6 year Gen II ownership report

Picked up one of the first 2005 Gen 2's off the line in Dec 2004. 55,000 miles, only been to dealer once in 07' (leaf spring TSB).

Stats/changes:
-Running Pennzoil Platinum in the motor, M1 Full syn oil for 6-spd tranny, transfer and front diff.
-80w-90 Syn blend w/ no fiction modifier in LSD rear diff. Lays two tracks, no chatter.
-TRD exhaust, sounds good, 6 winters, and only slight rust on welds in/out of the muffler. Well worth it.
-Stock B-stone H/T's were awful in winter, ok for summer. They lasted 30K, replaced w/ a better H/T, Kumho APT KPL51's
-7th winter on Blizzaks tires on 16x7 steelies for only winer months. 20K and they still got 60% tread left.
-Cut a heavy 5/8" thick horse stall mat for the bed
-Homemade bed extender, makes 5ft to 6.6ft
-Short clutch pedal travel mod
-Added front bed D-rings

4x4 system: Thousands of miles in 4hi and use 4lo a few times a month. No issues. Minimal loss in MPG using 4hi on long winter trips.
Tranny & motor: Zero problems, 6spd only gets smoother over the years.
Frame: More salt on the roads here than anywhere...Undercoated the frame Oct 08, helped some. Sanded and repainted the Tow bar/bumper too. WD40 the frame before snow really flies.
Body: Paint is doing fine, wax every 3-4 months. Have a few scratches from brush/working and dents around the bed/tailgate.
Interior: Zero electronic issues, switchgear & seats holding up well.
Composite bed: Other than hundreds of scratches, holding up great.
Original Battery!

MPG: Mostly Hilly Rural driving. Its rated 14/18
Avg 19.5 summer
Avg 17 in dead of winter
Best 23, long summer trips before 10% ethanol in gas
Worst 14, Extreme cold and towing sled trailer.
Octane: At least 89. Did use 87 when it was $4.50+ gal, lost only.3-.4 mpg, but at low rpms 1500-2000 (where you get your best mpg), accelerating or hitting any grade is where I really noticed the motor lug and ping more. Heavy loads/ towing even more noticeble.

Concerns:
-The bottoming out with a load and leaf spring squeak, but fixed w/ TSB.
-Frame rust, I'll stay busy undercoating every couple years.
-Weak tailgate 05-08's, I use a plywood plank for weight dist when hauling my enduro moto.
-The TRD sport 17 rims are bubbling on the edges. Though havent spread much over the past 3 yrs. These wheels get to sit in a comfy 40 degree garage all winter.
-Very sensitive ABS, not setup well for winter.

Still want to run it another 10 years. As long as the frame is taken care of should be no problem.

 

dam 55k after 6 years.....
over 40k on my first

 

Cool, also got a Dec 04 truck. Not as good of luck with my prerunner tho. Rear main, both axle seals and front crank seal have all been replaced and the dealer is about to try to seal my timing cover from leaking for the 3rd time. At 83k now, only 1 yr and 17k left on drivetrain warranty. Fremont truck. I did buy it used with 48k on it, not sure that had anything to do with it.

 

Yep, just hit 103K miles and I hit the 6 year anniversary on Dec 3. My only comment to your post, Demoncleaner, is on the ABS. You've been around a long time but realize that the "winter" tires will do well in some winter conditions and worse than an AT tire in others. Plus, the softer rubber is only on the outside (I've heard it's on the first 15K miles worth) and then you get into a harder compound reducing its effectiveness. I find that the ABS doesn't kick in at all with a good set of AT tires (until they wear down and get into a harder compound too). So maybe studded AT tires would be a better option in your winter environment? Just a thought.

Oh, and GET A NEW BATTERY!!! You are way living on borrowed time! Pretty soon you'll start getting electronic gremlins like others have seen due to a dying battery.

 

Hey Moose, you got a few more miles than me...

Actually the Blizzaks are great (I used to runs studs), still on the soft winter compound (they have wear markers to show when thats gone). My truck easily out handles, accelerates, and out brakes my Bro-in-law's Taco w/ newer Cooper ATRs on snow. Usually it takes alot to set ABS off w/ winter tires, but drive it hard (I got lots of safe places to do it )or those days w/ a slush layer created from all the salt is where u see the ABS goes off easier than say my old Ranger or wife's Mazda 3 all w/ similar winter tires. If on all-season rubber its ridiculous, like my buddies 09 on stock Dunlops... You like a flat rock being skipped across the pond and your not stopping.

