2005 Model Owners - Are You Happy With Your Trucks?

Yeah we were cycling through sports cars (Sti, GT500, M3) and decided to buy Jeep this time to see if it would stick around like the Tacoma has.

I have an older Cobra 'vert in the garage if I get the shakes, but I'm "trying" to sell it!

 

^^^ Whereabouts in SoCal are you? I love sports cars, but you don't really realize how impractical they are until you own one. I should've bought the truck first and then the sports car. I'm having trouble fitting a truck into the budget now.

I bought a new 2011 Mazda MX5. Originally, I was looking for a car for track and Auto X and I feel in love with the new one! Now I find I baby it too much to put it on a track, it's my garage queen, so I might sell it and buy an older one that's about $10K less and track that instead.

 

No complaints. Very dependable and would buy again if it means saving a few grand for mods.

 

bought mine new in may 05. squeaky clutch pedal replaced by the dealer 2nd year. Recently found AC amplifier case broken and dangling. Might be going bad as AC dosent get as cold, or might just need a good charge. 6 speed shifter getting sloppy and squeaking a little (worn bushings?). Otherwise a great truck. Plan to keep it for a long time unless Toyota decides to put a clean diesel in the next gen.

 

love mine

but one thing that bothers me out of all things is that when I go over a big pothole, something gets displaced from somewhere around the driver area and I start to hear like a "crack crack" sound that gets VERY annoying

 

i bought mine almost 2 years ago with 142k miles on it and it has a touch over 166k on it now. I had to put a u-joint in it, and i changed the tranny fluid and clean the filter about 5k miles ago. i too would buy another one in the future but prolly wont need to since its a toyota and it will still be running. (unless the aforementioned diesel comes out, but i may drive mine till something major goes out then call up dieseltoys.com and get a swap for the D-4D 3.0)

 

Fuck yeah



0 issues except for a small electrical mishap and its been almost 2 years now. I love my taco :tacodance:

 

I've also been wondering the same thing as the OP except with a different twist. For those of you who have '05s and have had problems fixed (either under warranty or your own dime), would you recommend an '05 as a good USED truck?
I've been looking at only 1st gens but the prices of the '05s have me tempted, but I'd hate to buy something only to have to take care of a bunch of issues on my own dime that should have been fixed under warranty (or should have occured at all). If I wanted that kind of experience, I would have kept my BMW hahahha

 

Well I've owned mine since Sept 05 and still love it. Here is a list of issues I've had with it:

- Power Door Lock Actuators, both Driver and Pass, replaced
- Brake Disks replaced
- Seat Belt mechanism replaced
- HVAC Blower Motor replaced (chirping) 3 times (Redesigned blower now)
- A/C Compressor replaced
- Wheel Bearing replaced

In addition, some persistent annoyances I've had with the truck

- Seat Belt mechanism still rattles in door sometimes
- Power Door Locks stick sometimes, usually when cold
- Driver's side seat difficult to get comfortable in

Overall, I'm happy with the truck. Although I've given thought to buying a new one from time to time it never made sense. The 2012-2013 Tacoma is basically the same truck I'm driving. Further you still can't get the following options regardless of how much you spend:

- Power Seats
- Heated Mirrors
- Moon-roof

Plus you can no longer get a Tacoma in "Radiant Red", Toyota's bright red, anymore despite the fact the color is available in other models! So their marketing strategy is NOT to offer the options that could make the truck more appealing and take away one of the nicest colors instead!

I'm in a good place with my 2005. Once the truck has been redesigned then I'll see what they've got to offer.

 

It's not the mounts that are weak, it's the frame where the mounts attach. The frame will cave in and the vehicle is essentially totalled due to the high cost of replacing a frame, although a fab shop could probably fix it pretty easily. Some gusseting is a good preventive maintenance for this.

Also this isn't really an issue unless you plan on jumping the Tacoma.
I haven't had any trouble with my '05 and I have even had the front end airborne in the dunes and my frame is fine so far.

My '05 has the whole shibang... VSC, TRAC, A-TRAC. It is all easily taken care of with a switch though.

