2017 Tacoma, One Month In

Hey guys,

Not sure if you care but I thought I would post my thoughts after my first month owning a Tacoma. (First one). Just some previous history on the vehicles I've owned, I've owned a 1992 Ford Taurus station wagon (Grandma gave it to me, Hell yea. We called it the Clitaurus.) A 2010 F-150, a 2012 Dodge Dakota, a 2012 Audi S4, and a 2015 Jeep Wrangler (Rubicon 6MT). I have a little bit of a problem when it comes to switching cars; and I sold the Audi after a systemic failure.

My new ride is a 2017 DCLB TRD Sport +.

So I've mostly been a truck guy with the exception of the one sedan. My first impressions with the truck were similar to a lot of people on this forum; in fact I think it was shaped by this forum as I generally do a lot of reading before making a purchase. The engine felt a little under powered in the low end. I didn't find the gear hunting to be an issue on my test drive (2016 with 20k on it) but I did notice the issue with my brand spankin' new 2017. People say the transmission will keep learning, and we'll see how much learning occurs over the first 5k.

Powertrain: 7/10

I was hit with some buyers remorse for the first couple weeks based on the powertrain, however 95% of that has faded as I've gotten to know the truck.

That being said, I don't think the "lack of power" is really a problem anymore. If I ever need a little more pick up, I just hit the ECT button. (Is that really acceptable?, sure, why not? It's like a default eco mode. I don't have a problem with it.) With the ECT button pressed the truck is quite spirited in my opinion.

Unloaded, the ride is really loose in the rear end compared to my Dakota and F150. I questioend whether this was OK in a truck that cost roughly double what my Dakota did, I just feel minor bumps make the whole end like rattle up and down. (Check the u-bolts you'll tell me - I'll get to it when its not wet and cold.) However this truck doesn't really apologize for what it is - it's a pickup and designed to be more rugged and composed off road than the average I think, certainly more so than my Dakota. I plan on upgrading to some Bilstein or Fox shocks to get a 2" lift, so I don't really care much.

My most pleasant surprise is the turning radius. It's almost as good as my Rubicon. I live at a "T" intersection and it is really nice to be able to do a full U-turn to get out of my street and not have to do a 3 point.

Interior - 7/10

Looks great, I really like it although the Clazzios took it where it needed to be. At this price point, we should have been given vinyl seats from the factory. The truck is quite loud coming from the Audi S4. I expected this. Thinking of pulling off the door panels and adding some Dynamat in order to quiet the road down a bit but that is just cause I am anal. I don't like the tin sound of the rain - this bothers me, but again - it's a truck not a 65k german sports sedan.

Exterior 8/10 - I removed the air dam. It looks better. The black looks awesome. Halogens are BS, I'll be upgrading to HIDs. It gets dark driving around the back roads.

Toyos - Meh. I'll be driving them until there's no more tread left than picking up Duratrac or BFG A/Ts. Only one snow storm so far. The Toyos are fine, but they're brand new so I expected that. Winter tires next winter (Canada).

Ergonomics - 6/10 - didn't seem like it was that big of a problem during the 30 minute test drive, but I do find my leg space severely limited. I'm about 5'11 however I have long limbs so I am thinking of doing the seat raising mod to see if I can get a little bit of extra stretch room. I don't like reaching too far from the wheel, so I wish the telescopic steering wheel came out farther so I can have my seat far back enough to stretch out my legs.

Performance - ??/10 - Cannot comment on under load conditions whether towing or hauling as I have not had an opportunity to do so yet.

Overall: 7/10 - Meets Expectations. I bought a vehicle and got exactly as expected. I paid the toyota premium for longevity and quality, I cannot comment whether I got what I paid for yet.

 

So far I'd give mine a 3 out of 10 that's after 1 year of ownership and 20k miles. Slightly below average.

 

great write up.

i give mine a 4 out of 10 based mostly on the transmission. i know iv said it a lot so i wont go into detail. i test drove it before buying but never noticed how bad the transmission really was. my test drive was only about 15 minutes long and it seemed half decent. after about a week or 2 of driving it i noticed how it really was. hasnt gotten any better.

iv also had a lot of little issue here and there that i wouldn't have expected to happen (replaced drivers seat, frame to body mounts, loose suspension bolts up front, dash vibrations and rattles etc)

however i know that every vehicle isn't perfect,

i do like some of the features inside but wish it had the option for black leather and also more adjust ability with the drivers seat.

but the transmission really kills the truck.

im a year in with about 10500 miles.

