Manual transmission Fan Club and BS thread (All Generations Welcome)

The TRDOR AC Manual is Canada only for the time being, you can wait and hope for 2018, but I wouldn't hold your breath.

It is completely possible to import the truck into the US, you just have to be willing to jump through a few hoops to do it. You would have to buy the truck as a used vehicle as they won't let you import a brand new vehicle. So some dealers would sell your truck to the salesmen's wife or brother and then you'd buy it off them, now it's a used truck and can technically be imported(this is based on friends buying in the US and importing back to Canada back when our dollar was par, I think it's the same going the other way as well). Saying the warranty is void is IMO bullshit, it'll should still be covered under the factory warranty. Now recalls are a different story, for whatever reason US and Canada don't have the same recalls and TSB's so in that regard you may have a tougher time getting those things done. Converting the display from KPH to MPH shouldn't be hard, should just be a setting that a tech tool can change. And you can even save the 10% provincial tax if you buy from a province that doesn't have one, then you'd just have to pay the 5% national tax.

 

When I bought my truck every Toy Dealer in the Lower Mainland of BC (at least 16) had the truck I wanted in stock. AC Cab Manual Trd OR. Finding my colour of choice the quicksand was the only issue. And 2 dealerships had the AC quicksand in stock. WhiteRock and Jim Pattison Surrey. The latter being only a mile from my house. Went down to look at it and ended up buying it right off the floor. At the time my salesman told me they were having a tough time keeping them in stock as a lot of the AC manuals were being bought and taken down south by the Americans. Second hand info, but is what he told me. was believable though, as the US border is only about 12 miles away.

https://www.google.ca/webhp?sourcei...4!3d49.12744875120809!3m2!1i1020!2i687!4f13.1

http://www.ezbordercrossing.com/the...e/importing-vehicle-from-canada/#.V-Vth--ikmI

https://www.epa.gov/importing-vehicles-and-engines/importing-canadian-vehicles

 

So I couldn't buy the truck as new, put so many miles on it touring Canada, then bring it back as used? If so I may look into it, happen to know if Ontario has a tax?

 

I don't think a Canadian dealer will directly sell to someone who doesn't have a Canadian address, you'd have to buy it "second hand" from say the salesmen's wife. Buying in Ontario has 13% tax. Alberta and the territories are the only places that don't have additional provincial taxes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sales_taxes_in_Canada

 

The speedometer shouldn't be a problem, it has Mph right under Kph , the US version is flipped but it should still be accepted as it's there. The odometer has to be imperial as well, that is in the center computer screen, can anyone verify that this can be switched from miles to kilometers, and vice versa? That should be in the settings, I think under Units.

The other 2 requirements are EPA and DOT compliance, can anyone with a Canadian model see if these stickers are present? If not, Toyota has to verify that it meets those requirements, which they should, I don't think there is any difference in the Canadian model.

The last hurdle is actually time, and Trump's action on NAFTA. While cars have a 2.4% import tax, trucks have a whopping 25% import tax. This doesn't apply to the Tacoma because it's built in the US and/or Mexico and covered under NAFTA. If he gets rid of it, I'm hoping there is still some agreement between the US and Canada, and I'd have to make sure I get a US built truck. This is all up in the air right now though, but might be an issue later.

Here is a video I found on importing vehicles

https://www.youtube.com/shared?ci=iTV5R-ue4hE

 

OK, I am going to bitch about a couple things concerning the MT in my 2017 TRD sport. It seems notchy, like it has burs on the first gear. Second gear through 6th is fantastically smooth but first gear feels like it just doesn't want to go sometimes. The other thing I noticed was the lack of jump from 4th into 5th, I normally skip 5th unless I run into an incline while shifting. The jump from 3rd to 4th is a big one, followed by no jump into 5th.

The ratios dont seem to be correct. I also noticed the limited I drove had more torque than my MT seems to have. I dont want to bitch about lack of low end power but man, mine feels like it just doesnt want to go. It has 1600 miles on it, might be still breaking in...who knows?

 

Definitely took me a few thousand miles to get really smooth shifts, but boy do I disagree on the torque. Numbers-wise we have significantly lower gear ratio so actual torque is much better on the MT.

Experience-wise

Don't be afraid to rev that shit.

 

I like 5th. Give about 500 RPM drop between 2K and 3K RPM. Great for faster city roads. Also, it will be nice to have for towing. I'll probably run in 5th for just a little extra power. 5th and 6th could each have been slightly taller and it would be perfect.

 

Really? My 3rd gear is incredibly notchy.

