What Have You Done To Your 3rd Gen Today?

More info please. You can't leave us hanging like that.

 

I'm going to make a thread in the audio/video section... But will post an update or 2 here tonight

 

So.... My buddy works for Toyota and told him to ask his parts manager to order me a TRD pro grille once it becomes available. Today he tells me that the grille should be in either tomorrow (saturday) or Monday morning. I asked my buddy multiple questions and asked him over and over again this is for the 2017 TRD Pro not the 2nd gen. The parts manager said there was two in the Boston area and one is mine... I know I should be happy but I can't help be very skeptic. I'll keep everyone in the loop.

 

Good deal, I'll be watching for it.

 

That's interesting. I'd be skeptical also. I wouldn't think they would be in production yet especially for the open market.

 

So to start out this is my first Toyota vehicle. I haven't had a lot of problems with this truck but the small ones I have had irritate me. The hood is fluttering in the wind due to the adhesive coming loose, the headliner has a vibration in it, the drivers side door us the ole kazoo going on, the driveline was dry as a bone and the transmission doesn't feel responsive as it should which makes me feel the fluid is probably low, there is a whining howl coming from the rear (which sounds like the rear dif). All those issues of corrected wouldn't bother me. What bothers me is that it was a pain in the a** to purchase to start with because the dealer alowed everyone to test drive the first one I ordered up to almost 400 miles and then I made them order me another. I got this one in and took it in for the 5,000 mile second and caught the dealer not rotting the tires but put on the paperwork that they did. Took it in for the 10,000 mile service and same thing with the tires and asked them to check trans fluid, ujoints, and rear dif. They said all was good and talked to me like I was an idiot. I called Toyota today and they said they never heard of the transmission fluid issue or hood issue which is hard to believe since I know several people on here have called them. I am not happy with Toyota and may cut my losses. I heard so much good things about the old Tacomas and Toyota and so far NOT Impressed.

 

I really dig the rims and the black stickers. Back to work on my MGM...

 

First off, those are some beautiful speaker replacements you got there. Nothing wrong with wanting better sound out of the system.

With that being said, you will (in time) find yourself ripping out the OE head unit and OE JBL amp in order to obtain the best and the most power those awesome speakers can deliver. I hate to say it, but they will never sound right until you do so.

I had the JBL package on my 2012, and I noticed sound artifacts and clipping on a lot of the songs I would play. I mostly listen to classic rock, rock, metal, alternative. You get the point. Anyways, my amplifier crapped out on me and soon after I found myself ripping out the perfectly intact head unit because the amplifier which died controlled the headunit and steering wheel volume, so every audio component in the truck minus the factory speaker wiring had to come out and I ended up having hell for the next week or so properly wiring the thing up. Worthy mod though. The aftermarket sound system BLOWS away the JBL, even with aftermarket speakers run off the OE headunit and amp powering it all.

Just thought it was something worth mentioning. Your path is exactly how mine started.

 

I feel blessed since I have owned an '05 and a '12 Off-Road with no problems, and currently a '16 Off-Road with 3000 miles and no problems. I'm pretty particular since half of my career (15 yrs.) was spent in Quality Assurance, F-15 Aircraft. One thing I have learned about the Japanese: If it's good, they will improve the process and make it better, and if it's broke, they will fix it, improve the process and again make it better.

 

cracked windshield from a minor rock on the road. I hear they are fragile. Not what I expected from Toyota! I traded in my 06 off road and I only had ever replaced that windshield once. It used to get hit with all kinds of stuff

 

What did I do today? Scratched the hell out of the clear plastic over the instrument cluster by inadvertently grabbing a terrycloth towel I had used to clean sand out of my truck.

So much for a quick touchup. Now looks like I took sandpaper to the thing.

 

Oh don't worry, I'm not stopping at just the speakers. What am I, effin crathey?

 

Oh man that sucks! I think someone else on here did something really similar. When the time comes to do that myself I think I'm gonna use LCD TV cleaner and a freshly cleaned microfiber but I'm scared to death of touching haha

 

Seeing how f'ed it got with fine sand, if I ever replace it I'm not even going to touch it with anything before blowing compressed air at it.

 

Don't use an air gun from a compressor, you could see a similar effect. get a can of air duster used for cleaning computers and electronics

 

I'm glad to hear so! You might be effin' crathey, idk! Lol.

Items to swap out to rid yourself of JBL setup:

(Pick your poison of brands to all of the below)
-Headunit
-Amplifier (4-6 channels, your choice)
-Speakers (front 2 and tweeters will be all you need to obtain the best imaging, the rears ruin the soundstage apparently if you use Coaxials, woofers are of no help either)
- OE Bluetooth microphone (should be included with whatever headunit you buy)
- All of the rest of the OE accessory items including the backup cam can stay in place, you can also hack the OE sharkfin to work with the aftermarket unit as well.

It will be a "fun" project when you choose to undertake it.

 

Yep, good point.

 

I lightly wipe the instrument cluster plastic with a microfiber. Worst part, even with that I can lightly see scuff marks in the light. Almost need a protective clear cover like a phone.
You should try Plastic-X by Miguiers. Take a bit on your finger, rub it into the clear plastic..then finish buffing it out with a fine cloth. Stuff has worked wonders for me.

 

What did I do today.... Got my front bed rail and stripped the head out of 3 of the 5 screws taking them out to install itI cannot believe how tight these are in there. Now have to order more and work on getting these out before I can install it.

Anyone else have trouble getting them out?

 

Toyota doesn't make the glass......
I got my windshield smucked hard with a rock a month ago and it only left an abrasion and no crack.