A few questions about the 3rd gen.

I'm new to this forum and don't have a Taco yet, but I am very seriously shopping, have test-driven a few (A/T, no M/T) and I'm considering building one if I can't find the right one. Before I do that though I wanted to see what ya'll had to say.

1. I currently have a 5-sp Volvo S60 as my daily driver and like the car. I am moving to Lakewood, CO next month to start a new job and want to get a new vehicle before the year end. First question I guess is what are the Pros and Cons to the 6-sp M/T over the Auto? Crawl Control is cool but I can lose that (I think), will I still have the locking diff. with a M/T?

2. Dependent upon the transmission, DCSB or DCLB?

3. Any other factory options you suggest?

4. Any aftermarket options you recommend?

Thanks in advance!

 

I have a manual transmission. 1st gear, 4lo is all the "crawl control" you need. Yes, you still get the locking diff on the Off Road.

The M/T is nice and I wouldn't buy it any other way honestly. There are quite a few complaints on the 3rd gen, but for those of us that have the M/T, the transmission is not one of them.

 

Get M/T (short bed only) with tow pkg. Trd off road. And your in Lakewood ,buy it from Mountain States Toyota(no dealer fees).

 

What complaints?

 

Awesome! Thanks for the heads up!

 

Go with the OR DCSB M/T ! All you have to look at is the complaining about A/T its a mess some guys have no issues but seems most do have some complaint with A/T. I wish now i had gone with the M/T. Just my personnel opinion on this. I have the A/T TRD sport DCSB but take the time to drive both , get them both out on the highway and really get a feel for both then make your own decision , dont just do the trip around the block tell your dealer you need a good test of both !!!!!

 

A little light reading in this forum will find them for you. There are several, but the underfilled auto transmissions is the one that would concern me most. The non-greased U joints are easy to correct.

Your #2 is up to you and what you haul/how you use the truck.

Your #3 is up to you and how much you think you'll benefit from more gee-whiz bang stuff. I prefer a bit of simplicity. As an example, I'll always use an aftermarket GPS over an in dash nav. It works better, it updates for free, it's transferable between vehicles and it costs a lot less.

Your #4 is up to you, how you use the truck, and how deep your pockets are.

If you're not familiar with the area you are going, and don't really know how you'd use a vehicle there, it might be better to make your choices, including the initial purchase, after you've been on site a while. It's possible what you think you want today could leave some regrets after your experience grows.

 

I drove a manual TRD sport, and a auto TRD offroad within a day of each other. The manual makes the engine much more live able from what I can tell. I'm ordering a 6 speed DCSB TRD offroad. If I wanted an Automatic I'd order a TRD pro 4Runner that actual shifts correctly.

 

What are you wanting to use the truck for? If you're not doing any serious off-roading you'd be better off with an AWD Subaru and get a set of dedicated winter tires for when it snows. Will outperform a truck on those snowy, sloppy, icy Colorado mountain roads. If you're like most people and heading up to the mountains for skiing and boarding in the winter you definitely don't want a manual as well. Lots of stop and go traffic there now since everyone is moving there. It's a nightmare on I70 in the winter. And for what it's worth, 90% of the time it's a truck that's stuck off the side of the road in a ditch, not a car. For whatever reason the guys with trucks think they can drive 80mph when there's snow on the road. AT tires do not mean good traction in the snow!

 

Truth. My family has a FWD '97 Volvo 850 T5 and when the snow comes we throw studded nokians on it, and it drives right by 4wd's with shitty tires in the ditch. Tires make a world of a difference in foul weather, not always the vehicle itself.

 

I do like to go off-roading in the warmer months and drive my friends wrangler when we do so. I'm coming from Philly, so with all due respect you guys don't know traffic. I've been on I-70 heading to the mountains and while it does suck, it's tolerable. The pros of driving a manual daily versus the cons of it in traffic are worth it to me. Your point of the cars vs. trucks in the snow is well received as that is something I have considered. Wondering if any other owners would like to talk about their Taco in the snow?

 

I drove my stock '03 through 18" of snow a couple winters ago, can't say it was easy but if you know what you are doing these trucks are quite capable. Got my '16 in March so I'll tell you how it does next year.

 

Hmmmm, I don't know traffic. Guess what? I'm from Philly, born and raised. And I've lived in Southern California for years and the Bay Area currently, and Denver off and on for 15 years. Denver is not what it was even a couple years ago. Traffic there is getting very bad in certain spots. Coming back form the mountains on I-70 on a Sunday to the Denver Metro Area can be so bad people bring lawn chairs and sit on the side of the road because the traffic is at such a standstill. Never seen anyone do that on I-95 back east, and have owned both the Tacoma and a couple Subarus and spent many a winter in Colorado. A Subaru will outperform a Tacoma in day to day driving/commuting on snow covered roads and freeways hands down. The horizontally opposed boxer engine and the lower center of gravity makes it a much more stable vehicle in those kinds of conditions, plus the Subaru AWD is the best out there, but what do I know, right?

 

Big difference driving through a patch of deep snow compared to an iced up/snow covered freeway or mountain road for miles. Just saying.

 

I challenge you all to sit in Seattle traffic at 5:00pm on a weekday. Especially in a manual transmission vehicle without using the tolling lanes on I405.

 

I debated on MT or Auto, and ultimately went with the Auto. I do a lot of city driving and just don't want to shift that much. I personally haven't had any issues with my trans. It does take some getting used to having a double overdrive. I'd still get the auto if I were to do it again. However, if you like MT, get the MT. These are great trucks IMO, just be sure to get what you want options and all

 

I lived in Los Angeles for 10 years. 8 of them with a 2003 Tacoma M/T. And yea thats about all I could take of a M/T.

 

Yeah, not many mountain roads here in South Jersey. But we get plenty of black ice and packed snow. I little weight in the bed goes a long way in those situations. Still never had any problems.

 

1. Low ATF out of the factory causing delayed or clunky transmission engagement
2. The AT is super shift happy
3. There is a rumble strip vibration feeling when coming to a stop (from 25 mph down). I've felt this on every truck I've driven the m/t seem to not do it as much but it's still there
4. There is a vibration at 2100-2500 rpms. Some people have it so bad their hands and feet go numb
5. There is a howl coming from the rear end around 55-60. (When you test drive get it up to those speeds and feather the throttle. They all do it. At least all 12 trucks I've driven to date)
6. The brake pedal pulsates like a cell phone ringing if you. Pump the brakes in park and you can get it to happen
7. The lower control arms turn into a flute in the right conditions but there is a fix for that I believe
8. Some people have complained about significant road noise coming from bad weather stripping on the drivers door
9. I think the rear door seals have been known to cause issues as well.
10. M/t vehicles stick shifter can vibrate back and forth pretty badly