Had my 2020 TRD Off Road for a week. My thoughts

First of all, I have only had the truck for a week, but I thought I would put together some of my thoughts for those of you that were like me (forum lurkers, doing research before buying). These thoughts are in no particular order.

1. Transmission hunts for gears. I've put 700 miles on the truck, combination highway and city and it hunts for gears. It doesn't bother me too much, but it is noticeable. I knew this was a thing before purchasing the truck.
2. My hood is missing seam sealer. Have to take it to the dealer on Monday so they can take it to the body shop and fix it. It causes noticeable vibrations at any speed above like 20mph.
3. The volume system is unique. On my ford, you can up/down the volume a couple times and it makes a noticeable difference, on the truck I feel like you have to go from volume 20 to volume 40 before you hear a difference. Again, not a big deal, but different that what I am used to.
4. The headlights aren't automatic. Again, not a big deal, but they were automatic on my 2001 celica, and they've been automatic on pretty much every other car I've driven since.
5. I love this truck. I took it up to Sedona Arizona this weekend and did some light offroading near devil's bridge. It was wet and muddy and this truck made it fine even with my lackluster 4x4 skills.

All in all this truck is awesome. I am well aware that I am still in the honeymoon stage but so far it has been amazing. I have not towed my motorcycle or put my motorcycle in the bed of the truck yet, so that will be the real test as that was one of the primary reasons I purchased the truck.

The seam sealer thing is really frustrating, not sure how Toyota missed that but it is an easy fix.

Taco Tax:

 

Transmission will only get better over time. Sounds silly, but give it 5k miles to settle in and learn your driving habits.

Simple speaker upgrades may help your volume issue. Search for the Subaru tweeter thread. Simple, cheap, worth it.

Your Taco simply wasn't packaged with auto headlights. That comes with Premium.

Sucks about the hood sealer.

Enjoy your truck!

 

Regarding the gears, give it some time. Recommend you experiment with ECT. I also recommend you experiment with S mode.

 

Can you show us a photo of where the sealer is missing? I'd like to check as well.

 

same issue with my 2020s hood. The sealant/foam became detached from under the hood itself causing the hood to flutter/vibrate on the highway

 

For sure, I will take some in the morning. Basically the hood has bracing and then the outer skin, it's missing seam sealer around some of the bracing towards the firewall. Some of the seam sealer is there, it's just separated and some is missing all together.

 

Yeah the headlights aren't that big a deal, I was just surprised that a 40k truck didn't come with auto headlamps. My company car and daily is a ford fusion (SE) and it had the auto headlights and my almost 20 year old celica had the autos. I do like that you can leave them on and they shut off, so ultimately it's no big deal, just something that has stuck out to me for some reason.

 

Does your light switch have AUTO on it?

 

Crazy, my last 3 vehicles didnt have auto headlights, and neither did my last 2 work trucks. I guess it all depends on what you're driving and who its marketed towards

 

I've got a little over 10000km on my 2020 OR, approx. 6000km of that was highway mileage. City driving, the truck shifts like I expect it to, no complaints at all. I do feel that at highway speeds, it downshifts too often. Any slight acceleration, slight incline, etc, and the revs are 4k+, which can become bothersome on long highway trips or when you're trying to talk with a passenger etc. Not sure if this is what other refer to as "hunting" for gears, but thats my only gripe so far. Far from a deal breaker for me though, still super happy with the purchase.

 

It doesn't . I've just been leaving them on and letting the truck turn them off for me!

 

I agree. So far it's been predictable in the city but on my trip up to Sedona it was interesting on the highway. That was it's first real "long" trip so I am sure it's still in it's learning phase. Not a deal breaker, I love this truck and you'd have to pry the keys from my cold dead hands lol.

 

Well, it is available.

 

The "hunting for gears" is really just because these trucks have 2 over drive gears, 5th and 6th. So when you're cruising in 6th and the truck decides it needs mo powa, it kicks down into the closest non overdrive gear, which is 4th. And then itll shift back to fifth, and then to sixth. Combine that with lots of smallish inclines, or just the right degree and itll make the truck go 6th, 4th, 5th, 6th, 4th, 5th, 6th, etc etc as the truck gains and looses momentum. It's not really hunting, it's just the difference in 6th and 4th can be huge because of the power band in these trucks. Easy work around is using S mode and capping it at 4th on those certain stretches of the road.

Not the greatest design, but manufacturers and engineers are under a lot of pressure to meet EPA standards

 

Very true. I can see the spot for the sensor on the dash on the passenger side. It's honestly not a big deal, it's just stood out for some reason lol. I am more upset about the seam sealer/foam and that I have to leave my truck at a body shop.

 

My 2019 also had the hood issue. Seems it’s plagued the third gens for a while now. How they haven’t started fixing that i don’t know. Bet your rear door seals will come loose on the top at the front edge of the door too

 

Lurker here. Thanks for the info

 

They charge you 10k more for the auto headlights and throw in the leather for free!

 

Makes sense! I haven't tried "S" mode yet, I'll give it a try next trip. Thanks for the explanation!

 

2020 Taco + ECT Mode + 91 octane = good