Yea the battery is getting old...though it just jumped someone else last week. Dealer has same battery for $80, I'm sure soon enough I'll be replacing.


Damn, sorry to hear about all the problems T@co Pr3runn3r

 

Congrats on your relatively repair free ownership!

I'm surprised you are still getting good traction with those Blizzaks... usually after about 5 years they start to turn into pucks.

 

Mine was also manufactured in Dec 2004. Not a lick of trouble from it as of yet (granted I've only driven it 9,000 miles) She sits in the garage waiting for me to come home and drive her. Still has the original battery, which I expected to die a few years ago. I'll be home in late January to put a few more miles on her.

 

I can only suggest that Blizzaks are not driven in temps above freezing. Thats the deal with most of the winter tires. Rubber is more elastic and if driven in temps above freezing they wear out much faster.

 

Oh well, all of them were free except me having to pay for the steering rack rebuild when it was leaking. Truck was already at shop for timing cover seal attempt #2 so had them go ahead widdit. Definitely NOT the absolute indestructo tank the 82 was.

 

Sweet review, i havent had a single problem with mine but i only have 53k on it. Im glad to hear there is one with over 100 still pullin strong.

 

for another year Demon
Here is to many more
Yours & 05Moose give me faith in my 06 lasting.
I want to drive this truck til it can't drive no moe!

 

I bought my last 05 new and just sold it with 102k on it. My brother in law bought an 05 a few months after I got mine and his has about 45k on it now. Frame rust was a big issue for both of us after 2 New England winters. I chose to wirebrush mine down and paint it with rust bullet. It didn't get any worse after that. He did nothing and now his frame looks horrible. It's rustier than the two 200k mile Toyotas I have, and one of those is an 89! Other than that both of us had the A/C compressors fail. His failed at 40k mine failed around 95k. Delphi compressors of course on both. I hear some trucks got Nippondenso's. My alternator failed last winter on mine. And on my last truck both front wheel bearings were shot at 77k. I just replaced that truck with an 05 double cab that I bought cheap because it needed front wheel bearings. It also needed a front 4WD actuator (dealer replaced it before I bought it) and a 4LO indicator switch (I replaced) but the A/C does work on this one. My "new" truck has 115k on it now and I bought it with 113k. I really like this one a lot more than my last 05. But I've been driving 4WD Toyota trucks for over 20 years and these are not as trouble free as the old trucks. I still think they are the best thing on the market, but they don't make them like they used to.

 

Yeah, just a few miles more. And I'll be driving mine until it dies...and probably even after that. Supporting a family on one income only allows for one car payment which is basically the '10 Highlander. I wasn't aware of the wear indicators between the different rubber compounds. Good to know. And don't compare to the dunlops! You know better. The new HL has dunlops and ABS kicks in at every stop even if it's a slow stop. Me, I can stop practically as hard as I want without it kicking in. Tires do make the world of difference. I just brought up the Blizzak topic because my in-laws had snow tires on their '07 Highlander when they lived in Tahoe and they didn't perform well in slush.

I've basically been trouble-free all these years (other than the front diff bearing issue). My issues over the years were:
1. Rear Passenger Window Switch (warranty). New switch acts up in the summer too at times.
2. Warped trim piece around switches near driver's left knee (warranty that first summer)
3. Windshield buzz (put up with for 5 years until I had to replace a cracked windshield...had plenty of big rock chips over the years but the darn windshield from the factory was too tough and the cracks wouldn't spread!)
4. Front Diff Bearing ("The Vibe"). Paid out of pocket for a new front diff at 93K miles (Toyota split the cost 50/50).
5. Two times over the years had water come through the cabin air box. Fixed it last winter with a shield to prevent water from falling into it (poor Toyota design on the cowl trim).
6. On my 3rd battery. Factory battery lasted 36 months. Aftermarket battery leaked causing me to have to sand everything down and paint it. So I'm on my 3rd battery.

Otherwise, only 1 item of concern for the long haul: that front differential bearing (I can feel the vibe in the new differential too). Between the Tacoma and Tundra having problems with this one bearing, I'm not sure if I would buy another Toyota truck until they get their act together on their front differentials.