This Ain't Your Grandmother's Taco - TacoGranny's Mild Sauce Tacoma

My seat covers showed up last weekend, so I took the opportunity on a sunny Sunday to throw them on. The whole process took maybe 3 hours, which included a lengthy talk with a neighbor who stopped over to BS, debating if I wanted to remove the seats or not and potentially deal with wiring/airbags/etc. (decided to do it with seats in, disconnect your battery beforehand if you decide to remove the seats), and looking up an install video on Youtube to make sense of the straps (the directions were pretty minimal/generic but made more sense after watching a video, link below).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XG5hiYK2nrs

The center console took removing 10 screws (6 holding the inner plastic to the lid, which covered the 4 remaining screws to remove the lid at the hinge), made it pretty straightforward. Probably possible to do without removing the cover, but it's a pretty tight fit. I used a magnetic tip screwdriver since the 6 inner plastic screws are tiny.

I flipped the headrest covers completely inside out and lined up the seams while rolling them down, they were tight but that method worked well.

I did the same with the backs, but only flipped them ~1/2 way inside out, lined up the seams, and rolled down, pulling it tight as I went. There are some hooks on elastic ties attaching the OEM back bottom carpet under the seat that had to be released (pay attention to where these hook to, small metal bars), then the straps for the back of the seat cover could be fed through the bottom/backrest crease (the straps ultimately ran under the seat to attach at the bottom/front).

The bottoms get tucked in to the plastic surround on the drivers seat (less plastic on the passenger side to tuck). The plastic on the truck seats is actually surprisingly loose and was fairly easy to tuck the seat covers into. Because the bottom seam is folded over and stitched, it had enough to "catch" inside the plastic after tucked in. There's also a white plastic tab near the seat recline controls on both sides that sit inside the plastic of the seat sides (visible in photo #2 below), presumably for better holding power. This is probably a part that you could spend a lot of time on to make it look as good as you want, tucking everything as nicely as possible into the plastic and tightening as you go.

I wasn't really impressed with the side to side velcro solution, which probably would have worked much better if I had removed the seats, but it was sort of tricky to figure out how/where to strap the velcro (and keep it from sticking to nearby carpet, and connect it to itself along the entire length solidly under the seat). It wasn't a very good "pull tight" method either, I've seen strings used with a tensioner in the middle on some other covers that seemed like it would work way better. Then I connected the 4 straps front to back and tightened over the velcro running side to side, while paying close attention to where the straps and velcro were run and trying to avoid crushing any electronics, which there were plenty of with power seats/air bags. I also did my best to make sure nothing would get caught when moving the seats backwards and forwards.

After that, the rear bottom velcro attaches to the OEM carpeted bottoms and the OEM bottom elastic/plastic hooks could be reattached to a small cross bar underneath.

I didn't spend much time trying to make everything look as smooth as possible. I think the creases are much less noticeable in person than they look in pictures.

From the back, passenger:


Fronts, passenger side:


Fronts, driver side:


From the back, driver:


The backs get covered up by my dog hammock which is in the truck 99% of the time. The map pocket on the driver's seat back was a nice add on (why do the OEM seats not have one?).

I've had them in the truck for a few days, and so far I'm very happy with them. There's a small amount of foam padding on the inside of the covers that add a little more cushion to the seats. The color was slightly darker than I was expecting, which I really like since the rest of my interior is black. As far as I can tell, gravel and brown are the only color options for the precision fit, so it worked out well having a cement truck. I could probably spend a good hour adjusting and tightening to get some more creases out, which might happen soon when I deep clean my interior (especially if I remove the seats then). It sounds like there's a chance you have to have your passenger seat air bags recalibrated at a dealership (with something like 66 lbs of weight) upon removal, which is why I didn't do it in the first place.

They don't recommend machine washing due to the foam padding on the inside, so I'll either give them a light scrub in the truck if they get dirty, or remove them for a deep clean and hand wash them in the future as needed.

Overall I'd give them an 8/10 as far as initial impressions go, especially at 20% off (went from ~$500 to $400 before tax/shipping). I'd easily give them a 9/10 if there was a better solution other than the side to side velcro straps. They've got a bit of a "new Carhartt smell" to them, which I don't mind. My only other minor complaint is the added thickness means the seats rub the center console cover (more than stock) when sliding the seats back and forth, but my seats don't move often, and that's on Toyota, not Covercraft, or any other seat cover manufacturer.

I wouldn't hesitate in the future to buy the matching rear covers as well, but with my dog hammock back there, I'm in no rush. I've had rear (human) passengers in the back maybe 2-3 times since owning the truck, plus the hammock, so the seats back there are in great condition.

 

I started getting a squeaky/creaky/groaning clutch pedal in the last few days, first instance of it happening (currently right around 39,900 miles). Quick pedal pushes were still smooth, but slower movement made it creak enough where I could feel it binding with my foot.

Poking around here, it seems the consensus is to use brake grease as it has long staying power. Fortunately I had some on hand, and went crawling on the floor of my truck for the 2nd time in as many weeks.

Unsure of where exactly to slather the grease, I ended up going for the two white plastic ends that the big return spring sits in. I didn't think to take pictures, so here's a couple courtesy of BLtheP's metal FJ Cruiser clutch pedal swap thread to show where I mean:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...al-for-a-metal-one-from-an-fj-cruiser.814720/







I did my best to work the grease into the plastic retainers while pushing the clutch in and out. It seems to have taken care of the issue for now, so we'll see how long it holds up.

 

Minor updates. The previous post with the clutch greasing lasted for a day or two, I ended up applying more grease in the location below, has kept it quiet for 3 months now.



Also changed my oil and filter (OEM) at 40,763 miles on 6/8/24. I went a bit long on this oil change (last done 12/29/22 at 30,101 miles), I'm thinking I'll switch to 5k intervals for the future. I had the dealer do oil changes at 5k, 10k, and 20k, and now have done my own at 30k and 40k. However, my commute to work is almost exactly 5 miles through town, and it's winter here December-March (at minimum). Per the Warranty and Maintenance Guide, 5k intervals are recommended when driving on "Repeated trips of less than five miles in temperatures below 32°F / 0°C," so for at least part of the year I meet those criteria.

 

Minor maintenance notes:

12/1/24 - Fluid filmed the truck (5th time) and swapped to snow tires, now that the temps are below 45°F daily, ~44,050 miles. I'm pretty sold on fluid film overall, it's filthy but seems to be keeping the rust at bay.

Mileage tracking for tires:
-255/85R16 Mastercrafts: 9,600-36,754, 39,300-44,050 miles.
-235/85R16 Nokians (winter): 36,754-39,300, 44,050-XX,XXX miles.

1/1/25 - Replaced the battery with an Everstart Maxx Group 24F 750 CCA (Walmart), ~44,300 miles. Figured it was time, OEM battery seemed unhappy starting when the temperature dips below freezing, and it was ~4.5 years old, with plenty of corrosion on the positive post. Threw the new battery on my Noco Genius 1 charger that I got for Christmas, according to the Noco the battery was at less than 75% charge, so I let it charge overnight before putting it in the truck. I don't think I've ever checked a battery after purchasing, nor am I sure if it makes a difference or if the alternator would take care of it, but it feels good knowing it's at 100% now before the temps drop further (single digits now). Starts strong again.