Looking to buy my first Taco. How can I physically tell if one has the TRD Package vs TRD Sticker?

Looking to purchase a Taco. I've heard that there are people who get the TRD stickers put on their Taco without actually having one of the TRD packages. I'm looking to get the TRD Off Road package but may settle for the Sport. What is a easy way to tell if one actually has the package and not just the sticker?

 

one button on the left of the steering wheel. one will say diff lock

 

The obvious one for sports are the painted color matched door handles, mirrors with turn signals, rear bumper, front grill and of course the badass looking hoodscoop. There are also bucket seats.

 

The sport and OR will have bilstein shocks. OR will have a rear locker controlled by a swith beside the steering wheel that says something like "diff lock". The sport will have colormatched grill and rear bumper plus a hood scoop.

 

Look for the 120v outlet in bed of truck.

 

Seats. TRD package (Sport/Off Road) comes with grey seats. For Off Road package look for downhill assist and A-Trac buttons since "diff lock" has been mentioned.

 

Got it!
Both = 120v outlet and Bilstein Shocks
TRD Off-road = Diff Lock Button, locker on rear-differential, A-Trac Button, Downhill Assist button
TRD Sport =Color matched handles, mirrors, bumpers, hood scoop.

Thanks everyone! Fastest replies I've ever received on a car forum. Awesome!

 

A-trac and D-hill assist are only on 09 and up

 

Is there any other kind?

 

Exactly my thoughts.

 

That's what's commonly known as sarcasm. Lost on these new whipper snappers

 

Aware now. 4WD is top option for me. Then TRD. I'll be paying attention. Thanks!

 

I would think if you wanted to be absolutely sure take the vin to a dealer and ask them to look it up. Toyota has a Toyota Owners Group webpage where you can enter your vin and see the service history and some vehicle specs, but it doesn't (for me) show those trim options.

http://www.toyota.com/owners/

 

no comment......holy crap

 

So, back in the day, the last time I purchased a used Toyota, I was lured to a dealer 200mi away because they had an "Imperial Jade Mica" TRD Prerunner Access cab. I had just bought a house and was ready to get out of my Mazda 3 hatch and back into a Tacoma. I loved the color, the fender flares, the fact that it had power locks and windows (previous Tacoma did not). I get there, test drive, and walk out having completed what I thought was a killer transaction. 2 weeks later it dawns on me..."wtf is the difference between a TRD and non-TRD Prerunner? And why don't I notice anything?"

Well son of a bitch. Turns out it wasn't TRD. God damn was I pissed. Dealership had closed up shop. So I had no one to kick in the nuts except myself.

Drove it less than a year and traded it in.

 

Exactly what I'm trying to avoid.

 

When I was looking to buy a used Tacoma it took me awhile to sort out the difference between the sport and off road. Since I was only going to buy an Off Road, I got really good at telling the difference from the street so I didn't have to go onto the dealers used car lot. My advice to you is don't settle. If you want the Off Road shop around til you find exactly what you want. I was in no particular hurry so my shopping time was about 5 weeks and I looked at dozens of trucks. And, not one of them that was an Off Road had the sticker removed. (I think removing stickers is a Tacoma World thing.)

My criteria were 2010 or newer, 30K miles or less, and the TRD Off Road package. Of course I was online looking, but my job sometimes let me drive around a bit, so in those trips I made sure to go past the used car lots. From a distance I'd look for the sticker first and if the truck had one I'd look for a scoop, if that was missing, I'd look for a year in the window. If everything matched up, I'd make a mental note to check it out after work. In the end I found a great deal on a 24K mile Off Road.

Good luck!

 

I got the off road because I don't like having spaces where buttons should be...

also i have two "friends" who recently bought tacomas, one guy swears his is a TRD, no shocks, no sticker, no bed outlet, sr5 badging, haven't gotten to see if it has the a locker but...... doubt its a TRD off road...

another is a girl who wanted a 4runner, found her several, talked about all the options ect, one day she shows up in a tacoma, Says "its a TRD off road just like yours" it is a base model with the sticker... she paid at least 1 if not 2k more than she should have

Good for you doing your research OP, not saying you have to have all the options just make sure you know what you want and are getting what you think you are!

 

Thanks! I found the brochures for 2009+ models on toyotacertified.com, so now I know everything that should come with each package.