What does long term taco ownership look like?

Maintenance is 100% the plan. I'll be doing my oil changes every 5k, diff/tcase fluid changes every 30k, and transmission every 60k. I just really wish I had some concrete maintenance info from the prior owner, other than "well it seems to be in really good shape, so he PROBABLY took care of it". Oh well, from here on out it's getting the best, and if stuff comes up it'll get taken care of.

 

Bought my '09 in '14 with about 36k miles. I'm now at 275k (more like 300k actual if you account for larger tires - never recalibrated speedo).

It's my daily driver that I use to commute 65 miles round trip to & from work 5 days a week.

I change the oil every 5k, put regular gas in it and drive.

Replace standard wear items as required (u-joints, carrier bearing, ball joints, coil overs, leaf springs, clutch (6MT)).

All that said, shit happens and engine could blowup on my way home today. Ya never know. But if you take care of it with consistent general maintenance, I'm sure it would take to you to and well over 300k.

 

It sounds like you're off on the right path - keep up with your regular maintenance, and stay vigilant for rust on the frame, particularly if you're in a part of the world where snow (and snow melting agents are put on your roads).

 

I getting close to 240,000 on my 07 and have done very little to it. It has been a 3rd vehicle for us since 2016 so it isn't getting as many miles on it as it did the 1st 9 years. I drove it from GA to the Grand Canyon and back in 2016 when it had 180,000 miles on it. I'd make that trip today. We just reached the point where the Tacoma was too small and we needed a bigger truck. But the Tacoma was too good to let go. I'm just about at the stage where I can get by with a smaller truck again. I may well trade my full size for a 4th gen when they come out, but plan to still keep the older Tacoma. One of my grandkids will get it when I die.

In my time on this forum there have been several guys who posted that they were over 400,000 miles on both the engine and transmissions. There are at least 2 Tacoma's out there that are over 1 million miles on the original engine and automatic transmissions. Both of those engines were the 2.7L 4-cylinder engines though. While I'm not aware of anyone taking the 4.0 over 1 million miles that doesn't mean it can't do it. Or at least come close. I don't think any of us would feel cheated if they had to rebuild or replace either the engine or transmissions at 400,000 miles.

 

you can always send the oil in to blackstone for an anylsis

 

long term tacoma ownership looks a lot like first year tacoma ownership; affordable and worry-free

 

I had no idea that service exited, but seems like great info to get for only $35, ill give it a shot!

 

Also if you haven’t already run a carfax they give you some maintenance and history info

 

I have run it, its unfortunately pretty empty. They either did their own maintenance and didn't log it, or the shop they used didn't report it. Clearly maintenance was done, since it's obvious the oil wasn't ignored for 160k miles, but it's just not written down. that's why it's in good condition, but I don't know any specifics. Like, they did oil, but did they do transmission? The tcase and diffs function really well, so they likely did those at some point, but the interval is still up in the air.

 

I'm at 304k with my 2010 TRD OR and no major issues(knock on wood). A couple u joints, some front wheel bearings and in the last year a starter and front axles are the only hard parts that have been replaced.

 

Got good news, I had the transmission fluid replaced (not flushed) and they confirmed that it was NOT the original fluid! It was definitely dirty, so it was time to change it, but that means the original owner likely did the transmission fluid between 60k-100k miles, meaning this transmission likely has so much life left in it.

 

Keep in mind vehicles aren't designed to be run for more than 20 years or so, regardless of the platform. Rubbers, plastics, thermal cycles and all that happening, these things behave (expectedly) not that great after their expected lifetime of thermal cycles, UV exposure, etc etc.

A 20 year old truck that hasn't been driven in 20 years with no miles is just as bad and problem prone as a 20 year old truck with 300k on the clock. When things sit, they sit. Diffs, etc aren't meant to "sit". The oils spray and coat things. When they sit, that oil drips and goes away, along with the corrosion protection it brings. Valves, rubber hoses, plastic bushings, etc - all similar in that respect.

Long term ownership is going to include things above and beyond regular preventive maintenance.

 

Mine has never been changed lol. It had 289k on it when I got it from the original owner. He did very well with regular maintenance but never did diffs, trans, tcase, coolant, brake fluid or Power steering.

 

Well said, Its hard to get people to understand that sitting is probably worse on a vehicle than being regularly driven and well maintained regardless of miles.

 

255k-ish on my 2009, mostly road miles but also weekend wheeling and occasional (couple times a year) real hard use, high speed dirt stuff.

Other than the usual stuff that just wears out - bearings, bushings, BJs - no real issues. I've been pretty impresses by how well a lot of stuff has held up even under abuse, like my factory steering rack.

I do almost all of my own work and replace with OEM when it's possible, with the exception of some stuff (UCAs/LCAs, coils, struts, leafs) that I upgraded with performance aftermarket as the originals failed or it became clear that I was exceeding their design parameters.

I figured recently that my average monthly cost is about $150, even accounting for the spendy parts. Bear in mind that is an average - sometimes when something shits the bed it's a big chunk, but that happens infrequently, but good planning (scheduling multiple jobs at once "since you're already in there" even if it means replacing parts that aren't quite bad yet, and stockpiling parts you know you're going to need when you can score an unusually good deal) can help keep these occasional big tickets to a controllable minimum.

If I had had all the work done by someone else, particularly the frame work, it would be a hell of a lot more. I'm also comfortable with used parts under the right circumstances, and that helps too.

In my experience these trucks can have an astonishingly low total cost of ownership when maintained appropriately and especially if you like (or can at least stomach) doing as much work yourself as you can.

 

Long term results….

 

My buddy just rolled 260k on his 2009 Dub Cab Longbed.

Aside from replacing the front hubs for him, we did rear axle seals (bearings were fine) and he just within the last week replaced the original 260k mile alternator only because it was beginning to charge low at idle.

Other than typical oil and fluid changes it’s been a reliable truck to him.

 

Honestly its a joy to work on compared to some of the other cars Ive worked on..

 

I get the Wix kits on Amazon. The price fluctuates - I’ve got them as low as $15. There is a thread here where Taco owners post their results.
My 07 is approaching 210K and have had no major issues. I thought I’d have at least some blown ignition coils by now ‘cause our 07 Lexus ES had three blown coils by 200K. Her silver paint is fading fast ‘cause she has always been parked outside. Debating whether to stick with silver or try the cement paint, which I really like.

 

Great advice all around. Just keep up with the regular stuff (i.e. maintenance) and you most likely will be golden. I'm rolling 150k on my 2007 4.0 DCLB and it's never left me stranded or had any major repairs. Just regular maintenance and wear/tear.