Michigan Tacomas

Welcome!

 

Now I have issues with Ford. Dad was a Ford Credit retiree, so we grew up on Ford. I had an 89 Ranger MT that I drove for 11 years / 198k miles. Little to no rust (in MI) and just routine maintenance. My O7 F150 was a nice truck, but then some of the intentional design issues crept in. No driveway tune ups unless you can remove the fuel rails. They run directly over the spark plugs and no room to work around them. And my rear 1/4 panels began to rust. 14 Focus with the transmission issues and then a 16 Focus when they said they were fixed. They weren't and Ford fought the recall saying that the vehicle (which had acceleration issues) were safe because the brakes and air bags worked. Enter my 18 Taco. 118k miles and no issues. People have asked me why I think its a better built vehicle. My simple answer is my heat shields don't rattle.

 

I feel your pain, I would love to drive a Jeep or Broncos again but. My last “US” truck was a 98 GMC, unbelievable lemon.

 

I think a new domestic truck will not happen again. I missed a lemon law claim on my 14 Focus by a month. My wife has a Lincoln, which I hope will be her last domestic vehicle. Between the recalls (her 17 has two active recalls, one for a spontaneous battery fire issue) and the ever increasing prices, I'm probably done with the domestic market. My commuter is a VW Passat TDI. Bought used, it's 10 years old and not an issue with the car. And 45-50 per gallon is nice as well.

 

Yeah I wouldn't buy any Ford F150 from 1997 to 2015, personally. I had a 1998 Mustang I was quite a fan of. No major issues but issues did start popping up more frequently as it aged.

Drivability wise, my Tacoma has been fantastic. Same with the lack of check engine lights *knocks on wood*. But I can also say it has had more major repairs than any other vehicle I've owned. Granted, they were professionally taken care of under warranty, but nevertheless they had to be done. Timing cover, water pump, head gaskets, fuel line O-rings are the big ones. Not to mention a loose exhaust hanger, likely knocked loose by said work, that ended up causing a squealing noise that drove me insane for months until they finally found it successfully.

 

I haven't been around Toyota before 2018. I researched my truck purchase for nearly a year before I bought. Aside from the frame issue, I didn't see a lot of issues with "modern" Toyotas. Your situation sucked, but it doesn't seem to be a wide or large issue. One of the reasons I went with Toyota. I liked my F150. It seemed to have a beast mode in it. I had the 5.2 and was able to pull a F350 equipped for sign maintenance out of axle deep mud and pulled well. I just started loosing faith with that truck and then the focus. I had a lot of neighbors working for the Big 3. But I just couldn't do it anymore with those (sometimes seemingly intentional) issues. My 14 Focus was in the shop so often it would have been cheaper to buy it back and get me into something else. But if they do that once, it sets a precedent, so that didn't happen. I even tried to get an ST MT put in it, and of course they said no to that as well.

Sorry for the tangent / semi rant. Works kinda slow at the moment.

 

I just didn't want a 2016 since it was the first model year. I never had any drivability issues and the leak(s) were actually discovered by the dealership. I believe the fuel issue was also caused by that repair, although they deny it. I just don't see any way you remove the heads and not disconnect at least part of the fuel system, thus risking the poor reconnection and damaging the O-rings. But at least they were very cool about it all and even worked at the noise issue past my warranty period at no cost to me.

Yeah, I haven't heard a ton of great things about the focus, but then again it was sort of one of their economy cars. I have grown to like the Fusions from the 2010 body style though. I got to drive one a couple of years ago and it was actually pretty nice to be back in something simplistic (by modern standards).

Ford is one of those brands for me that almost all of their vehicles have to grow on me, especially styling wise, except for the mustang. GM, meanwhile, almost always knocks it out of the park in terms of styling and initial quality, in my opinion. Then again, I'm a sucker for sharp body lines and not much a fan of roundedness. That's probably the biggest reason I never really cared for the 2nd gen Tacoma, except for maybe the earlier models. I absolutely love the look of the 3rd gen, 4th gen, and current Colorado.

 

I agree, ford design seems a bit prickly besides their sportiest cars. I’ve never owned anything except for Hondas and Toyotas besides a 72 ss chevelle. Wish I kept that one.. but I also wish I kept my crx.. my 2nd gen taco seemed very bubbly to me however, it was fairly basic and never had an issue other than both headlights strangely blew out at the same time after hitting a bump on a cold day on the freeway.

 

I never saw myself owning any foreign vehicle until I was ready to get rid of my 2008 Canyon. I did not like the Tacoma for a long time but eventually it grew on me. In particular, I credit a trip driving back from Marquette and seeing a black and blue TRD Tacoma (don't remember what trim since I didn't know enough about Tacos at the time) that had some accessories on it while I was driving through Munising in the winter. The thought of that truck sitting there in that snowy parking lot looking badass was burned into my mind and I couldn't stop thinking about it. So I began drinking the forbidden Kool aid and got my own Tacoma a few months later...also coincidentally at the same dealership our 4Runner came from and coincidentally because of a photo of it in a snowy parking lot from much the same angle as I saw the one in Munising.

I will also say, I'd absolutely love to own a 67-70 F-series pickup. I don't even care about what engine comes in it.

