Hello From Toronto, Canada.

Hey guys,

Here are some of the mileages I have been getting in the first 5000 km of the 2006 Tacoma Double Cab (auto), for anyone interested. Unfortunately for our friends south of the border, I left my conversion calculater at work. So here are the results in metric and you can convert to mpg if you have a conversion calculator handy.

Straight HWY driving: 9.73 km/L, 9.78 km/L
HWY/City mixed: 8.48 km/L, 8.73 km/L, 8.82 km/L
City: 8.02 km/L, 8.22 km/L

These mileages are based on running 87 octane fuel.

SAM

 

Hey SAM,

That’s great to get unbiased/true info from the consumer. Just curious why you have more that one number per category.

To our American Taco and Burrito lovers, if interested please divide the km/L by 1.6 and multiply the result by 3.7854 for miles per gallon. Its that easy but GWB would get a brain tumor trying to doing that. .

 

Sam and Themaster, I too have checked my real world numbers, this is mostly rural driving getting into 6th gear occasionally,but not for a great number of miles. My first tank of gas(87octane) was 19mpg and it has been between 17-19 all the time . I expect to get 22 on the turnpike at speeds of 75-80mph, at 2900 rpm.

Last night I won a gift certifcate to a good local garage for a couple of oil changes, so with in a couple of weeks I will get the oil done at 2000miles.

In regards to warm up procedures, practically all manufactures recommend just a few minutes at idle( or more correctly high speed idle on a cold engine)
then driving gently until engine temp goes up. In my taco thats about 3 miles or so then water temps are up to normal and I would expect the oil is too.
The idea here is to not rev then engine more than necessary and generally if you keep it under 40mph for the first few miles thats good enough. Again, keeping the oil clean with regular changes, my friends do it every 3,000, as I will, however everyone is different and Taco recommends every 5000, so I figure anywhere in between is OK.
I presume if you use synthetic you can stretch that longer, as I do with our Subaru, generally between 6-8K. However synthetic is more expensive(Mobil 1) as 5qts of good oil , Kendall, WolfsHead, Castrol at Walmart is only $9.75 and filters there are cheap also.
Also keep records of changes and cut out the top of the filter box and write the mileage and date down as a record and don't forget to go to the dealer when necessary to make sure your warranty is kept up. Jeff

As far as octane goes, its a waste to use high octane gas as it has been proved that there is no gain in mpg, so if it runs fine on 87gas you are all set

 

Hey SAM, a 30 second warm up works for me. I normally drive off with-in 10 seconds, but slowly. I believe we are doing damage nevertheless, and believe the load on the engine will get the oil moving and warmed up faster. Considering where you live, invest in a block heater for $184. Put it on a timer and your engine will love you for it. You’ll have instant heat in the cab too. You'll get brownie points from your wife

I was concerned about 91 octane when buying the truck hence looked at the Frontier which takes 87. My Subaru WRX took 91 and it sure added up. I'll stick with 87 till I win the lottery.

If your gut feeling tells you something, listen to it. I’m glad I walked away from the 06. From personal experience, anytime I buy the last product on the shelf it has turned out to be a dud, screwed up or something someone else returned for a good reason we know nothing about. My 06 was the last available Speedway Blue in Ontario. It sat in a downtown lot for many months destined to make my life miserable. And now it sits on my dealers lot waiting for another buyer.

SAM, I can’t believe a local dealer would do what they did to you up in the country. How do they stay in business? I would drive my truck with large lettering that says “My _ _ _ _ _ _ Toyota dealer sucks”. I would have it parked on their boulevard at month end or when they have sales. I threatened my Chrysler Dodge dealer in Scarborough with similar action and they quickly attended to my warranty claims after the warranty had expired. The problem with the consumer today is that they take “no or can’t-do that” for an answer. Most are unaware of their rights and the rest just can't be bothered. I respect the guys who setup sites such as Walmartsucks.com or .org and walmart-blows.com. Wal-Mart’s legal council have tried everything they possibly could to shut them down for many years and haven’t succeeded. They even tried to pay off one of the guys but his hatred for Wal-Mart exceeds his desire for money. We need to stand up for ourselves. It’s your money and dignity they are taking away. I know it can be a lot of work but remember, vengeance is sweet and is a dish best served cold. Toyota is confident their product will sell no matter what but their approach to customer care in your case is 3rd rate and dealer protection is 1st. rate. I’m at a loss for words .

