Truck broke down today...

Ok so from my experience with my old POS 05 Nissan pathfinder, your engine was definitely in limp mode. When you said it was fluttering in park, that sounds like something your MAF would cause. Like try starting your car, then unplug the MAF as it's running. Then feel the car if it doesn't die immediately. Tell me of that's what it felt like

 

OP, any chance you're using crap fuel from AMPM or something? I put in 91+ octane of shell nitro+ every 5th or so tank. I towed cross country without issue.

 

Hey guys! Sorry for the delay, been working a ton and haven't been getting notifications about this thread! Thank you for all the help.
Called the dealership today and it is a misfire on the #6 cylinder as well as poor idle quality. The tech wasn't sure how to proceed considering its a brand new motor with an issue as such so he put on a ticket with Toyota directly. Says I'm looking at a possible injector replacement.

 

do these engines have a coil pack on top of each plug? think they would switch it with one from another cylinder and see if the issue moves to the other cylinder? at least that's where i would start.

 

Hope that's all it is. Easy fix and probably had nothing to do with the load behind her, just bad timing to have the trailer behind it

 

simple miss fire and he does not know how to proceed!!! DUH!!

 

I don't know much about tow ratings rather than engines. I'm talking about a max capacity. A truck able enough to tow 5,000lbs at an incline will be able to tow more on level ground, 6,800lbs for example, due to physics. Well then which is it? The truck can tow 5,000lbs anywhere, but that isn't a max towing capacity if it's able to tow 6,800lbs on level ground, which the truck will most likely see more of anyway. The "tow rating" may round down so as to protect driver's wishes to tow wherever they please, but I'd rather know the max capacity my truck can tow should I need it (though I don't ever recommend a Tacoma for towing).

 

They really don't need you. Keep thinking that though! That's a positive attitude!

 

I would expect the tow rating to cover all reasonable uses and not just be rated for flat ground. The consumer isn't expected to pull out their physics books to determine whether they can make it up the on ramp.

Very very steep hills and other sorts of outliers are probably not covered in the rating.

 

That "bronzing" on the frame welds of 3rd gens that were poorly coated from the factory can also been seen on 2nd gen frames as recent as 2012. There is a possibility.

I know many guys are trying to defend dropping $35-$40k on it, but one has to make educated decision.

I own a first model year 2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser and the only issue I had was a wheel bearing that had to be replaced at 80,000 miles.

I also have a 2004 Land Cruiser and the only issue I've had was a gas cap that had to be replaced last year because the previous one started causing it to throw a code.

All these issues with the 3rd gen are pretty significant under 10,000 miles.

 

Tow ratings come from some strict tests. Here is a short article that talks about it
http://www.caranddriver.com/feature...-sae-trailering-standards-explained-tech-dept

Your truck can and will tow quite a bit more than the tow capacity on flat ground. Doesn't mean it should,but it can. For example, my 95 F350 4 door long bed 7.3 diesel is "rated" at 10500 lbs. I'll bet ya a pay check I can town double that. That rating was figured before these standards.

That said keep in mind, while your truck will tow more, if you are a lb over, and get in a wreck, it's your ass.

 

I think the sad truth Tacoma is now yet another domestic turd with rather shitty company behind it.

It totally pains me to write this. I was dead set on buying Tacoma (for the manual transmission) but the issues gave me a pause and now I am reevaluating.

 

Ever check your FJ for frame cracks?

 

I agree they are significant, and unfortunately a significant group of the major issues aren't one-off's, they are actual design flaws. Drivetrain shudder, 2100-2400 RPM vibration, cab resonance vibration (whole floorboard resonates if a motorcycle or loud truck passes by you), poor seals around the windows that leads to loud howling during side winds or when a car passes close to you. These are issues that show up on a significant number of trucks and never should have passed prototype testing.

Toyota is pushing these issues off right now because sales are booming, but they will without a doubt hit a fork in the road where they will need to fix these issues for current/future customers or kiss their reputation goodbye. And we can all face it, their reputation is a large part of why all of us have dropped 35-40k on a mid-size truck with minimal creature comforts. We pay for the reputation, reliability and resale, all of which will go out the window depending on Toyota's next move.

 

Neither of you realize I'm not talking about "tow ratings." I couldn't care less about standardized testing of payload used for marketing. I'll never use my Taco for towing, we have our 5.7L, box-framed Tundra for that. I go camping, wheeling, and out for adventure in my Taco and have 33" tires to boot, that said knowing the capacity and strain which my Tacoma's engine and drive train can handle is more of my concern.

 

If you are talking about the tearing/cracking fenders under the hood area, I don't have that issue. My FJ has been fortunately solid for a first model year build.

 

There may be some dealers that are better than others, but Toyota is probably the best manufacturer of high quality 4X4 trucks in the world. In terms of company integrity, I don't know of any other manufacturer who would replace the frame on 8 year old vehicle with 200,00 miles on it. My only criticism is rust, but all vehicles rust. Anyone owning a Tacoma should feel pretty good that they're driving the best and as good as it gets.

 

I wanted one of those FJs baddddly. I was so close to pulling the trigger on a red Trail Teams FJ, but coming from a 2005 Tacoma PreRunner I was really worried about the blind spots... I will always regret not buying that red TT FJ though.

 

A misfire is easy to diagnose. If you know its misfire, do a spark check on all coils with a spark tester. If you don't have spark on one, replace that coil. If you have spark on all, switch injectors and see if the misfire follows.