 

Ive got an 05 Trd OR access cab 4.0L automatic with 155k on her now and i still lobe her. Shes had her ups and downs but every vehicle does right? I will say the new one look pretty cool amd the interior has some net changes but i dont think its worth giving up my 05 for just yet. Maybe a few more years and the additon of a couple of features you gus have mentioned (power seats, and sunroof particularly) then i might be tempted

 

I think my 2005 had a rough life. I have had it for about 2 years now with about 130,000 miles on the tuck.

As of right now I have the following problems that need to be fixed.
1. Oil leak (I am guessing from the timing chain cover, its a huge mess)
2. 4WD is not working.
3. Supposedly broken motor mount.
4. Drivers door does not close properly.
5. Squeaking blower motor.
6. Bent tailgate.

Other than that I love it and it has been a good truck that gets decent gas mileage.

 

hate to bring up a REALLY old thread but I figure it's better than starting a new one. I found a very clean 2005 for sale. It has 106k miles SR5 DCLB. He has all service records. He's willing to let it go for $11,500 after he's had it listed at 14k for almost 30 days. Going to talk him down closer to 10k if possible. I'm looking to get a truck for weekend family trips and quarterly camping trips. My daily commuter is still my 04 Matrix that I will drive to the ground. Wife drives a 14 Rav4 Limited so she's happy. As much as I want a brand new Tacoma I will probably wait 3 years (have a little one on the way!)

Thoughts? Anything to look out for when I go look at it? Serious recalls I need to ask about? I wonder if this one was part of the frame recall. Southern California.

 

Bought my 05 OR DCSB new, 11 years ago. Was a regular daily driver and went on frequent weekend trail and camping adventures, but nothing crazy. No mechanical issues whatsoever. None. Nada. Followed maintenance intervals to the letter. Fluids all synthetics. Never changed the radiator coolant fluid (until frame was replaced.) Starter, compressor, alternator still original. Pretty much kept it bone stock until I got the frame replaced in December on a rusty frame recall.

Then I fell in love with it again. In a four month time frame, i've done most everything that's listed on my sig below. I blame TW for this.

Probably will be my ride until it dies or I die. Whichever comes first.

 

Wow that sounds like you have a damn good truck! I wouldn't let that bad boy go either. Good to know... thanks for the information. How many miles do you have on it?

 

^^ X2 ^^

Other than a couple of edits, ditto.

If buying in SoCal, and the truck lived there (or anywhere outside the snow belt) it's whole life, the frame should be good.

 

Got mine 5/05 not one major problem just standard thing to replace like battery/clutch at 96000miles /front brakes at 76000miles & other minor things.Still going strong

 

This!

 

Mine has only seen one set of hands under her hood every 5k miles and only garage she parks in is mine. Zero issues mechanically or frame wise. Although I can't say the same about the '98 Wrangler parked next to her.

 

Love my '05 DCLB. Up to 240,000 miles (386,000 kilometers).

So far I've replaced only wear parts and have not had any major issues:

Brake rotors, pads, rear shoes.
Rear axle seals (more brake shoes, and then breather extension).
Serpentine belt and pulleys.
Front differential driver side bearing (ECGS).
Front wheel bearings.
Drive shaft universal joints.
Steering shaft universal joint (and steering wheel clock spring because I'm stupid and let it unwind).
Penetrating oil on the shift linkage and shaft into transmission to free up stiff shift lever.
Replaced stock UCAs with take-off stock UCAs due to worn out ball joints.
Replaced most of the light bulbs over time as needed.


Other minor stuff:

Polished up dull headlights several times.
Chrome paint on grill is starting to peel.
Lots of tiny paint chips but no body rust (keep it under coated!)
Light rust on frame - passed Toyota recall frame inspection and got the frame coating.
Still have the lame stock 2-spring leafs on the rear suspension - waiting for the recall.


For sure, don't be afraid to look at an '05 Tacoma. Toyota got it right the first time, and if the truck has been looked after, it should be ok. Of course you want to look at the motor mounts foor cracked welds and at the frame near the catalytic converters for rust penetration since the frame replacement campaign is finishing at the end of March, 2016 in the US. There is a recall on the rear springs that has not been resolved yet, but that shouldn't stop you since it affects all 2nd gen Tacomas.


As mentioned above, the earlier Tacomas are particularly good if you don't want all the electronics. Unfortunately the '05s also have the shitty anti lock brakes that suck off road.