Will the 3rd gen Tacoma be as reliable as 2nd and 1st gen Tacoma's?

It is like any thing else in life. Most people who don't have problems aren't talking and are just driving their damn trucks. The ones with the problems talk the loudest

 

Ok, here's some 1st and 2nd gens, where do they rank on FB, Car complaints and JD POWERS?

Talk about reliability issues.





Makes a CPS replacement, differential gasket inpection, shifty transmission or some steering wheel vibes seem pretty tame in comparison.

 

He must have bought the stealth technology package, very expensive lmaoo!

 

Sorry, you got the defecation thread.

 

Only time will tell

 

Back on topic:
"What's your outlook for the 2016+ Tacoma's?"
Its looking great so far

"who has the most miles on there third gen?"
I saw a post from a member for 120k miles, no major issues or oil leaks

Hope that helps
Cheers!

 

Then how old do they have to be and how many miles logged to pass the sniff test?

 

I can't speak for all of the happy owners out there, and I'm not here to bitch, but my facts are: this thing was not assembled or programmed properly and clearly skipped QA in a big way. I have always been a toyota fanboy to the core - they build reliable vehicles that look good and last as long as you want them to. I'm much less of a fanboy not only because of the issues I've experienced, but in how they (haven't been) handled properly by Toyota. I'm a business guy - I get it, things don't always come out perfect. That's why all vehicles have recalls and service campaigns.

But when a my truck has experienced the following issues, it doesn't make ME feel confident in reliability. I'm no mechanic, so this is just what I've been able to fix myself so I'm paranoid as hell about what else I can't see / know that was victim to the same QA issues. things in bold I could get no support from toyota to address...

• lots of things loose (propeller shaft, cab, u-bolts)
• underfilled tranny (took 3 attempts to get them to check)
• a stock tune that causes unsafe behavior in shifting and throttle and requires multiple updates - and still isn't right
• a stock tune that learns to drive poorly within a few miles of resetting, then degrades to a lugging feeling that seems it's bogging in too high a gear
• warped rotors (took 3 attempts of explaining and showing the concern before they finally conceded it was overtorqued)
• dry u-joints
• oily MAF
• faulty CKP sensor
• windshield cracks the first time you turn on the defrost within weeks of taking it home (no object hit it...)
• vibrates worse than any vehicle (even old jalopies I've had over the years) that drives you bonkers
• abnormal and unpredictable steering behavior
• multiple misfires logged on each trip with no response or action from toyota or dealer
• inconsistency - due to I assume the ECU, it sporadically drives great, then the next trip it will drive entirely differently from throttle to shifting to vibes to steering feel

The concept behind this truck is great and I believe they'll get the kinks worked out eventually but the problems some owners have experienced are real and have made for a miserable ownership experience. During the sporadic times the truck drives well for me, I LOVE it. I just never know what I'm gonna get and am on eggshells waiting for the next thing to go wrong... and that's never been the Toyota I've come to know and love.

I'm working through this and hoping things get better, but from where I sit now it would be unwise for me to keep this long after the powertrain warranty expires... so my perception of reliability is low. But again just my experience and may not be indicative of 90% of owners.

 

Poetry.

 

Interesting how much POST-purchase research you are willing to do to prove what a terrible purchase decision you made. If you had done your due diligence PRIOR to the purchase. If you had done a substantial test drive BEFORE the purchase, you would likely be well aware of some of the issues you complain about so loudly, so often to all that will read. No doubt the howling and the transmission "issues" would have presented themselves to an experienced test driver.
I researched my decision for months before pulling the trigger. And, I DO have to thank you and others of your ilk to point out some of the areas of concern so that I could judge for myself the severity of an 'issue'. So thank you for that. There IS value in that. No doubt. Though I always lean to a manual tranny, your initial complaints about the auto tranny helped me to do thorough test drives of both and confirm that I agree, the auto does not shift the way I want to shift, so I bought a manual. You also have provided a lot of valuable input on technical questions, towing, etc...sure wish you focused more on that input than complaints about the same things over and over and over ad nauseum. I bet if you did, you would find yourself one of the more valuable posters on this forum.
But to constantly complain yet do NOTHING about it (i.e. trade it, sell it, scrap it, donate it, dump it into a tar pit and turn in for insurance...whatever), has absolutely no value. To yourself. Or to others. Its just whining. In my book, whiners are not men. They are wimpy man-children trying to make everyone else swim in the morass they have created for themselves and who don't have the kahunas to do something about it. Not calling you a wimpy man-child cause I don't want to be banned...just saying it "reminds me" of a whimpy man-child.
I compare this type of posting to the peon who slaves away at a menial job then goes home every night whining to whoever will listen that they are underpaid, overworked, have a bad boss, works for a terrible company, blah blah blah blah blah...yet doesn't do anything about it like get an education and get a better job, update resume and hire a recruiter, etc. Complaining without doing something to make life better for oneself has no value. At all.
If I make a bad decision, I do something about it. If I take a small financial bath on it, well then lesson learned...that is far cheaper than the emotional cost you must go through every moment of your life if your constant complaints are any indication.
On a more positive note...I have had my truck for 1 month now. 1,500 miles. Mostly highway, bit of light off-road. Getting EXACTLY the performance I expected after my research and test drives. It is not a perfect truck (wish it had more internal storage, 2 more USB ports and a 12 volt port in the back, back bed rail, etc.), but it is a great truck...certainly much better for my needs than any other truck I considered and test drove (GM twins, F150 Ecoboost and Nissan Frontier). It is getting the exact mileage I expected. It looks bad ass and I love the manual transmission. Smitty is right, we have no idea what reliability will really be...but I have purchased multiple new Toyotas in the past 20 years and each one gave me at least 300,000 trouble free miles. This is my first Tacoma, and I expect no less from it. If I am wrong, happy to admit I made a mistake and move on rather than waste energy spouting my spite.