I like the chrome bumper and grill too however I see a disadvantage with the chrome bumper. It’s not as forgiving as plastic bumpers. Once the chrome is dented, you are screwed. The plastic is more forgiving even though it might scratch easily but can be touched up quickly. Imperfections on chrome is very noticeable.

I like the ARB Bull bar you want to get. It’s really . How much do they weigh and what is the cost. The comparable Milemarker or Warn winch mount is ugly and crappy. However, I wonder if it can accommodate any type of winch. I'd like to understand your intended winch application and what model you have in mind.

One of my pet peeves with Toyota is that they didn’t put a lockable fuel door or a remote release on the Taco. How difficult is that? This means any dumbo with issues can contaminate your fuel tank. Just imagine if someone puts sugar in your gas tank. Your engine is history. Also when gas prices go up - and it will - people can easily siphon gas from our trucks. These are genuine concerns for those who live in big cities. After market lockable gas caps don’t function as well as the factory cap. They don’t maintain tank pressure as well. The fuel evaporation leakage test pump will run overtime and produce fault codes. Such a simple addition was over looked. I guess they saved it for the 08 model year.

 

Jeff, what’s wrong if the oil gets a little dirty without viscosity breakdown and is there a fast and reliable method to check viscosity? Have you used a viscometer? I used to change my oil religiously but as the engine ages, the oil gets darker and darker and it eventually settles on the insides of the engine. It’s an aging process I don’t think can be avoided. I’ve never been bold enough to consider an internal engine shampoo for fear of seal deterioration. What’s your take on this? Engine oil technology has improved leaps and bounds so changing oil sooner may not necessarily have an advantage. This is especially true for filters. A partially dirty filter is far more efficient than a brand new filter.

Would you say Mobile 1 is superior to Castrol GTX? Does synthetic oil warm up sooner? I usually have my engine oil samples analyzed by a lab for the first 3-4 oil changes. I will post my results if anyone is interested. By the way, I'm supposed to get my truck on Monday or Tuesday .

 

Themaster, nothing is wrong with the oil getting dirty, this is something that happens over the course of time. I was refering to owners who really let there oil go and never change it until 10,000.
Oil will get dark over time and its something you really cannot control, other than just doing your oil changes on time. I have never checked the viscosity of oil but I really think that perhaps that only would be of value in a long haul truck.
From all of your posts you are doing the best possible thing for your engine, block heater and frequent changes and taking it easy until everything is up to temp.

While out shopping this morning I went to Barnes and Noble book store and they had a book on detailing a vehicle, so I scanned it quickly to get an idea of its content.
It seemed like a good book and had lots of tips and basics on how to keep the inside and outside of our new Taco's(and other vehicles) looking new.
I think it would be a good thing to have for anyone that has not done much of that work. It took me a lot of years to learn some of the things in that book. Unfortunately I don't remember the name of it but there was a whole series of them, which included how to prep and paint your car, engine bay, interior etc.

I think GTX is a very good oil and thats what I will be putting in my taco, Mobil 1 is synthetic oil and GTX is regular oil. I would love to see what the inside of our subie engine looks like as it has been on Mobil 1 90% of its life.
I was also looking at oil filters today at Auto Zone and they had some K&N oil filters and they looked like they were built very well and had a nut on the bottom, to make removal easier.

They were double the price of regular filters, however, with the exception of Mobil 1 filters. They were about $11.00 US money.
I might look them up and see there is any thing on the web about them. With frequent oil changes I wonder if there is a need for a $11. oil filter. Will let you know what I find.

