First impression...beyond looks

The washer thing I did .... It's worked perfect for me, it was just enough, changed the whole feel.

 

Power seats aren't about moving the seat all the time but being able to find a comfortable position.
Really all I expect is the ability to raise and lower a seat. This is usually a power seat feature but there are some non-power seats that are 6-12 way adjustable. Why Toyota doesn't even offer that is beyond me.

I don't like feeling like I'm sitting on the floor of a truck.

 

So don't buy a tacoma. Problem solved.

 

My 16 height actually feels perfect. Maybe even a tad high. I'm 5'8" My eyes line up 3/4 of the way up the window. Any taller and I would never see the sun. haha

 

I no longer plan on it.

Toyota sent me running back to Ford.

 

fordforums ----->

 

www.f150forum.com

 

My 2001 Ford Excursion with the 7.3L had the transmission replaced at 19000 miles. I had someone from the extended warranty come out because the beast had so many warranty problems with it. My other Ford I will not even mention. I will never buy another Ford in my life time.

 

You keep telling yourself that You'll have a 16 in short order.

 

I don't need power seats but seats that are height-adjustable manually would be great. Another inch or two would be very beneficial to shorter drivers.

 

I'm sorry about your unfortunate experience.
I have a 14 year old F250. Not a problem in it's whole 200K miles.
The first 2002 250 I had did have to have a transmission replaced at I think around 60K. That was before I bought it. Had no problems since.

No car company has a clean history. Not a one. Toyota has some of the worst recalls.

I would love a Tacoma to play around with and mod, but not at the prices they started getting to. Plus I would be lying if I said it was all my choice. The SO decided no Taco and an F150 when it comes time.

Toyota made me feel like I was being taken advantage of. That doesn't sit well with me.

 

I guess when I consider perception and reliability the two brands that come to my mind are Honda and Toyota. I currently own a Honda, Toyota , Ford, and an Infinity. The only one with any major break downs has been the Ford.I tend to keep all my vehicles for at least ten years or longer. None have left me stranded with the exception of beast on multiple times. My next truck is going to be the limited 2x4 Tacoma . The excursion only has 84000 miles on it, but when it comes time to replace it I will look at a Chevy 2500 or a Tundra.

 

We have a Honda CRV, Miata and Toyota. Have not had an American brand truck since an Ford Ranger that had knocking issues and an early Explorer. I had 05 and 08 Vettes Both of which had issues. $800 Oil pan gasket on one and Harmonic Balancer on the other. Both had less than 20K miles on them. The tipping point was Chevy Service vs Honda and Toyota, I sold the Vettes and bought a Miata...No issues with that little fun box,

Toyota impressed me when they replaced head gaskets on my 80K and a friends 120K mile trucks back in the 90s free. Replaced the bad frames later on. No hiding the issue like GM with their key issues.

.....US auto companies don't usually do "reliability recalls" If they can save $.10 on a part they will. Toyota will spend $.20 more if it will last longer .QDR is important to Toyota...Not so much with GM or Ford. Just my opinion

 

Many drivers have spouses that may drive on occasion, or kids that want to borrow the car.
My current xar has power seats and 2 position memory which is really nice so i dont have to jerk around finding the "sweetspot" everytime someone else uses it.

Obviously its not a deal breaker for me since i ordeted the truck, but at 35k it should have them.

 

The notion of having a series of motors, linkages, wiring, relays, and switches to save drivers the trivial effort of adjusting seats in a vehicle is, in my opinion, automation gone mad. It's got to the point that every damn thing in a vehicle has to have a motor attached to it, or large numbers of people complain bitterly.

What's next? Motorized hood and tailgates, motorized oil dipsticks, motorized battery caps?

 

Power seats have been around for a long time and add a greater choice in seating position than a manual can (plus, allow for a memory option). Fact. Plus, for the price vehicles cost today, like the Tacoma, I want as much content as possible. Toyota doesn't add things it knows customers want (more rear seat space & rear disc brakes), and the competition has, because people still buy their vehicles. Can't blame Toyota, but customers need to wise up demand more. I would love a 2016 Limited, but $38K+ with no power seats, one usb port and no choice of interior color is just plain insulting. I am going to wait and see what a possible 2017 update might add. If there is no update or nothing I if feel needs to be addressed has been, I'll wait for the 2018 update or look elsewhere.

 

So you took the seat out put some spacers in to raise the height of the seat and bolted them down again?

Sounds like a great idea.

 

I'm going to have to do the same thing. How much higher did you go? I assume you used a longer bolt.

 

Nope. Plenty of thread left. Just undid the rear nuts on the back floor and put 1/2-3/4 of an inch
worth of washers on each side and tightened it back up, took 5 min. that changed the
height much more than I thought it would - perfect!

 

All car businesses are in the business to make money. No car company will do something that financially disadvantages themselves.
Toyota will claim to spend more money on a quality part, but then up charge you for it. Toyota makes you pay as much as anyone else.

I've really enjoyed my Fords. My family members are loyal to Subaru, Toyota, and Honda. I love those companies too as they have a good track record and make quality cars. That's why I considered the Taco. I figured it would be a fun toy that I could keep around for a good 20 years. I felt the 15's were over priced as it is, but figured it was a Toyota so OK. Then the 16's ended up costing about $3-4k more. Yeah... I really felt like I was getting screwed over, especially considering the over all options of the vehicle. Toyota is really behind the times in truck quality. When it was finally decided I needed a full-size it was automatically Ford. Until Toyota starts to care about truck owners, I won't buy a Tundra. Sorry but the engine options aren't as sophisticated. It was like Toyota was in a meeting and some guy was like "You know we need to sell a full size truck for that market" and some guy on the other side of the table was like "eh ok, just don't spend too much money developing it". I'm nervous about buying a truck from a company that really doesn't put a lot of thought into the design and use.

I like Toyota though. Unfortunately they just don't make good work/use trucks for my needs.
I am in the market for a 4Runner for the SO though. Maybe in the next year or so we can get a good deal on an older one.

And my honest thoughts are: I think a lot of people have problems with cars because they don't know how to take care of them. Now, that isn't always the case, especially with problems early on, BUT if more people had better knowledge on how cars worked and routine preventive care for them, I feel most problems could be avoided.