Considering trading 2010 Tundra for 2017 Tacoma

Hello, Looks like the 2017 Tacoma is getting some heat, so I came here to search the truth. Engine ticking, transmission vibration, strange shift patterns, shuttering at stop, less power, MPG less than predicted, did I miss anything? Consumer reports put it on the worst 10 vehicle list. I'm open minded and I'd really like to order a new 2017 4x4 DC with 6 ft bed and trade in my 2010 Tundra. I love my Tundra, but I need to downsize from a 3 vehicle plan to 2. The Tacoma would be her truck taking the place of a Mustang. She's not comfortable driving the beastly Tundra. I drive a 2012 Civic daily to work, which by the way, was rated poorly by CR. They were correct in one aspect, the car has a lot of road noise and wind noise. Honda took note and quickly modified it for the next year. I doubt Toyota moves that quick. My Tundra has the notorious piston slap, and Toyota would not do anything about it. I'm really concerned about loosing the Tundra bed. Do you guys all get trailers to make up for it? What do you do on the last 2 ft of sheet rock that's unsupported due to the wheel wheels? I've also found a 2014 4x4 Access Cab with 6ft bed with the 4.0L engine. I had a new 2006 Tundra RWD 4.0L, so I know that's an excellent engine, but I'm not sure I'm welling to give up the cab space. I haven't found a used 6ft bed DC.

 

So far my Taco has been just fine but I have less than 600 miles on it. I don't have the long bed but it has all the other bells and whistles. 2017 DCSB TRD OR. Rides nice and quiet though not quite as quiet as my 2016 4Runner.

The power gripe is legit. The default shift points suck. I run around each day with ECT enabled and it rocks.

16.5mpg city driving so far. Getting ready to road trip from TX to AL and back so I'll have a good idea on highway mpg by 6/16.

I have a 12' ATV trailer that will handle anything the bed or 4Runner won't.

 

Almost all the problems have been resolved. Toyota came out with transmission revision that fixes the shift patterns and shuttering. The Toyota tick is just something that is going to be there and there is nothing your are really going to be able to do about, There's currently a recall for the rear differential but expectations are that less than 1% vehicles sold will have real problems. MPG is based on how you drive, some people on here get over 20, others get 13. I personally average 18 during the summer and 16 during the winter. On paper the 3rd gen has more horsepower than the 2nd gen but the 2nd gen has a faster 0-60. Yeah sometimes it feels like there could be more power but at the same time its a truck, not a mustang. If it really bothers you just regear the differentials to give you better torque. Don't listen to consumer reports because they actually contradict themselves from their first drive review to their "10 worst vehicles." Look at Tacoma sales, they are still FAR outselling the canyon, Colorado, and frontier. I have a 2016 Tacoma that was manufactured in Nov. of 2015 so I've been around almost since it was released and I absolutely love my truck and highly enjoy driving it everyday.

 

i have a 2017 trd or dcsb and the thing is legit. i also have all the bells and whistles on the truck and i have zero complaints. but i guess if there was one it would be hard shifts up steep inclines in the colorado rockies. aside from that i have no howling diff, leaky diff, fucked trans, cps or anything else. take what all the publications say with a grain of salt, and also us too. try to arrange for an overnight test drive if possible.

 

OP keep in mind too a lot of people start complaining about shuttering and vibrations after they put a cheap 4 inch lift kit on. Which will certainly cause driveline vibrations.

 

My Tundra gets 14-1/2 mpg driving 18 miles to work. That's about 4 miles of very mild city, 13 miles of Interstate, 1 of county road. On this same trip with the 2006 Tundra 4.0, I was getting 18mpg. The consumer reports seemed strange to me, like issues we don't really care about. Like I said, I bought a new 2012 Civic and it was on their hate list. The worst part, all the negative kills values.

 

My 2016 Taco always felt under powered, always shifted erratically even after the updates... even a slight up hill would make it downshift. Towed like absolute dog shit with even a small load ~2500lbs.

Terrible MPG for a mid size.

 

Like I said the Tacoma is far outselling any other mid sized truck which means its desirable in combination with proven Toyota reliability, I'm not too worried about value

 

Yes, vehicles tend to downshift when going uphill thats normal, and yes it is by no means a sports car when towing, and yes if you drive it hard you will get poor fuel economy

 

I'm talking like slight grade on the highway in Texas and the thing downshifts. Could never get it to stay in 6th.

Towing my ATV got 8.5 MPG

 

If you trade, get the manual transmission, more fun, i have one with 14,000 miles, NO PROBLEMS AND NO REGRETS.

 

As mentioned, the mileage varies by how you drive it. I routinely get 20-23mpg city, and that's hitting most lights red (and we have lights every intersection and turn here). Oddly enough, my highway mileage usually isn't as hot.

 

I have 22k on my Taco, I’d buy it again in a heart beat, no issues very happy, transmission is great, plenty of power never had any tsb done to it, it’s not broken no need to fix it.
If you own a home, I can relate to the need for a truck bed, and a car. But for the wife, T4R is not a bad option either.
It all depends on how often you need a bed as to a trailer. If only a few times a year, a U-haul rental could be an option.
Keep in mind that the 2nd Gen gets poor fuel mileage, but that’s only significant if you’re averaging over 15k miles a year for most folk. If 10k or less, the 2nd gen not a bad option either.

Hope that helps
Cheers!

 

It can't be a manual for my wife. Also, manuals are a bit rough on the boat ramp.

 

Is the 4 runner on the same platform as the Taco?

 

Its definitely not a bad truck, but I don't think it's great either. All the noises drive me a little crazy( kazoo from the doors, whistle from the arms, chirp from the fuel pump), the shifting still needs improvement after the 2 updates, the power is lacking, the cabin space can get tight if you have more than 2 people, rear diff is leaking after 20k miles and Toyota (the dealers) have been uninterested in fixing any of it. I think thats probably my biggest complaint, this is not all "normal" operation as they like to call it.

Now on the other side of that coin: it's fun to drive, the TRDOR actually handles pretty well off road, i avg 18-19 mpg and there's TONS of aftermarket items so you can make this truck your own. But it's still hard going from a full size to this truck mainly because of the power difference, the noticeable smaller cabin space and i believe the bed is shallow compared to the full size. I haven't towed with mine yet and at this point I don't plan to because I feel like it struggles without a trailer attached.

It's not a terrible truck by any means, but it's also not without issues. I think it's especially hard to adjust expectations if you're coming from a full size. My advice, get as much seat time in all the models as you can before you decide.

 

I've had the tsb for shudder/vibe in there rear, they replaced the leaf packs, no more issue.

I'm in the recall for the rear diff. leak/weep, and honestly think nothing of it, new gasket or
the re-torquing of a few bolts is a non-issue as far as I'm concerned.

I bought a new model after having many other trucks and many other taco's and expected
some issues with a refresh like this, if not, I would have waited a couple years to trade in the
2011. This one is better in every way.

 

Well thought out post.

Probably best to wait for the 2018 models, and see if any of the common problems are resolved.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/thinking-about-a-2017-tacoma-but-maybe-i-should-wait.495445

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/should-i-buy-a-2017-tacoma.494248

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/what-am-i-not-going-to-like-about-my-2017-tacoma.494736

 

This is a typical load of firewood for me. I'm at least 30 miles from the cut site, sometimes 50, so I like to make it count. I'd obviously have to get a different trailer with the Taco.

 

I use the handbrake on ramps and just drop it when ready to move. Simple enough and I still get the joy of a manual trans