 

It's interesting reading through this thread about Taco owners experiences with the dealers. In Maui (and I believe the whole state of Hawaii) Toyotas are by far, the most sought after vehicles. Domestic dealers are really begging to sell their cars... for example the Ford dealer here offered me $10,000 as a trade in for my 2001 2WD Explorer Sport if I would purchase an '06 Explorer sport trac. The Toyota dealers here do not make any deals at all. In fact Toyotas are so sought after that the dealer adds $2000-$4000 on to each sticker above the MSRP, and they call that charge "Adjusted Market Value". I don't know if dealers on the mainland do this at all, but because we are on an island and have only one Toyota dealer we're stuck.
On the plus side, Tacoma's are so popular here, I've seen used 05's selling for unly $2000 less than the new 06's.

 

Themaster,

The multiple numbers for each category are separate mileages based on separate tanks of fuel. Sorry I did not average them out.

As for the block heater, that is great advice and I made sure that the dealer included one in the deal. I am a firm believer in using a block heater for our climate.

Regarding the Bull bar info, I sent you a pm with the information that I dug up for it. I am also trying to locate some skid plates for the new Tacomas. Can't figure out why Toyota does not supply them on the new TRD Offroads??? It does not appear that Toyota even builds skid plates (other than the front engine plate) for our 2005+ Tacomas. So I am waiting for after market ones to become available. Does it not seem strange to anyone else that full skid plate protection is not included on the TRD models? The gas tank is fully exposed to hazards.


SAM

 

Very interesting. I know people on this board are thrilled with Toyota’s product and it’s resale value. What your Toyota dealer is doing in Maui is called “Price Gouging” intelligently marketed as “Adjusted Market Value”. Crap like these sure ticks me off. It only thrives where the consumer has no objections to such improper business practices. I would guess some of the “Adjusted Market Value” dollars are going to the local politicians to keep their mouth shut. Unfortunately, there’s very little one guy like you can do.

 

MapMaster, Themaster is correct, you are a captive audience as you are stuck on the island, it is price gouging, no question about it.

Themaster,we hope you will get your truck today, I can see you looking out your window at the Yoda dealer next door to see if your truck is coming out of the service bay.
Good luck. jeff

 

Every time I think of MapMasterG's post, it makes me so angry that my head hurts . I would not sit idle. I would complain to Toyota, to Nissan, to Ford, to the dogs, to iguanas, to the fish in the sea. I will throw stones at the new car compound just to be attested so I get free press. I will pray to god that crap really happens to that dealership .

Thanks for thinking about me Jeff. It was not meant to be. The dealer claims the accessories haven’t arrived yet. In fact they had almost 30 days to order it. I’ve had a rough day and haven’t had the time to walk over to the dealership. I’m not going to lose my cool over a few days delay in delivery. When I think of the Toyota dealership in Maui, I think I am very blessed to be where I am even though a stray bullet my kill me tonight.

 

Hmmm seems like the usual dealer "checks in the mail" routine. However, at least your truck is in, I have forgotten what accessories you were adding. I do remember the heater for the winter. It really should not be a problem for them to get things especially with 30 days gone past. I bet they waited for the truck to arrive before they ordered them.

Sometimes I wonder if complaining does any good? Feels good personally but I would expect that it just gets "filed" somewhere. Like the round file.
Let us know whats up.
I think I told you that I won a gift cert to my local garage and will get the oil done the first week in Dec.
I was looking at K&N filters and they are much larger than my standard Yoda filter, most others are quite small. I have not checked out Wix filters(made by the Dana Co.) who makes all sorts of filters for diesel app's. They are quality and they carry them in local NAPA dealers. I will visit them soon. I did ask the garage to get a Wix or equivilent when they do my oil. Raining and very damp on Thanksgiving, luckily we don't have travel far.

Jeff
Woodville,MA.

