auto love?

I'll give you my opinion as a person who is coming up on the 2 year anniversary of owning the Gen 3 Taco. The auto transmission in my truck never had any of the weird quirks or 'hunting' issues that others were cursed with. That said, I still think it's the truck's only fault. If you're in a hurry to go anywhere, you're going to wind up fighting the transmission more often than not. There are times when I've needed to accelerate, have given the truck plenty of pedal, only to have it upshift way before I wanted it to, leaving my only option to get on it hard and spike the RPM's way the hell up. Of course there's ECT, but that's only good for initial acceleration, in my opinion, as it hangs in gear when you finally want it to upshift. So it's not a 'fun' transmission, at least for me. If you're going for a relaxing drive in the country and are in no particular hurry, it's fine. And it will give you much better gas mileage. But I'd give that up in a heartbeat for a more traditional transmission, and I've a hunch I'm not alone. Hence the lack of love you're seeing.

 

from my test drive I did yesterday I feel that it is this way also in my Colorado diesel also. I have heard the gas Colorado folks say same thing. I think this is the new mpg auto makers are going too..

 

Remember total Taco owners here only represent a very small % of total Taco owners

 

And manual owners are probably 1 in 20 or even less out in the wild.

People just aren't buying manuals like they used to so the automaker are building even less. I would have loved to have the manual option to choose in my truck but it was bed space I needed more than having to change gears myself all the time.

Besides I already have another car that's a manual, don't need them all to be.

 

And I get that... but even amongst enthusiasts and modders... seems there are still many auto owners? But just more silent about their transmission choice?

 

plenty of happy owners out there, many just don't need to crow about it all the time.

 

Love the auto, no. But wish I had manual, no.

I always like to have an auto in the family for pulling boats out, pulling down trees, driving if hurt arms. Daily drivers are stick for spouse and I both. It's a truck, that has 6 gears with 2 OD, it won't be like 4 gear 1st gen with 1 OD. Just so many more gears to pick from...

 

I agree. My auto sucks, but once I realized its basically a 4 speed with 2 overdrive gears I stopped blaming the software. Toyota just got backed into a corner with MPG requirements and came up with a poor idea for fuel savings. (for a truck at least)

The V6 is what they throw in the Lexuses and the new Camry Sport and its pretty peppy. I don't blame it.

 

With all that has been said it is good to remember most of what is heard (said) both online and off is a complaint.

Think about it this way.. When was the last time you called the pizza place to say "Hey, I just wanted you to know that I got my pizza. It was hot, fresh, exactly what I ordered. The delivery person was well groomed, polite, and got here quickly. Job well done man!! Thank you!!"

More likely the last time any of us called was more like: "Hey you bunch of deaf blind and retarded morons why can't you make even one pizza right and get it to me the same friggin day I order it?!?!?! I mean dang is it that hard?!?!? Really you should be paying me, I only call you guys to order because no one else delivers to my house."

 

I actually like the engine quite a bit. It really seems to be quite happy operating at high RPM's, and has plenty of power. I think if they had made this transmission function more like the transmission in the 4.0 package, it would be the perfect truck. But instead, it's into 6th gear at 30 mph we go!

 

I love my truck. I like, not love, the transmission. Part of the issue is the throttle and shift maps and their function with the transmission.

The reasons I drive an auto are twofold.
1. My wife or kids may need to move/drive my truck at some point in time.
2. I crushed and shattered my left ankle 27 years ago, that has left me with screws in it and a general choice of clutch work or walking. Doing both increases both the pain and prescription levels (to fight the pain).

 

Is it me, or do the people that have MT make a note to say it in their sigs, where the auto guys don't? lol

 

As Granny starts gaining on your bumper. Then you give it a little extra gas to merge onto the highway and you're going 80...

 

MT is a badge of honor. Unfortunately, some of us drive in traffic or have puppers that want to jump on our laps. If I drove a stick, my beagles would have killed me by now.

 

I feel like you say that to help you get to sleep at night. "there are plenty of happy owners, there are plenty of happy owners, there are plenty of happy owners..."



I kid.

My guess, and we would never be able to confirm this, is that there is a slightly negative opinion distribution with these trucks and on each end of that distribution you will have the group that will hate it no matter what & those that love it no matter what. Those groups between 0-10 and 60+ are the never going to be happy and always going to be happy camps. The rest of us probably fall in that distribution pattern.



(btw I just pulled an example image off the internet, ignore all of those labels)

EDIT: just changed the picture to represent this better. I also guess this is considered a positive skew. I was thinking that more people have a negative opinion and are stacked at a lower "rating" than those with a positive rating.

 

I work at a job where I get to encounter many people who are traveling, and I always ask people I see in Gen 3 Tacomas how they like their truck. The overwhelming majority of responses are "it's good" or "it's ok, I suppose". Once in a blue moon I'll get a person who says "I love it!", but that's much rarer.

Now, please no one freak out. If you love this truck, that's great. Really, it is. It's all subjective. I'm just giving you my experience with the people I've met.

 

Everything in life is a bell curve man.

 

No shit.... you can bell curve people's opinions about anything.

 

MT is a theft deterrent.

For a long term keeper an MT should have a lower TCO. Easier and cheaper to refresh the normal wear items.

It's easier to check fluid levels and change fluids in an MT

Some folks think driving an MT is fun. I do too, in a sports car. It's ok in a truck, but not required.

My 4 banger 2nd gen has a dipstick still, and that makes me very happy. I doubt I'll ever have a 3rd gen (for many reasons). But if I did, I'd look for a manual. Just because. Same if I bought a 6 cyl 2nd gen.

Auto satisfaction is probably based on a few things.

Lots of traffic driving, more comfortable.

How well the particular auto performs.

Autos are rated at higher MPGs

Your wife can drive your auto. She may not be able or willing to drive your MT. This could go either way on the pro/con list.

As @shakerhood stated, only you can decide. Long test drives in your daily conditions are in order. And because some units are better/worse than others, doing that driving in the unit you are looking to buy is an even better bet.

 

Haha how do I keep wandering into these ejewels threads?? Pls get an avatar dude/dudette