Is the 2016 model year the worst?

2016 OR Access Cab V6 M/T:

- CKP sensor recall: No;
- Rear diff howl: Yes, loud. TSB did not apply to my truck however;
- Rear diff leak: No;
- Rumble strip vibe on decel: yes. Not enough of a bother to have them mess with my truck;
- Door seal Kazoo noise: Yes. Cross wind only, both front doors;
- Lower control arm howl: Yes. Lol, just plug them holes;
- Multiple interior rattles and buzzes: Yes;
- Lackluster throttle response and driveability, low end torque and dangerous bog off the line: Yes, fixed it with OVtune in 2017, then a new calibration came out almost a year later lol (04B13);
- Weird clutch engagement delay (subjective). Made engagement inconsistent: Yes, fixed with ADM mod.
- Flappy hood skin: Yes. Lived with it.

 

Generally the first production year of a new generation of vehicle will have more issues, as the manufacturer has more time to discover and correct recurrent problems in later model years. Most Guides out there recommend avoiding the first model year of a new generation of any vehicle for that reason. Doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad vehicle; it just means that it’s a first iteration of a new thing and, as such, is more prone to issues that weren’t discovered during the manufacturer’s testing.

 

Fixed it for ya lol!

 

My 2016 has had zero of the issues the very small vocal minority bitch about. Got the frame recall that impacted all of them (why did they not address it after the gen 2 fiasco?) and a crank sensor recall (never had issues, but dealer did it at an oil change). That's it. Do I wish it had the power rear window? Yes, but if the trade off is that I would be stuck with TSS then I shall open a window by hand. No diff leaks, no brake light leaks, no issues with transmission (had fluid changed twice now and it was fine on level both times), runs great, looks great, does lots of truck stuff from hauling logs and towing an excavator to tackling trails and sand dunes and getting me and the family all around in summer or winter with ease.

 

No doubt the issues are overblown by the whiners on forums like this.

 

Had my 2016 for just shy of 60,000 miles. At 4200 miles the AC blower motor crapped out. After the 3rd trans revision the shifting was to my liking. Other than that it was flawless. Never heard the rear end of control arm noises. Never felt that it "needed" more power. (Everything could use more power).

 

I'm going to disagree with you here. The first years of the Tacoma were luckily not too bad. Every car manufacture still suffers from first year problems.

That being said, if you know what to look for and you pay the money to have it checked by a good mechanic I don't see any issue with buying a '16 at a good price.

 

My 2016 has been trouble free, 72k miles and all.....

 

2019 DCSB Sport M/T:

- Rear diff howl: Yes, but not nearly as loud as the '16;
- Rumble strip vibe on decel: yes. Not enough of a bother to have them mess with my truck;
- Door seal Kazoo noise: No;
- Multiple interior rattles and buzzes: Yes;
- Lackluster throttle response and driveability, low end torque: Yes, but Toyota improved their calibrations over the years. Fixed it with OVtune (not going back to stock);
- Weird clutch engagement delay (subjective). Made engagement inconsistent: Yes, fixed with ADM mod;
- Roof weather/trim strip on passenger side tries to fly away occasionally: Push it back in the groove, probably fix with silicone eventually;
- Annoying cyclic vibration felt in the steering wheel ~90-100kmh. This one is ongoing. So far the dealer has road force balanced all 4, did an alignment, swapped out the complete rear driveshaft, and swapped out the front diff. Two different sets of tires have been on the ruck and the vibe prevails. My '16 did not have this issue.
- Fuel pump recall: Yes, got my first notice a coupla months ago;

Yep, I bought a second 3rd gen.. before some genius spews out that comment. I like them, but they are NOT without their issues.

Ref the "few whiners on TW" comments: Yeah, a few whiners caused Toyota to release several driveability TSBs involving a flash of the ECM over the years. Totally believable.

 

The build quality of this truck is nowhere near the 1997 camry I had during college.

And don’t buy a white one! You’ve been warned.

 

I wouldn't necessarily call them whiners if they are legitimate issues. The ones who bother me are the ones who start insisting that because they had a problem with their particular vehicle then “They all do it.”

Like the whole trans shifting thing. You get a ton of assholes still saying it to now. I can’t count how many threads I’ve been on here arguing with those dolts when I tell them my ‘19 shifts as smoothly as any other vehicle I’ve ever owned...

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bvn8QsWixes

 

2016 OR owner.

73k miles.

Leaky timing cover was fixed by the dealer.

Other than that...no issues.

And its white.

 

I didn’t think it was a typo haha. Wouldn’t that be a pain if it actually happened.

 

I agree. Toyota’s quality is slipping. That said I have a 19’ 4Runner and the build quality Is significantly better than my Taco. Maybe the Japanese built Toyota’s are still on point.

I still think Toyota is using the Tacoma as a cash grab based on its reputation. The 3rd gen was “all new”. Of course we know that was a line of garbage. IMO they put very little effort into into the redesign.

 

2017 has the power back window and no TSS.

 

2 recalls taken care of and no issues at all other than that....but you find that on any vehicle..love the Taco

 

Many spouting off don't even own a 2016. lol. But true owners that have legit issues makes sense. Very few of those in this thread.

So I just quickly totaled happy owners vs unhappy owners. That doesn't mean trouble free vs having issues. Most vehicles have an issue here on there and I don't care who or when it was made. 24 happy to 1 really unhappy and 1 mildly unhappy.