Four years in a Tacoma, a frustrating experience

Read the disclaimer and the full thread please.

 

The only thing I hate about my 21 is the audio system. When I turn it defaults to the "home" screen. Why not just default to audio like other manufacturers?? when I want to switch to my phone audio I have to press source then Bluetooth. When I had a GM it could just hit Bluetooth from the same audio screen. If I start the truck and have left it on radio and I want to select my phone from startup, I have to press audio, source, Bluetooth. Three steps to do something so simple.

Oh, and I hate the fact that the remote start shuts off when getting in too.

 

I don't think any of your "complaints" are particularly new or shocking, but I do find it funny how many seem to take it as a personal attack on their choice of vehicle. I can see the flaws in the 3rd Gen Tacoma, but I can still love it too. The seating is definitely more carlike than other trucks, and it's slightly magnified by the really limited telescoping of the wheel. I don't know that I've had a vehicle with a tilt/telescoping wheel that had so little fore and aft movement. My buddy, who was actually the catalyst for me getting a Taco, actually thought his truck didn't have it at all until I showed him. He did say that the small movement was enough to make it quite a bit more comfortable for him, though.

As to the engine hunting, I've found that to really only be problematic when using cruise. It seems to behave a bit better when I'm managing the throttle. It's as though it doesn't have any finesse in the programming. Hard throttle and multiple gear downshifts for any acceleration or zero input damn near coasting, seem to be its defaults. I've only got 5K miles, but my friend said that his got better as he added miles. Even if it doesn't, I still enjoy the heck out of the truck.

I went through a bit of a spree of vehicles starting in 2017. A '17 WRX Limited to replace an aging Dodge Stratus (reliable but boring for 12 years) then traded my old repair needing dodge ram for a 2018 Jeep Renegade Trailhawk to pair with the WRX. Between the two I had all the gadgets except 360 cameras and cooled seats. Full disclosure, loved them both. The 2018-2019 winter put down some serious snow and I realized that neither vehicle was the best choice for where I lived, and with their combined payments I could actually afford a truck. Shopped, priced, wanted a Taco but didn't buy it because of the lack of power seat (I was spoiled) and eventually wound up in a 2019 Tundra SR5 with everything except leather. I love(d) that truck and would not hesitate to get another if I suddenly wound up in a family way and wanted to tow a small travel trailer. That was actually the impetus for buying it, but those plans did not work out and after 3 years I got the Taco. In the Pro trim it's the perfect blend of the other 3 vehicles that I loved. I have the luxury-ish features that the limited WRX had along with a sporty-ish exhaust that makes it fun, the easy around town feel and drivability of the Renegade, and the snow abilities and utility of a truck that the Tundra had offered.

I finally found my unicorn rig and the price is just a slightly weird seating position and a quirky, but functional, powertrain. I hope everyone is lucky enough to find a vehicle that makes them as happy as this truck is making me.

 

This describes all of life. Some people silently bypass those situations by choosing something new, letting others deal with the situations if they wish and moving onto whatever other disappointments await. Some try to change what is wrong actively, not just by whining but with actions that can be positive or destructive. Others just sit there telling the world how unfair it is and hoping for sympathy.

 

I have an OR and have never had that happen to me. And I have taken this thing into plenty of fun. I've heard of the issues of oil starving when pointed UPhill at a relatively extreme angle, but never heard of or experienced a low oil alarm for going downhill.

It's a truck. It's a brick on wheels. It's louder than a sedan.

2600 lbs is not nothing, of course it's going to be slow. Anything with 2600 lbs is going to take a bit to get moving faster...

Sunroof? Granted I have a 2020, but I have plenty of headroom and test drove a 19 with plenty of headroom as well, but had no sunroof (because I had a sunroof in my car before this and it was specifically something I did not want in this one).

Cruise sucks. I can get from 60-75 in the same time, or maintain 65 up hill without it dropping into 4th. Cruise will drop from 6th to 4th (5th is an OD gear) to get torque, then hunt back for 6th. Driving in sequential 5th on the highway has fixed a lot of those issues for me, it actually boosted my MPG too since I wasn't changing gears as much.

True with any NA truck, if you need power at elevation you're going to want to get something with a turbo to maintain that, otherwise any NA truck is going to be starved at altitude.

Right in line with the rest of the trucks in its class. ±100 lbs here and there isn't worth mentioning, 500+ lbs difference in payload, sure, but all the other mid size V6 NA trucks are about the same for payload.

You mean on passenger tires....? That's what pretty much everyone runs on, unless you swap out for 6 or 10 ply (or the rare 8 ply, they do exist!), every car on the road is on SL/4 ply tires or as you call "prius compound".

PS I am still on those "prius compound" tires, and as mentioned, have taken this thing through some shizz, and held at a solid ~20 mpg combined that whole time. I am a fan of the prius compound tires, I guess.


