After 4 months my thoughts on tacoma

I'm not the one bitching about it. And I DO in fact get heat pretty rapidly without a block heater. Once it gets down below zero I just let it idle for a minute or two before hitting the road. Even on the coldest days this winter (around -35) I idled for just long enough for the temp gauge to start crawling off the bottom before driving.

And yes, I do use synthetic. I've never used conventional in any of my vehicles since my '99 Cummins.

 

Can't see your gauges going around a corner? Wut? Seriously? :mindblown:

 

I've had my 2012 for about a month. I'm loving it so far but there are a few things I would add/change.

The things I miss from my previous vehicle which was a 2002 ford explorer sport are:
1. Turning Radius... The sport could turn on a dime. I have to get used to the tacoma's radius...
2. My explorer had the keypad on the exterior. I didn't use it a lot but it was nice if I needed to leave my keys hidden in the vehicle, Like when I was hiking and didn't want to carry them... It also helped when i locked myself out by accident, fortunately that hasn't happened in the tacoma yet.
3. My explorer had these lights on the underside of the rear view mirrors that would light up when you hit the unlock button on the remote. I think they call them puddle lights. this helped a lot where I live, where parking in the mud is a every day thing. I'm going to wire something up to have a similar function when I get the time and money.

When I was carless for 3 months, I was borrowing other vehicles for weeks at a time from family members. One thing in particular I got used to in their vehicles:
4. Average MPG and instant MPG. I will be getting a Ultra gauge if there is another group buy for them soon. My dad's 2010 Rav4 has this, and the computer obviously has the ability for this, Why doesn't Toyota include the functionality on the dash?

Overall I love the new Truck and I'm exited to cusomize it and make it my own.

 

I notice mine usually stays pretty close to what it was before I started the bend.???

 

I sure as hell would not wanna be looking at my gauges while going around a corner, I wanna see whats around that corner. OP needs to adjust the brightness of the gauge.

 

For everyone who complains about the engine not producing much heat when it's very cold outside, you do realize that it's an all aluminum engine right? An aluminum block dissipates heat faster and takes longer to heat up than a comparable iron block in cold conditions.

 

This is a cast iron engine from what I was told.

I never thought it was bad till the temps got under 10 degrees. Seems to take a long time from here.

 

My comment on not being able to see the gauges when negotiating a bend is the hub of the steering wheel is so large that it blocks the view of the gauges. I'm not worried about turning a corner, but some of the freeways I drive have some long curves, the turnpike in particular.

These are small complaints in my opinion. Except for that heat.

But I can't wait to try holding the button in for recirc on the heater now. I didn't see that anywhere in my manual.

 

I miss the keypad and puddle lights myself.

Toyota doesn't cal mpg for Tacomas because no one would buy one if they saw how horrible these trucks are on gas.

The one in my truck and the one in my shed are both aluminum

 

I am 100% behind you on this truck taking forever to have heat coming from the vents. I had a 1993 F150 with the 351w that had heat at least 3 times faster than this truck does. For me, and the climate that I live in, it is almost a deal breaker on me buying another Tacoma. I drive 4 miles to work and 4 miles back. I let my truck run with the autostart for at least 10-15 minutes before I drive it anywhere. Once I get in, the needle is still almost always below the bottom portion of the temperature gauge. Once I finally get to work I am able to have some sort of 'heat' coming from the vents. In order to have heat that is comfortable I have to drive around for 20 miles or so if not more. I am absolutely stumped on how to get the truck to heat quicker.

Keep in mind that I live in an area that the majority of our winter this year has been hovering around the -20F or so area with winds typically sustained above 15MPH, and many times much colder. We have seen ambient temps around -40 with windchills in the -60s. I understand that it's really god damn cold outside, but of all the 7 vehicles I have had, this truck is the newest, and has the worst heat. Without competition.

On the bright side, it has never not started for me. But that is probably the only positive that I have about this truck when it's cold outside.

 

Not quite. It's not aluminum; the 1GR-FE has iron sleeves inside the cylinders on the cylinder walls.

It's not an all cast iron engine, either.

 

stop running synthetic if you are

block off your radiator

get a block heater

get rid of your belt driven fan for a electric fan

build a garage

 

I wouldn't want my block warming up too fast, but I woudn't want it to take too long to get heat into the interior so yeah if its super cold I hit that remote start and let it warm up for 15 minutes. If it seems necessary than a block warmer will be added. It seems silly to argue about how slow it takes for a truck or car to warm up during insane cold weather conditions. I had a friend in Dallas who took him 30 minutes and chipping ice off his car.

 

Both have been done. I use the block heater when I can, and it does help, but when I am at work or school I don't have anywhere to plug it in.

I have changed my thermostat already. And I have looked into getting a thermostat with a different temperature rating, but I haven't been able to find one.

A garage doesn't really help with the temperatures unless you heat the garage, which when it is -20 outside is basically like making a truck payment on your gas bill every month. Block heater is installed, but is only convenient when the truck is parked at home. I have experimented with blocking off the radiator, and have done so on other vehicles (My LS1 GTO would actually cool down on the highway in these temps without the radiator blocked) but I haven't noticed a terribly big difference on the Tacoma.

 

dude it's an aluminum block. just because the sleeves are cast into the block doesn't change the fact the block is aluminum.

It's not like a engine with a aluminum block and steel sleeves that aren't cast in would be any different

 

No shit right? I have even talked with other people that I have met in the area with Tacomas and they all have the same complaints, except the 4cyl guy. It's almost like there is a certain temperature where once it gets there some switch flips inside the truck and tells itself it's going to take forever to warm up today. At 0 degrees, it warms up like a regular vehicle. But once you get to that -15/-20 area it takes god damn forever.

I live in an area where you have to be VERY careful with which windshield washer fluid you have in your tank when winter starts. I work in a shop and around the November/December time when it starts to get very very cold outside, we are constantly replacing windshield washer fluid tanks that freeze and crack. My tacoma and I want to move.

 

1) Are you driving your truck from the passenger seat?
I have had no problems with dashboard visibility in my '10 under any circumstances. It doesn't matter if I'm speeding up, slowing down, cornering or highway cruising or spinning in circles.

2) I think you may be low on coolant? My truck has no problems with adequate heat output, and if I'm not paying attention it cooks me out of the cab.

3) Sounds like your switch isn't working properly. I can push the button on mine and it'll stay on recirculate until the next time I start the truck.

 

I am perplexed by how your truck warms so slowly.

I live in an area that just had it's coldest winter ever recorded(a solid 75days at -30C or -22F?). I park my truck in an unheated garage and used my block heater maybe once or twice the entire winter. I was commenting the other day about how well and quickly my Tacoma heats up.