How Reliable Are New Tacomas vs. Previous Generations?

1st gen was as good as the come in reliability, few electrics and little in the way of whiz bang gimmicks. You could change the interior lights and not smoke the ECU. Wasnt as comfortable as a 3rd gen, but it was simple.

 

So that’s why 3rd gens are less reliable. Got it.

 

The question is about being compared to previous generations. Way more electronics, powered widgets and more complicated engine management.

My hvac system is cable operated lol

 

Exactly. The funny thing is, it’s only drivers power seat.

 

Usually starts a bit of a pissing match between generations.

 

I mean some electronics are good IMO, you don’t see newer vehicles broken down with their hood up that often.

You’ve got cable operated hvac on your first gen?

 

Passengers should be grateful they have a place to sit.

The manual seats look to be built better than the powered ones on the driver's side. Are people free hand cutting the foam for these seats?

 

But when the Tacoma came out it was complicated compared to the pickup and everyone was convinced Toyota was going downhill. It has happened every new Toyota truck since at least the mid 80s.

 

Even if they're sturdier, I hated, and I mean hated the seating position in my '16 Sport. That stupid scoop took up a lot of real estate out the front window, and I was in just the wrong position to see where I wanted to see. Powered driver's seat is my #1 favorite thing in my '20. If it breaks two years earlier than the manual bracket, who cares. It's already set to where I like it. Plus when my GF drives it, she can actually raise the seat up to see now. She had a worse time than I did driving the sport, and I'm 5'10

 

From my latest calculations....they are 8.2% less reliable.

 

That's good that you like it. I wonder how taller the hood is on the 3rd gen vs the 2nd gen, even with out the scoop. The hood on trucks tends to grow taller on redesigns. Look at the 14th gen F-150 compared to the 13th gen, the 23 Super duty compared to the 22, and the 22 Frontier compared to 21. The hood on a lot of these trucks look higher than the bedsides.

 

Overall the visibility over the hood on the 3rg gens is really poor relative to other trucks/jeeps I've owned.

I think there's definitely a trend to making trucks look more "truck." Who cares. Give me the performance, towing, and make the damn thing as small as possible for the given specs. I don't need to look like I'm driving a diesel when there's an anemic 3.5l under the hood.

 

New Tacomas are more reliable than their competition....

'nuff said!

 

If the competition lasts 4 years and the tacoma lasts 5 years, that's not necessarily a good indicator to go on lol

 

Time will tell as it always does.

 

youll see

 

Tacoma is 10 years older than the competition. Therefore it’ll be more reliable… the newer the less reliable since the late 90s for pretty much all brands.


I have little doubt that most Tacomas will make it to 300k with scheduled maintenance per the manual.

And yea a few here and there will drop a valve and have a leaky valve cover

 

The hood and front design is for crush zones and pedestrian safety rules that, you guessed it, was demanded by the same people bitching about it.

 

My '20 is almost the exact same length as my 2011 Ram 1500, and the ram had a 5.7l v8 under the hood.

 

There is A LOT of overlap on parts and design between second gen and third gen Tacoma’s. 3rd gen has a different engine and trans and a few more plastic parts but there are many parts all the way down to the bones of these trucks that are the same. I had an 08 2.7l Taco before getting my 21’. I thought I was an old school purist and in many ways I am but my new truck has so many quality of life upgrades that I just can’t see myself ever stepping back in time again. I have a buddy with a higher trim F150 that has the stupidest, most impractical bells and whistles that are just waiting to break and be a money suck. These 3rd gen tacos are pretty freakin basic compared to a lot of the market. Power seats, back up camera, adaptive cruise control are all features I enjoy and consider practical upgrades for the modern age. If we’re talking strictly reliability, Google the amount of vehicles this 3.5l (2GR-FKS) engine is in and how many millions upon millions of these are out on the road. Think it’s shit cause it’s in a minivan? People load those with hundreds of pounds and drive them on cross country road trips. According to goodcarbadcar sales numbers the 3rd gen Tacoma is about to surpass the amount of 2nd gen tacos sold and will probably be close to 1.8M by the end of 2023 when the supposed 4th gen will come out. The newer Tacoma’s have been out since late 2015. Most data would suggest they’ve only improved as the years have gone on fixings issues here and there as they arise. I like my truck, and the longer I stay off the internet the more I enjoy it.