5 things I do not like about my 2020 Tacoma

Mine were actually chrome originally, i plasti dipped them. Man, i miss that truck. It was a tank.

 

For #1, I hated the drone on the stock exhaust from ~1700 to 2300 rpm. Maybe I'm sensitive to that frequency range but it was pretty obnoxious to me. I had a muffler shop build me a branch resonator. It cut down the drone by 8db in the 120hz range.

 

My passenger seat makes a farting noise every time someone sits in it. Stinks too. My wife swears it isn't her

 

I'm assuming you're either trolling or hauling elephants up to Estes Park, CO, but 3rd gear to maintain 70mph? I'm in 6th gear at 50 mph and able to maintain speed, even accelerate, up slight inclines.

 

If it makes you feel better, I had a 2016 Colorado before my Tacoma, and I HATED the transmission in that truck. IMHO, the Tacoma is a big improvement. The Colorado wouldn’t shift on time, especially in stop-go traffic or when slowing down for a red only to get a green, which would cause it to lug and shake before the transmission would thud into gear, causing the truck to lunge. My Tacoma is a dream compared to that truck.

As for much of what you’re experiencing with the transmission, I’m resigned to think that’s just how new AT vehicles shift. They’re geared for fuel economy, not for performance. I’ve driven several different newer model vehicles, and they do not shift like my older vehicles did. I also have a coworker who had a new F150 and now has a new Ram. He experiences the same thing with his transmissions that we experience with the Tacoma.

That said, when your truck stays at higher RPMs when you think it should shift down while using cruise control, try giving it just a bit of gas instead of slowing down. That usually works for me, although if I’m on a slight incline, it’ll shift down again a few seconds after I take my foot off the gas.

 

I find it weird that the lights don't shut off with the ignition, in "Auto" mode. I find myself turning the switch from "auto" to "off" when I shut off the ignition. If I'm doing that, and turning the light selector again when I start the truck, what is this "Auto" mode doing for me? Maybe there's a light sensor that turns on the taillights automagically because I see a lot of eejits driving around at night with DRLs and no taillights.

My Volvo has a headlight switch that doesn't actually do anything because they just shorted it out to comply with Canadian DRL requirements. Headlights and taillights are always on! That was the way it was in my day, and we liked it.

 

Yep. "Auto" turns off the DRLs, turns on the headlights and taillights as though you had turned on the headlights yourself. Not sure if it's ambient light related or time of day related - I'm sure that's covered in the manual somewhere.

 

Yes, no maybe so?

 

I agree with this assessment, wanted to love this feature in my truck but just drives me nuts how it goes off and on and with the lags turning off. If anything it is bright lighting oncoming traffic longer than it needs to before it finally realizes it needs to turned off. I’m better off controlling that feature manually than having it on auto.

 

Better buy a good battery charger.

 

The headlights shut off when you turn off the car and exit (with a slight delay). Toyota has had auto shut-off headlights for forever. At least since the 80's - my Supra's headlights shut off as soon as you open the door.

 

I’m on 34 inch heavy mud terrains but none the less it’s a transmission/gearing issue because no other brand of truck would really be struggling this bad

 

OP said he doesn't have auto headlights. I was poking fun at OP saying he leaves his headlights on all the time. If I could link to reddit I'd refer to r/woosh for ya.

 

Nice Mazda B-series. I have a 99 Ranger 3.0L sitting in my driveway that's also a tank!

 

The reverse camera sucks on the 2021. I previously had a 2016 Tacoma. Reverse camera on that was crystal clear.

 

Name another brand of truck using two OD gears in a 6 speed AT.

You're not aware M/Ts create more rolling resistance than the transmission was initially calibrated to?

 

Buying a almost base model and complaining about lack of features, makes total sense.

 

I haven't seen my truck get above 3K rpm. Granted, most of my driving is local, but the furthest trip I have made, which was about 50 miles one way, didn't get my truck revving above 3k. I am now just over 1000 miles and I have found the truck is running smoother. I guess the transmission had to break in.

 

I have my lights set to auto. They turn off shortly after you shut off the truck.

 

I don't think so. They stay on for about a minute, maybe less. I am an OCD kind of guy, but I have just decided to let this one go. The truth is, in these new vehicles there are so many electronics that stay on and can wear down the battery. For example, my wife has a 2020 Rav4. Over the Thanksgiving she did not start her vehicle for 4 days. The temperature might have been in the 20s. When she went to go out on day 5 the vehicle wouldn't start. I assumed that the car didn't start because it wasn't run for days. I did Google this and found a forum for Rav4s where somebody said that the electronic parking brake might be the issue. In the Rav4 they have a electronic parking brake that is always on (unless you turn it off, but the default mode is on). So, we did turn off the electronic brake just as a precaution. I also run her vehicle evry day in the winter if she doesn't go out. We haven't had another problem since.