First Time Poster - Long Time Listener

Glad to be here. THis is a great forum, filled with knowledgeable folks with a love for Tacos.

Here's my truck's problem: last week the orange "triangle !" light came on when I started the engine but I thought it meant Door Ajar or something like that. I opened and closed the driver door and the light went out.

I bought my new-to-me 2019 Toyota Tacoma TRD Offroad 2WD V6-3.5L back in January at 121k miles - now it's at 127.5k. Love the truck!

I'll never buy another Ford again - 89 Bronco II, 2000 F-250 Lariat 7.3L, Aught 3 F150 Lariat 5.4L - every one of em was eventually Found On Road Dead. The F150 in particular was real uppity last year - ate $6500 in parts & labor before I threw in the towel.

But this monday June 2 I noticed my Taco's Triangle light wasn't turning off. Hmmm. Then the dash message gave me "Maintenance Required" (oh cr*p). So when I got home, I plugged in my code reader and zero codes came up. So then I got the bright idea to see if it's a batt or alternator. I got my multimeter and put the black & red needles onto the batt posts with the engine off. I got 12.8v. Engine on at low idle - nothing on, no headlights, no AC - I got 13.75v.

I am not familiar enough with my truck yet to know if the alternator is 100A or the high output 130A.

Y'all are the experts. What are my next steps here? From several YouTube videos I can see a new alternator is going to be real fun for access, compared to an F250 alternator.

One last thing - I've heard where some newer cars will have a Maintenance Required message come on, but it's only indicating a recommended service be performed by the dealership (and only the dealership can turn the dang light off after dinging you $5 Hundy for an oil & filter change, and lube the zerk fittings.)


p.s. I'm a gringo who married into a Tex-Mex family and they nicknamed me Ben Decko - they tell me it's a term of respect and endearment!

 

That's your reminder to change the oil. It comes on 5k miles after being reset. At 4.5k, it comes on and can be turned off with the back arrow on the steering wheel.

edit: Not sure why it's on at 6.5k, unless you got an oil change right after you bought it.

 

Check out this video.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/1O56nogTTHI

 

That's good!

You can reset. When you aren't driving, use the right arrow on the steering wheel to access the maintenance (or is it setup?) screen of the center info panel. There's an option there to reset the maintenance light.

edit: Too late...

 

This!

 

All a y'all - thanks for being kind to a dumba$$. I still hain't cracked the spine of the Owners Manual but I did a little research on the Internets here and found it was a re-set issue. And yes, I got my mileage wrong - I bought it from the stealership at 122.5k, so the light coming on now is timely.

Wow; I gotta say after owning dinosaur technology trucks since 1989, all these bells & whistles on my Taco are amazing. But then again my WW2 dad would just go into Grandpa Simpson Mode and say, "dammit! Back in my day our technology was two Dixie Cups and a piece of string and we were damn glad to have it!" And he would also say "it's just more $h!t to go wrong! Never let the pursuit of perfection get in the way of Good Enuff!"

As for the oil change, I ordered a MotiveX oil cap wrench from Scamazon as well as a billet aluminum oil cap to replace the plastic POS that's on there now. I went with NAPA Gold oil filters. I'm fixing to use 5W-20 instead of that too-thin 0W-20 stuff that's recco'd for Up North. I live in the Dirty South and it gets sauna-hot down here in my redneck of the woods.

I like to do as much normal maint as I can myself. Any tips on what to expect, look for, what tools to get etc are much appreciated.

Happy Wednesday!
Ben Decko

 

As you are still becoming familiar with the new-to-you Tacoma, check out this thread. Welcome to TW.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/tips-and-tricks-on-the-3rd-gen-tacoma.411911/

 

Welcome to the forum

At your mileage & years it would be a good idea to change all the fluids including the brake and coolant.

None of these services are really difficult, just use your head and take your time.

With your truck being 2WD that makes things simpler, you can use any fluids that meet published specifications.

I prefer to use the genuine Toyota coolant, the dealer sells it at a reasonable cost, a full service takes 2 gallons.

 

When you change the oil make sure you get the O ring in the correct grove.
Put oil on your finger and lightly coat the threads and exposed part of the O ring on the cap.
Tighten to 18ft Lbs. Mine bottoms out right at that.
PIA changing the oil on 3rd gen's!

 

Change all the fluids is my overall suggestion. You don't know what is there and if it has even been done; a good way to become intimate with your vehicle. There are lots of threads on each of the fluids.

I would change the -20 to -30 weight, not the lower from 0- to 5- regarding the engine oil, or both to 5-30. Nothing wrong with the Toyota oil filters either. No need to go with something else, and they are cheap too; $4 to $5 on the internet in quantity; even Walmart has them.

As far as your alternator - what is the value of the Alternator Fuse in the Engine fuse box? That will be a good indicator of what you have.

 

Ben Decko...
My favorite movie.
https://youtu.be/AxFxnk4OITs?si=5kZl-NFsdRBRWDAm

 

Welcome to TW!

 

I have to say that buying a used vehicle from that particular dealership wasn't too bad of an experience.