 

Sounds like you have had a pretty average experience so far. Did you also test drive an Off Road model as it sounds like you do not care for the harsh ride on the Sport?

 

Great honest write up. Echoes how I feel about my truck besides the production issues the dealership refuses to fix.

 

That is a good question - No I did not test an off-road. Long beds are unavailable in Canada in an Off Road. a DCLBOR would have been my first choice, however I settled given I will use the extra bed length more than MTS, or crawl control. Additionally, the OR does not get upgrade package in Canada (No sunroof, BSM, etc..)

To the guys who gave it a 3 or 4, I hope my experience does not err towards yours as time goes on. Sounds like a couple warranty issues, although thats what warranty is for it does give me some worry. Quality is engineered, not built. The fact that so many defects made it out is a failure in the process systems at the assembly plant - an entirely different group than product design but let's hope we have a little more talent in the latter.

@Adamtaco

Where was your truck built? They likely have slightly different assembly processes given options, age of plant(pre-invested capital often drive these things)

 

I don't think the trans is a assembly problem. It's a turd. I love everything else about mine. The transmission to be so crappy and can't check the fluid, sucks.

 

Nice truck! I came from an Audi S4 as well.

I think of ECT as hitting Dynamic mode in the S4.

No complaints about the truck so far. Drives and feels like a truck.

 

Sorry if what I wrote seemed that way - based off the shear number of transmission complaints it is design, not assembly. (low fluid excepted)

 

Congrats on your new Tacoma and welcome!

 

Thanks!

 

My vin starts with a 5 so I would assume that is the Texas plant.

It's bad enough that I can drive 20 miles on the highway and it never even gets to 6th gear or will stay in it.
Even on pretty much flat ground. It's always jumping back to 4th.

I know it is a 6 speed and they are prone to shifting more than a 4 speed but it's to the point where it's constantly revving high. Won't even maintain 65 mph without having to keep shifting to 4th and 5th.

 

Do you hammer it a lot in city driving? If trans learns habits- maybe this could cause it to prefer the lower gear to maintain torque?

 

I never beat on it at all. I drive it like an old person. I live right off a highway exit and my work is 4 highway exits away. So it only gets about 25 miles of highway driving a day and it never is really driven in the city.

 

Very good Review,
I have 10,000 miles on my Tacoma now and as far as my tranny I had the second TSB and it has gotten better with miles on it and has Ben great ever since, also being in Florida helps lol!! You're Assessment of the seat position and lack of the Steering wheel Teloscope was an issue for me as well, I Raised the rear of my seat 2 inches and it made a hell of a difference!!

 

Good review for sure. I will echo the trans issues, I ordered mine new in july of 16 and had the first TSB done after 250 miles on the truck. I've now got 4000 on the ODO and the truck received the rev 1 1k ago and it seems as though the truck has reverted back to the initial shifting issues. I also have the clunk in the rear end accompanied by the surging feeling that those are getting. The truck is nice don't get me wrong, I am just unhappy with the shifting and Toyota's "thats normal" answer. Hopefully yours gets corrected!

 

yes, low fluid is. Really annoys me that I can't check it myself. I saw a doc online but it has many steps and with my ADHD, I would get to step 12 and go "man I love chicken"
Then I would be at the KFC, fluid half checked

 

I agree also with the seat. I have seat height adjustment in the last two vehicles. I think it's because of the sunroof there is none. If my seat were higher, I might hit my head getting in and out.

 

@Kirk5370

Quick question comparing your Tacoma to your Wrangler.

How were they as far as MPG, power, and fun to drive?

I have my next vehicle narrowed to either...

Wrangler

Tacoma

Wait for the new Ranger (I don't exactly need a truck as I currently have a F250 Super Duty. Looking to either replace it or add a Wrangler)

Thanks for your review

 

I had the rubicon, so the jeep was as pig on gas. Big Mud tires. It was loud, uncouth, and if you live in ice/ snow forget about it. If it was packed snow you were OK, if it was ice or rain - watch out.

The jeep was more fun to drive as it was a manual, but I cannot comment on the AT. Again, the power is heavily biased by the manual transmission so it is hard to make a comparison. I honestly feel that lower in the RPM range the jeep was better, as well as had more torque. At highway speeds - the Tacoma blows it out of the water. I have a much easier time merging/passing on the highway with the Taco than the wrangler. The clutch/tranny MT on that wrangler is fantastic though.