Manual vs auto transmission realiabilty.

I've been driving for 45 years and owned dozens of vehicles. My current 2010 is the first vehicle dedicated to me that has an AT. My wife is hard on clutches and I would never buy her a MT car. I have a friend that has a 2017 Tacoma MT and he is terrible. I bet he wraps that thing up to 2500 RPM and feathers the clutch to get going. You ought to see his rear license plate with the number of times he has slammed a trailer hitch into it. He was complaining the other day how it's starting to slip and how he needs a new one. There are just some people that shouldn't drive MTs. I have had to put many a clutch in many vehicles and I'm convinced that unless you are skilled at driving a MT and get your foot off that clutch pedal as soon as possible, a MT will cost a lot more over the life of the vehicle. To put one in by a shop will cost from $900-1300 depending on the shop. Do that every 75,000 miles and you'll have paid for a AT plus the downtime to get one in. I love driving MTs but unless I buy a sports car, I'm never buying another MT. With the little power at low RPMs all manufactures are putting in, AT's getting better MPG, ease of eating a burrito while making a 90 degree turn, etc., I can't justify a MT anymore. IMO, an AT is much cheaper over the life of the vehicle in both transmission maintenance and during it's life with better MPG.

MT are still fun to drive in diesels and true sports cars.

 

I'm about the same at 60-65mph. Over the weekend, I went on a 600 mile trip, which was about 90% highway (I-80). Average speed was 75, but varied between 70-80mph. I was right at 20MPG. 100% stock, Auto/4x4. So not that far off from a manual. Although I did have a bicycle sitting upright in the bed. Not sure if that would cause much difference.

 

I do and I prefer the MT, esp the Taco. I can creep along in 1st. Working the clutch is no big deal either.

I had a 40mi commute for 4.5 years that would take 1.5hrs on a very good day. Loved driving the MT. Driving our AT at the time, even with a manual mode was more work.

 

What stretch of I-80? I've only run I-80 a few times through Nebraska and hated every minute of it.

 

Man, I hated working the clutch in traffic during my 30 mile commute. And that was in a wimpy Civic.

tonered's legs

Out west, Utah, Nevada, California. I have driven through Nebraska, and the last time I did so a few years ago, I got pulled over for going 68 in a 65 (maybe it was 75, but either way, 3mph over). I said, you gotta be kidding me. Got off with a warning, but that was super lame. Haven't been back since.

 

Haha! I wish.

The Taco clutch is pretty low effort. I have felt some stiff clutches in the past and would probably feel different if the Taco felt like that.

 

1. Go back under your bridge, Dora the Explorer Troll mfkr .

2. MT offers full control of your vehicle. That is especially important with this engine. It needs to run at higher RPMs than AT will allow. (So to your point, no the AT cannot do what the MT can do in this, perhaps the most important case with this vehicle)

Now to OPs point-maybe that will affect longevity in a negative way. I don't know, but let's say you get 200k exciting, engaging, adaptable to use, totally satisfying miles vs. 300k ho-hum blah, erratic shifting, underpowered miles. I'll take the former. (To my AT friends...I'm just messing around here.)

3. Agree with "just like shifting and clutching", but for several important reasons, the most basic and important to me being: It's a blast to drive!

OP, you've asked the wrong question. Here is a better one:

Which will make you live longer, AT or MT?

Frustrated, angry people have shorter lives than happy, satisfied people (I'll dig up the studies if I must)

MT makes its owners happier on average than those with AT (no study available, but I'm incredibly intelligent and that is my hypothesis/undeniable truth)

Therefore, MT owners live longer than their AT counterparts. Does that help?

 

Yeah, but all the yelling, fights, frustrations from teaching the wife and kids to drive stick, as well as health hazards from bucking-bronco whiplashes and toxic fumes from fried clutches.... A/T = happier, healthier and longer life.

 

It has actually been fun for me so far. This was our youngest's (13yrs) first reverse parking attempt during her first try with the Taco:



I had to grab the E brake to stall it when she went for the go pedal instead of the brake. But, she was getting going well in 1st and Reverse. 1st to 2nd was a mess, but that will improve.

We lapped the parking lot many times.

Our oldest is just about to turn 15. She has driven the Wife's Forester XT many times since she was 11, including full pedal tests. She needs a spin in the Taco.

 

Hey Billy,

I'd have to agree with point 2. IF you are the guy that throws it in "D" and leaves it there. However if you take the time to learn to drive the AT, I can run it in the same gear as you, in the same situation, with the same RPM any time. It absolutely will do it. In fact, if we both start in 1st and stomp it, I can reach the limiter before you.

Point 3: "Blast to Drive" well . . . that's just your opinion. Not much of a "blast" in traffic. Been there, done that, probably many years before you were born.

Peace Brother,

G.

 

So glad you are teaching them. It's becoming such a lost skill that some mechanics at the dealers can't pull them in for an oil change.

G.

 

I can run 2000rpm at 60mph in 6th gear...

Can you?

 

Or, 6th at 40mph. I'm often there on my commute, even up slight hills with no lugging.

 

Yes absolutely IF . . it is correct for the conditions. IF not then you should be in 5th and so should I.

G.

 

Thanks. My oldest is targeting a Miata with an MT. The youngest got over a lot of nerves and really enjoyed that first drive. Until then, she was thinking about not even getting a licence. Now, she wants to drive again.

 

No, sir, you cannot. The gearing doesn't allow it.

 

Ha, nice. You have more competent kids or are more patient than me, or most likely, both. I have taught my kids how to shift though, but on a mountain bike.

 

Didn't read through all 4 pages, so probably been said already. I bought a module on here from a guy that makes them, can provide link if like, that allows me to go into 2Lo. Its awesome. Used to do it on all my wranglers, by way of ditching vacuum for cable operated. Saved me in many a tow situations so far. Not yet available for 3rd gens.

Only thing i dont like about my MT is the TOB design. Poop design. Anyway, It started chirping at 90k, but it comes and goes and i'll live with it until its super bad. Then hopefully urd has their hydro bearing redesign or whatever worked out. It doesnt chirp at all in the summer, lol. Still worth it imo, i enjoy the MT's too much. Pretty much all my vehicles have been one.

 

They're just learning and doing it just like anyone else that have never driven anything significant before. My whole experiment was to see if they'd at least listen to my instructions. Both can be extreme smart asses at times but were just perfect behind the wheel.

Oh gawd. I was barely able to teach my wife index shifting. She ended up being barely passable on the rear gears, but the front chain ring shifting is comedy in motion. The oldest doesn't care for bicycles (that kills me), and the youngest has only ridden with gripshift rear gears. Still, neither grasp the understanding of ratios yet. Today's suburbia life at its finest. Ugh!

I can't even get across a non-technical explanation of what a clutch does. I've tried to explain it at least four different ways.

 

I learned to drive on a manual transmission, and have owned 3. However, my Tacoma is an automatic. It's my daily driver, and it's nice to have a 'cruiser'. I can jump on my bike if I want to run through some gears!