Just took delivery of 2017 TRD Pro.. first impressions

Background: Owned 89', 95', and 05' Tacomas My 05 has 317k, so... time to upgrade
I liked the cement Pro, so took the plunge; automatic tranny, came with power tailgate lock, led lighting package, some usb package, and Premium blah blah blah (good for a few services). I had the dealer add (before pick up) predator bars, bed mat, and exchange stock tires for 275x70x16 KO2's. First drive was 185 mile trip from Huntsville Al to N. Ga mtns (mostly interstate, but not flat, I'm in the mountains)

Power: Probably my biggest disappointment. Even pulling out of the dealership, the thing just fell flat on it's face. Honestly feels like a big, heavy truck with too small an engine. My Gen 2 would just get up and go when you step on it. This truck sort of bogs, like its hunting the correct gear and moves out slowly. Once I got on the road, the tranny was in a rush to get into high gear.. shifting waaay too often. Every small grade/hill the tranny would have to kick down a gear or two, and I would think, 'ok here we go.. now she's gonna move" , but not really Even when it downshifted, doesn't feel very powerful. I don't want to rag on this truck too much... I have to learn to love it, but first impression is lacking in the power dept.

Tranny: I know more gears is all the rage, but this truck just can't seem to make up it's mind. It just changes gears too quickly, and ends up in too high a gear way too often. When you slow down, you would think it would gear down and get ready to take off, but it just seems to hunt around and sort of stall instead of taking off. I hate to immediately try to modify a 47k truck, but may look into an alternate shift kit. Again....

Ride: Rides great ! Rolls smooth, suspension feels good... love the ride!

Interrior: Awesome improvement over my 05. All the bells and whistles. I haven't learned it all yet, but seems very functional. One weird thing: My phone needed charged, so I found a usb cord, and there is a usb outlet right there in front...but when I plugged it in, my phone said something like ' you need an app to use this' wtf is that about ? It's a usb outlet; it should charge a phone without me trying to download an app while driving. Seats are very nice, but my lower back was hurting a bit after the 185 mile trip. Maybe I'll get used to them.

Exterrior/ looks: Love it ! Truck looks great ( I'll post pics in a min if I can figure it out)
Cement is a great, very subdued color. I like it

Mpg: So I drove 185 miles, mostly interstate, probably avg 70mph. So, my average mileage for the trip.... drumroll..... 17.5mpg. What?? that's it ?? Think this truck is flatlander, and doesn't like going up hills. I thought this new engine with less power was all about the fuel economy ? I guess all that downshifting killed my mpg, and I did use cruise control, but only for about 30miles when I said 'forget this' Toyota just can't seem to get cruise down. It just kicks down a gear way too easy. So I took it off cruise and tried to drive economically. Improved from 14.5 to 17.5 mpg... great

I'm sure this sounds pretty negative, but man I do love the looks, and interior of the truck. Hopefully the computer will improve the power/shift points, or maybe I will just have to get used to it.

 

Shiftsense pro transmission shift controller. I dig it a lot!

 

You sound like most of us on here.

 

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I drive a manual, and I completely understand why the AT downshifts so often and acts erratically. I have to down shift just to accelerate up slight gradients.

 

Congrats fellow cement owner. I've found with the short time I've had the truck if you're at 70 mph you get decent highway mileage anything higher and it drops. City driving with this transmission sucks balls. I came from a 911 and find myself grabbing for the downshift paddle

 

Find the ECT button and press it everytime you drive it for the next two weeks and report back.

 

Hmmm... ok . Just read up on this feature. Is there any way to leave it in ECT mode?

 

Nice looking truck and no there's no way to permanently leave it on unless you rewire it.

 

Didn't you test drive it before you bought it?

 

Nope I didn't. They offered, but it was coming a monsoon, and I said " man I have always owned Toyotas, and they have never let me down " Honestly I had already made up my mind to get one, and probably would have bought it anyway after the 4hr drive to get it. I do love the truck, just wish.. well you know

 

Boy I gotta tell you, that's a lot to risk for the money. What if you hate it forever? A 45k dollar mistake...

 

From the factory, no. I'm just in the habit of pressing it. There are mods documented here to make it always on.

 

Bor I don't hate it now. Guess I didn't make that clear, and I know there's a lot of negativity in my post. Despite all that.. I love the truck. Yes, disappointed in the power & shifting, but I love everything else about the truck enough to live with the negatives, or do some modifications to change them. 45k mistake... nope

 

Drive it for 2,000 miles and stop reading this forum, by then you will be in love!

 

Good choice fellow Pro Bro. If you are really disheartened by the anemic transmission shifting look into the ShiftSense Pro that a TW member is selling on here, and later on, OVTune is hopefully releasing an ECU tune kit that should really liven up the engine performance. Early data and graphs seem to indicate that the ECU is tuned really conservatively, but they are saying that they can remap the entire thing.

I've got a manual so I can't relate to the shifting issues at all but its still a badass truck!

I also actually manage to get around 20-22 MPG driving 60-70 on the highway as well. Give the engine time to break in, and MPG should go up, it did for me. AT's also supposedly get better MPG than MTs too.

 

Let the truck break-in. Gets smoother the more miles you put on it...

 

The truck will open up after a few thousand miles. Like others have mentioned. It needs to "learn your driving habits" and if it learns and you dont like the changes just disconnect the battery for a bit and start fresh.

 

ECT on..S4 mode... around town.. truck should not have a 6th gear...
9000 miles,, 9 months... on mine.
waiting for my
ShiftSense™ Pro

 

I average over 25 regularly on the highway, let it break in and ignore the negative nannies on this forum, its your truck enjoy and drive it...