 

Got my truck at 12:30 pm today with 6 kilometers on it. They put side step bars instead of Nerf's and still waiting for the hood deflector and bed cover. They will switch the side step bars with Nerf's on Monday. They threw in rubber floor mats ($110) for free as a "I'm sorry". Too excited so can't post any more. We'll chat later. I'm stuck in the office for a little while longer. Keep peeping out the window every 5 minutes to see if my Taco is OK.

 

Themaster, congrats, I can understand how you would be looking out the window all the time, I still do. LOL I am surprised you didn't take the afternoon off to run to the Post Office just to get stamps or something trivial to "exercise " you new wheels. Hope you take the long way home, tonite. Jeff

 

Thanks Jeff. I left at about 2pm and I took the same path home and took my favorite girl in the world for the first drive. I didn’t want to do anything out of the ordinary. You know crap happens. I’ve never driven something this big. Usually small and fast performance cars and motorbikes. I need to get the hang of it. The power train is smooth like cream and now has 46 kilometers. Not going to the weekend home this week. Want to spend some time and familiarize myself with the rig, finish the Christmas shopping and wax the door sills like you suggested. No the truck will not go to the mall. No way sir. Other vehicles that park next to me make be bloody nervous. The speedway blue is a head turner, I’ve noticed pretty quickly. The rear head rests are a pain in the donkey when backing up. Later.

 

Congrats on the new wheels. I am a little jealous that you got the Speedway Blue. That was my first choice, but alas, there were no SWBlue SR5 trucks left in Ontario when I went looking in July!

I am glad to hear that you found what you were looking for and can finally enjoy the new truck like we are enjoying ours! I look forward going to work everyday just to drive my Tacoma. Yes... I really enjoy driving it that much. Have fun.

SAM

 

Themaster, have fun, that Speedway is very nice, don't forget to post some pictures . Also do a couple of quick checks on your basic fluids, I doublt that there are any leaks but as you put some miles on it, its always good to check, plus you get to open the hood and fool around. jeff

 

Dude, I hear you. The blue is a little too loud for me however, it's the closest match to the World Rally Blue I had on the Subaru. I know I haven't responded to one of your post's but I will in time. I checked out the ARB Bull Bar. They are going for $1380. I'll give further details later.

 

Thanks for the invaluable info. I looked under the hood but didn’t check the engine oil. Will do that today. Info on engine break-in would be appreciated. The book does not specify RPM or speed. I'm staying under 2000 RPM but the truck goes up to 100 KMPH and may be higher. Is this ok? Thanks.

 

Themaster , from what I know and have read , the best way to break in an engine is, to keep the speeds down, let the engine warm up properly and vary the engine speed for the first 500. Keeping the speeds down means no high rpm bursts, like kids do, of course I know you will not do that. High rpms on a new motor is pure death.
As you travel around in a city or rural setting that surely would vary engine speeds and if you get on some sort of interstate or highway, keeping it around below 65mph and just letting the speed vary. This can be done by just dropping down a gear (from 6th to 5th). When I got my truck with 52miles on it, the only sensible way home was the interstate and I just left it in 6th and just kept varying the speeds from 50-65 for the 30min drive home.
Like most break in rules, which include outboard mtrs and motorcycles, they say just vary the speeds and don't go crazy with the rpm's.
When my engine got between 500-1000 miles on it, you could really feel it loosen up, rpm wise.
I am sure you will have 500+ miles on it before you know it and when I had the 500 on mine, I took it for a highway run and set it on 75mph for a while and just let it buzz along.
When I get a chance I will relate to you, the strict instructions from a motorcyle friend(mechanic) on the breaking in of a rebuilt Triumph 650 that I rebuilt one winter when I was younger.

So from what I see you are set on the engine break in. My two friends, long term Yoda guys, changed there oil on there new trucks, when it reached 500miles. The do all there service themselves, as it was convienient for them .
Since you have the dealer next door, it can be done when ever you feel it necessary. Mine will be done next week when I hit the 2000 mile mark. My engine just keeps getting better and better. jeff