Concerned about possible new 2017 SR5 V6 purchase

About to turn 18,000. Love mine. No regrets. I’ve made four 800 trips with a descent load. No issues. Grab it.

 

Took the V6 for a drive today and did notice it was a little jumpy at low RPM's but seemed better in S mode. One thing that I found a little concerning was that my left knee seemed to be always resting on the door panel no matter what my seating position was. Anyone else have this issue?

 

There are one million body types. Some hit their head, some need thigh support. Some rub their knee on the console. Some rub their knee on the door. Get the picture? Some fit perfectly. If you are 5'6" and weigh 340 lbs you will fit differently than the guy who is 6'5" and weighs 200 lbs. #physics

 

I get it. Just wanted to see if was a common issue, regardless of size or weight.

 

I’m 5’8” and my knee rests on the door panel, but it doesn’t bother me. I did a 340 mile round trip last weekend and it was no problem at all. I also averaged 23.5mpg and most of the trip was 70+mph. Pretty solid for a DCLB 4x4!

It can be a little jumpy at low speeds (i.e traffic) but I think that’s just how autos are these days. My only complaint is the rear end howl I have between 54-60 and only on deceleration. Normal per dealer, but they are aware and working on it. I just try to keep out of that range or have the volume above 25. All in all I enjoy my truck!

 

54 000 km, 2 years on mine and great truck. Like it more than my 2nd Gen. Good mileage, more quiet, nice looks, decent power. Its not perfect but no vehicle is, and most if not all known issues have some sort of resolution if you happen to have one.

 

I bought mine back in November 2016 and it currently has 20k miles and have no regrets. I’m satisfied with the power delivery of the 3.5L V6.
I’m 6’0 and 176 pounds but don’t have any problems finding a comfortable seating position. My knees are close to the front dashboard underneath the steering wheel but comfortable.

There has been some complaints about the automatic transmission shifting and I experienced this early on until I got the TSB reflash done. After that the truck shifts fine. TRD off road models have some issues with the differential howling and Toyota doesn’t have a legitimate fix for that yet but my truck has experienced this either.
Edmunds has the 2016 and 2017 ranked below 4 stars for consumer reviews but that doesn’t concern me. Maybe the 1-2% of owners who are complaining on review sites like consumer reports and edmunds got lemons.
Toyota vehicles have a 2% failure rate so by no means every Tacoma that rolls off the assembly line are going to be perfect.
Toyota sold 198k trucks last year and 191k the year before. That’s a lot of 3rd gens roaming around.
OP, defiantly test drive several of them before making a decision. This is a very large expense and you don’t want to end up unsatisified with a costly purchase.

 

for me it is must that's why i bought the "ECT on all the time mod".

 

Bought my Tacoma Nov 2017 love the truck. My honest opinion drive before you buy, it fits me fine, I was concerned with all the weird shifting a lot of people mentioned, I have noticed this, but there is three fixes I was willing to do, I've done all three, one, drive with ect enabled or two, drive in S mode or Three, buy a Shift Sense Pro, I did this, and it's a totally different driving experience, 3 modes to choose from. If this is not for you, then that's OK, you may not mind the shift points on the new 3rd gen, but I'll tell you the f150 I drive at work has the 3.5 v6 non ecoboost and it shifts weird also, weak and anemic, but I drive it in sport mode to combat that issue. I've always wanted to own a Tacoma, had friends and family that had them and drove them for years, and some were not so good to their trucks and they just lasted, me I'm a maintain nut, don't get me wrong I use a truck but I feed it well and brush it down and give it all it's shots, always have, a trait passed on by my Dad, I figure this little Truck should last me way into my retirement years, O yea 7 more years and this ole tired Lineman gonna hang it up.

 

I do the same... Just the way we sit I think.. I don't have issues doing it.

 

I have had three 3rd gen tacomas. Not one have had any major issues.

First 1, 2016 sr 4cyl 2wd, got totaled after a couple months of owning it.. Then bought a 2016 sr5 v6 2wd, then traded up from the 2016 2wd to a 2017 4wd after a year.. Just wanted a 4x4... But there were no issues with any of them...

They are great mid-sized trucks. Not full sized trucks. Not race cars. Not community vans... Though one time i did have 6 adults in my dcsb... Comfortable for me and the wife... The 4 adults in the back seat weren't so lucky LOL

 

is there an issue with running ECT on
all the time?

 

I completely understand. The seating position is a little weird for me too. If I get my legs comfortable the seat is so far from the steering wheel I feel like I have to reach for the steering wheel which is an uncomfortable driving position for me to drive in. If I pull the seat up so I don't have to reach for the steering wheel then my legs are scrunched up underneath me.

The telescoping feature is useless too...

I've got used to it somewhat but I remember reading that was a knock on the Corollas in the 90's I believe....Odd seating position for some.

 

I haven't read anything in the manual stating that your not to run ECT on all the, surely if that were the case they would have mentioned it, they knew we would be towing that's the reason they come with a hitch , and ECT Button. Just my opinion, no sure facts.

 

Got back in one today and after tweaking the seating position and the telescopic steering and tilt things did fit a little better. Not perfect but definitely better.

 

Disclaimer: My commute includes hills and i run the truck all the time with 90-120lbs more than stock.
I bought a 2017 dblcab trd OR in Dec 2016.

Thought i had a good truck for about 6 months, till about 20000km. Now I'm at 35000km, It gear hunts incessantly, bogs down, RPM holds during weird times(like downhill when it should shift up)and generally annoys the shit out of me. My wife just got a 2003 4runner v8 and its noticeably far better to drive. She hates driving my Tacoma now. Even my mom hates driving my Tacoma after the two times shes borrowed it(in stock configuration). I do about 50% city 40% hwy 10% towing and average 16l/100km. Just got the Ovtune kit in the mail, hopefully have some results in a few weeks. I really hope it makes a difference in this truck because it KICKS ASS off road and I fucking love Tacomas in general.

Warning: It became noticeably anemic after i added mud terrain tires. And not big ones, just heavy ones, they only measure 31.5''.

 

The engine really rips (for a 3.5 six) at higher rpms, but its lack of low-end torque means it is really not a truck engine. So what do we do? If you don't want to sell it (pretty big hit in the wallet), I think trying the OV Tune makes sense as its the "cheapest" possible fix. I hope it works out for you - let us know! The other option is re-gearing, and if you are going to stick with your 31.5 inch MTs I'd suggest re-gearing to 4.56. Of course, you can do both the OV Tune and re-gear I'm going to pull the trigger on re-gearing soon...

 

just read a post that someone is bothered that their left knee hits the armrest while driving. now every time i drive i am aware of that! what next....

 

They aren’t the only ones either I saw a lot of negative reviews out there and bought the truck anyway but I’ve had a lot of the problems too proceed with caution

 

You'll get the same answer from me. It's a decent truck (2nd gen) but it's too small to be comfortable and too underpowered to really handle truck duties. I'm not planning on keeping mine much longer.

If you already had a tacoma and you're comfortable with its capability and size, then I doubt you'll have an issue.

I've never owned, but my family has always owned 2500 HD trucks. This seemed like a good "meet in the middle" size between capability and comfort and it hasn't been for either.