5 things I do not like about my 2020 Tacoma

My buddy and i will argue that the tranny is fine

He takes a lot of mountain passes in his 19, shifts great. I rode with him for about an hour and it shifts fine, holds gears on hills and upshifts immidiately when it gets flat.

Also have another buddy with 17 sport and not one complaint from the transmission. The only buddy of my that complains about the tranny, has 19 sport with MT, go figure haha!

 

Ive never even switched the auto lights to on position ever since i bought the truck. I like to do things manually

My van has no chime, so stupid.

 

That's dumb they don't turn off. Even om my Taco without auto lights they will turn off like 30 seconds after I lock the door even if I leave them switched on.

But on my Explorer they would turn off if you didn't turn them on manually. If you turned them on manually they'd stay on and kill the battery. I did that a few times and to make matters worse I'd usually leave my keys in the car (had the keypad to unlock the doors) so I wouldn't even be able to get in the car to jump it.

 

I love the automatic high beam button. 11/10 people think I'm flashing them.
Probably works excellently on curvy roads, but long straightaways with rolling hills (Alberta) it will pick oncoming vehicles up from super far away, turn my high beams off, realize said oncoming vehicle is >250m away and turn them back on, then proceed to turn off again once they're in range.
Its great. Guy actually pulled a U-turn to ask me "What the fuck, bud?"

 

Might be because I have a ‘20 but the automatic transmission seems okay to me. Certainly not as bad as the impression you get reading TW. Like every other AT I’ve driven you sort of learn its quirks; when to give it some gas, when to back off. Especially on hills.

However if you’re talking about the AT + cruise control then yeah, all bets are off, it’s fucking brain dead garbage. I take over for CC when it’s hilly or mountainous.

 

My '21 OR has auto headlights and it's got no additional add-ins other than the trim level.

 

Ridgeline?

 

The auto high beam function sucks on curvy mountain roads too. Sometimes it actually works, but almost always only after it makes sure to blind the oncoming drivers for at least a couple seconds first. About a 1/4 time it doesn’t dim at all. Mine does the same thing as your on flat highways too... “ooh there’s a car way off in the distance, I better dim... oh wait they’re pretty far away still so I’ll turn the brights back on... ok, now I’ll dim”. Totally useless function.

 

But, you sort of do.

Try this: Lights on (parking or headlights, both work like this), turn the key off, open and close the door, and wait for 30sec. They will turn off.

Also, if you turn the lights on with the door open or after your turn off the ignition, the lights will turn off in 20min.



BTW with PTS relay attacks, a physical key is the better one to have until Toyota adds the accelerometer or similar to the PTS fobs.

 

I've mostly come to the conclusion that that button can be eliminated to make room for something more useful. I installed MESO puddle pods, put the switch in the blank in the center beside the rear window switch. Only have one tall skinny blank left before I need to pull out epoxy and a Dremel...

Speaking of that center button layout - relocating the infotainment USB port was the first thing I did. (Still have the plug in place so there isn't a gaping hole).
Leaving a USB cord hanging there is like having a tampon string hanging out of your dash. Much nicer routing to the center console. No cutting, drilling, permanently modifying, nothing. Just a new cord that plugs in the back of the head unit and reaches up through the center console storage.

 

I have a Pilot which I estimate is similar to the Ridgeline. The new "efficient" V6s are loud and rev high. Toyota, Honda, et al they all do. The difference is the Pilot is loud outside the car, but the noise is isolated when inside the cabin while the 3rd gen tacomas Ive driven in do do a piss poor job of isolating motor feedback. That's okay with a v8 or a high displacement v6 like the 4.0, but no good for the new crop of V6s. Might be body on frame vs unibody, might be that Toyota just doesnt prioritize that element, or just didnt bother since they will sell a shit ton of tacomas regardless.

 

I can't really find any major fault with my 2020 other than minor things like no driver side grap handle, and no cigarette lighter...i don't smoke but some friends of mine do. Right now when temps are in the lower twenties or teens there an annoying squeak. Its gone today, warmer outside

 

It actually works worse on curvy roads, especially if there's a car somewhat behind them. It'll flash them every time. I keep it off.

 

I hope you did better when picking a spouse vs. picking a truck

 

Unless you're a nice guy why would you let anyone smoke in your truck?

 

Funny my truck has none of these issues and my transmission works flawlessly. Just drove on vacation through 6 states never had an issue and I love my cruise control. I think most people don’t understand the skinny pedal on these trucks. There is a skill to giving it just the right amount of pressure to get the truck to do it’s thing at the right time.

 

some guy actually went out of his way to confront you

classic

 

The stupid light in the Qi charging cubby that reflects off the phone screen and onto the back window

 

1) 5th and 6th are both over drive gears, so you're running low RPMs. The engine makes power at higher RPMs, so it will downshift accordingly. I've noticed that it shifts more with cruise control on. Either way, I can't say that it's bothered me. Out on the interstate, my Tundra did the same thing in almost the exact same spots as my Taco and the wife's 4Runner. And the Highlander she had.

2) I've only noticed that a couple of times in my 2020 and that was only with cruise control. I can't remember the last time it did that though.

3) This just seems to be a Toyota thing with cruise control. My wife's 4Runner and her Highlander did that, as well as my Tundra. Even if it just needed to accelerate 4-5 mph, the Tundra was going to use all 381 HP to get you there ASAP. lol

4) There a lot of older threads where the adhesive broke down and the hood would flutter. Seems to be less common on the Sports. Are you saying you drove it for a year before applying the fix? Or did you apply the fix and it's still doing it a year later?

5) I think that's just Toyota differentiating trims. 4Runners are the same way. You have to get the premium 4Runners to get push button start. The auto headlights should be standard across the board, IMO. I've always thought it was weird that Toyota didn't make that standard. Makes no sense to me. Seems like it would be a safety feature.

 

I try not to, but when we both hop out of the truck at our fishing spot they have to immediately light up looking for the trucks lighter. Told them their sol no lighter came with this truck. Their still use to my old tundra.