2024 Tacoma Review

Well, not quite. "Power", as a technical term, is a measurement of something's ability to produce or consume a given amount of energy per unit time.

A 2nd gen I4 has to contend with the same amount of weight as a 2nd gen V6, yes. Let's assume for sake of argument it's a fixed 4,600 lbs. But the 2nd gen I4 is spec'ed at only 164 HP. So it is going to take considerably longer (assuming the driver mashes the pedal to the floor) to get the 4,600 lbs of truck moving to a given speed. The total energy expended & cumulative mechanical forces encountered during that acceleration period are going to be similar to what a V6 would have to put out in total -- but spread out over a longer time period.

A good comparison here would be you being asked to move 500 pounds of weight from the floor to a workbench. It's no problem if you can do it in 25-pound chunks over a period of say, 5 minutes. But if you are required to do the same in a space of say, 30 seconds, you better have more power available, presumably in a larger body/muscle mass to spread out the higher heat & mechanical loads somewhat & keep them from exceeding any critical parameters such as say, tendon-to-bone connection strength.

When comparing 2nd/3rd/4th gen Tacos on the basis of power density (how much power is being asked of each engine vs. the internal size of the engine,) the trend towards asking smaller engines to work harder is pretty clear:

(Power/displacement figures taken from wikipedia)

2nd gen I4: 164 HP / 2.7L = 68 HP per liter.
2nd gen V6: 265 HP / 4.0L = 66 HP per liter.

3rd gen I4: 159 HP / 2.7L = 59 HP per liter.**
3rd gen V6: 278 HP / 3.5L = 79 HP per liter.

4th gen I4 base: 228 HP / 2.4L = 95 HP per liter
4th gen I4 "iForce": 278 HP / 2.4L = 116 HP per liter

Of course there are hundreds of other factors that contribute to overall engine/powertrain service life, sometimes completely overriding a simplified metric like "horsepower per liter". It's logically still possible (having no accumulated data yet) that the 4th gen 2.4L could turn out to be in the category of "longest-lived Toyota engines ever," just not all that likely since it is being asked to produce a lot more power in a smaller space.

** It is notable and surprising here that the 3rd-gen I4 has the lowest power density of the bunch. I wonder if it will also turn out to be a very long-lived engine.

If I was forced to own a small-displacement blown (turbo'ed) I4 4th-gen Tacoma I would ignore the user manual recommended 10K oil-change interval with condescension and prejudice, and instead change the oil religiously every 3K-3.5K miles (because higher turbo & cylinder temperatures make oil wear/oxidize more quickly.)

Since the 4th-gen Taco user manual apparently allows for either 0W-20 or 5W-20 oil weights, in the 4th gen motor I would def. always go with the heavier 5W-20. Maybe even moving a grade past that to 5W-30.

 

Surprised it has a truck version of a doughnut for a spare tire. What's next, remove that and replace it with a can of "fill a flat".

 

That just doesn’t seem to be the case with the 4Runner boxed frame, the frontier and Titan boxed frame, etc
Tacomas are known for their frame issues and it’s beyond any other vehicle out there
I suspect the boxed frame is a good move

 

4Runner frames rust out all the time. I own one and it’s rusting worse than my Tacoma. Toyota doesn’t do a thing about it either.

 

The problem with your example is in most cases the 4 won't take 10 times as long to accelerate from a stop light. What will likely happen is the driver will just work the 4 harder to get it up to cruising speed. So if it takes 80 hp to do that you'll be using half the available power of the of the 4 and less than a third of the 6. Working the engine harder... And once cruising the power required is nearly identical. Again working the 4 harder.

The entire point here is that there has been a 4 working harder in the last 2 gens but we haven't seen it shorten the life of the engine at all. In fact most would argue its more reliable.

 

Do any vehicles survive winters in Massachusetts without rusting?

 

When I finally saw a 4G at my dealer, some customer came up talk to me about it. One of the things he wasn’t fond of was the damn air damn. He went: “so this thing comes stock with the snow plow!”

we laughed.

 

Yes. It seems like everything but Toyota body on frame vehicles. I’ve never had any rust concerns with any other vehicles I have ever owned.

 

I wonder why the other makers don’t, and Toyota does. Maybe we do need to sell US Steel.

 

FWIW I see dodges and chevys rusted to shit, especially the rear quarter panels. Ferds seem to be holding up quite well.

My 2007 ford ranger looked great after 7 years of ownership. They definitely do something right with those frames.

 

I live in the midwest. I see all the domestics rusted to shit everywhere. Don't know how they get this magic shield somewhere Northeast.

 

They use a lot of gravel up here, some salt/brine but not too crazy.

 

No doubt the overall topic is, like fuel mileage, complex.

I recently watched an excellent diagnosis of a P0014 code on a ~150K mile V6 1GR-FE, which turned out to be a significant power imbalance between the left & right banks of the V6. The imbalance was caused by timing-chain stretch. Inherent in the design of the 2-banks/1 timing chain design is that when the chain stretches, the valve timing is retarded more on one bank than the other. Over a long period of time this would lead to uneven wear on most of the moving components in one bank vs the other, likely causing one of them to fail (on average) sooner than an inherently-more-even-wearing I4 engine with a single valve train.

Separately from motor design, driver behavior is one of the larger factors in overall durability. In a small high-powered engine there's a lot less margin for routinely ramming the pedal to the floor in daily driving, and also a lot less margin for constant heavy work loads like towing.

 

We have started using that spray crap on the roads in MN. Not sure if its any better or not, but it def stays on the roadways longer which means your vehicle is salt covered for longer.

I think one reason vehicles rust so fast is everyone wants to wash their vehicle every other day throughout the winter thinking it's best for it, but it's not. When water freezes it expands, opening up those tight areas that don't get good paint coatings, and causing paint and coatings to crack. Every time you wash you effectively flush salt into those cracks. Salt doesn't do much to metal until it's mixed with moisture, so by washing your vehicle frequently you're just contributing to it rusting faster. Gotta find that balance, wash only when its warm, etc.

 

Absolutely correct for MN. I spent a short time with the MNDOT employed in the magagement ranks before taking a promotion to the MNDOR. Most prevelant (salt mix spray) on all large freeway bridges in the metro area and that dated back to 2007-2010. Both my gen 1 and gen 2 Tacos appeared like new with near 200k on each until you examined the frame. Toyota inspected my Gen 1 and would not let me leave with it after putting the end of a ball-peen hammer thru the frame with one whack. 2nd Gen started near the cat converter on a standard cab 4 banger. Rest of the frame was not as bad and I suspenct the intense heat of the converter conributed to frame rot in that specific location.

 

Since this thread has started to wander from "4th gen changes" into underbody rust, I think it's useful to throw into the mix that routine (i.e. annual) re-applications of a quality Krown / FluidFilm or other lanolin+petroleum distillates underbody coating probably goes an extremely long way toward mitigating underbody rust in rust-belt states.

Living in CA at low altitude and not near a coastline, rust is not really an issue, but I've recently invested in the spray equipment needed to apply lanolin-type underbody coatings & will start doing my Taco every few years, just to be on the safe side and/or so it's 100% ready for occasional winter/snow trips, or even if I relocate to a rust-belt state at some point.

 

If the 4th gen box frames are considered rust proof, why would Toyota not warranty any potential problem for longer durations?

Obvioussly to those that had rusted frames in Gen 1 and 2 production, these past frame replacements ("buy-back" or "frame replacement") were a result of class action law suits forcing corrective action by Toyota.

 

Probably just better prep and paint. The body of these trucks is holding up just fine. If they just did a better job painting the frames they would probably be fine.