Anything to look forward to?

Hi all,
First post,
After what would be tens of thousands in repairs if I couldn't swing a wrench on my piece of garbage 2007 Ford Sport trac, The cam chain tensioner went and that was the straw that broke the camels back.
I am looking for a truck and the Tacoma is just about the right spec for what I am looking for. The length is the same, The horse power and fuel numbers are about the same as the ST. Should pull my 19 foot camper the same. I am wondering about reliability. Basically everything that could go wrong, did go wrong with my ST, and I don't want to be in the same boat with my next truck. I was looking at a couple 2011 Tacomas with the 4.0L. there are 2, one with the auto, and a manual. Anything to look for? any advise? Both have around 70K Kms. I would prefer a Manual if it is more reliable, but I did have the transmission pulled 3 times under warranty on my 07 ranger for the squeaky master cylinder, so I do know that isn't always the case.

 

First, WELCOME to TW! Second, you won't be disappointed with a Toyota. I've owned them since 1981. Never let me down. In my case I chose the manual. I personally like to be more connected to the driving experience. JMHO. Again, welcome.

 

Welcome to Tacomaworld.
You will not be disappointed in a Tacoma, i went from a dodge diesel to a small single cab Tacoma and i like it better by the day! There an awesome truck.

 

FYI we rented a 19' travel trailer and I was extremely impressed with how well my Tacoma pulled it. (4.0 auto double cab short bed)

 

Welcome and to echo what has been said, a Tacoma will notdisappoint. My only disappointment wastrading my 2010 for a Nissan just to go back a couple years later.

 

Holy quick response.
Any idea what the issues are with the 6 speed?

Anything to look for on a used one? I see the block is disposable on these things if you run into issues. Is a compression check a good idea then before buying used?

 

I won't speak for others but my experience with the 6speed hasn't been disappointing. I've owned Toyota's over the generations, all manuals, no problems for me.

 

Love my 6 speed, but aware I may run into the problems Rock Lobster mentioned. I prefer manual trans by far in general, but the Tacoma auto trans is notoriously badass. I tow in the mountains regularly and have no problems (other than it's not supercharged). You'll enjoy either, welcome to the family!

 

The Tacoma is a great truck. I have limited experience. I haven't had mine for a month yet. But everything I have read they are about bullet proof.

I did have my Camry I4 LE for a year and put 70K on it real fast. 1 set of tires, still on the factory brakes, and no work to anything on the car but oil changes. Bought it used, with low miles, paid 12,500 for it PLUS TT, Traded it in and got 12,000 for it. How many cars can you do that wit?

 

I have a 2011 DCSB TRD off road with the auto trans and I'm at 52000 miles. The only problem I've had was the blower fan chirping but they replaced it and that's it for my problems. And during the summer I tow my RZR every weekend.

 

Make no mistake - there's a lot to like about the six speed and many owners have had a happy and trouble free experience with them.

That said, you came to us and basically said you're dumping a truck that wasn't reliable and suggested that you're looking for the most reliable truck possible.

Given that as a design goal/constraint for the tacoma, assuming you're picking the V6 configuration, go with the 5 speed automatic.

You don't say where you live, but frame rust is the achilles heel of these trucks. If you live where they salt the roads, get underneath the truck on a creeper with a light and a mirror and take a good long look.

 

I use to be a ford owner as well. Not any more

 

I just bought a 2011 about 6 months ago myself. Has about 70k miles on it now, one owner who took it to the dealer for every little thing. Only out of the ordinary service note was for a noisy blower motor. It's been bulletproof in the time I have had it.

Mine is an auto. You can't get a double cab long bed manual, so that's worth considering, though if I recall the SportTrac's bed is 4 ft so any Tacoma bed is an improvement. As autos go, it's one of the best I've had. As much as I love driving standard, there are some times where I'm glad I don't have to kick a clutch!

2011 gets you a nicer looking grille over the 2005-2010s, by the way. They're easy to spot because it's the only year of it.

 

Sounds good so far. I am in central Saskatchewan, so I will be paying a bit more. Canadian prices seem to stay up. That said, road salt is around but not as bad as our neighbor provinces. That being said, dealerships like to bring in cars from BC or out east if they can get a deal, and they do use a lot of road salt so I will have to take a real close look.
I am looking for reliability and something I can hold on to for a while so the 5 speed auto seems the way to go. I also will be sticking with a V6. Anything else is too small.
I also have a 1 year old and a 4 year old so I need the quad cab for the car seats.

Anything else to keep an eye out for?

 

Are you looking at the AC or DC ?

 

Double cab, Basically a Sport Trac that doesn't suck is what I would like

 

The auto is the stronger transmission in the second gen 4.0, I wouldn't be concerned with reliability there. The 6 speed is okay, but because of the gearing, it actually gets WORSE mileage than the auto believe it or not! And it is quite commonly associated with throwout bearing issues, too. The clunky shifting problem can be remedied by switching over to Redline MT-90 in the gearbox.

Good luck and welcome to the forum!

 

In the DC I have a 5 year old in a booster seat, and a 4 month old in an infant carrier seat thing. Both fit in there perfectly with room for a small person to sit in the middle still. The 12 year old SIL sits in the middle with no problem.

 

Having owned an Explorer I can honestly say that there is no comparison to the Tacoma when it comes to reliability. Not even close. In 3 years and 60K miles I have replaced one blower motor. 30 minute job, $120.
3 years with the Explorer; 3 wheel bearings, 2 brake rotors, 1 power seat motor and some computer gizmo that controlled the power locks. I'm not handy with a wrench so use your imagination to figure the cost. BTW, that really is just the first 3 years. The rear end blew at 90K.
I'd buy a Yugo before I bought another Ford. JMHO
Good luck with the purchase, best move I ever did.

 

Change that to

I'd buy a Yugo before buying another Domestic truck.

/thread

I will never buy another domestic after owning my last two Toyotas.