2019 Triton tn6vrx47

[sean14]

I have searched the forum and can't seem to find any info on th automatic box overheating warning.
I tow a trailer boat of approximately 1400kg all up.
On a recent short trip on a hot day_30 degrees Celsius whilst towing up a moderate hill ( estimate 4 km).I received a dash warning light and alarm which said "slow down,automatic box is overheating".On speaking with my mitsi dealership,I was told that this is nothing to be concerned over.
My Triton has traveled some 14000 km so is relatively new.
My TRITON dealership suggested that on a re-occcurance that I pull over and allow the transmission to cool down before proceeding. As the Triton is designed to tow 3.5 tone ,surely this is a design shortfall? This seems to be unreasnable? We have no aftermarket bars ,lights etc to impede airflow to the cooling systems.
Does Anyone else have the same issue with the new Triton?

Thanks in advance

[mitzi1]

Mate did you have it locked in a gear like 4th gear? You could have been driving in a gear that wasn't locked up causing a high revving motor and over heating. Towing 1.5 tonne up a 4km hill in an unlocked gear would cause a bit of slippage and heating of the trans fluid. Not saying you've done anything wrong just that this is a possible cause. The triton handbook is pretty uninformative about a few things.
Cheers

[sean14]

thank you mitzi1 for your input, you are spot on with regards to the manual.

I'm not sure which gear the Ute was in when the warning light popped up on the dash. I recall depressing the Accelerator pedal a few moments before the warning buzzer went off so as to encourage a down shift on the hill as it felt as if the vehicle was laboring,the engine was definitely not over revving,nor could i sence abnormal slippage.
Not that im an expert in the field,however Having spend several years (40 plus)behind the wheel of various 4x4 vehicles as well as growing up driving on very soft sandy areas ,I m not at all impressed that a vehicle "designed in the desert" can not pull a relatively small load on a sealed surface without an overheat warning ,I fear this is not the end of the story for me and possibly several other users in the future. Some of my own research shows aftermarket oil coolers as being a "fix" to this issue,I however feel that the vehicle should be fit for purpose in that it is broadly marketed as being capable of towing 3.5 tons, I personally feel this is misrepresented.

[mitzi1]

try getting your radiator clutch fan checked. The auto trans oil is cooled through the radiator. If it is O.K. consider an aftermarket transmission cooler. Many people fit them , it's quite a normal accessory for people who tow. Mate the days of the old big bore lazy diesels that lasted a million kms are long gone. This is the era of the European type diesel, a tiny dinky toy size engine pushing out enough power to move a mountain, impossibly complex and pre assembled before being squeezed into a tiny engine bay where it is impossible to work on and has no room for any meaningful air flow round the engine. Engine life is also considerably less. If you require your truck to do anything but light work with an empty tray, mods are a way of life. Sad but true. This not meant as a criticism of the triton it a normal modern 4wd and needs a few mods like all the others. The triton is actually better than most. The engine bay is pretty good and most things are easily accessible by comparison.
Cheers.

[mitzi1]

Just in addition to that. These model car engines they put in our fourbies now are fine in many countries like in Europe, Japan, and Northern America where it snows. Here in Australia where we have a real outback and rough roads and blazing heat and sandy tracks they are not suitable for anything but light towing, The cooling systems are also much to small. One of the manufacturers is marketing a vehicle with a 2.2l bi-turbo motor. I'm waiting fr one of them to start singing the praises of their new 1.5l tri-turbo diesel producing 150kw and 520 nm of torque. All this in a 2 tonne 4wd with a 4 tonne towing capacity. It is insane, but we have to make do with what is on the market and modify it to suit our purpose.
The other thing to consider is the transmission. For towing a manual is much better. First you are always in a locked gear and in total control of the vehicle. Second in an auto the transmission oil cooling lines go through the bottom radiator tank, decreasing the amount of coolant circulating and as the colling system heats up so does the transmission oil causing problems with transmission performance.
Cheers

[sean14]

Thank you for your insight,yes modern auto diesel wagons are really a new concept to grasp.
Our old 3.8 pajero was a way better vehicle,although very thirsty.
Looks like I will be looking at an additional trany cooler for peace of mind.

Thanks again.

[rhr]

MR ritons run a separate external transmission cooler standard and im 90% sure the MQ's do as well. If you look behind the grill on drivers side you should be able to see the cooler. Its between the air con heat exchange and part of the intercooler.

The torque converter the MR 6 speed auto locks in 3rd and 4th gear under acceleration but unlocks when not. 5th and 6th under acceleration and when not accelerating.

The torque converter in the 5 speed auto MQ only locks 4th and 5th gear under acceleration. As soon as your off the pedal it unkocks.

I suggest manually changing gears when towing up hill. This will stop the gear box selecting a higher gear with the unlocked torque converter and as others have said generating more heat. You should be able to feel the difference when I locks.

3rd will lock at 30kmh and 4th at 50. Generally 5th will lock aroind 70 and 6th 85 or so.

Ive towed vans, pop top campers, boats and camper trailers using this method and never run into any problems.

[Domso]

Does any one think it’s worthwhile getting a transmission temp gauge or OBD2 to monitor trans temp? My previous tug had trans temp and Copland temp readout as standard and I found it useful to monitor both when towing. Surprised that the MR Triton doesn’t have the same.