Doing time

I have had my 2007 4.0 Tacoma Prerunner SR5 DoubleCab (automatic) for exactly a year now and thought I would post my experiences. I really, really like this truck and its a blast to drive. However, there are a few things that I wish were different.

The good

1. The truck has 10,360 miles on it gets right at 18 mpg in the city which is reasonable for a V6.
2. The power and handling of the vehicle is great. The 4.0 V6 will really haul ass and is a joy! It has smooth power, stops well, and I can tow my bass boat with no problem.
3. The interior (for a "small" truck) is roomy and the back seat is actually useable and reasonably comfortable for most. There is limited leg room but it's not bad.
4. Lots of useable storage behind and under the rear seats.
5. The automatic transmission is smooth and shifts well. I do have the "lurch" issue while waiting at a stoplight, but as someone mentioned, you get used to it. I had the "shudder" issue when slowing past 20 mph, but that seems to have cleared up.
6. Changing the oil is a snap! I like where the filter is mounted and the Prerunner makes it easy to crawl under and access the drain plug. Caution!...use a deep catch container when draining the oil....don't ask how I know :mad

The bad (However, most are trivial)

1. The paint on the fenders suck ! Actually, its the fender material that sucks....you can tell from a distance that the paint is "flat" looking and it is EASILY scratched. I wondered why Toyota put the clear plastic material on the lower leading edge of the rear fenders....it's there to prevent road debris from scratching the paint. Why didn't they cover the entire fender with the plastic stuff?? I think if I tried, I could scratch the paint with a finger nail. I don't like the painted fenders for crap! Toyota should do something about this...can you say "recall?"
2. To me, the front seats are somewhat uncomfortable in the butt/thigh area. They seem too narrow...or my ass is to wide Actually I'm 6' tall and weigh 200 lbs with a 36 waist...so I'm not that big. After driving for awhile, my left butt cheek starts hurting I do wish they were an inch or so wider.
3. No accessory input on the stereo...can't use my MP3 player. My brother just bought a new F-150 base model and his has an input. Also, the sound quality of the base stereo is so-so.
4. No rear window defroster
5. Lighted window switches would be nice and so would a light in the arm rest (I have plans to correct this )
6. The cruise control location looks like an after-thought... although, it's easy to operate than some that have buttons all over the steering wheel. Maybe this is not a "bad" point.

And thats about it. Would I buy it again knowing what I know now? Probably.... but the seat thing is an issue. I would be interested to read what other owners say about their 2nd generation Taco who have owned them for awhile.

Steve

 

every car or truck i drive i have to take out my bill fold or it hurts my butt

 

Be glad you dont have an 05-06, seats were even narrower. Fits like a glove for us skinnier guys, but I can see why they widened in 07.

Here's my 3yr owner report. Dont think I was on this forum yet.


Picked up my 05 Dec 21,2004. 31,000 miles now, only been to dealer once to install the heavier leaf springs per the TSB.

Rides great on the road in the summer and handles the snow of winter with ease. Climbs logging roads and slogs through muddy farm fields well. She tows my sled trailer easily and has recovered tractors, vans, and a plow truck from ditches and pulled a UPS truck up a snowy hill.

Updates/changes:
-Running Pennzoil Platinum in the motor, Full syn oil for tranny, transfer and front diff. NO full syn in LSD rear diff though.
-TRD exhaust- sounds good, doesnt rust.
-Blizzaks on 16x7 steelies for winter months.
-Cut a 5/8 thick farm stall mat for the bed (80+lbs).
-Homemade bed extender, Makes 5ft to 6.6ft
-Door sill protectors, though they are cracked and chip easily when cold.
-Short clutch throw mod

4x4 system: Was finicky the few months, but has only got better the more I used it. Got about 2000mi in 4hi and use 4lo a few times a month, she shifts in like butter now.

Tranny & motor: No problems whatsoever.

Body: Paint is doing fine, wax 3-4 times a year. Have a few scratches from brush on the trail and dents around the bed. The outside bed dents easily, dropped a branch, and taco'd the TRD sticker, but was easily pushed out.

Interior: No issues.

Composite bed: Has taken a beating and held up great.

MPG:
Avg 19.5 all summer
drops to 17-17.5 in winter.
Best 22, summer trip
Worst 14, Week of below zero and towing
Run all grades for a time. Settled on 89 or 90.

Concerns:
-Clutch still squeaks depending on the weather, same in my buddies 01'.
-The bottoming out with a loadand leaf spring squeak, but fixed with the TSB.
-A quite bit of surface rusting on the frame, joints, and underbody components. They salt like mad here.
-Weak tailgate, we all know. (So I slide the bed mat back for tailgate weight distrubtion when loading the lawn tractor)
-Lower y pipe hangs too low off-road.
-The TRD sport 17 rims are bubbling already on the edges. These wheels get to sit in a comfy 40 degree gararge all winter. Lame.

Looking forward to keeping her at least 10 years. Glad this truck is easy work on, been reliable, and still puts a smile on my face everytime I drive it, esp since I own it now!

 

I'm too lazy to take my wallet out (and would leave it in the truck by mistake), but I know the feeling!

Surprisingly, the sport seats in my truck are contoured such that I don't actually rest my weight on the wallet! I've reached for my back pocket several times thinking I left my wallet at home because I didn't feel it.

