Tacoma Automatic Transmission Satisfaction Survey

God I hope that 35 year tech (Techman?) is right about a new program to fix the lockup...

 

No way to rig it up so it stays on all the time?

 

Overall I'm fairly satisfied. I've found if I have a heavier foot, the shifts seem more normal. The lighter I am on the gas, the more it searches for gears.

 

What do you suggest ? Maybe a 2015 Tacoma with a 4.0 that can actually maintain highway speeds ?
Because my old 4.0 drove much better than these pile of crap '16s do

 

Or a Tundra....

Or a car.....

If you need to go 80+ miles an hour for hours on end using cruise and you hate the constant shifting, pick something else or leave the cruise off.

Or find the damn sweetspot on your current truck and drive at that speed.

 

Sort of more work than necessary don't you think? Seems more hassle to find and wire a defeat than to just push the button when you want more power from the get go.

Press a button to start, press another to engage ECT..... simple.

 

I read through the string and here's what I am taking away. The 3.5 is under powered. This surprises me because some Tacoma auto magazine reviews were saying the 4.0 was due for a change. Maybe; and if so, the 3.5 should have been an improvement. The second thing I am taking away is don't expect the 3.5 to cruise 80 mph without struggling. Just me...but I'd be disappointed. The speed limit on I-25 is 75, and you could get run over if you're not running 78-82 mph. It seems to me this drive train would be better equipped for highway driving...once again, just me.

Transmission aside, I was thinking about the 2016 before I bought my 2015. I like the push start, interior, seats, and even the 3.5 with the 6 speed auto appealed to me. My wife's Camry has this set up and it scoots. The only thing I could not get passed with the 2016 is the grill. Just me, but I don't care for it.

 

I would test one to see for yourself. As much as I bash the new auto, my most-recent test drive seemed to be a lot better/faster IMO. Dealer let me drive up the local mountain summet that goes from 7200 ft to about 9,000 ft. I was able to climb up it no problem at 80 MPH. Not in 6th gear but it did surprisingly well.

 

That's good hear, as that's what I would expect.
thanks!

 

It's not cruise that's the issue. The truck cannot maintain any speed above 65 MPH (normal highway speed) without revving to 4500+ RPMs with 2 dirt bikes in the bed. Something my 2nd gen performed just fine. If I had any reason to believe a motor that makes the same torque and +40 HP would struggle with normal highway speeds then I would have bought a Tundra. Unfortunately, the dealership doesn't let you load up some bikes before you test drive.

 

Like my 1997 4x4 2.7L 5-speed with 159 h.p.? Ran all day at 75 mph.

This truck has 278 h.p. and 6-speeds but it can't cruise at 75-80 mph without loosing it's mind?

That's weak, really weak.

 

Powerband is really quite important.

 

You and moab are cherry picking my posts....

As for your requirement, what's the wet weight of those two dirtbikes? My guess is 450lbs or more? Any additional passengers or gear during your trip? Just trying to get a feel for how much you were hauling in the truck.

If it's a frequent haul then yes, a Tundra now or staying with a 2nd gen with lower grunt may have been a better choice to manage that load better for long highway commutes.

Like I said in a much earlier post in this tread this 3rd gen may now be how Toyota is defining the differences between the Tacoma and Tundra. Decrease low end grunt in heavier hauling requirements to make Tacoma buyers more inclined to purchase a Tundra now.

For someone like me coming from a 1st gen, it has plenty of power and space to do what I need. For 2nd Gen guys, you might feel disappointed if it doesn't do some things as well as hoped.

 

I wouldn't mind sacrificing 1 or 2 more mpg for faster shifting at low gears.

It seem like Toyotas main concern is fuel economy. but if they could come out with a recall that would fix the gear shifting, I wouldn't mind having to sacrifice a couple MPGS for it to respond a little faster. But I doubt Toyota would make a recall that would fix the transmission issue but decrease MPGS.

but I'm not too sure what else they are able to do than to program the transmission to respond faster but would probably result in lower MPGS?

This is definetly not my field of study so I could definetly be wrong, but from what I've read it only makes sense.

Anybody have any input?

 

My point exactly !!! Toyota dropped the ball on the new Tacoma turds , and now apparently they claim they never held the ball in the first place. Wtf Toyota ?

 

I'm currently thinking about pulling the trigger on a real Tacoma !

 

^^^^THIS^^^^^

 

Odd that everyone doesn't see that revving at highway speeds.

 

t

My 04 runs 75 steady on cruise too.... gas mileage is also shit at that speed, might have a range of 200 miles and my guess is a bed full of dirt bikes would give it fits.

I went to a 3rd gen because I wanted better gas mileage in a bigger size, both bed and cabin with decent offroad capabilities. I didn't buy it to be a speed demon or to haul heavier loads at highway speeds. If I needed to do that, I would have bought a Tundra.

FWIW the 16 does 75 +just fine too.... I just don't use cruise control to run those speeds, don't need to and the truck holds gear just fine.