 

The dealership that put most of the work into the 14 Focus gave me a 15 hybrid fusion to drive until my car was fixed. I absolutely loved the car and thought about the trade, but there was no way we'd get close enough together knowing the Focus would be an auction car.

Ford styling. Not a huge fan. They went through the chrome three bar grill phase that was pretty nasty. Then the tried to make all the cars look alike (Taurus to Fiesta) which was a bit of miss in my opinion. GM did the same for a while as well. I can't say anything stands out as something that was a must have except one of the GMC heavy duty trucks a friend had for snow plowing trailer pulling for commercial irrigation install. It was an absolute beast, but the $$ was out of my range (and would be today). I think there are a lot of misses in the designs today, but I guess your options are limited if your trying to efficient.

I know it's subjective, but I like the 3rd gen looks because there is nothing like in on the road. And I think the 24 will be the same way. The Colorado looks good, but from price tag and after market standpoint I'm not in line. (Check out the ATX4 line. $$$) I did see an new Frontier at Overland East last week. Rumor mill has that it is being re-done beyond the styling cues, but no one seems to know much about it. The one I saw was aftermarket modded and it looked pretty stout.

 

Agreed. There is one down here in the crew cab long bed edition I see every day I drive to work. Sh%t brown, but still...

 

Yeah, TFL just released their video on 3rd quarter sales and it doesn't look great for mid-size pickups. Even the Tacoma was down in sales. One of their theories has to do with price. Especially when you can get a full size for the same price or similar.

I agree with the 3rd gen being different. It still has a bit of that "small truck" feel now that everything has to seem bulky and have a massive rear end. The 4th gen looks like it'll follow that a bit though. I plan to keep my 3rd gen to at least 200k. Who knows what will happen to the market in that time. But, unless something changes, I'll be reaching that milestone in about 3 years. Well short of the 8 total years I predicted when I bought the truck.

 

3rd gen, nothing else looks like it. You see one and you can ID it from a distance. Not so much with the others. Look at a Maverick and a Ranger from a distance and it's hard to tell. 4th gen - I saw the Trailhunter and the Pro at the Overland Expo East last weekend. It is a distinctive looking truck and should be easily recognizable, which I like.

I agree on the prices being a factor. But there is also a supply problem. I think a lot of the manufacturers have slowed down on the production because of supply issues and just geared up for the 24 model year. I like that Toyota seems to have adopted an ala carte kind of approach to the TRD line up. I'm guessing the Trailhunter, which I do like, will come in around $60-65k, above the Pro. Way too much for me. Full size at that point. But from what I've heard, you can order some Trailhunter features on the lower TRD lines. So I thought about the Off Road with the skids and the 2" lift from the factory. But am I any better off? Only prices will tell that.

I will also be keeping the truck for a bit. Just rolled 119K and will see about 150-160K before I retire. I've done a lot to the truck and it has a lot of life left in it. And after I retire, I loose the commute mileage. My only concern is driving a truck out west for a few weeks with 160-170k on it and having something break 200 miles from no where. I keep up on the maintenance, but still the thought is there. But this is all academic at this point.

 

Yeah they cited those as an issue too. I can tell those apart pretty easily. The rounded body is one of the reasons why I don't care for the Ranger. But you're right in that the new Ranger will look much closer to the Maverick. In my opinion, this is what the Ranger should have looked like from the return to the US. Not just a slightly refreshed model that they've been selling overseas already for 10 years that they then called "all new."

Yeah, I don't see myself getting a 4th gen. It looks nice and all, but I'll likely be getting something full size by the time it is time to get rid of my 3rd gen. That or a Rivian, depending on what the world looks like by then. Although, unlike a lot of people, I'm not at all worried about the turbo 4 cylinder engine.

Yeah I've done 3 trips out west with mine so far. 19 hours straight. The major service was done shortly before the 3rd trip. So I was dealing with the fuel leak and the noise all vacation since the dealerships in WY were all short staffed and the dealerships 8n Colorado had ridiculous wait times (as in I'd be back to Michigan after vacation before they could get me in even as an emergency). Luckily for me, the fuel leak sealed itself after about 30 seconds of running and wouldn't leak again until I'd let it sit for a while. The smell and squeal were little more than embarrassing with such a nice looking truck, all things considered. At least I never got stranded or worse.

 

If any of you guys know someone looking for a clean used Tacoma, mine is up for sale. It’s listed in the buy sell trade thread. Here’s a couple of pictures. Asking $28K, V6, 6 spd manual, 70,000. miles, lots of extras.

 

Anyone need a set of 2020 Off Road wheels? PM me.

 

Moved to GR Michigan just over 2 years ago, and moved to the Lansing area this summer.. is the snow difference really that significant in this area compared to an hour west? Does 50 degrees in mid December mean we are going to be in for it in January/ February?

 

I’ve lived in both areas (Lansing now) and the lack of lake effect snow in Lansing is the big difference. It’s really the only difference from what I’ve experienced. It seems like the warmer winters here equate to later snow storms in later winter/early spring.

 

If it makes you feel any better, even the UP has barely any snow this year. But yes, GR has a lot of lake effect. But it also melts pretty fast compared to where I grew up which is around an hour north of there. I think GR even gets more snow but the temps are so close to freezing that it doesn't stick around as well.

 

This is an odd year so far,we’ll get hammered a time or two.