Are Gen 3 Tacomas as unreliable as Tacomaworld makes them seem?

Uh...

Yeah, you need help man.

Seriously.

 

pretty much any company that's had a class action lawsuit opened against them, if you look hard enough you will find pretty much every auto maker is under the gun at one point or another.

 

believe it or not, that is “basic maintenance”. They are not a cheap car to own. I had to do a cooling overhaul. Nothing wrong with the cooling system, but it’s “preventative maintenance” with them

edit: I also drive a lot 20k-25k A year or so

 

I received snail mail from a law firm about litigation concerning an FCA product (Jeep) that I hadn't owned for years.

Are you serious right now?

 

I had a 2016 and now a 2019 with about 9K miles on it. The 2016 did search for gears on the highway and a slight rear end humming noise around 50MPH. I put about 24K on the 2016. My 2019 today has no issues to speak of. Only 9K for miles and I do not use it on the highway much. Love the little trucks and cannot complain. I had 2 2nd gens previously and they were solid trucks as well.

 

someone so “incredibly smart” to go with a second gen, then tries to pitch a Facebook ad from a practice that advertises compensation for nearly all makes and models on their website. It’s ok. We know you’re incompetent.

 

Fucking ambulance chasers

 

The answer is no, Tacoma’s are not as unreliable as it would appear here. They are in fact known for reliability. Look at any forum for any vehicle and you will see lots of issues reported. Here’s Ford trucks for example:
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/forum276/
People don’t go out of their way to post about nothing being wrong, they post to resolve issues or talk about upgrades etc.
I don’t have many miles on mine but it’s my favorite truck that I’ve owned, better than my 87 F150, my old GMC, That dog S10 leaking oil all over with the typical peeling paint, better than my problematic 2007 Colorado. Don’t do stupid improper lifts and such and you should have a good truck.

 

It's just online forums my man. People are losing their minds over the low pressure fuel pump issue. My previous car, a mini cooper, went through 5 high pressure fuel pumps in 85k miles. 2 of those I had to pay for because it wasn't covered in the warranty. Finally, the transmission's automatic clutch started slipping and my mechanic and I drained the trans fluid just to see metallic sparkles everywhere. When you're essentially paying your mechanics bills with your seemingly monthly visits and he looks at you and says "Just sell the damn thing", you know it's a problem vehicle.

Is the transmission a little annoying, yes. If it bothers you that much get an OVtune. Is the engine a little gutless? Yes. Again, get an OVtune if it bothers you but don't expect the little V6 to be a V8 killer on the road. Is the thing reliable? Hell yes it is. It has it's little problems here and there, but nothing that is detrimental to the true reliability of this truck. Just ask anyone here with 100k+ miles if the truck is reliable and you will get very positive answers. Bottom line, don't let the forums convince you the truck sucks and if you are expecting a 3.5L v6 to perform like the 5.7L v8 in the tundra you're already an idiot.

 

My neighbor has 2 3rd gens with nearly 400k miles between the 2. Tows and hauls daily and spends most of his life on the road. You know what he doesn’t have time for? Complaining on forums, because he’s too busy using his Tacoma as a truck for work. With howling diffs on both too . You pretty much hit the nail on the head with this. Sometimes it amazes me what people expect out of these trucks when they knowingly purchase them.

 

I think you've found the only law firm in existence with an interest in frivolous litigation. Also, you can sue for a check engine light? I wish I had known that back when I drove my Ford with a CEL for almost two years due to a faulty purge valve I had no desire to fix. I could probably have sued my way into retirement right now if I had known that, or known of the great guys over at Quill & Arrow.

 

Either Mr. Quill or Mr. Arrow is definitely on this forum and saw dollar signs. Which reminds me after I have them deal with my shitty truck I still need to get ahold of the fellas suing for the defective combat earplugs. Thanks US Army!

 

What sold you M2 for a Tacoma? Are you crazy?? Get both!

I purposely got a 2nd gen for the bulletproof factor. I do not like all the radar, parking sensors BS on an off road truck. Especially if you plan to mod it.

 

I love that I'm back here and the same ol' user names are still preaching their same ol' bs.

 

The 3rd gen Tacoma had growing pains like any other redesigned model. Instead of doing a complete overhaul every few years like other manufacturers Toyota makes subtle changes and occasional cosmetic and technological refreshes. They build and improve over time instead bastardizing. Just look at the Camry, Corolla and Tundra. There were 250k Tacoma’s sold in 2019 compared to 80k Ford Ranger and 150k Chevrolet Colorado/GMC Canyon. Research the others brands and you’ll throw up in your mouth reading stories about their flaws. Out of that many Tacoma’s sold I think you’d hear more about them failing other than what you’ve seen on here if there truly was that many problems.

 

@Ilove2dubb

Howdy Jeff,

Sounds like you and I are in similar situations. I drove BMWs for roughly 15 years. Even had 2 in the garage at the same time:



Also, like you, I was looking to switch over to a truck to support my multiple hobbies, woodworking included:



I work downtown and park in a small and crowded parking lot, and didn't really want to deal with a full size pickup. Even so, we went to go test drive a Tundra, F150 and Silverado. We also looked at a Frontier and Colorado (Ranger wasn't quite out yet when we were looking 2 years ago). I didn't really care for driving the full size pickups, they all felt like, well full size pickups...

I'm fully aware of the shortcomings of the Tacoma when it comes to technology, creature comforts, bells and whistles, etc, but my opinion is that the Tacoma is the best looking mid-size truck by far, is capable off-road (we travel to Colorado 1-2 times a year), has a great aftermarket following and I expect it being a Toyota to be reliable (my dad still owns and drives a 90 pickup and 98 4Runner, both with 500k+ miles and has only done routine maintenance). I bought a used 2016 Offroad with 30k miles, I now have nearly 60k miles and have had no major issues with the truck. Yes, I was annoyed by the odd transmission shifts and the off-the-line acceleration lags, but I flashed OVtune's software tune on the truck and it's pretty much cured all of my concerns there, and increased performance and gas mileage to boot (also had bootmod3 tune on the F30 335). Overall, I've been very happy with my purchase. It hauls my camping gear, kayaks, bikes and even hauls full 4x8 sheets of plywood with a little help from some 2x4s and 2x6s:

 

Fords and any other vehicle if you’re going by the California Quill and Arrow bloodsucker lawyers lol.
https://www.quillarrowlaw.com/lemon-law/manufacturers/ford-motor-company/

You have a second gen, with no experience owning a third gen your input is irrelevant. Quoting bottom dweller ambulance chasing lawyers, too funny. Don’t make me come to the second gen forum and make fun of you grease monkeys trying to figure out how to wire shit up

 

This exists primarily in the mind of 2nd gen owners. 2nd gens had their fair share of issues as well.

Also my 3rd gen has no radar or parking sensors either.

Get whatever you want, but advising someone to buy at least a 5 year old truck when they have reliability concerns seems a bit sideways too me.

 

2021 Tacoma or 2021 F-150 that's the question most new truck buyers will be asking.

 

Then they are making a choice between a mid-size truck and a full size truck, shouldn’t be that hard of a decision. I’ve owned both and the decision was easy for me.