch packs in there as well).

I will be following this thread as well. I came from. A MK7.5 Golf R DSG and used the paddles extensively to select gears.

The main use case for me that affects both the Golf R and LC surprisingly is sport will keep your revs high, e.g. it’ll force you to cruise on the highways 1 gear down from the top. So for the LC, 7th and sit at 2k rpms. With paddles it’s nice to be able to leave the engine response in sport, but be able to shift up and down from there based on conditions I can see ahead. Mostly opportunities for passing, it’s nice to be able to downshift preemptively and then get on the throttle. Or shift up to tallest gear when it’s clear.

The transmission shifter gear select is sadly inverted from God’s chosen configuration otherwise I’d be happy with that.

I sure hope the engine output clutch pack is durable. That concern me a bit. Time will tell.

 

[perigree]

I sure hope the engine output clutch pack is durable. That concern me a bit. Time will tell.

Agreed, for what it’s worth, my understanding is wet clutch packs, both hardware and software wise, are pretty robust. I suspect the syncing between the different pieces of drive train is where the complexity lives.

Regardless, I’ve been very happy with the powertrain so far. 20k miles in under a year of ownership. The paddle shifters are really just a nitpick nice to have.

 

[basicxj]

Ours has the paddle shifters from the assembly line paired with the Premium package.

I never had much occasion to use them, but since stepping up to slightly taller tires I find them helpful to quickly bump it down a gear to avoid lugging (worst in Eco mode) up a slight grade. It will downshift for a brief period showing the actual gear on the dash cluster before reverting to "D" on the display. In "Normal" or "Sport" modes I don't see a need to use the paddle shifters.

I can agree the paddle shifters are a nice inclusion, but one day I will have to see what the difference in transmission behaviour is with the manual mode on the actual shifter to compare.

 

[basicxj]

Found this:

TOYOTA GENUINE PADDLE SHIFT For LAND CRUISER 250 VX

Transform your Land Cruiser 250 VX with the TOYOTA GENUINE PADDLE SHIFT for enhanced driving performance. Order now and elevate your ride!

easycars.jp

According to their currency conversion, about $129 in USD. Not bad for those wanting to add them.

 

[basicxj]

Quick update after trying out manual mode on the shifter as opposed to paddle shifters on the way to work- as expected, manual mode holds the gear selected until the shifter receives input to upshift or downshift from that gear. When in “D” the upshifts or downshifts with paddle shifters only makes a temporary gear change that reverts to “D” and normal automatic transmission shifting behaviour after a few seconds.

I can see how both manual mode or paddle shifters could be useful- in traffic or off road. The next test will be to see if placing the shifter in manual mode and using paddle shifters will allow upshifts or downshifts that stay in the selected gear.

^^ attempted forced upshift to 2nd with paddle shifter in manual mode at a stop

^^ attempted forced upshift to 2nd with paddle shifter in “D” at a stop

^^ FWIW, straight manual mode won’t upshift to 2nd at a stop

The paddle shifters appear to be locked out when the shifter is placed in manual mode, so I’ll have to try that at speed on the highway commute home. If the paddle shifters remain locked out at speed in manual mode, I could see that negating motivation for people to add the paddle shifters. More playing around required

 

[Mtn40]

When in “D” the upshifts or downshifts with paddle shifters only makes a temporary gear change that reverts to “D” and normal automatic transmission shifting behaviour after a few seconds.

This is the functionality I'm after and was hoping someone would verify.
Thanks for testing this!

 

[basicxj]

Final update- when you are driving and select manual mode with the shifter, I can confirm you can shift up/down using the paddle shifters and it will hold the chosen gear.

Whether I am ever going to do that, that is a different story. The Land Cruiser doesn't typically get mistaken for a GTi. I won't be driving it like one

 

[Piggy]

^ attempted forced upshift to 2nd with paddle shifter in manual mode at a stop

Now you guys in North America with your proper hybrids have a (slightly) different transmission from the rest of us, so I don't know how applicable these things will be.

In the video, at 24:00, he is able to change gears while stopped, I though it was odd and I'm glad that confirmed that this isn't normal!!

I have changing gears in manual mode at a stand still, that didn't work for me either.

In general is always a very narrow window when the transmission will actually change gears in manual mode, and it drops down rather quickly without input for me, if they revs get low.

At 25:44, the cluster says "6"th gear at 44km/h.

I'm pretty sure mine won't switch to 6th until around 60 or 65 km/h, IIRC, it definitely won't switch to 8th under 97km/h (61mph) in Eco, usually have to be over 101 (62mph) in Sport, it drops down to 7th at 92km/h (57mph).

Is this generally how manual mode works for you guys??

 

[basicxj]

Now you guys in North America with your proper hybrids have a (slightly) different transmission from the rest of us, so I don't know how applicable these things will be.

In the video, at 24:00, he is able to change gears while stopped, I though it was odd and I'm glad that confirmed that this isn't normal!!

I have changing gears in manual mode at a stand still, that didn't work for me either.

In general is always a very narrow window when the transmission will actually change gears in manual mode, and it drops down rather quickly without input for me, if they revs get low.

At 25:44, the cluster says "6"th gear at 44km/h.

I'm pretty sure mine won't switch to 6th until around 60 or 65 km/h, IIRC, it definitely won't switch to 8th under 97km/h (61mph) in Eco, usually have to be over 101 (62mph) in Sport, it drops down to 7th at 92km/h (57mph).

Is this generally how manual mode works for you guys??

When I have some time, will have to look for the video you mention.

 

[Piggy]

I ended up ordering the paddle shifters from EasyCar and they have arrived!

 

[basicxj]

Excellent. Look forward to hearing your thoughts on how they perform for you.

 

[GR8Santini]

Looks like this Australian Hilux GR steering wheel w/ paddle shifters might be an option to try. Too rich for me…

Toyota LC300 & Hilux GR Sport Steering Wheel Grey Stitching Fortuner Genuine OEM | eBay

This is the highly sought after GR Sport Steering wheel to suit Hilux N80 / Revo / Tacoma / Fortuner along with many other Toyota Models, this wheel will not fit the Land Cruiser 300 Series as the shaft is bigger on LC300.

ebay.us

 

[Piggy]

Paddle shifters installed but they don't work.

 

[basicxj]

Paddle shifters installed but they don't work.

 

[Piggy]

Tested paddles and the cable, the resistances are to spec.

What else could I be missing?

Does the spiral cable just have pins that aren't connected to anything?

 

[basicxj]

Mine came equipped with the paddle shifters. I didn't see any options to enable/disable paddle shift when I connected Carista.

I can't speak for Toyota specific software to say whether they have to be coded for the vehicle or enabled (but it is a possibility). Your local dealer may know.

 

[Doc57]

Tested paddles and the cable, the resistances are to spec.

What else could I be missing?

Does the spiral cable just have pins that aren't connected to anything?

I'm new to the Toyota world, but I've owned and modified many cars and 4x4s, and with every model from the last 20 years, whenever I've added a new gadget or replaced a part needed for the electronics to function, even OEM parts, I've had to register it with the car's ECU. I would try that first, then double-check all the connections, and finally verify that the hardware has all the necessary connections with the software. Good luck, and let us know how it goes.