For the power, shift at 3.2-3.5k rpm and it's much better

 

I still have hiccups shifting 1st to 2nd every now and then, that is the trickiest gear change I have ever met. I've driven a few other standards and all have been a lot smoother. But I know it's geared for OR driving so I accept it.

 

Ive ran her up to redline, just seems like no torque compared to the 2nd gen I still own. All of the gears seem notchy compared to others I have driven. My sister left her mustang with us and that transmission is what I would expect out of a japanese made vehicle. I may end up swapping to some other fluid this spring when it warms up enough for me to want to crawl under the truck. The other day I tried third and ended up in first, I just pinned it and banged second and left a scratch, I am still trying to figure this one out. My ducati 848 has a funky gear box and it took some time mastering it.

 

Not sure where to find the DOT but here is a pic of the sticker under my hood with the EPA info which California approved

Door sticker says Manufactured in Texas USof A

 

Wait until you try first and end up in reverse! Its happened to several of us.

 

lol, That was me this morning! Kept going into reverse! I also went from 6th to 2nd instead of 6th to 4th.

 

This list is from RIV.ca which is the opposite, bringing a US vehicle into Canada.

http://www.tc.gc.ca/motorvehiclesafety/safevehicles/importation/usa/vafus/list2/Section12_0.htm

Toyota is way at the bottom, looks like Tacoma only mentions odometer and Speedometer, and an immobilization system that might be required in Canada. I don't think it'll need much coming the other way.

That's perfect, thank you! the DOT requirements should be a breeze. I was more worried that the EPA requirements wouldn't satisfy California's strict requirements. Can the odometer be changed to miles traveled in the menu settings?

 

I'm not going to multiquote every comment relative to importing from Canada to the US, but I will say it's way more of a legal shit storm than anyone knows or is claiming to know. My source of knowledge is based on friends and family that have imported, exported and had seized (1 defender and 1 R33) vehicles over the last 10 years.

Let me start by saying it's a relative cake walk to get a vehicle from ANY other country into Canada than it is to get anything into the US...legally. There are no "it should be similar" equivalences - it's not.

Legal way: buy the truck in Canada (requiring a Canadian address), hold it there while you get USDOT and EPA approval. This is the biggest hurdle here as the ONLY way to get this done for a 3rd gen is through a letter of conformance from Toyota. Good luck explaining to them what you did and why you're doing it. Though the specific Taco in question (TRDOR AC 6MT) is a good reason to do so, corporate doesn't like their sales getting sniped across states much less countries. State DMV approval will be a cake walk considering most only want a valid vin and will blindly move on. The EPA sticker won't mean s*** to CBP or whoever comes by to seize the vehicle should they have nothing better to do (they should but sometimes they get their priorities wrong).

Illegal way to do it: buy it in Canada with a Canadian address. Drive it across the border - register at state DMV as if new and no one will probably know the difference. Unless there's some identifyer I don't know about in the VIN, insurance won't be an issue either. Hell, there are even a few import companies that you could talk into helping you with this process assuming you signed some waiver acknowledging that you know the truck needs to stay in Canada and if it leaves the country it was all you. One day the Feds may come knocking. They might not at all. Just don't be shocked or upset if a $30k+ purchase gets seized.

tl;dr: Save yourself the headache, get a TRDSport AC 6MT, add a locker and shocks down the road. I don't agree with any of the US's vehicle import policies but wanted to put this out there before the mis-information got worse.

OA

 

The video you linked is very helpful, thanks for posting it. If NAFTA goes away and even if trucks 25% duty remains I imagine it'll be a non-issue on Access Cab Tacomas because aren't all made in Texas anyway?

 

The 2 cars you mentioned were never sold here, save for a few Defenders. They probably throw up some crazy red flags, especially with foreign manufacturer VINs. The Defender is even mentioned in this video.

https://www.youtube.com/shared?ci=I21ygwa0C3Y

I am certain that US and Canadian VIN numbers are the same, as it is a North American standard format. VIN should be something like 5TFCZ5AN8HX0XXXXX, it should start with a 1, 4, or 5. Getting a Canadian address might be the biggest hurdle. Converting a Sport might be the easier way to go, but with the Canadian truck I already get the lockers, but more importantly I get ATRAC (can't just add that), and the strong dollar saves me around 5 grand ($38,000 Canadian is around $28,000 US).

 

Please take a couple minutes to ask Toyota when the AC TRD OR manual will be offered here in the U.S.?http://www.toyota.com/support/#!/app/ask

My loyalty leans to Toyota but personally if I'm limited to an automatic in this configuration I'm shopping other brands also and this one may be at the top of the list. http://www.chevrolet.com/colorado-zr2-off-road-truck.html

 

My Vin starts with 5TFSZ5AN................