Tacoma gone down in quality?

I would expect that with the DC having a B-Pillar. The cab is supported much better than with the large opening on the side of the AC that is only supported by the doors. You've got 6 edges moving against each other in both the AC and DC, but in the AC, 2 of them are working against each other.

 

I have actually written many articles on this. Orkin tried the F-15 0 and hated it. Ford's plan was to move them from the Ranger to the F-150 ( big backfire). Orkin ultimately chose Toyota, I just haven't heard anything negative about it.

 

Hmm... Interesting as well. Surprises me a bit. A year ago or so I wrote an article about how the city, San Antonio and county, Bexar, where the Tacoma and Tundra are built don't have any Toyota vehicles in their fleets. Pretty sad.

I'm always curious to hear Toyota's used in fleets since they don't seem to put that much emphasis on it.

 

hey, I have a 2012 sport double cab. This is my 2nd Toyota, I had a 74 with a 8RC or 20R I can't remember which. Sold it to a buddy who's wife crashed it long ago. I wasn't too crazy about the plastic bed. I did pack the bed FULL of broken concrete which didn't hurt the bed at all. Then about a yard of dirt which was the same thing.

 

Ford doesn't put a lot of emphasis on it either.

No manufacturer wants you to realize that a good percentage of their sales come from rental car agencies, government agencies, and corporate fleets when they want you to believe that they are #1 in sales because the people who drive their vehicles actually LIKE them.

BTW: Our new HD trucks are Ford, so whatever contract they've had with GM for the last 20+ years is done.

 

i like my toyota. its pretty quick. get up and go. for passing. good 4x4 and after 69,000 miles I've only replaced 1 cv axle aside from regular maintenance
i would like to see leather seats.

 

@DJB: I had my diesel. 07 ram 2500. POS. I had to get a lawyer to get a buyback from DODGE. When the truck was running right, it was OK. they de-tuned it so much, because of that smog S#it, it would hardly move and burned diesel like a gas truck. I live in CA, so all those BS smog laws. The truck would be great with a straight exhaust and EGR delete.
Spent that$$$$ and paid cash for my tacoma

 

I am a mechanic in the diesel industry and there are very few diesel pickups in our parking lot at work. There are lots of Toyotas, Hondas and Subarus, though. The repair costs for diesel pickups will put you in the poor-house and the emissions equipment is touchy and unproven like it was for gas engines in the early 1970s. People think they need a $65,000 diesel truck to tow a 3000 lb camper trailer because they totally fell for the advertising in the Ford vs. Chevy. vs. Dodge dick-swinging contest. Those who actually need the towing and hauling ability for their excavating business or whatever, can get medium duty Kenworths or Freightliners with triple the life-span for about the same cost. Every time I see some douche-bag making noise and smoke in his jacked-up diesel truck, I just think about the financial black hole that guy is in and I'm glad I have a Toyota....

 

My former ride. I bounce between the yotes and diesels.

Am I a douche bag? Check.

Financial black hole? Check.

 

Step #1 is admitting that you have a problem.

 

It's just one of my twelve step programs....

 

I was more thinking maybe a difference in build from the texas factory VS the California factory that they used to be built in before 2012???
But don't get me wrong, I still like these trucks, I just noticed that mine doesn't feel the same as previous years. But maybe its just mine.

 

NUMMI (Fremont, CA) shut down in 2010 (part of the plant is now Tesla). TMMX picked up the slack until Texas was fully up to speed.

I've heard that AC and RC came out of Mexico during the transition from MY 2009 on, but I've never seen a door sticker from a TMMX that wasn't a DC.

 

When I first bought my 07, I felt exactly the same way.

After owning a 96 for 5 years..... this new truck just felt like Toyota dropped the ball. And not only that, but dumb little things that had gone wrong.
Windshield washer motor failed on the lot when I took delivery.
Poor / weak leaf springs (I had the TSB springs installed). MY wheels bubbled up / had them replaced under warranty. My radiator cap kept leaking...replaced that twice under warranty and once myself after warranty.
Climate controls shorted at the plug....

I look back on that now....

My 07 is almost 7 years old with 62K miles on it. It's been reliable and I can't complain. I hope it continues to be reliable until its 10 years old....

Knock on wood..... It could be a hell-of-a-lot worse.

 

Ya, my experience with Toyota is if it is going to have a problem, you're going to see it the first 6 months or so... well within warranty.

Wife's Rav4 had a dead ECU at about a month old. Other than that, the only time it's been back to the dealer was 6 months later for a bad O2 sensor (Toyota had a run of bad O2 sensors in 2003).

 

The thing I notice most going from a 1st gen to a 2nd gen is that my driver seatbelt fully retracts and doesn't hang out the door when I park.

 

That's cool and all, but fabric headliner?

I don't know about your pre-taco, but my first gen has a vinyl headliner. Love the vinyl man.

 

One of the most annoying things about the first gen. Is there a fix for this?

 

Well... fabric-like.

My '94 was thin vinyl. The 2nd Gen is a hardboard with a fuzzy texture that feels like fabric.

 

Candle wax or Ivory soap are a solution to many automotive squeaks, rattles, and sticks.

Try a little birthday candle wax on the hoop on the wall that the shoulder belt passes through. Might be just enough.
I don't remember my '94 having that problem, but I do remember scrubbing one of the seatbelts with carpet cleaner and a toothbrush, so maybe it was a little sticky.