The new electronics scare me

I never understood why push button start and keyless entry were selling points until my wife got it in her 2013 Accord. That fob is not as big as a key and when coming out of a store with bags in your hand you realize how nice it is to not have to reach into your pocket. Wearing a coat? Which pocket is that dam key in again? Just touch the car and it unlocks. My wife loves it because now she doesn't have to root through her purse, until she gets home and needs to get in the house, then she starts cursing.

Next will I need keyless entry for the house I suppose.

 

There's nothing new here (except maybe the terrain select). Toyota has been putting this stuff in their SUV's for a while. The Tacoma is just now catching up

 

I bet it lights up on the new one at least

 

The new electronics really don't scare me at all. If you want a base model buy one. Besides you just went straight to the limited one not the TRD off road.

 

MTS is in lots of Toyotas already

 

A lot of you cite the reliability of these electronics, and I think you're correct in MOST instances. However, the Tacoma (4WD especially) is driven places most other cars are not, and that's why the extra electronics offer one more thing to fail and leave you stranded.

One of my buddies took his truck (not a Toyota) to Death Valley. He stopped to stretch his legs and spilled his soda on the dash. It ran down and shorted out the Ignition Start/Stop button leaving him stranded for 24 hours. I fully acknowledge that mechanical ignition switches fail too, but not like that!

 

Admittedly, I only read part of the wall of text (the giant run-on sentence nearly broke me) but personally I'm not interested in fiddling around with mounting my phone in the dashboard every time I get in my truck or buying new mounting equipment if I get a different device. What happens if USB goes away and then you can't mount anything? Something will ALWAYS become obsolete at some point.

My 2006 LX470 nav system worked just fine with the old map and I had to buy a device to get the iPod hooked up since they didn't have USB/AUX standard back then.

I'd rather just get in, plug it in or let it Bluetooth, and hit the gas. You may be overthinking things a bit...

 

I'm not talking satellite images. Google's Terrain View is a topographic map overlay on top of the regular map. It's very useful when offroading in unfamiliar places.

Yes, it would require a lot more storage space, but then again, storage is cheap.

 

Your buddy should have bought a Tacoma and had his drink in one of the many different size cup holders we have available!

I feel ya though. I would prefer less amenities and creature comforts replaced by better quality steel, thicker body paint, better and thicker frame coatings, aluminum body, etc. The masses want ass heaters and push buttons though, so that's what we get. Just the way it is.

 

Yeah...

I would take the current interior with a 20% improvement in gas mileage in a heart beat. In fact, I'd probably pay more just for that one improvement.

 

I don't mind the electronics, just wish they would stick with manual transfer cases. I'd rather have a shifter than an electronic switch. Not to mention people who have had actuators take a dump. Push button, meh. I agree with the motto of go as simple as possible, with a dash of useful gadgets, and put the rest into building a solid truck as far as frame and body and suspension.

 

frankly, the thought of all those electronics keeps me up at night. seriously, haven't slept since the 16th.

 

Any Garmin hand held would allow you to overlay a topographic map of the entire U.S. over their road map. You can even download more detailed USGS topo maps if you want as well. I have the Alpha because I use it with a tracking dog collar, but the Montana or Oregon would do it for cheaper and could get a mount for it to put right on your dash.

They also have their own birds eye satellite imagery, but cant have much loaded on mine before it starts to freeze up, maybe a few miles by a few miles. They seem expensive at first, but if you use it all the time then it's totally worth it. My hand held gps is in invaluable to me.

 

I had one, bought it back in '80. Beautiful car, drove it home from the purchase - which was about 65 miles. That damn 400 purred and growled. Still had the PMD hubcaps on it, LOL. After updating the Goat with Rallye wheels and era-correct Uniroyal rubbers, I could not even drive it to the gas station without someone wanting it and offering X amount of dollars for it. Several years later, I sold it for double of what I paid for it, and today....that car would cost me twenty times over to have sitting in my garage.

 

Yep, that's what I'm getting at. If Garmin can do this on a device that fits in the palm of your hand -- and is not terribly expensive -- Toyota should be able to accomplish the same (or better) in a $30K vehicle.

Another aspect of this which isn't new to 2016 models is Toyota's partnership with Microsoft for Entune. They (Microsoft) are in the middle of a years long identity crisis, and it wouldn't surprise me one bit if they dump Entune or Bing Maps at some point. Who knows how Toyota might respond to that..

 

They already have some haha

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00MYDKRJA/ref=redir_mdp_mobile/178-2607919-6036207

 

Yeah I hate the electronics. I really hate my electronic transfer case. All my parents rigs have start/stop buttons too. I hate it.

 

They should dump Microsoft and try to team up with Garmin, because I don't think Toyota will be able to beat Garmin in nav. That's what Garmin has been doing for years, and they do it well. No car company is going to make a better GPS nav system from what I have seen in several different makes.

 

Completely correct. The transfer case actuator in my Tundra broke. Many bucks to get fixed. It was ridiculous. It's definitely a weak link. It's not like they couldn't have used the T-case from the FJ. That toyota engineer Sweers mentioned some mumbo jumbo about quicker shifting transfer cases...maybe the shifting mechanism is more robust, too.

 

Then buying a 3rd gen isn't an issue. Wait until the 2030 Tacoma comes out seeing as you have a 2010 right now.