2020 Tacoma, an unexpected improvement

It is, most everywhere

 

I’m doing a build right now and I can’t get it much higher than $43k similarly spec’d to a 2020 Tacoma...

 

Amen, Sir. AMEN.

 

They must be discounting Rangers and boosting Tacoma’s in your locale.

regardless OP. Here is my advice:

If you want to keep and love your Tacoma, you gotta accept its quirks. With time, your pedal foot will adjust to the throttle curve, and shift points, and your truck will be predictable and smooth. Not ideal, but it’s reality.

Toyota has their own idea and goals with this Toyota engine/ Aisin transmission combo that they are clearly dedicated to. The vast majority of owners agree with their choices, regardless of TW group-think. There has been enough time, and enough 3G Tacomas sold, and enough TW AT complaint posts for these 3G trucks to have become undesirable, and they keep selling more and more and more. Toyota has had the opportunity to change things up, but have been mostly unwavering.

You must accept the truck or move on. It’s kinda like a marriage.

 

Ha! I like that. It's a steady, solid little truck that can drive you crazy sometimes with it's quirks, but in the final analysis gets the job done and is much cheaper to keep

I'd say one big difference is that my truck still lets me get inside of it every day...

 

Be sure to go deep on the throttle, or your truck might leave you for a younger driver.

 

So all it takes to get out of an 18 is a distracted Karen... CarPlay

 

You should drive an FJ40 if you want gutless. Top speed is around 60-65. Plus the steering is worn, so it wanders all over looking for ruts in the road. Still love to drive it on nice days though.

 

It's not too late to get a different vehicle. I hear Tacoma's have a good trade in value.

 

Could it be because you went from heavy Cooper's and lift to stock tires and height?

 

No, I’m strictly comparing stock 2018 to stock 2020.
As I said in that post, I was running OVtune 2.0 with the 33s and the truck ran beautifully. I never ran the 33s on the stock calibration.

 

This has been a fun thread...following along

 

I got a opportunity to sit in a 2020 while my 2016 was right next to it both with sunroofs. Unfortunately my experience with the new power seat was not as good as OP's as I found it still was lacking. The 2020 seat actually seemed to give me less headroom & was not much help in the thigh support department. Will not be trading in my 16 for a 2020. BTW the new audio head unit is really nice.

 

I haven't experienced any significant issues with my transmission in my 2019. I've had it shift in to 3rd or 4th at 75-80mph a couple of times. Thought the engine might explode holding basically redline for a couple minutes.

I didn't realize how much the lack of Carplay was going to irritate me. (Seriously, it pisses me off). I gave the dealer a call to find out how much the headunit for the 2020 costs and they quoted me $6500!!! That seems a smidge on the excessive side. For that kinda price I can replace all my door speakers, install a nice sub setup, and swap to a different head unit with Carplay.

I'm kinda digging on this thing to get Carplay.
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_500ILXF3TC/Alpine-Halo9-ILX-F309TC.html?tp=49934

 

Although I agree about 20% with what the complainer is complaining about. Hes not wrong in stating toyota should have designed the drivetrain a little better. BUT I think they had their nuts in a vice from those tree hugging hippies over at the EPA and had to make some forced STUPID decisions which ultimately made the truck run like ass.

That said, please refer to my rant post on page.....I dunno 6 or some shit about just driving the fucking thing and learning to deal with it. Every vehicle I've ever owned had some kind of weird quirk to it. I actually LIKE that, it gives it personality. It's like your own personal little mech that may not be the best, but you still make it work effectively anyway.

A fellow forum member sent me the 2.0 file for the OVtune I purchased and I can attest that it all but solves the shifting issues. It can still be a tiny bit weird with dead peddle when all you want to do is go .002 MPH, but low speed city and highway driving are actually exactly how it should have been from factory. If MR complainy pants HASNT spent the 600 bucks that would solve said issue...... he should.

And if matt hasnt cracked the 20s yet, he will. Just be patient. No sense running out and buying that garbage ranger that will have its resale value and quality collapse faster than a paper tiger next to a neutron star. Take it from a FoRS owner that 2.3 is something you want to steer clear of. I would be willing to bet 10 years of salary that if we took 100 gen 3 Tacoma's and 100 2.3EB rangers that the ratio that the tacoma outlasts the ranger before a catastrophic failure would be in the 95 percentile.

 

Update #3: Just talked with the service mgr at my Toyota dealer. He was able to confirm, through his factory rep via a transmission engineer at Toyota, that there is indeed a difference in the 2020 shift logic and the previous years transmission shifting. He does not know if a TSB will be coming out to flash the older Tacoma's at this time. He has some questions about flashing the 2019 ECU w/ the 2020 software. At this point the factory has not provided info on what else might be affected with a "flash" that could have a positive or negative affect on the normal operation of the flashed vehicle. The ECU part numbers are different for my 2019 and a comparable 2020. That's all I know right now. If anyone gets more info from a dealer, I would love to hear it.

 

Karen doesn’t look too happy

 

Wow!! That doesn't look right. Now I understand why some guys complain about the AT gear hunting. Luckily for me, my Taco shifts just fine.

 

Thats exactly what mine did on the interstate with any head wind at all. I’d get like 13mpg on a 4 hour road trip. I started scheduling my travel days based on wind direction.

 

After a 14 month test drive, I sold mine.