'01 - '04 changes?

2001 through 2004 was the last Facelift on the 1st generation Tacoma.
Before my 01, I had a 98. And instantly in the 01, I can see the minor improvements here and there. Such as:
*The steering wheel is a different shape. I think it's overall shorter in diameter from the 98 too.
*The extra little lights by the main rear view mirror.
*2 middle consol things. Ones on top of the other.
*The door panels have a smaller hole to fit things in (kinda a downgrade imo)
*The different materials used of the interior.
*A seatbelt thing in the back of my extra-cab for the the front passenger side.
*And of course, the Facelift of the exterior.

These are the things I've seen changed from going 98 to 01. And for the exception of the door panels having smaller holes, I really like it.

I thought this truck (01) was the same all the way to 04.
However, browsing the forums I found out that an 04 had a temp gauge on the rear view mirror.
I think that's super sweet and I hope to replace my rear view with an 04 rear view one day.

Finally, my question is: Are there any other minor changes? Maybe if owners of the last Facelift of the first gens can help me out.
And as always, thanks in advance. I really appreciate the help you guys give on the forum.

 

Temp gauge on mirror? Sounds aftermarket

 

That's what I thought. I wish I could remember where I saw it on the forums. But the guy insisted they were on all 04s

 

My buddy has a 98, you pretty much said all the stuff I know of.

 

I can confirm that he is full of shit.

 

Hm. That's weird. Thanks for the info.
A little bummed out, because now the part I want doesn't exist. But hey, that just suggests aftermarket amirite? Hopefully I can find a nice looking one that's not too hard to install.
Thanks guys.

 

yeah, the 05+ had the better mirrors with temp.

aftermarket has lots to choose from, I'm doing research for ones for backup camera

 

As far as I am aware there is no discernible differences between the 01-04 models. There may be slight unseen changes that toyota made to items in that time though. Such as parts that were TSB'd on older, fixed for newer.

 

actually the steering wheels are the same (i had to buy one and all the wheels are the same for 96-04) but the column cover box is different and you also sit up higher in the seats which raises you up about and inch higher and makes the wheel "look" different because of the new seating position.

the result of the seat change also makes it much firmer and can lead to hard butt after an hour or two of constant driving so add much firmer seats and higher seating position to your list of differences.

I had a 99 and went to an 04

the two biggest changes I hate are the firmer sore butt seats and those metal trim pieces under the headlights that snap on but always seam to fall off at some point in its life. they only cost $12 to buy but still its a PITA to color match and replace them when it happens. Toyota should have mounted those on with screws, huge mistake in design on those

 

I wish I had a Temp gauge on my rear view just another thing to quit working. I had an 06 Tacoma and that was the 1st thing to go out

 

Seat wise I have a leather interior. Although they are comfy they always seem to rip on the outside of the driver's side seat. But I've noticed they do that on the cloth seats too. I just put seat covers on and no worries but I have to put a blanket that covers the whole seat in the double cab so my daughter's car seat doesn't rip a hole in the leather.

 

what about the drive by wire on the "03 & '04's?

 

also 2001 tacos didn't have an oh Sh*t handle on the driver side. I know this to be true on all 2wd trucks and seen several 4x4 w/o it. I would like to find 1 for my 02 in gray *hint hint*

 

Don't the 2003 and 2004 have an accelerator position sensor versus a throttle cable found in the older models?

 

oh good point. Throttle by wire on 04 models.

 

the steering wheels were different

95-00:



01-04:



I still have my headlight filler pieces, gotta take care of 'em

V6 '03-'04 it is not "throttle-by-wire." It is, in simple terms, motor assisted cruise control, rather than the extra cables routing to the fender.

The Throttle Position Sensor was no longer a separately sold piece and that sucked if it went bad (whole TB was ~$1k )

 

wow, just goes to show how fast you forget such things, I hadn't really noticed it went from two point to 4 point connection, guess I was too preoccupied with all the other things that were different

I do know when looking to buy one it had a back dated fitment from 04 to 96 so im guessing you can put a 01-04 when on an older truck if you switch the airbags too

 

oh ya, they are interchangeable. heck, the 00 and lower actually leave room to see the horrible clock haha... except when the wipers are off, ugh!

 

Don't forget about the larger, folding outside mirrors on the 01-04. I swapped in a set of those on my '99.

 

This thread asking about differences between 01-04 years alone or between 01-04 and earlier years?