Automatic Tune vs Trade for Manual

I have wondered about this as well. Probably super expensive..

 

That's kinda what I'm thinking with it too since I can only imagine the fees of transferring stuff over, import fees, let alone the hassle of trying to get approved for financing(if needed) being that the truck is being bought in a different country/different currency, all of that just to have a premium package, crew cab TRD OR in a manual!

 

I could have sworn one guy on here did it a couple years ago and got the OR AC 6MT back into the states. Had to do with some loophole like he lived more than 100mi from a US dealer but less than 100mi from a Canadian dealer so there was no issue bringing it here because people do it all the time

 

Huh. I wonder if there's a loophole like that for going the other way around. I mean even if there is, there's such a small number of people that could even do that, and an even smaller amount that has Tacomas, and an even SMALLER amount that would go to that length to get a Tacoma that isn't available in their country of residency.

 

Yeah I bet. He was probably the one guy.

 

Process sounds annoying but very achievable.

https://driving.ca/auto-news/news/how-to-import-a-car-from-the-u-s-into-canada

 

I owned a 2016 auto and now I have a 2020 manual. I don’t have any of the complaints others have about the auto, but I just simply enjoy the manual more.

I was impatient when I bought the auto because the manuals are hard to find and generally disappearing in the us automobile market. I don’t regret my decision, but I’m happy I traded it for what I really wanted 4 years later.

I have no experience with the tunes and am generally skeptical about their touted benefits. I still might experiment with one.

 

based on this, from what I can tell, if you were to get a NEW one from the dealership, you would have to hang out long enough to have your title mailed to you(if you couldn't use your temporary one), call ahead by 3 days with all this info, and some other stuff. I'm not super clear on this, and I am by no means an expert, but it seems like its a substantial amount of work to get this back into the country, since I'm not sure what the process would be for a NEW car, since the title takes time to show up, among other things, like mailing addresses, bank info/loans, etc etc. Seems like a HUGE hassle just to get a slightly different truck than what is already available in your country. IMO if I was on the fence with this, I'd think about just getting the truck that's available, and save myself the time and money and headache, and use that money and time and make the truck as close to the one I wanted to get, putting a diff locker in, scooped hood/non scooped hood, etc etc.

 

TRD OR access cab with a manual trans doesn’t have TPMS which is required by US regulations. In Canada TPMS isn’t mandatory…and it’s the only Tacoma without it.
I agree that Toyota’s decisions are sometime a bit odd.

 

See, that stuff just doesn't make sense to me. The fact that they wouldn't just make the truck with TPMS and make it so they can have a larger market makes no sense to me. I mean I know a handful of people personally that are in the US that got the TRD SPORT in the access cab with a stick because it was the only access cab manual available when all Toyota had to do was put the TPMS in the truck, and then boom, they can sell it in the states too. Corporations confuse the hell out of me more often than not!

 

Stick shift is fun to drive.

 

And most of them are on here…

 

Reviving this thread

After tuning my automatic (OTT) and driving it for another 5 months, I finally made the decision to trade it in for a manual

After eight hours of driving and some negotiation, I picked up the new truck a few days ago. Same year, colour, but is a Sport Premium instead of a Off Road Premium (Canada). The drive home was blissful to say the least and I am happy with my decision. Loved the old truck, but it wasn't everything I wanted

The new truck also included bigger tires and the Toyota OEM TRD lift kit that the first owner installed from the dealership

Left new, right old

 

You would need a letter from the manufacturer that its basically the same vehicle as the Tacoma sold in the states. Other than showing customs your purchase paperwork if you are flagged.

 

Nice move. You can make the mechanical upgrades if you need them. Stick shifter is great in these trucks.

Still think the OR / Sport mix being different in the USA and Canada is mental

 

Man tell me about it

I kinda like that the features I previously had aren’t apart of the truck anymore as it gives me more projects to work on hahaha

 

I use to race bikes. Last thing i wanted to was to be shifting gears in the truck that i was hauling the bikes with. I did that enough on the bike during a 3 hr race on unforgiving terrain. I now have a snowmobile that uses a cvt system. I enjoy playing with the cvt's clutching to increase the drivetrains performance...its just a toy of mine, not my everyday driver. Besides i can't find any fault with the automatic, or the engine performance in my tacoma to mess with it.

 

Access Cab TRD Sport w/ manual checking in!

Nice truck OP, you won't regret upgrading to the manual. And TRD sports are just plain better looking than OR's.

 

Hey I'm wondering - those "sport shift" selections on the left size of the auto shift lever - what exactly does it do? I have the impression that it sets the upper gear that the AT will shift into. for example, if you're on a hilly highway, you might use it to keep the AT in 4th gear or lower.

I take it that it doesn't help with the shift problems you all are experiencing?

 

I'm a die hard shift your own gears guy. I wouldn't have bought a Tacoma if it didn't come in a manual.

With that said, if you've been happy all this time with your truck and this one trip made you aware of the shortcomings of the automatic, just live with it if you don't plan on doing more trips like this and the majority of your driving doesn't show the deficiencies of the transmission. Or spend the few hundred bucks on a tune and be happy.

If you want to get rid of the annoyances of the AT and really want to row your own gears the Tacoma's isn't the greatest but I still am very happy with it and wouldn't have it any other way. You can still get a tune for the MT as I plan to to help with the throttle lag.

Edited to add:

Just realized OP traded. Cool!