3rd generation Tacoma life expectancy

22 years on my 94 Toyota when I finally got rid of it last year. I plan on beating the hell out of this one and driving it until it falls apart.

 

I don't think Tacomas will be self-driving by 2017.

 

won't happen. 56 is way too early to buy your "last truck". My dad thought the same thing at 62. He's 75 now and desperately needs a new vehicle and he's looking, but can't afford much. He constantly complains that he should have waited to buy his "last truck"

 

I plan on keeping mine until it dies or I die. Whichever comes first.

 

My 1st Gen Taco (1998) had 405,000 miles on it when we sold it before we moved to Colombia. I always did (most of) the recommended maintenance. It was my work truck, daily driver. I did in-home appliance service and averaged almost 160 miles/day. Drove it from Georgia to SoCal and back 4 times. 3 times towing a fully loaded 4x6 U-Haul trailer, and once towing my son's Chrysler Lebaron. It never missed a beat.

In the 8 years I owned it, I replaced:

tires (5 sets)
brake pads/shoes (many times)
Front rotors
Battery (twice)
Shocks (3 times)
Front windshield (I hit a bird)

Other than the above, nothing went wrong with it. I never beat it, and because of that it served me well. Best truck I ever owned. I love Toyotas !!!

- JAMES

(The day before we sold it. I wish I had a better pic.)

 

I will probably keep my 2016 for 10 years. Just wishful thinking on the self-driving, but you are probably right.

 

I am 73 years old ( I hate to admit it ) but I still ride all around the mountain roads of Colombia on my trail bike and now in our Hilux 4x4.

TOM PETTY said, "If you never slow down, you never grow old," and this is the way I live. To me it's the only way to be. I will never sit in a chair and watch TV all day. If I do, I told my wife and my son to hand me a gun and say, " Dad ... it's time." Until then, I will enjoy life and do whatever I can, until I can't. I'm looking forward to my next Toyota 4x4 and a faster trail bike. Maybe a 2020 taco and a 250 Husqvana. Who knows ???

- JAMES

 

There was some documentation sourced from Toyota about the 100 series Land Cruiser that stated that it was engineered for a 25 year service life. There are many examples of 100 series now reaching 350k+ miles with scarcely any unscheduled repairs/maintenance.

In discussing "life expectancy" what we're really talking about is economic feasibility. Toyota gets to butter both sides of the bread on this because major components tend to last longer which equates to lower cost of ownership and that translates to higher resale value which makes it worthwhile to make repairs to Toyotas when they do break down.

 

Somewhere earlier in this thread showed the life expectancy of the 3.5 at 180,000 Miles, a far cry from when they engineered 25 year life expectancies.

 

Have you never seen a 2gr with over 500k? They are literally all over the place. its known as one of the most reliable engines they have ever made.. Not to mention it being a detuned version, with a redline thats 1000 rpms lower than other variants. Toyota is literally switching every v6 optioned vehicle to this engine.

 

They are using it across the board on more platforms because its cheaper.

 

It's a more expensive engine to produce than the 1gr and 2trfe. It's cheaper to use it on multiple platforms, yes.

 

Toyota must have faith in the 3.5 L. It was and is in the Lexus 350 . It will be in the new redesigned Highlander. It will be in the new redesigned Camry . It is said it will be in the new redesigned 4 runner.
There will be a lot of them out there . the Toyota reputation would be really shot to hell if all their major sellers are crap . Oh well ,at least there should be parts available for a long time .

 

I think the engine will be just as reliable as any Toyota/Lexus engine. I don't doubt that one bit. The only issue people seem to have is they think it's under powered or that it's needs to be revved out to get at the power.

I have a '17 Tacoma with the 6 speed manual transmisson and I have no complaints about it. I think its a great combo. I rev it out and have fun with it. It never feels underpowered to me.

 

Just different folks with different expectations. Remember a lot of people compare this truck to full sizes where you can pick from 3-5 engine options that cover everything from low torque monsters to revy little engines like the 3.5 L 2 GR.

 

Anyone who can tell you how long a 3rd gen Tacoma will last is full of it. Heck, we don't even know how long the late gen 2nd gens will last because of all the revisions made to the frames at the manufacturer.

My father in law has a rough idle on his 2GR based Venza that Toyota has told him they can't figure out without taking apart the engine. It has 129,000 kms on it. Even great engines have a dud sometimes. My guess on his, and no it's no better then a guess but it makes sense, is that because his Venza was originally his farther in laws (my wifes grand fathers) it may not of had oil changes as often as it really should of. Gunk in the VVT system often causes a rough idle.

Best bet, take care of your truck. If you do that it'll last as long as it's weakest major link and who knows what the heck that is. Go beyond the service manual and use consistent oil changes and/or synthetic oil where ever possible.

 

Been wanting to test drive a MT forever just out of curiousity but I never can find them on lots. However I'll never go back to a MT for my daily driver. Did that for too long in Los Angeles and it is just not comfortable to be in rush hour, day in and day out with a manual. I have a fairly lengthy commute even here in Phoenix and I just find the automatic more comfortable to drive overall and less demanding when you're trying to hunt or offroad you can focus on other things rather than manipulating the clutch and gears.

 

I will let you know how it feels whenever my new one comes in, l hated the automatic l drove for a few days, the truck itself was nice though.

 

I expect this.

 

I've had my '17 TRD Sport Manual Transmission for a month now. It's fantastic and far better than the automatic version of this truck.

It may be more work to drive a manual at times, but it is always more fun! I also like having total control over my transmission.