Has anyone switched from a AT to MT and why?

So, I'm 1 month and 2 days into ownership... and I'm beginning to think I've screwed the pooch. The more and more I look, the more I realize I should have gotten a MT. Around Houston it's fine, but from the gear hunting issues I'm reading once I get into hilly areas is going to really get to me I don't think I'll ever need the crawl function. I guess I'll stick it out a year and get rebuy, but damn, I know I'll take a huge hit doing that. I really wanted this to be a 15 year truck, but the more I read, the more I realize I'm in for a bad time once I start traveling to places with elevation. Sorry for the rant, just needed to vent.

 

You'll be alright. Try to get the dealer to check your fluid level and perform the Rev 1 TSB. Give it time to learn your driving habits and it will improve.

 

Maybe post for a straight trade with someone who has a manual but wants an automatic. Online classifieds, Tacomaworld, Toyota Nation.......

Worth a shot.

 

OP: You read the 2017 Car & Driver In Depth Review didn't you?

 

Hilly areas in Texas?

 

^ What is that article again?....needs a link

 

That's fairly steep...

 

Actually there are some areas outside of San Antonio and Austin known as Hill Country.

Link to the Car & Driver article is on first post in this thread https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/car-drivers-in-depth-review-of-the-2017-tacoma.484790/

 

It drove me nuts on the test drives. I played with the sport shift and ECT and that helped some. Ultimately, I ordered a MT, that got blotched. But now we have gotten use to each other and its all good. Give it time and try above. 6 months in I love the truck.

 

And curvy!

 

Is this where I come to talk about how much I love my MT?

 

Checking in from 4,982 feet.

Hilly terrain has been no problem whatsoever with my automatic; if it's steep and wind-ey I'll put it in S3 or S4 and the hunting goes away. Elevations I drive regularly run up to about 8K feet, I-70 over the Divide is I think 11.5K or so?

It takes a while to get used to it, but once you find the sweet-spot for the particular terrain you're on it's fine!

 

LMAO, I knew this would be a shit-storm. I have semi-intense stuff to visit in Hill Country on a friend's property, doing multiple trips through the Rockies + Utah, then a x-country trip to AK. I'm a fan of standard, but figured I'd stick with an auto to keep my lead foot calm. Dumb, I know.

 

I see that TW is no different than the HD forums, the Ford-Chevy-Dodge forums, etc,,, people do not do their research. Do not test drive, and then read everyones whining, and decide "whoa is me, I hate my truck too. Goes to prove the adage, MIsery loves company. I just have never understood that mentality. Its a truck not a rocket ship. It does everything it is supposed to do, and quite well from what I have seen so far.

 

Thanks Rat, that helps calm my nerves. I actually like everything else about the truck. Hell, doing the AC mod is fun shit in my mind. I just like my stuff to work though, and the auto is... bleh in non-ECT mode.

 

Like you, I prefer manuals also - I just got sick of having to row through the gears in Front Range traffic anymore.

ECT and Sport mode will become your close friends as you drive it more. Hell, half the time I think I'm getting better mileage in town (with more pep) with ECT mode on.

 

Dude where ya been hiding? This is by far and away one of the biggest complaints and criticisms of the "Turd Gen"

You can find thousands of posts about the issue here on the Third Gen Forum. But I'd start here for the latest discussion and updates from Toyota/Dealers: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/t-sb-0077-16-rev-1.457782/unread

 

Hey Gamason, I researched and thought it'd be fine. No, I didn't come on TW, but my buddy has the same power-train combo and it seemed fine. My cousin is the TW fiend that steered me towards the auto, and I thought it'd be ok. I definity don't hate the truck, but if there's something better, then yeah, I want the better. I also ended up with a pretty smoking deal (thanks to whoever put up the invoice list, that helped big time), so that was hard to turn down.