2019 Tacoma limited disappointment

That has everything to do with Toyota updating their calibrations multiple times.

 

Perhaps a Ridgeline will serve better to those unhappy with Tacoma.

Either that or a CVT.

 

Nah, my M/T works pretty good.

 

Thankfully I got a 2019 then.

 

I have a 2016 limited 4x2. When test driving it she drove pretty good. But unfortunately after having the truck for a month or so, it was shifting like crazy. It definitely would NOT hold 5th, nor 6th on the highway. We even pulled a crappy craftsman lt1000 on a 5x10 trailer down 77 and in order to maintain 65mph, it was in 3rd. Which puts you at like 5k rpm's LMAO. Seemed ridiculous, our 2001 buick lesabre was a monster and would pull that with ease if need be. But not trying to compare the two, I just wanted to tell you that the BEST thing we've done to the tacoma is get OVTUNE. Have had it for about a year or so, came from 1.04, and now being on 1.05 87 octane base we can EASILY cruise down I95 and hold 5th and 6th no problem man. This also means 80+ mph, though I don't condone speeding. But really, it'll drop down to 5th up hills at that speed, and go back into 6th once you crest the hills. It drives how the tacoma should've come from the factory and better. If youre still checking out your thread, I HIGHLY recommend getting your truck OvTuned. Matt at OvTune is the man..

 

Yeah the Colorado diesel probably does stay in 6th if room allows it to get there lol. 0-60 of 10 seconds and truck magazine reviews have called passing marginally acceptable. I'd rather drive a dump truck or a turtle.

 

Probably so. But if you do spend some time on carcomplaints.com you see Toyota isn't the only manufacturer that has had transmission software problems in recent years. Ford, Chevy, Etc. have also had the same issue looking at the number of complaints.

The biggest problem on the F 150's on there is the engine shutting down while driving down the road. Every engine model. They have bad throttle bodies on them and that is the cause. But Ford hasn't issued a recall only a tsb.

I worked as a service advisor at a Hyundai dealership 7 or 8 years ago. It was back when they were have transmission issues with the new Sante Fe suv. I had customers coming in with shifting problems and having 3 or 4 reflashes done or a period of time and needless to say they weren't happy having an on going problem and the problem not being fixed after multiple visits.

And I can tell you when a service department tells you that something is normal but you know there is a problem, what that really means is they know that there is a problem and there working on a fix for it but don't know how to fix it YET.

I personally think it ridiculous to tell a customer something is normal when they no there is a problem. Whether its Toyota or some other manufacturer, it just ain't right.

 

It's cause the six cylinder and the trans seem to work against each other. I have 4cyl cars that shift less even when towing a motorcycle or in general. Truck stayed at over 4k rpm for 1.5 hour on highway towing 1k lbs. Car on same trip 3k and shifted less. The people that think it shifts fine are the Toyota fan boys. Previous owners of taco or other toyos. Mine goes into the shop again for the GD trans bs and lack of power/throttle lag. I agree it's by far, it's best looking mid sized truck around. But worst in drivability. Worst vehicle I have owned as far as driving goes, and I owned a neon back in the day.

 

I thought OVTune was for off road only. Not for highway use:

https://www.ovtuned.com/pages/tuning-performance-terms

“None of our products can be used at any time on any emissions control vehicle that is used for anything other than off-road performance or competition use. ALL Ecu tunes, Calibrations, flashes, files, datalogs, or anything in regard to the tune, tuning process, changes, are for OFF-ROAD USE.“

 

sounds like someone should have bought a truck with a V8 engine

 

It's called covering your butt, legally.

..and yeah, I only flash the tune when I'm off highway.

 

What year Tundra did you buy, if I may ask?

 

I got a 2006 Double cab 4x4. Had 98000 miles on it. Fairly clean too. Going through and doing al the maintenance stuff right now to make sure she’ll keep on puring.

 

I own a 4 cyl., maybe this is why my truck shifts nice?

 

Seems like you got lucky, Enjoy...

 

You are comparing a Lexus LS 350 that is ultra luxury car to a truck??? This is a truck that can pull your Lexus out of a hole without a strain!!

 

depends on the hole.

 

Well said, our Rav is kind of like that. ECO button and a Sport button. If your driving easy without either ON it pops up eco on the dash regardless. My 18’ Taco drives similar to my 2nd Gen minus a gear in my opinion, I find the 3.5 has way more snort when you get your foot into it than the 4.0 ever did. Not to mention was getting 14-15 L/100km tank averages in the 07 vs 10-12 L/100km in the 18’. That makes me happy. (15-17mpg US vs 20-24mpg US). The RAV4 is a 14 and averages around 8 L/100km or 28-30mpg it’s AWD.

 

I am hearing a lot of good things about OVtune so that has had me more and more sold on the Gen-3 but this concerns me a bit. I live at 8,000 feet, rarely go below 6,000 unless going out of state and often I am at 11,000-12,000 feet elevation. To add to all that, for work my truck almost always has a slide in pop-up camper that comes in at about 1,000lbs loaded, so I am anywhere from just under to just over GVWR.

My current truck, a supercharged + highly modified 2005 Tacoma with the 6-MT handles this weight at any elevation and grade with ease, I rarely see above 4,000 RPMS. With no camper on it, the thing just screams and will get 22 mpg to boot.

I have been driving my self crazy with this, I am faced with a big decision in the coming months because the frame failed inspection and Toyota is not doing anything to help. So I either keep this incredible build and put $10K to $15K into it for a frame replacement or I sideline it as a project truck and try to make the Gen-3 work.

I loved everything about the two 2019's I test drove but the powertrain and that is a pretty big thing to not love, really hoped that the tune would at least make it usable so it is safe because an underpowered vehicle is not safe in my experience. I'm not trying to be a dick and so called "Troll" those who are happy with this truck, I just know what I need and I am working through it.

So my question to you would be in what way is the truck literally still not pulling it's weight even with the tune when in the modalities you state above? Any stats to share such as gear and RPM needed to overcome the issues?

 

That helps a bit, thanks. That is surprising considering gear lock, are you not able to anticipate the hill and manually hold a well aspirated RPM in a lower gear before hand? I do that all the time with my MT and it makes it easy to always have the engine in the powerband without the abruptness associated with shifting into a lower gear when a bit behind in the shift timing.

I am definitely considering the 6-MT in the Gen-3 but build options are pretty limited, I want a 4 door long bed this time & don't want the dumb view blocking raised hood and bigger wheels on the Sport build.

Thanks again for your input.