To the OP, do you have the sport seats with lumbar support? That might make a difference. Not sure if you could have them swapped in by the dealer or not. Might be something worth looking into. I've driven a couple hours with my wallet still in my right pocket and never had a problem. Not to mention these seats feel sooooo much better to my back than anything else I currently own (car or house)!

 

Hey demon, I hear ya on the rust spots... Wife and I found a complete air paint gun kit at Wal-Mart yesterday for $60 so we got it! A couple more mods for the compressor (dryer and a filter), and I'll be able to start spraying. I'm thinking about getting some cans of black Rustoleum and hitting the frame when it warms up.

 

Good to know. I just got my 08 rust protected but maybe I will invest in winter rims for next winter.

 

Clutch still squeaks depending on the weather, same in my buddies 01'.

When I got my clutch replaced, the guy told me did my clutch squeak and I told him yes at times. He told me that was because Toyota does not put grease on the fork clutch pivot bolt. If you put grease on it that will eliminate the squeakiness. This guy only works on Toyota and been doing it for 25+ years. Everything he's told me has been correct so far. I haven't had my clutch for a week yet but it doesn't squeak and its been cold and warm here.

 

I have no complaints with back support, that's great. It just that left side of my upper leg & butt cheek rests squarely on the left raised portion of the seat. I have the standard seats that comes with the '07 Prerunner. oh well, if nobody else seems to have a problem, them it must be my butt

 

If you don't have a knob to adjust the lumber support on the door side of the driver seat then you have the standard seats. Maybe visit a dealer to find a truck with the sport seats and see if they fit better? If they do then maybe you could work out something to replace your seat with a sport one.

 

I've only had my Tacoma a couple of weeks. I'm 5'11" and 200 lbs, so I'm not a really big guy. There are three things that really bug me.

1) When I have the seat adjusted to the proper reach to the pedals, the reach from the seat to the steering wheel is a too long. Another inch of telescoping adjustment would make a big, big difference for me. Adjustable pedals would work also, but would be more expensive.

2) The seat isn't deep enough to provide decent support on the back of my thighs. This is tiring on a long drive.

3) The seat bottom should tilt. I don't need power seats. A manual adjustment would work fine, but it should at least tilt. I understand this can be helped to a certain extent by adding some spacers.

I don't regret buying the truck, but the seating position is not comfortable.

 

Did you know that the steering wheel is telescopic? It does adjusts in and out

 

Flavalk, you and I are about the same size and weight, and I also have that fatigue, I'm not trying to take your inventory...but... it might be a cyatic nerve. I don't know what kind of physical condition you are in but try becoming much more flexible, stretching your hamstrings, touching your toes and holding the soles of your feet. It's not a cure but it helps me.

 

Yes, but the range of adjustment is not quite enough for me. I'd like the steering wheel just a little closer than the adjustment allows.

I'd guess that there are airbag issues that limit the amount of adjustment they can offer. There is probably a minimum safe distance when the seat is adjusted all the way forward.

The other possibility would be to have adjustable pedals. If I could adjust them more towards the front of the truck, then the seat could come forward a little more and that would fix the problem as well.

 

I can't help you out, but I do share that observation. I'd really like to get my shoulder to the top of the steering wheel distance an inch or two shorter. I tilt the steering wheel as far down as I can and still see the top of the speedometer under it and I've telescoped it all the way out. It's workable, but I've resigned myself to just retraining on comfortable hand positions.

 

I agree with you Buzz. I am about your size and height ... I also have problems with my legs on long trips. I tried the spacer trick, but it didn't really help very much. I have the SR5 package, but my seat has the adjustable lumbar support ... most people that post here say that you can only get the lumbar on the TRD seats. (I have the fuzzy grey seats as opposed to the sporty material on the TRD seats.)

I really love the truck, but if I can't drive it for longer hauls ... not sure what to do.

If you hear of a way to fix the problem, please keep me in the loop.

Thanks!

 

So far, I've only found one seating position that helps. Telecope the wheel as far out as possible. Next, turn the lumbar support all the way to minimum. Then sit with your hips as far back in the seat as possible. Move the seat as far forward as you can comfortably live with. Adjust the seat back as upright as you can possibly live with.

That gives you the shortest possible reach to the wheel. Now you can dial in a little more lumbar a little if you want.

It isn't super comfy, but it is about the best I can do.

 

You mean you want the seats wider or your butt cheeks wider?

The stereo aux input problem can be solved with about $60 and a few mins work. There's a few posts on it. If your stereo is the 6 disc in-dash non-JBL changer then I know it will work, others should as well.

 

I love the truck, BUT.....

• The lack of the rear defrost in the access cab seems primitive
• the ABS engages way too soon
• the undercoat job was sub-par, like someone above said, the roads are salted around here quite a bit, and I try to wash the truck every 2nd weekend yet surface rust has formed on the rear driveshaft yoke and in other small parts underneath.
• I originally wanted the Dual cab 4 door, but if I was to get that with a std transmission i would have to get the short box, which I really didnt want so I ended up getting the access cab std...
• Speakers are starting to crackle even though i havent had the truck for 2 months. I have some 300w 6x9's and an amp I am hoping to put in this weekend if I can find the time.