New Taco owner gripes

Im at 2k miles on my 2022 OR and coming from a 2006 4runner v6 , there are some odd points with the tranny that I have noticed. It seems to have a little weird spot in the 2nd to 3rd area under certain loads that at first i was like , " well that was funny". But I rarely notice now in mixed driving. The peddle seems a bit long , or takes a bit more into it to get a response , but nothing crazy. No its not my IS350 F Sport responsiveness , but it will move and honestly I think it moves better than my old 4runner. I have not noticed the seat as much as some people seem to , but a simple fix looks like it would solve it. The headroom is a bit low and entering the vehicle does feel a bit cramped , but nothing severe that would make me hate on it. The knobs are kind tiny , but again a simple fix. Other than the MPG and overall cost I cannot say anything really negative thus far. Again ,I'm a Toyota guy and know they are not always "cutting edge" in the tech area , which I am fine with as long term reliability is my game.

 

I hate to say it, the best solution to Tacoma shifting is a Nissan Frontier.

If you drive pretty sedately, it's not an issue (for the most part) if you are an aggressive on the gas driver, its misery.

 

Aggressive driver's, and trucks aren't suppose to go together. I can't understand why one has to be aggressive with a truck. These tacoma's perform really good already that i would think they should satisfy most owners when used the way they were meant to.

 

New to 3rd gen can’t really say I got much to gripe about.
I kinda really like it.

 

@zoo truck

Like Bruce Hornsby & The Range sing...."That's just the way it is". lol



Seriously, tonight I washed my wife's Elantra and took it to air-dry and pick up some beer.

The amount of B-A-Ts (Big Ass Trucks) I saw tonight and how aggressive they maneuver through traffic, is common place.

That feeling is not the same when I'm driving my Sport. Although, it's stock height, it's higher than a sedan.

I'm very happy with my DCSB/AT Sport; granted, I have an OTT 8.0 Tune w/gear lock--Love the way my Sport handles!

 

It has nothing to do with driving style. The problem is that there is zero torque at low rpms(thank you atkinson cycle). Not good for a truck. The other problem is that when you drive normally, it wants to shift to the highest gear possible as quickly as possible. This is the reason for the irradic shifting, especially at highway speeds*going from 5th to 4th to 5th and back and forth) and when taking off from a stop(it barely starts moving and immediately shifts into 2nd). The power is very non-linier in that when you push the throttle down it shifts hard to too low of a gear, or creeps up to about 3500rpm then suddenly finds more power.

It seems that this problem, or should I say this tuning has been improved in the 2020 and newer trucks. I drove my truck many thousands of miles and it did not really get better. This is why I got a tune. I got immediate results with improved torque and hp, way better linier throttle and far better shifting. Like it should have been from the fctory.

 

Something to keep in mind when looking at tunes, a lot of them require premium fuel. You may want to consider if paying an extra $15 per fill up is worth the more even torque curve for you.

Really good video. I learned more about ATs from this video than anything else I've consumed before.

I typically shift under 2000 RPMs. If I could redesign this transmission, I think I would make 1st and 2nd gear both taller so that 1st is a real crawler gear, starting in 2nd is easier, and then I would nudge 3rd and 4th in that direction and make 5th 1:1, leaving 6th gear as is. And then I would make reverse the same as 1st gear. Whoever designed reverse on the manual needs to be taken to the test track, put on the steepest hill, and be held at gunpoint while he reverses up the hill. If he stalls....

 

I've never used a CC that did well on anything but slight hills. Even my parents 5.9 v8 durango would downshift hard if the CC was on going up hills.

 

Fixed in model years 2021 and later. Your fix is the ECT button.

 

Not altogether true. Both KDMax and OTT are octane learning, same as stock tune. Maybe others are, but I am not familiar with those

 

All that does is slightly adjust shift points. It does nothing to improve throttle response, torque/hp or the irradic power to rpm issue when accellerating. It is also in all 3rd gens. You should not have to push a special button to make the truck drive better.

 

Ah, good to know. I looked into KDMax before and thought it was a premium tune. Maybe it changed or I misunderstood - it's been a while. Thanks for clarifying.

 

Tunes all need a switch to premium fuel is that correct?

 

@2Nice

I don't believe they do...at least, I was not advised to switch to Premium with OTT.

I use 87 octane from Wawa/Royal Farms/Safeway here in Delaware and have no issues.

 

Sold our 5th gen to buy a 2nd gen taco but couldn't justify paying 30+ for a 2014-2015, so we're waiting for a 2023 slated to take delivery next month. Once I test drove the 3rd gen, I immediately felt the gear hunting and engine revving high to get moving. After some research, it sounded normal and a lot of posts recommended a tune. I plan to drive the truck 3-5K miles and get the OTT tune afterwards to that I can compare. It sounds like a tune solves most of the gear hunting problem and torquesless low end.

 

Order the truck online and mever test drove it?

 

The KD Max Pro tune works fine on 87 octane. It makes more power if it runs the higher octanes, I believe. So far, coming up on a year after having it installed, I have only ran 87 and I am still happy with the tune. The tuner did say that if you change octanes it would take about 3 tanks to completely learn the new octane and adjust.

 

My 2017 was a train wreck. The ECT button was required unless you want to die on a u turn or other driving maneuvers. My 2021 is completely enjoyable and predictable.

 

This is great information thank you!