Some Design Flaws in my 08 Taco

OK, I made it seem that I had a big list of design flaws in the “New Members Forum” but since I only have 200 miles on my 08 Taco TRD Sport I only have a couple! !!!

First is wind noise from the side doors at 50+ mph. (Well covered in this Forum by the way)

Second is the Instrument Panel- Gloomy looking thing, I have a hard time glancing at it to see what is going on! ! (By comparison my wife’s 07 Camry has a beautiful instrument panel that you can hardly take your eyes off of it because it’s so bright and cheerful and visible in bright sunlight shining on it! !!

Thirdly the “Outside Temperature and Compass Gages” are useless in the daytime when the sun is out. They are red LED numerals under a smoked glass lens and the glare just wipes them out.
So there is my short list so far but I love the little thing just the same. After driving a large conversion van for 10 years the Taco seems like a sport car! !!!

Don G

 

So far in my truck i have not noticed any wind noise at all.

As far as the instrument panel goes, i love it! My last car was a bmw, which uses red lighting on the instrument panel. The reason they do that is because it is less distracting at night. Red light is the hardest color in the spectrum for your eyes to detect. I love how i dont notice the instrument panel unless i actually make an effort to look down at it. My truck was at the dealership for 2 weeks and they let me have an 07 Camry to drive while it was being worked on. i found the bright white display to be pretty to look at but very distracting at night. It was very "visually noisy'" which i definatley do not like.

as far as the temp and compass display, i rarely use it but so far have had no problem seeing it when i look. But most of the time i forget its there so maybe i just havnt noticed a problem.

Personally i dont like the instrument controls (air flow, a/c etc...) I think they could have improved on that but other than that i dont have any major complaints about the interior. Anyway, glad you like you're truck other than the few complaints. I'm sure its a dream compared to an old van!

 

Thanks for the insight into the instrument cluster thing! !!! Perhaps it is more of a blessing than a problem! ! ! I can see what you mean by "Visually noisy" at night. I'll blame the problem on my tired 71 year old eyes! !!

Thanks

 

Dude...major incorrect. Cyan/turquoise light is the easiest for the rods in the eye to detect. Red does however preserve the eye at night best of all colors.


That is why taillights are Red and stoplights are red and stopsigns are Red.

Purple is the hardest.

But when they used to put those little blue dots in the center of tailights the combination made purple. So many people got into accidents that they removed them. you can still get them aftermarket now but most people who do are unaware that they are the hardest to see, but they look cool so hey!

 

Ok, you may be right about the purple thing. Maybe "hardest to detect" was not the right phrase. However, red light is the hardest to detect that still gives off enough light to see. This is why military flashlights have always had a red filter. If you are in the field and need to check a map you can turn on the red filter under a jacket and no visible light will escape.... which means you dont get shot. When you go to a planetarium and the show is over, the always turn on the red lights, let your eyes adjust and then slowly bring up the house lights. They do this because you can still see with red light but it is not at all abrasive on your eyes. If you used purple flashlights you wouldnt be able to read with them, or if you turned on purple lights in a planetarium and someone got up they would fall downs the stairs. so i guess you're right. Purple may be hardest to pick, but red is the ideal choice since it is not harsh but easily seen if you look at it. My point remains the same, it keeps the cab from being visually noisy at night. Good catch though Viper, just dont ever contradict me in public again. The last man that did that was Sawdust.... and we all know where he is now.....Texas....

 

Hey ND,

You still have a planetarium down there? Like with laser show and everything? After I get done pulling you out of the mud when your auto gets stuck at the spring meet we have to go. The closest planetarium up here anymore is in New England. I miss laser shows.

 

That's true about Red, it does preserve night vision the best.

And ya know what, I'm sorry man. I feel like Worf on Star Trek when Commander Data gave him a dressing down for contradiciting him in front of the crew.

I'll be sure to send code on the next disagreement (if any) the next time. But please man, don't be so frickin harsh! To threaten to exile me to Texas was pretty f****d up man. You had to pull out the major guns on me without even a warning shot across the bow. How about Nebraska...or even Iran first?

 

No, you're wrong. I was already in Texas even before I contradicted you.