They completely detailed the outside, inside and engine. They also put on new tires, brake pads. The oil and filter has just been changed as was the bubblegum coolant. But they forgot to burp the coolant system - I had to add a quart of RTU when we drove home 2-1/2 hours from the dealership.

The only things I've done so far are:
*Removed plastic hardcover one piece tonneau and replaced it with a metal three piece folding tonneau from VEVOR. (What's the policy here on Buy/Sell/Trade? - the one piece tonneau it came with retails for $1300-$1500, looks new, but I'll sell it for half that plus shipping) It's a Truck Hero Undercover tonneau. DM me if you want pics.
*I bought a three pack of orange LED grill lights from Walmart for $19. Makes it look mean
*I bought seat covers for the front and back since the truck had cloth seats.
*I got a plastic insert for the console lid. Fits perfectly. I haven't stored any crap in it yet.
*I used the RainX windshield repair kit to repair a couple chips in the windshield.
*I lowered the spare tire, hosed all the crap off it, pumped it up to normal 50psi, flipped and winched back up, stem valve side down.
*Shoved a trailer hitch into the receiver, removed the ball and used big honking zip ties to mount a real alligator head onto it.
*Bought a 12 pack of cheap plastic alligators from Scamazon, put four on my dash as a sort of Louisiana FU to the Jeep Duck dorks and I have placed the remaining 8 gators on the windshields of local worthy Taco trucks I've seen around.
*I went to Home Despot and bought a rubber industrial fatigue mat and put it in the upper right corner of the bed. It keeps my three heavy duty tote bins filled with tools and crap from sliding around.
*I kayak fish and I'm an old fart so loading my yak ain't getting any easier. I put a Harken pulley in the upper left corner then put a line thru it with a brass clip to act as a half-baked come-along to pull my yak up snug
*I bought a bed extender from Harbour Freight and glued reflectors on its sides and back. I only use it when transporting the yak. I got it a locking hitch pin just because.
*I raised the front of the front seats by 1-1/2" and the rear of the front seats by a 1/2". Now the slope of the seats is much more comfortable for long trips. I got the spacers only after a long drive to San Antone and when we crawled out at BUC-EE'S, my bony old behind was aching.
*I got the paint code off the doorsill and bought a spray can of Duplicolor to do a quick spray on the front right corner where the previous owner had left a whiskey-kiss on it after driving home from the #6 Barn Dance.
*Installed the fwd/backward dashcam left from my F150.

I may have missed a few things. I'll try to take pics and post em here.

 

OK, you and your truck are already intimate.

Do change the rear differential and transmission fluids. The 50 psi in the spare will have you bouncing around if you ever need it. Oh, look at the cabin air filter too.

 

Rear Diff: I might could put an aftermarket billet diff cover on it. While I'm at it, new diff fluid plus the skunk juice additive.

Tire PSI: I always have all my tires inflated to 1-2 psi below max pressure listed on the sidewalls. Spares sidewall psi says 51.

Cabin Air Filter: honestly I'm too lazy to change it. And I like to smell my own farts.

Air Filter: I replaced it with same flat-shape filter but it's a reusable K&N.

 

Well I did the oil & filter change. Happy to report it went well. First, NO SKID PLATE! I don't know if it's cuz my year & model Taco didn't come with a skid plate or if the previous owner removed it I removed the plastic oil filter cap and replaced the filter with a NAPA Gold and an aftermarket housing from ROVIKE. The oil filter cap wrench from MotivX worked great. One of the nice things is that El Taco is high enough off the ground I didn't need to get out my jackstands and trolleyjack. My fat ass was skinny enough to wriggle under there.

Six quarts of 5W-20 full synthetic Castrol and a little Lagniappe and I was done.

I know y'all want Taco Porn so I took a few pics of the few minimal mods I have done. NOTE: none of these pics were "staged" as I am not an influencer seeking clicks. Rather, I'm under the influence.

VEVOR Tri-Folding Metal Tonneau ($250?). Also rubber nonskid mat from Home Despot. Totes are from Home Despot too.


Orange accent LEDs - 19 bucks WalMart


Rough Country Front Seat Riser Kit - $95 Amazon - NOTE : I do not recco using the spacers for the rear of the front seats. It lifts the seat too darn high.


Back Seat Covers - they're dirty cuz our Belgian Malinois rides back there.


Front Seat Covers - the front covers went on much easier than the back covers. Same brand covers I had in my F150. They're okay but not great.


Real Alligator head I got from the Taxidermy Man. Makes the hitch look nice and it goes with the assorted alligators I have on the dashboard as a FU to the Jeep Duck cucks.


El Taco needs a bath & wax real bad otherwise I would have posted pic of the whole truck.

Does anyone know of a site that sells aftermarket billet differential covers? Thanks!

 

^^^^^
Looks like you are getting things done.

The Tacoma uses a removable third member rear differential like a 9" Ford, the cover is welded on.

 

Earlier today, I was pumping gas into El Taco at Sams today and said to myself what the hell, spring 7 clams for a car wash. Sure enough, it's raining buckets here now. So predictable.....

 

"Murphy" lurks around the car wash.

 

Since you brought up "Pumping Gas" am sure you know after the pump handle clicks of do not stand there and keep clicking it to get more gas in the tank. Does damage to some canister gizmo.