Did you trade your Tacoma in? Do you regret it?

FWIW, for the first six weeks of owning a 3rd gen Tacoma things were fine: in city driving I could feel the slight shudder between 10-30 MPH but wasn’t enough to bother me; the seat bothered me but only after 45+ minutes of driving. Overtaking other vehicles on a flat, wide freeway wasn’t too bad.

But everything people complain about 3rd gen came to a head last weekend when I took the Tacoma on a 300-mile road trip on scenic 2-lane North Cascades Hwy.: the stubborn transmission, the gutless motor, the vibration, the ugly noises, were all there. It appears driving at 50-60 MPH on a two-lane road, where power and response are of the essence for passing and climbing, conspire to bring out the worst in this truck. It was downright unpleasant to drive. I can’t even imagine what it would be like to tow with this thing.

I don’t know if a 1st or 2nd gen would have been any better. This is my first Toyota ever. But had I known six weeks ago what I know now, chances are I may have never pulled the trigger on a Tacoma.

PS - I suspect the manual transmission alone may solve half of this truck’s problems.

 

Traded a 2017 2.5 Outback with a stepped CVT for 2019 V6 Tacoma. No ragrets. Big power bump for me and the tranny doesn't bother me at all compared to the Subaru CVT.

 

In only a handful of days experience, this has been very true for me. The '18 automatic Off-Road I had was just not fun to drive day to day, and all the little frustrations showed themselves each day. The '19 Sport I have now with the manual is so much better. All the annoying transmission issues I had with the auto just aren't there anymore. ymmv of course....

 

1- Motor needs to break-in (3-5k miles)
2- Transmission needs to adapt to your driving style (600-800 miles)
3- You need to check your transmission fluid level. Mine was 1/4 of quart low. Made a big difference when I brought it up to level.

What vibrations and ugly noises are you referring to?

 

I've recently owned a BMW e90 M5 (v8 6spd RWD--absolutely loved it), BMW 335xi (turbo I6 6spd), and BMW X5M (wife's daily now) and although all of them were sporty and a blast to drive around town, I missed being able to romp down dirt roads and trails that I could not do with the sports cars (owned some 4x4 trucks in my 20's).

I now own a 18" Taco 6spd and love it. If you get a URD short shift kit with a nice aftermarket shift knob, OVtune, aftermarket CAI and exhaust I find the MT almost as enjoyable as my previous Beemers. Yes, MT can be a drag when stuck in traffic but its worth the trade off IMO. The MT was the main reason I got the Taco. Would only consider a AT if it had a turbo or diesel. And if OVT comes out with the turbo kit soon...look out Raptors!

 

Thanks, I’ll check the trans fluid.

The truck has 1,400 miles now. The transmission must be a poor learner or I a bad teacher.

There’s a slight driveline shudder between 10-30 MPH, either accelerating and decelerating.

The automatic appears to have only two modes: do nothing or overreact. Upon passing, when I mashed down the gas pedal to force the transmission to downshift, it downshifted abruptly and the engine made all sorts of ugly noises.

The Tacoma engine feels quiet and refined as long as I drive like an old lady. But coming from a Jeep with the 3.6 Pentastar, the moment this Toyota 3.5 V6 gets pushed, it sounds, feels and shakes like a blender.

 

If by “people looking elsewhere” you mean “selling record numbers of Tacomas and almost twice as many as the next nearest competitor” lol. I can’t imagine they’re too concerned about a few whiners on TW.

 

I don’t know about that. Wrangler is also selling in record numbers and people are defecting in record numbers as well.

In my small town of 89,000 people, there are ten 3rd gen used Tacomas for sale in the auto mall with less than 10,000 miles on the odometer. That’s not a good sign IMHO.

 

Is it true that I need a diagnostic tool to check the transmission fluid level...?!?!

WTF...?!?

 

Not experiencing any shudder.
Transmission acting like an on/off switch, had that in the beginning. After the adaptation and fluid check/fill it acts much better.

 

No you don't. There is a procedure how to do it without any diagnostic tool. It takes like 30 min to get it done.

 

All manufacturers are concerned with people looking elsewhere. Don't kid yourself.

 

Indeed. And Toyota more than most.

I work with Toyota: I know how seriously it takes customer retention and loyalty.

 

Geez. Seriously...?

This is the gift that keeps on giving...

 

Thinking bout trading 2017 offroad for 2020 offroad. Few gimmicks that seem interesting like birds eye view, the radar stuff but what I really want it going from this at to a mt

 

How am I kidding myself? Can you point to part of what I said that was in accurate? There’s no doubt that Toyota wants to keep and grow their customer base, but the idea that they’re having any issues there when it comes to the Tacoma is asinine. Again, it’s the undisputed sales king in its market and outsells itself dramatically each year.

 

As in people are defecting from the Tacoma in record numbers? If so I do hope you have more evidence than a few highly desirable used vehicles being for sale locally.

 

There’s also a surprisingly large number of forum members on here dumping their brand spanking new Tacomas for 4Runners, Tundras, Jeeps, Rangers, older Tacomas, another Tacoma with manual transmission and what not.

 

"large number"

 

Feel free to count them if you have a set of working eyes and fingers.

This is a public forum.