And Viper's right. It's not about what colors are easiest/hardest to detect. A yellow-green is easiest to detect because it's in the middle of the spectrum. It's a cone vs. rod distinction. Red preserves dark adjusted sight best because rods aren't affected by them.

I got my degree in physics because no one had been able to answer my childhood question "why is the sky blue" to my satisfaction. Imagine my dismay when I ultimately learned that the answer is "physiology," the response of the human eye to light. The sky is actually primarily violet, but since we don't see that as strongly as we see blue, blue dominates. Here's a concise, low-tech explanation of red light preserving night vision.

 

Its simple cause and effect. You contradicted me, you're a texan. Therefor logically, i have the ability to make anyone who contradicts me a Texan. i get it, i dont know why you dont. Believe it or not a psych degree is more than looking at ink blot tests. In physiological psych we learned about how the brain interprets signals, such as colors. I've forgotten alot of of but i remembered a few things about how your eyes detect light. That was actually my favorite class in college. i got to discect a brain and an eyeball! it was really interesting.

 

Sorry Viper, maybe i was alitte harsh. Threatening anyone with making them a Texan is unaceptable. next time (and there will be a next time because i'm not that smart) i'll just send a box of dog poop through the mail. you think i'm making that up but its a real site. google dog poop, mail. There is a site that will annonymously send dog poop through the mail. Prices range from little poop to big runny poop. look it up if you get bored.

 

Don G,

I understand what you're saying about the instrument panel, but to me there is a certain sense of pride in owning a vehicle this is first and foremost the best truck on the market. Yes, the panel is basic. Yes, you can buy other trucks that have more gadgets or more aesthetic displays. But they are all inferior. Maybe I'm going through an early mid-life crisis, but part of the reason that I bought my taco was because of the rustic, no-frills feel that you get when you drive a Tacoma.

I am a first-time taco owner, so I was completely unprepared for the maniacal behavior I've started exhibiting over the past few months. You may want to go ahead and prepare your family.

 

I know what you mean, this is my first Taco and I checked them all out before selecting this one! ! But on the other hand I can't help thinking that for 29K I should have gotten a little more flair (My first New Truck was a 1960 Ford F100 for $1800 and it was bare bones) Don't get me wrong though, I still love my little Taco TuRD Spot! !!! !

Don G

 

Hear, hear!!

 

nice TACO TuRD plug there hahaha i should've made that as my username instead of TuRDTACO seeing as how after eating taco bell a few hours ago, the turd did indeed come soon after the taco haha, btw i snapped a pic of my local toyota dealer a.k.a. taco bell so you guys can see how outrageous the lighting is. you can literally see the glow from the dealership about 5 miles down the road at ground level! the finance guy said the electric bill was about 20grand monthly and i honestly wouldnt doubt it, Thomas Toyota/Nissan IS the second sun

 

here is the pic of the taco line at the dealership, this was taken with a cameraphone from about 50 yards away at 11:30 pm

 

Actually red/amber (low frequency) light is the easiest on the eyes because it's part of the longest wavelength. Blue, green, and white are the hardest (especially blues/purples) because they are the shortest (high frequency) wavelengths.

For example: While your traveling down the boulevard (at night) look at all the store banners until you see a red neon sign and a blue neon sign (neon makes a great example due to brilliance). The blue/purple one's hurt the eyes and they diffuse much more (hard to focus clearly) than the red and yellows (which are easier to focus clearly).

When flying at night we have to look at our sectionals (airspace maps) and if your eyes are accustomed to the dark cockpit and you turn a regular flashlight (white light) you become night-blinded for a few minutes until they re-adjust to the dark. With an amber colored lens on the same flashlight you can have the light just as bright but you won't get flash blinded.

 

I was trying to get across the point that red is easiest on your eyes. I guess i worded it wrong. I said red is the hardest for your eyes to detect, which in my mind means ''least abbrasive for your eyes" but i guess i needed to clarify.

 

No, the point is that red is not detected by the rods in your eyes. The rods are what give night vision. When your eyes are dark adjusted, and you see red lights, only the cones pick up the red and your night vision is not affected. Other colors are picked up by both rods and cones, and the rods cause as loss of night vision.

 

LOL, that's ok!

 

This is true.