Did I get the worst Tacoma ever?

I have a 2011 Toyota Tacoma access cab SR5. 4wd 2.7L Auto. My truck is used for work in a bit of tougher conditions. Snow, mud, rough roads, lots of gravel etc. It is always loaded with tools etc and has always had a canopy on it. I am the sole driver of it. I get paid to use my truck for work, so I have tried to keep my costs to a minimum and do not by any means abuse it. The sole purpose of my truck is to make me money and downtime and repairs are not what I want! That being said, I just thought some of you might be interested in some of the issues I have had! I mostly just lurk on Tacoma Word and use it as a resource to fix many of the issues with the truck.



Replaced drivers side wheel bearing.

Replaced passenger side wheel bearing.

All 4 axle shaft CV boots leaking and torn

Replaced drivers side lower ball joint twice.

Spring clips on front brakes broken, bent or missing.

Mice getting into cab.

Clockspring defective.

Weak paint. Chips and scratches super easy.

Weak batteries. On 3rd battery.

Front bumper literally falling off. Plastic torn etc.

All 4 wheel well liners falling out or fell out.

Dust getting past stock air filter since new.

Very poor fuel economy. Less than 50% of window sticker. 16.27 mpg tracked every tank since new.

3 different inner tie rod ends replaced.

Horn not working.

Exhaust has a loud rattle and leak.

Speedometer quit working for about 8 months.

Cab fan motor has annoying squeak.

Doors have squeaked and rattled since truck was new.

Truck wont start sometimes or slow starting.

Power steering groaning and eventually piled up. Replaced.

Weird wear on inside of front tires.

Leaking axle seal on front differential.

Some rust on frame.

Two blown rear shocks.

Exceptionally weak rear suspension.

Replaced entire rack and pinion assembly.

Water leaking onto passenger floor mat after big rainstorms.

Replaced both CV axles.

Torn CV axle boot again.

Air bag light perpetually on. Currently still on.

Loud tick in valvetrain when starting cold. Been like that since new.

Check engine light and anti skid lights on for months at a time.

Broken latch for center console.

Moister in drivers side headlight.

Stereo volume knob is wonkey. About 60% of the time I turn the volume down it goes up.

Catalylic converter completely piled up.

Truck stalled and barely idles. Dirty gummed up throttle body.

Broken fender bracket on rear passenger fender.

Passenger front mudflap folded up and destroyed by front tire 2x.

Speedometer howls annoyingly when truck driven in severe cold.

Drivers side window has fallen out of its tracks 2x.

Replaced rear drivers axle seal.

Replaced rear brake drums and shoes.


There might be a few things I have missed, but that is the majority of them. The funny part about this truck is I still kinda like it. Tons of stupid little problems and wear items, but its still making me money and I don’t intend on replacing it anytime soon.


You can question me on anything and I can maybe elaborate on the issue. Some, like the clockspring/airbag light and catalytic converter I am still furious with Toyota over.


Currently has 201,284 kms on it. That’s 125,072 miles.

 

But does it have K02's? That would negate everything else

 

At least put some pictures or stick figure sketches, I got bored.

 

I just sold my 97 4runner v6 sr5. I had to replace the battery 3 times and the brakes twice but thats it for big items. I got 18-20 mpg for 240,000 miles. Little stuff like headlights and
the over head light and I put a stereo in it. Clock never worked.
I would get a new or almost new truck.

 

sounds mostly like typical wear and tear for something abused on logging roads/rough roads on a regular basis....

 

Sounds like the truck had a rough life to me

 

Yes.... it gets very little time on the pavement. And it is loaded up kinda heavy for a Tacoma I guess.

And strangely enough, it did have a set of BFG mud t/a tires on it this summer. Not sure if they are the KO2's

 

X2

 

Is it stock? Could explain a few of those. Sounds about right though, for a truck put through that kind of abuse.

 

Considering how you use it, and that it is still running, I'd say you got a good one.

 

Other then the iron man 2" lift kit and rear suspension air bags it is pretty much stock. Been running 10 ply tires on it since the stock dunlops had catastrophic failures before 30,000 km's

 

Sounds like a pretty awesome one ton mini truck. What you really need is a Hilux.

 

And FYI, my job up here in Canada is an oilfield operator. I cruise the back roads of Northern BC on a daily basis checking oil and gas wells, pump jacks, compressors etc. Other guys also have Tacoma's and don't seem to have the problems I have had. 300,000 kms and all I did was the front brakes kinda stuff. So they say. So either I did get a bad one, or as quite often happens they are full of bull mud. Horse cacka.

 

You should post this in the turd gen section..I't might make them feel better.

 

Sorry but it kind of sounds like a relatively recreational lightweight 4x4, being subjected to 1-tonne abuse, to me. A lot of what you have listed is accelerated wear items .. stuff that is subjected to consistent overloads, or being used well out of engineered design parameters.

There is also a 2010-2014 4-cyl current catalytic mid-pipe recall .. have you re-looked at that? They are compensating owners who replaced in the past.

Toyota cuts corners - like all the rest - I have my own beef with Toyota with their mishandling of my LCA replacement at 48K KM's .. i live in the rust-belt of Ontario, and the pivot bolts were well seized into the bearing collars inside == LCA replacement at my cost, over my protest. Aside from that - my Tacoma has seen minimal maintenance requirements that can't be attributed to my driving style and demands on the vehicle. I'm now at 92k on a 2010 .. i'm definitely not anywhere offroad/rough roads are a necessity. That's my experience so far.

Normal wear and tear, with necessary maintenance required, is normal .. something(s) are either faulty from factory, or the truck isn't up to your demands - period. JMHO.

I've owned other pickups - it sounds like an F250 might be more able to meet your loading needs - if you should be fortunate enough to get a good one of those.

 

Sounds like a fun job!

 

My truck is not past it's max Gvwr. From 2004 - 2011 I used a 2004 dodge 3500 Cummins 4x4. When I retired that truck it had 485,000 kms of the same abuse. While it did have some problems, it was nowhere close to the "variety" of my Tacoma's problems. The dodge front end was rebuilt like 5 times. Rear brakes pads about 12 times. Rear rotors multiple times. Two 6 speed transmissions. I still have the truck and only have 575,000 kms on it now! Lol.

The funny part about comparing my old dodge diesel to the Tacoma for doing the same job is they both get the same fuel economy, but my dodge has about 4x the power of the Tacoma.

But after it is all said and done, I prefer to use the Tacoma for work. It's smaller, quieter, more comfortable, better in the snow and mud and cheaper and easier for me to repair.




I'm cheap and try and not abuse my equipment. It's what feeds my family!

 

I would say you aren't the normal Tacoma owner and with anything else, pushing a small truck to the limits so often, this seems to be expected. Not many people use are Tacoma to the extreme so often, I would say for you to replace it, as it's made you money, but you still enjoy it. Your 2 choices are fix or replace it and it sounds like you have answered that question in your post already. ~ Good luck!

 

Here's the truck in question. And a pic of the tools for the job in the back. Fire extinguisher, axe, shovels, SCBA, tire chains, recovery hitches, tow ropes, booster cables, pipe wrenches from 36" to 8" more basic hand tools then you can shake a stick at, kroil and brake kleen, power inverters, extension cords etc. lol. Maybe I do have to much stuff in there!

 

Did you move up to a 32" tire? 32" 10-ply would be the reason you are getting 16mpg. 4-banger just can't push that tire without sucking fuel. The extra weight doesn't help either.