Any word from Toyota Corporate on '16 issues?

Let me start this post by saying this is not a troll post. I have been following the gen 3 saga since we started seeing them in the wild back in October or so. I have been pre-approved for financing on a new Tacoma but I am holding off for a '17 model. If you scroll the Gen 3 section you will see a large amount of threads devoted to issues people are having with the Tacoma. Yes, some are growing pains expected with a new generation but others (like low ATF fluid and non-greased u joints) are simply unacceptable.
As someone who really wants to believe in Toyota (My '02 has been nothing but loyal and reliable to me), I want to believe that Toyota is taking corrective action and reassuring it's potential customers that quality a main concern. I still keep seeing posts about people with the same issues however. Does Toyota ever go on the record acknowledging these things? Or do they just hope to sweep it under the rug? It seems even dealerships won't really acknowledge certain issues.
Again, not a troll post. I want to give Toyota business for making such a wonderful truck I drive now but it is getting up there in age/miles.


(I only care about the auto because I want a DCLB and the manual isn't an option for me. If it were offered in that config I wouldn't even touch the auto).

 

Manufactures don't come out in press conferences and say yes we have had some complaints and we are currently addressing them. The best thing people can do to get Toyota to fix the quality control issues is to take the truck back to the dealer so they can open an repair order. Toyota see's all the customer complaints, and the techs story the issue and fix. Toyota gets this info and they will take the measures to address them. The people who ended up greasing the u joints or filling fluids themselves do nothing to contribute to the issues getting fixed. Toyota doesn't really know of all the issues they have on the assembly lines until customers come back to the dealership with complaints or if a quality control personnel finds problems. Be persistent. take your truck back to the dealer and make sure they verify you concern. Call Toyota corporate and file a complaint. That's what will get the ball rolling

 

I am sure they will get resolved with TSB just like the previous GEN.
It takes a bit for that to happen.
I bought a 2006 ( a year after the 2005 release) and there were a bunch of TSBs that came out in 2006.

 

You know, the auto isnt that bad except for cruise control. its a heavy truck with a tiny motor trying to be efficient. It will naturally suck

 

It's kinda weird but I tested 3 autos. One had a couple hundred miles on it and the others had less than 20. The one with a couple hundred on the clock seemed to feel much more lively. Might have been a mental factor but the 2 brand new ones (one of them was a DCLB 4x4 OR) felt sluggish.

 

its a little of the tranny learning where to shift and settle in period between driver and truck.

 

Also keep in mind that only a tiny fraction of Gen 3 owners participate here on TW.

Some issues, Yes. Keep you from buying one? I think not. I love mine. Also loved my 06 that I traded for this one.

G.

 

Meanwhile all the manual owners are blowing the doors off the 4.0 owners... And it's not that close... I took out my friends c350 Mercedes in a 0-40. And truck has no issues, vibes, and I have nothing to complain about. Which is why I don't post about it.

 

Happy 3rd Gen owner here. I've had some minor transmission complaints, though nowhere near the rage-levels that I've seen on the forums. Got my fluid checked, it was one liter low, dealership corrected it with no fuss at all.

Do I expect Toyota to come out and say "Ya, we weren't filling those, that's our bad, the 17s will definitely be full"? No. But it's good to have such a large community of owners around that we can all notice these things and take the corrective actions ourselves.

Also, agree with you on the DCLB manual dream-option.

 

I have lurked on the ColoradoFans forum and the Tacoma World gen 3 section has way more negative threads. There seems to be some genuine wide-spread issues with the Tacoma. If you bought a 2016 Tacoma and are happy, good for you. I am not insulting your truck. And yes, the manual transmission has virtually all positive reviews.

 

There are also a dozens of threads about the same topics, so it makes it look even worse. That and I suspect Tacoma owners are a little pickier based on the reputation of the brand and truck.

And yes, I love my manual.

 

Yup I agree, I find multiple threads about the same issue. For every 1 issue, there's about at least 2-3 threads about it. In addition, I also second the fact that majority of owners do not join forums to rejoice about how good their vehicles are (some do, but a fraction). This is true in all car forums I belong to.

 

Nope.

 

Toyota response largely is: it's normal for the truck

 

x2.

For most of the vibration and squeak issues from the previous gens, Toyota's only official words are "characteristics of the vehicle,"which is essentially a tough shit response.

Power train issues are different, a trans is either under filled, perfect, or over filled - that they can fix. Chasing down squeaks and vibrations and things like that, though, you either get lucky with a dealer or you get shafted by Toyota.

That's why it's always better to act right when handling things at the dealership, if you don't have a black and white issue, they're your only legit hope for a fix that you don't have to research the shit out of yourself and handle on your own. Going in and ranting and threatening won't get you anywhere, and when you piss yourself off and file a complaint with Toyota, you get a representative to handle the issue. Where does that person work? The dealership.

If it were me, I'd hang off until 2017 MY and see what kind of kinks they fix and what kinks they create, then decide. Just bear in mind, vibes, squeaks, etc,. are not historically fixed or addressed.

 

Online strategy is always debatable. Corporate PR can be very dicey. Some companies actively respond to customer complaints in forums. They are usually forums run by the company and mods can take swift action on assholes. But those companies also address issues. Lenovo comes to mind and their ThinkPad forums. Toyota obviously has a different strategy. It might have something to do with class action law suits and a product that can be a lot more dangerous than a 5 pound notebook computer.

I don't think the noise here is utter bullshit. I've watched many forums for a long time on various hobbies and interests. You start to spot trends than can't be merely dismissed. At this point I would expect savvy internet shoppers would have picked up on them, and it has caused a few missed sales. But the vast majority of buyers don't do significant research so they won't be aware. We also don't get the benefit of EVERY customers experience either.

So, is this site statistically significant? Me thinks the signal to noise ratio here is pretty normal. I am certainly grateful for the 3rd gen owners early adoption and sharing. I've been on the bleeding edge before and it can be painful. Nothing wrong with being cautious.

 

How many members are on the Colorado forum vs TW? It's probably not even close. 2nd gen thread looked really similar to 3rd gen back when it was in its infancy.

 

Pretty happy 2016 automatic owner here. I've been driving for 45 years and have driven 2 speed Powerglides, three AND four on the tree and too many four and five on the floor to count, a handful of 6 speeds, many 3/4/5 speed autos and even put 100K miles on a Prius. Is the 3.5v6 and 6 speed auto matchup perfect? No. But it's the fastest truck I've ever driven and the best fuel economy too, and if you drove 1000 of them around Beijing for a week, they'd probably clean up the smog. Quiet, smooth riding, and comfortable too. If there's anything to complain about, it's the joke of an infotainment system and a big hood to look over, for a "mini truck". Oh, and the random placement of buttons for ECT, parking sensors, 4 wd, heated seats etc scattered around the dash. If the power train guys get a "B" grade, the user interface guys get a C-minus. While I'm whining, the TRD chrome grill is pretty lame too. That's about it ...

 

To answer the thread title, there isn't one damn thing Toyota has responded to or acknowledged regarding the 2016 Tacoma, if there was I think there would've been a post about it.

Was this a troll post or not? Well, obviously you knew the answer to your question before even posting the question. I always question threads that start with "this isn't a troll post, but...".

 

So far so good with mine. I have not checked tranny fluid level or the u-bolts yet - if they are not right I'll post it here. I have bought new trucks before (2010 sierra 4x4 and 2005 silverado 2wd) and neither of them have had me so happy. Knocking on wood. Only gripe is the ugly grill, but looking at others who have simply painted theirs black, makes a yuuuge improvement.