Looking to Buy, 2014 or 2015?

I think all the 2nd gen Tacos are great trucks. I have a 2009 DCLB TRD 4x4 with 104,000 miles I bought new. Best truck I’ve ever had (and I’ve owned numerous trucks). Replaced a wheel bearing around 100,000 miles and that’s it. Never a hiccup or any other problems. What ever 2nd gen you decide on look for one that has been well maintained (demand proof) and look for the lowest mileage you can find. Also as others have said get a 6 cylinder, there are many advantages to a 6 over a 4. Finally don’t limit yourself to a 14 or 15, look at various years, they are all good.

 

He is looking a 4 cylinders so you can’t make the argument of the 3.5 being a issue or transmission. I don’t see why spending $30,000 for a essentially 17 year old truck is a good idea. I think 2.5 gens are cool, but I’ll never own one due to the ridiculous pricing.

 

Take my 2012 off road 4x4 for $25k

 

Great choice in music tho.

 

^^^^ This is correct.

 

As long as you're shopping check out a 2011 4.0, last year before secondary air inj showed up.

Before my 15 I had a 2011 TRD OR manual access cab. Under the hood was all business, no air pump, no lines or valves. Just electronic brake booster, battery, regular exhaust manifolds, etc. Super clean, uncluttered look

It was all the best stuff about the 2nd gen and plenty of old-school 90s toyota simplicity

It was black, OEM smoked headlights, actual cloth on the door panels.. I'd love to have that truck back

 

I agree, I have a 2011 and it's amazing how simple and clean then engine bay is. As you said, no secondary air injection so no need for the Uni filter mod and plenty of room for dual battery or air compressor in that area. Also as I believe it was the last year before Toyota switched to soy based wire products, leading to p0333 code from rodents chewing the knock sensor wiring.

I love the styling of the 2012-2015s but IMHO the 2011 is the perfect blend of new age comfort and old school simplicity.

 

For the second gen, and Toyotas in general, do not get one with white paint. Super white is notoriously prone to chipping off for no reason and Toyota will not stand behind it for Tacomas. They issued a recall/service for all models in Super White but the Tacoma. I sold my 1998 4Runner and purchased my 2015 DCLB TRD Sport two years ago thinking it would be a great truck to get me through the next 15+ years. I was unaware of the issues with the Super White paint. The truck itself is great other than the kazoo wind noise which is easily fixable. The paint, at first, was great as the truck was 4 years old. Right after the warranty ran out, the first paint chip on the front passenger door window sill started. It has spread like cancer since to the rear passenger door, the door jam of the driver door, and now the engine bay. Not to mention the rest of the paint is dull. I have paint corrected it once and it only slightly helped the dullness. If I do keep the truck long term, it will need to be repainted the correct way. Hopefully Toyota will stand by their product by that time. There are multiple threads in the forums about the issue. Sorry for the rant, the 2nd gen is great, just don't get a white one!!

 

Ditto. On what he said above.

 

First off to those who've responded, thanks for the information.

As for why those years and price? Honestly just from reading about them, reviews, etc, those tend to get the most praise in terms of reliability, that's the only real answer I have. As for the price, unfortunately currently that just seems to be the way things are due to limited supply and other factors, used cars in general are going for more than normal.

 

I won't say that reviewers might be influenced by external factors, but reviews sometimes need to be taken with a grain of salt. Just because it's written, in print or on the web, doesn't mean it's necessarily accurate or true. There's some really knowledgeable folks on TW whose word I'd take over any automotive magazine or website.

 

2012-2015 all have The SAIS that can fail and put the truck in limp. 13-15 runs it at start up and shut down to clear moisture, 2012 got a recall but they were the only year so far. It’s not a fix as they just replace the pump and or valves if you throw codes. I did the recall and live in a desert but I’ll bypass mine with a tune

 

FWIW, The color of my truck is Super White and fortuneately I dont have any hint of the paint failure issue. Yet. The gloss is excellent too. I'm hoping I dodged the bullet because it's seven years old now and got lucky and didnt get one of the random problem ones. Time will tell, but it looks like on the trucks that do have the flaking paint, it shows up early.

I didn't know about this issue before I bought it. That said, if I did know about it, I probably would have kept looking. I wasn't looking for any specific color, but I do think the white color on a Tacoma looks pretty nice.

 

My 2014 w/Entune+ doesn't have the clock on the screen. I'm jealous. Must have been a mid year production change? The retro digital clock is still below and actually, I like/prefer the old school look of it.

Oh yeah: I don't have the temp/compass/auto-dim mirror either which I thought "got lost" after someone traded in the truck until I learned here Toyota just plain dropped it.
Toyota is so funny: dual lighted vanity mirrors that turn on/off the light when you open the slide or raise the visor, but no light on the 4WD knob. Zsheesh.

 

Just echoing what others are saying, all 2.5 gens are great trucks, v6 over the 4 cyl., and gimme back my damn clock Toyota!!! ( I have a 2015)

 

didnt the 2014's have issues with the headunits turning off and restarting?

 

What the shit!? I don't have a clock in my stereo

 

Glad to see it's not just me. Ha! I was thinking maybe a firmware update makes the clock appear, but when I checked for that on the Toyota site it said: "No updates available".

 

i'm getting that now, but only when i try to hookup bluetooth to my android note