Afrigather A part of the attract of proudly owning a Toyota Tundra pickup truck, even the sensible Tundra Platinum Hybrid, is its “work arduous and play even tougher” angle, based on Toyota. In the course of the course of its duties, the Tundra may see alternatives to drive by way of water deeper than an ordinary mud puddle, whether or not it is navigating flooded streets or fording mountain streams. And whereas there are different security considerations to bear in mind when driving your truck off-road, water crossings are among the many most critical.
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We advise warning when driving by way of any physique of water that does not assist you to see the driving floor beneath it because of its depth or lack of readability. Flood waters, particularly if fast-moving, can take away whole sections of roadways and bridges with out warning. Even a slow-moving stream may include a deep channel hidden in its depths.
Nevertheless, so long as the floor beneath the water is appropriate, the Toyota Tundra can deal with water as much as 28 inches deep. After all, you may have to take some precautions and repeatedly monitor the scenario whereas driving slowly by way of deep water.
Toyota’s suggestions for driving by way of deep water
In keeping with the proprietor’s guide for the 2023 Toyota Tundra, half of the present third-generation line of Toyota Tundra vans, driving by way of water as much as 28 inches deep is feasible for vans geared up with electronically modulated air suspension. This expertise gives three settings for the Tundra’s trip top: Low (LO), Regular (N), and Excessive (HI).
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The air suspension’s HI-mode raises the truck body and physique 1.6 inches above the conventional N-mode and is appropriate “for driving on bumpy roads” beneath 18 mph. Driving quicker than this causes the air suspension to return to regular top. LO-mode is designed to make passenger entry and exit, in addition to loading and unloading cargo, simpler by dropping the truck’s top 1.2 inches beneath regular trip top. The LO trip top mode returns to regular at speeds over 8 mph.
Toyota recommends using HI mode when crossing water deeper than 20 inches and locking out the self-leveling characteristic by switching the air suspension system into guide mode. Whereas in guide mode at HI trip top, speeds ought to stay beneath 18 mph because the truck’s greater middle of gravity may make it simpler to tip over.
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The results of driving by way of water that is too deep
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The 2023 Toyota Tundra proprietor’s guide cautions that subjecting the Tundra to water depths that attain the doorways, exceeding ground top, may lead to critical harm to its electronics. The outcomes may embody energy home windows not working, the engine stalling, and the truck being unable to maneuver beneath its personal energy.
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In excessive instances of driving into deep water, you might end up in an emergency scenario, caught inside a automobile that will not transfer. Toyota recommends exiting the truck with warning if it turns into caught within the water. If the doorways or home windows can’t be opened because of the water’s depth, the proprietor’s guide says to stay calm and await rescue or open the door after the cab fills with sufficient water to equalize the strain. Breaking a aspect or again window earlier than the water rises is an possibility if the instruments can be found, however keep away from attempting to interrupt the windshield as its laminated glass is tougher to shatter.
Even when an emergency scenario is averted, driving into excessively deep water can have critical penalties in your truck past ruining its electronics. If water enters the truck’s engine by way of the consumption manifold whereas it is working, it may trigger the engine to hydrolock. On the very least, this situation requires the elimination of all of the spark plugs to pump the undesirable water from the engine’s cylinders. At worst, it may harm the engine’s inner elements, together with pistons, connecting rods, and crankshafts.
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