It sounds more like you don't like the negatives of daily/long distance driving in a truck, which is fine, but very little of your complaints are tacoma-specific, it's something any mid or full size truck would do.

 

I agree, actually. Marcus Aurelius and Seneca have a lot to say about this.

 

Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.

MA

 

You see this "personal attack" bit a lot, and I don't actually think that's what happens. I think what happens is people regularly on TacomaWorld see posts like this time and time again that are 99% misplaced expectations or poorly informed purchasing decisions being presented as "issues" with the Tacoma and they point that out. For example:

Poor performance at altitude? LOL. I live at altitude, welcome to every naturally aspirated vehicle out there.
Poor passing performance towing 2600 Lbs? Did you think you were buying a Hemi? Maybe you should have.
1100 Lb payload is pathetic? What did you expect, it's a fucking midsized truck. Need more? Get an SR5 instead of a TRD OR...or a fullsize truck

If you do enough research, and test drive a bunch of trucks, you should know exactly what you are getting when you buy a Tacoma, or any vehicle for that matter.

 

Rule 1 of Tacoma World: don’t complain about Tacoma.

 

FIFY

 

I'm 5'11'' and sit eye to eye with my neighbor who is 6'4" and he's all legs. Point being, how does Toyota account for all sizes and shapes ?

 

This has been discussed already but let me summarize: by giving more vertical seat adjustment (which they have done on newer models), and by giving more telescoping range to the steering wheel. Giving more vertical space to the cabin would obviously be difficult but would also help.

 

…you can sell it at any time…

 

Bad fit means a bad fit. I’m your height but drive with the seat pretty close and my knees splayed out a bit - the go cart position. It works for me, but every body is different.

If it’s uncomfortable to drive, it’ll always suck. Good luck on another truck!

 

I did do all the research, and drove a friends multiple times. I knew exactly what I was getting. Knowledge of the shortcomings doesn't make them go away, just like acknowledging them isn't shitting on the truck. The OP isn't saying that he is surprised by any of these things. Just that over time these things have worn on him. That is being met with a bunch of pushback that it's his fault that he doesn't love the Tacoma as much as everyone else. It's a bit absurd.


I LOVE my Tacoma, but I'm not blind to the quirks. They just don't bother me. For now... what about in 5 years?

 

If the current trend of vehicle prices continues, you'll probably accept a dozen more quirks in 5 years....haha.

 

Have to agree the seating position and mostly it's lack of ability to be adjusted out of discomfort is pretty bad... but it has always been bad, even in my 1st gen the seating position is much the same and I had to work hard making a combo of seat and brackets that let me wheel for 6-8hrs a day. If you disagree with that statement, good for you that's wonderful. Notice I said ability to be adjusted though, it isn't any secret that these are $40k+ trucks with bargain basement used lot Corolla level seats. Just a bit more incline adjustment and height adjustment and I'd have no complaints even with such a high floor (bad for long legged taller folks' hips)

 

The Tacoma is good at damn near everything, but not particularly great at anything (compared to other trucks in the mid-size segment).

Given that, I still think I bought the best truck for the money...given what I use it for anyway, which is 85% daily driver, 10% off-roader, and 5% or less towing 1200 lbs. Depends on the driver, depends on the application.

It may have took Toyota 5 or 6 model years of this 3rd generation to address some issues, but 2020+ are where this truck should have been at the start. And while other trucks might be more powerful or have unique extra feature...I don't any of them hit as many marks overall as the Tacoma.

.02

 

My honest plan is to keep it until the wheels fall off, but that was the plan for the Tundra as well. The difference is that I bought the Tacoma for me, and not a family situation, so it's mine and anyone else that needs more can do it themselves.

 

Word to the wise… If you’re over ~5’ 10”, don’t get a Tacoma with a moonroof. You lose about 2” of headliner space. I’m guessing the OP has one?? I’m 6’ tall and my head is about 3” away from touching the roof of my truck.

I’m content with the power of the 3rd gen. Learning to shift in S mode on the hills (and leaving it in S3 at a higher RPM - which this engine loves and is made for) takes care of the desire for more power and torque. I also come from a 3rd gen 4runner and 1st gen Taco, so this 3rd gen feels like a rocket ship compared to either of those. Some of you guys haven’t been driving Toyotas for more than a few years and it shows, haha. Seriously though, learning where the power band on this engine is, and not being timid to go there is what need to happen if you want to be able to tap into what this truck is capable of. I personally feel like 95% of the people who complain about the lack of power on here aren’t open to learning to drive this truck at the higher RPMs it desires to make power, or they bought a mid-size truck to do a full-size’s job. Drop a gear people, let it stay at 3 or 4K on the tach for a while, it’s fine. It’ll not only handle it, it’ll shine and surprise you. Toyota knows this, but I think their mistake was assuming most people would figure it out. I think a lot of people are uncomfortable with the sound of higher revs.