Lack of Gauges in the New Tacomas (05-^)

I kinda hate the fact that we don't have many gauges as other trucks do lol, why do you we only get the most basic ones compared to other vehicles.

 

because its not needed? about the only thing i wish there was a gauge in the dash for would be a trans temp gauge for the tacos with the towing package.... but with a cheap OBD bluetooth adaptor and torque pro with custom pid's i can get a trans pan temp and torque converter output temp very easily.

 

Because 99% of buyers are morons who wouldn't know what to do with them. Get a scanguage II.

 

They don't even have all the basics.
IMO the basics are Speed, oil pressure, voltage, coolant temp, trans temp. RPM is nice, but not necessary.

 

There is not really enough room on the dash. I would like to have oil pressure and an amp meter. Voltage meter would be ok but I prefer amps.

 

It is a cost issue. If enough people contacted Toyota with the request they would be added, but so would more price to the base.

 

My 88 nissan king cab had a gas gauge and speedometer. No tac! And it was a stick !

 

There's a trans temp overheat caution light in the gauge cluster. I've never seen it on during normal operation, except in the Antarctica polar record run documentary (of all places ).

But yes, many of the gauges seen in previous models have been reduced to idiot lights, since they fail so rarely. From a human factors point of view, this is a good thing - no need to overload the driver with useless info unless there's a malfunction.

In my Suburu, the coolant temp gauge had been replaced by two idiot lights, a blue light for engine cold, and a red light for engine overheat.

 

That's just not right, I like being able to see where my engine runs (temp wise) and can see when it's running 10 degrees hot or cold of normal.

 

I don't think any 2nd gens have teams dipstick which is unusual to me. Toyota said something about a sealed tranny that will last "forever" -_- nothing last forever. I have seen threads if DIY tranny service but it looks a little too tedious for me.

 

Well it sounds like we all need aftermarket gauges, since we dont like dummy gauges.

 

For about $75 I think my UltraGauge displays 57 gauges (up to 8 gauges on each of 7 pages), unfortunately not Tranny Temp.
Probably because it's not available thru the OBDII Port.
Including calculated trip, short trip, MPG, etc. I think it's a total of about 110 displays.
Talk about Information Overload. I do make use of it though.



CC

 

I have ScanguageII, and was able to program in the codes to get the transmission temp. Found the codes here on Tacomaworld. I understand the codes do not work on latter model years, but cannot recall the cutoff year.

 

^lotek stock photo. I added trans return temp and air tank pressure to my truck. Only thing I don't like is that the paint doesn't match. I will eventually get rid of the grey dash for a black one and will get an unpainted pod.

 

I do miss the gauges on my Jeeps. I didn't even have power windows on my Cherokee, but they all had Tach and Speedo, fuel level, oil pressure, coolant temp, and voltmeter. Plus all of the usual flashing "hey dummy" lights.

My '87 was the same way, haha! It had those annoying two speed windshield wipers too, Off, Low, and Slightly Less Low. No delay options.

 

I've actually never seen this happen with any vehicle. In my experience, either the coolant temp stays cold all the time (thermostat stuck open), or it shoots to full-hot very quickly in traffic (bad radiator fan).

From what I read, the 1st gen Taco's coolant temp gauge is basically just a placebo 3-position switch...

 

Ive heard many modern cars are this way. There is an acceptable "normal range" for temperature and as long as its within that range the ECU just keeps the gauge pegged in the middle. I think they do this so dealer service departments dont get lots of calls from customers whose gauges are reading a little bit higher or lower than usual.

 

I am happy with a speedometer, temperature gauge, fuel gauge, and tachometer (even on an automatic, like mine). However, an hour gauge would be nice, so I can track how much time I spend on the road.

 

i wanna add a boost gauge for my s.c but not mounts really for a 2010. theres the one by cravenspeed

 

I wish there was a good location to add a bank of gauges into these interiors. I know with a 100% stock engine a full arrangement of gauges isn't exactly necessary in this day and age, but that being said, not having anything like oil pressure or temperature is annoying. If nothing else I like knowing when the truck is fully warmed up.

I've seen the Craven Speed setup which I like a lot, but then I'd need to relocate my Scan Gauge, which has a nice home on my column.

On my Subaru I added a ton of gauges (I'm up to 5 auxiliary gauges) and I absolutely love having all the information, but then again it's a turbo car, so gauges are pretty much required.