How do you drive 5 speed manual?

I've driven dozens of cars and trucks with manual trannys with no problems. Toyotas are unique. My truck is a 2010 base model, access cab with 2.7l engine and 5 speed manual transmission.
I'm at the point of trading this piece of crap for another vehicle. The transmission sucks big time! I find it very hard to drive in stop and go traffic. First gear can only be engaged if the speed is below 3-5 MPH. And I have to literally force it in. Second gear can be engaged just fine at almost any speed but the engine vibrates a lot of the speed is below about 15 mph. So I either have to come to almost complete stop and use first gear or shift into second and burn the clutch to pull out to above 15 mph.
Is it just my truck? Anyone else have similar problem? It's very frustrating.
The truck has almost 15,000 miles and it does not seem to improve any.
Also sometime I can't shift into reverse at all. I have to slightly move the truck and then use a lot of force to shift. My wife refuses to drive it because of the crappy transmission. She owned several cars with stick shit as well and knows how to drive it.
Maybe Toyota gets their parts from China these days? It sure makes me wonder.
Now cabin fan makes terrible chirping noise. It's about to drive me nuts.
Clutch peday was making a lot of popping noise until I greased the pedal cam. Are they saving on grease now?
What a piece of crap truck I bought!

 

Get a 1 gen tacoma with a 5-speed. The 5-speed 1 gen tacomas don't have a problem shifting.

 

I have my 06 that is in my profile and I have a company issued 09 reg cab 4cyl 5speed 5 lug for work. Both trucks do not have the blower chirp, they both DO have the clutch pedal noise. As far as driving and shifting, the 09 works great, I wish I could swap that trans into my own truck in place of the six speed trans. I have none of the issues that you describe. Maybe yours still needs some break in time? I started driving my company truck when it already had 35K on it.

 

This is my 3rd Tacoma a 2008 6 cyl. access cab and as far as I'm concerned it's the worst of the three. I really had no complaints of my other two both had over 150,000 miles and still ran fine. I only bought this one because I needed bigger engine for pulling a trailer. I must admit that the engine is plenty powerful no complaints there it's just the general quality has gone to hell. Three TSB's with in the first year.

 

I have the 6-speed and I can't put mine into 1st unless I'm at nearly a dead stop. Have heard the same thing from others on here. I guess that's normal.

 

could not put my civic si in first if i was not crawling either unless i rev matched very carefully

 

1 st generation Tacomas don't have enough leg room for me. I paid 21k for this truck and expect to be able to shift gears. I've driven old trucks where I had to double clutch to shift gears and they were easier to drive in traffic than this new glorified POS.
Toyota service is a joke. I'm beginnig to understand why their reliability ratings are high. They simply deny most warranty claims stating that everything works like it should.
I'm pi55ed.

 

If you aren't happy, then trade it off. That's how I would fix it. Maybe Toyota did it right. The way they set up the tranny will probably make it last a lot longer

 

my six speed wont go into first unless stopped sometimes, one day i have no problem them the next i have to use second and I checked toyotas repair page and the previous owner took it in twice for that problem

 

The blower motor has a TSB so you can have it replaced. Mine does it too and I agree it's annoying but I'd be more annoyed if they were refusing to fix it.

The clutch I find to be a little annoying but have gotten used to it. If you rev the engine a little you can get it in first. The reverse thing I'm going to ask about cause that shouldn't be happening but I've noticed it too.

 

Why do you want to put your truck in 1st if you are moving? I had a 6 speed '05 for 5 years and had no issues. It drives like a truck, not a Civic........

 

wow... lol.... a bunch of newbs in here or something?..... Just rev it up a little and put it into first... now if that doesn't work then you shouldn't be using first gear at the speed you are at..... first gear is only supposed to be used for take offs anyway...... reason on why it provides the most torque..... if you really have been driving standard for a while then you should know the quick shift trick.... just quickly drop it into second and back into first without letting the clutch out.... really simple but effective.... manual transmissions sometimes get locked out in certain gears just do that and it loosens it up..... I do it a lot but it's just second nature to me now. Best of luck to ya.

 

It would be normal if they cost $5,000 new as "some assembly required " kit.
Whoever designed this transmission should quit their job and go flip burgers.

 

Truth.

 

last time i checked i dont shift into first unless im just about stopped...im sure its just a safety thing. cuz i learned to drive my manny when i was 16 on an 08 and i drove my friend 89 f-250 and you can shift in and out of first all day long

 

i think the reason it isn’t going into reverse right away has something to do with the fact that reverse doesn’t have synchros… maybe someone will chime in that knows for sure

 

Because the second gear is geared too high. I can shift into second and burn the clutch for several seconds before it gets to 15 mph or above. Driving in second gear at a speed slower than 15 mph makes the whole truck vibrate because of low engine RPM. It's not good for the engine.
And I'll repeat again- I've owned and driven many cars and trucks with manual transmissions. I own a motorcycle too. Never had this problem.

 

It took me longer than usual to get used to this tranny & clutch, but after 5 months, 5K miles, I think I'm finally smooth on it. (A shot of gas does help engage 1st sometimes - I'm not familiar with that "quick shift" trick.)

If I had a lot of stop 'n go, I might have opted for an automatic. But I generally prefer to avoid both of those things.

 

I would only shift into first if I was at a dead stop...... Moving at all, and I'd be in second......

I don't wanna say you don't know how to drive a stick.... BUT, it sounds like you don't know how to drive a stick.

 

read the thread title