 

Hey OP, did this thread turn out like you hoped?

 

Welp. I did test drive the truck. (I actually test drove SEVERAL new Tacomas and a new 2015) I bought when they first came out. I also loved the truck at first but over time and miles the luster wears off, the weaknesses and flaws begin to show and maybe in a year or two it will be time for the divorce. For now I am here to share my experiences and opinions on it.

See one of my first posts after taking delivery in Dec 2015 https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/3rd-gen-white-tacomas-post-them-up.393669/page-31#post-11282083

 

God Bless my 2004. 1st Gen, Best Gen.

 

Miss my 1st gen!

 

Well said. It's all about making an educated decision.

My research and gut told me to go with the 4 cyl. I like the V6 block, but am concerned the FKS head has been designed for emissions, not reliability. High pressure fuel pump and injectors... intake manifold with an actuator valve.. integrated exhaust manifold.

I'm old school, and none of that adds up to long term reliability to me, or at least without high maintenance costs.

In the spirit of more food for thought to the OP, it appears more technology is going into the 2018 with the Saftey Sense stuff. (According to the dealer I bought from.) If that concerns you, you may want to consider a 2017.

 

I'm glad my experience was able to educate some folks on the new generation of Tacoma. In late 2015, when I purchased, there was not nearly as much customer feedback out there yet.

 

You are right about that. We don't know the future reliability of the 3rd gens. The highest mileage 3rd gen I saw on here had 72,000 miles and that owner didn't have any issues outside of normal maintenance.
Initial quality of the 3rd gen has been hit hard. You got a lemon for sure Smitty and I understand why you are upset because it is frustrating dealing with so many issues on a $35k+ truck.
I am lucky to have no issues with mine so far with 16k+ miles and I hope it stays that way.

 

If the automotive forums were around in the 80's and 90's it would have been a shit show for Toyota pickups back then.

I would know of these because I had first hand experience with some of them.

Early 70's and 80's pickups were notorious for rusting beds due to inferior metals being used. I personally had spot welds begin to rust over the rear wheel wells on my 86 within 2 years of ownership. I lived in San Diego at the time and the truck had never been driven in snow. There was damn near a cottage industry in Toyota truck bed replacements.

1989 - 1994 3.0 liter head gasket failures and sludge build up. Toyota would replace your engine up to 100k miles on the head gasket, my 91 popped out of warranty.

Red paint would turn orange or pink at the blink of an eye if you didn't keep it waxed all the time. My 99 was the worst, I will never own another red vehicle because of it.

Seatbelt would fail to retract, happened with all four of my previous Toyota trucks.

Premature leaf spring failures, ball joint failures, went through both on my 91.

1st gen frame failure that eventually did split in half at the dealership, my friend's 97.

Taco lean started with the 1st gen, my 99 and 04 had it, my 91 never had it.

Also might include a few carry overs into the 2nd Gen such as the rusted frames, leaf springs and drive line vibrations...

All of that didn't seem to diminish Toyota's reputation for reliability and resale value that they enjoy today.

No recalls or reliability problems on my 3rd gen after 18 months and 20k miles, no issues with a diff leak or whine. The only TSBs I've needed to be done were plugs for the LCAs and the 1st transmission reflash due to the R-D delay that was completed at the 5k visit and the symptom has not returned.

So far the truck has been extremely reliable and enjoyable.

Take it for what it is, a 1st person account from a guy who's owns a few Toyotas for a lot of years.

 

...but "turd gen" amirite?!??!

-hewhoshallnotbenamed