Manual Transmissions Were Just 1.4% of 2023 US Sales

Why is the fluid doing fine for all the other shifts?

 

Bought my truck with 2500 miles and for the longest time 3rd gear was really fighting me. I got 11K on it now and it feels much better.

Now that 4th to 5th and then 6th shift when cold, yea I still gotta be real easy on the clutch or it'll "jump". Just the quirks of the manual.

 

I often notice the throttle lag like you mention on my 2018, but never any inconsistency in trying to pull up into position while parking on a very slight incline... (stock tune as well) Could this be a 2021 thing?
Overall quite happy with my '18 MT... Just wish I could've gotten it in an Off Road instead of a Sport (ARB gave me opportunity to fix this though, and then some ).

 

My guess is because the higher gears have less torque being put on the synchros? Do you have redline already in your trans? I had notchy shifts going into 2nd and 3rd gears with stock fluid.

 

Not at all. I’ve owned one automatic (Nissan Frontier) and hated it. I only bought it because I needed something and I couldn’t find a manual. When the timing was right, I traded it for a manual Frontier and never looked back. When it was time to buy the Tacoma, I was only choosing manual.

Now I’ve been in an automatic Tacoma for a week, due to my driveshaft carrier bearing going bad. While I wait for the backordered parts, I am driving this auto and I really don’t like it. At first it didn’t seem too bad, and the shifting to me is not as bad as I expected it to be, but I really just despise the whole automatic thing. It’s not fun at all, the transmission is almost never doing what I want it to, and overall I just really want my truck back.

 

I don't know.. I go back to what I said above, mine really could have just been a bit "special". In any case, I'm SO MUCH happier having traded it in for a 2010. It meets all my needs and is more fun to drive IMO.

 

No redline, it's still new to me at 8700 miles. 5th to 6th shift is fine, so can't use your theory of higher gears. Something with the 4th to 5th shift.

 

No I meant low gears have more torque on the synchros. I don’t know. Maybe your trans needs to break in longer? 4th to 5th is also a small ratio change. Maybe the rpms dropping too fast to catch 5th at the proper rpm. Unless the trans feels weird literally every single shift for several miles, I wouldn’t worry. I would just drain the OEM oil and use redline MT90.

 

I rarely even use 5th gear, most of the time its just from 4th to 6th.

 

Same, was a die hard manual guy for the last 40 years, have grown to like the auto. When I start missing the stick, jump into my 1st Gen, which now deemed that truck as “charming”, kinda like our old air cooled VWs. Looking forward with evolution in transportation, have been eye balling Rivians, (the 4th Gen Taco isn’t doing it for me) too bad they cost so freaking much.

 

Does it though? They sell so few because so few people want them. If you are trading one in I think you take a hit because the dealer knows it is going to be sitting until they find the right person for it. I have driven manuals for years, but they are just not popular.

 

IMO, this is the one area where an A/T shines.
Many, many years ago my Dad mounted a front bumper hitch on his '65 Econoline van, expressly for navigating trailers into tight spaces.
I did the same on the 2023, a CERT Mfg. front receiver that accepts a standard hitch.

The front hitch combined with the A/T lets me maneuver my 5x10 Wells Cargo into the very tight space it requires behind my fence gate.
Front hitches are "marriage savers" as well.

 

I wanted a manual in my 3rd Gen but Toyota didn’t offer it in the trim I wanted SR AC V6, only way to get was to step up to a Sport, didn’t want to spend the extra $3-4K to get it, then another $2-3K getting the Sport to my liking.

Honestly think low manual sales is Toyota’s fault. Same thing is going to happen with the new Xtra Cab, they basically ruined the AC cab configuration, so they’ll loose even more sales and guess it will be discontinued here in a couple years altogether. After 30 years of Toyota ownership, my 3rd Gen is probably the last Toyota I’ll ever buy, already looking elsewhere because of their decisions of how they spec their trims.

 

This is almost what I wanted as well.
My true desire was a new 2023 Hilux sized SR AC truck, with 6MT and 6 foot bed.
I understand the Hilux and MT is sold all around the world except here in the US where buyers demand "life style" big trucks.
I settled for the SR AC V6 with A/T, as that is all I was gonna get.

 

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Yep, same here.



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I don’t really.

I did lightly consider a 5.0 F150, but I’m still hesitant about that because I still prefer driving a manual, and the smaller size of the Tacoma makes it easier to park and maneuver on trails.

The price of the F150 in the spec I want also makes me a bit hesitant as well.

 

Yep, that is what wanted too, actually one step below the SR, wanted a WorkMate trim, since I use my truck like a truck, the SR AC AT was the compromise.

Toyota USA has zero interest in selling commercial trim vehicles.

 

Came very close to buying an XL F150 Super Cab over my 3rd Gen, but decided to stick with Toyota after all these years. After seeing the 4th Gen Taco certainly made my next truck purchasing decision a hell of a lot easier.

 

Every car I've either sold or traded in since the late 1990s got a premium because it had a manual transmission. Maybe it depends upon where you live, but here in New Hampshire, the demand manual transmissions is higher than the supply.

 

The manual transmission is the biggest reason I stay with Toyota. If Toyota didn't offer the Tacoma with a manual, and another company did offer the manual, I'd probably be with the other company. They're just so much more fun to drive.