Manual or Auto?!?!?!?!?!? Going to buy soon!

Its garbage because of the trowout bearing/bell housing/pilot shaft issues. just do a search on here about the 6 speed. toyota has no idea how to fix it and it isn't warratied. i bought a tacoma for reliablilty and was sadly mistaken. buy a used ford for $20000, and don't waste your money on an overpriced money drain.

 

They aren't all problematic. I'm at about 46,000 miles with my 6 spd and haven't had a problem yet.

 

just wait, you'll see.

 

I went with the auto just because that was all they had on the lot. I usualy prefer manuals, but my knees aren't getting any younger and sometimes after a lot of stop and go I "gimp" a bit after I get home. For a DD, I would go auto, but for a weekend/fun driver, I would get the manual everytime.

 

Just b/c yours failed, dont be under the assumption that everyone elses will. Chances are, it wont. If every 6sp was plagued w/ tob issues, there would be a tsb for it. Sorry you had bad luck, but odds are, it wont happen to the next guy.

 

I use to think the above till I had to drive one recently for quite some time .

I'd never buy a manual .

 

Yeah like Fords have no problems LOL

The Tacoma has LSD
Lockers
V Trac
It is the BEST 4x4 on the road today Ford don't even come close

 

I've driven my 6 speed 4x4 access cab for 50K now and its still a little weird to drive sometime to me, but I am used to it now and it is what it is. I still love it. I drove a 5 speed before getting this one and it is completely more predicatable and driveable, but I didn't want the 4 banger. The rpm thing everyone talks about is a feature by design that helps with emissions (supposedly). Its supposed to over rev a bit between shifts which can mess with your smooth shifting. I think the long throw on the clutch lever probably doesn't help in the smooth shifting either. Even switching shoes and boots messes with me and my normal shifting. But overall this doesn't' mean I don't like my 6 speed, it just means its different. It kinda reminds me of riding a motorcycle, some days you just got the shift down better than other days or like riding even the same horse every day and having a different experience about every time.
Love my Taco though!

 

I would go Auto. The Manual is to clunky. I just bought and spent a fair bit of time on test drives with each. If you go for the 4 banger then I would go Manual.

 

I can't say much about the 2nd gens but I love my 1st gen Manual I have had autos all my life and I really don't like "slosh box autos" A manual plants the power to the ground. Again I don't know anything about the 2nd gen 6 speed but from the sounds of it it's not that great.
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i drive a manual 4cl. and I love it. plus girls are usually impressed

 

these days i'd take a throttle cable auto over a drive-by-wire manual...sadly

the response time is just appalling

 

In a way... I have both. I have an '09 TRD Sport with a manual 6 speed and an '08 FJ Cruiser with an auto.

I just got back from towing a 2,000 lb trailer with the auto trans FJ Cruiser, from WA state to CO and back - about 1300 miles each way, give or take. I will never, ever, do that again. Our 6-bangers don't have the torque to pull overdrive without constantly shifting down to speed up, then upshifting and slowing down, then downshifting..... you get the idea. It sucked, basically. I found myself shifting the auto into 4th and leaving it there.

On the other hand, I towed the same trailer to Idaho and back (less miles, but still about 500 each way) with the Tacoma's 6 speed manual. I had very little problems and there was always a "comfortable" gear to be in.

Personally, I won't get an auto again, unless it's in something with a V8 that has enough torque to stay in one gear on the highway. I'd much rather have a manual, for the added control. Yep, the throttle response (by wire) sucks, but hey, you get used to it and you compensate for it. And it's not all that bad.

You can listen to someone spouting off a one-liner like, "do not buy the 6 speed. garbage", or you can weigh the reasonable opinions you get and make up your mind about what you want.

My two cents.

 

I have a 2.7, stick with CC