First Time Truck owner with lot's of questions.

Never owned a truck and never did any kind of off-roading , just pick up my first truck and there is allot going on , I hate reading, but I am finally just making it to the user manual, page 1 lol..
look at some YouTube vids

S mode looks like manual to me, just easier?
Four-wheel drive got some understanding of it.
Crawl Control, Does this have to be in Four-wheel drive? 4H 4L?
Multi-Terrain Select MTS, Does this have to be in Four-wheel drive? 4H 4L?
And Rear Differential Lock , When do you use this?

Then I saw a video guy just mention real fast and it got my attention to Real Fast, If I don't use four-wheel drive, Use it once a month to keep stuff lubricated 4H or 4L? witch one or does it not matter?


Plus I am not mechanical type of guy, I don't know crap about cars Let alone my truck
love it, its a big purchase

I am a supernoob to all of this so please have some patience with me..

 

Welcome to TW

 

Welcome. Spend some time in your owner's manual. Everything you asked about and much more is in it. Like you said, it is a big purchase, so make some coffee and crack that book open. You will know more about your vehicle then most by the time you get through it.

2 caveats to the owner's manual- First, many people, my self included, would advise you change the oil at intervals lower than 10k miles. Second, get the transmission serviced. At regular intervals, even though the manual says it has "lifetime" fluid. A "lifetime" in this context seems to be somewhere between 125-150k miles. Shortly after, it will be new transmission time.

 

the thing is I dont drive much, and i will drive way less then 5000k miles in 6 months.

 

Don't run 4WD on pavement. People do it on straight-lines but I wouldn't.
You can 'bind-up' the system on pavement so avoid doing that.
I 'exercise' my 4WD Hi several times a year on dirt/gravel roads but I don't go crazy with it.

Change the oil and rotate the tires every 5,000 miles.

Take it easy the first 1000 miles - you're driving a great truck that can last 200,000 miles or more - and you'll look good in it too.

 

I changed my oil at 900 miles. I know that stated fact will likely attract an argument over whether that’s necessary, appropriate, a waste of time and money - but you only get one chance to do that first oil change early. It was pretty dirty when I did it.

I also changed the transfer case and front and rear diff fluids at 5,000 miles. The transfer case and front diff fluids were pretty good looking. The rear diff fluid was pretty dirty.

My last Tacoma lasted me 20 years and three weeks with no major problems other than the rusty frame. I wanted to give this new truck the same treatment.

Finally, if you’re interested in learning how to do those things (that is, maintaining your truck yourself), there are many helpful threads and people here. I greatly enjoy working on my own vehicles.

 

Welcome to tw. If you don't plan on using a truck with this many features, you could have save yourself a ton of money with something more basic. Imo, driving so little, seems by the time you know how to use one of these features your going to forget how it operates the next time its needed.

 

Geez guys don't turn this into a fucking oil change thread!
Newsflash! The world still goes round the sun if you change it at 200 or 20K miles!
Enjoy the truck and welcome to TW!
You won't use S mode much unless you tow a bunch.
Actually, the ECT button will make your transmission shift more like a manual!
The MTS and all that is used going hard off road. Normal offroading? Four high lol.
If you only drive it 5K a year change it once a year.
What else....
You can go up one tire size only before you rub.
Lifting or wheel spacers does not help with rubbing
Any brand oil and air filter is fine from your automotive store as long as it is 0W 20.
Any gasoline octane is fine.

The most important thing is... Have fun!

Oh, the very first mod most people get is a bed mat. Keeps things from sliding around back there.

 

I hate to be that guy....but I use S mode exclusively.

 

Don't forget to grease the spider joints on drive shafts front and rear.

 

Take the time to read your owners manual. And please don't do like other poor chaps and drive it into a bottomless mud hole

 

*The traction enhancements (Multi-Terrain-Select or A-TRAC; CRAWL; Rear Locker) only operate in Low Range 4WD and are only abvailable on the Off Road TRD and Pro TRD models of 4WD Tacomas.

*The other traction aids (TRAC, AUTO LDS or TRAC-OFF, VSC) are on all Tacomas since 2009 and work in 2WD or 4WD-High (maybe also in Low on newer moderls).

I have posted thousands of words on TW over the years in my efforts to both learn about them and then to teach about them. Time has been zipping by since I got my new 2010 Off Road 4x4 Tacoma, and others have made newer help aids especially for the changes with the Third Gen Tacomas, that I am still not 100% clear on.

You would use the extra, off road traction aids when the standard modes of 4WD (Hi or Lo) + TRAC OFF aren't enough:

**Low Range is for Max. power to climb or pull through deep mud, snow, etc., when the normal (high range) mode can't. With a far-lower gear range, you can come down steep grades without using the brakes much. By not using brakes, so the tires don't lock up, it keeps the rear of the truck from sliding sideways and possibly causing a roll-over. My model has DAS, which 'micro-brakes' the truck to prevent sliding sideways.

***MTS lets you select the type of terrain and the system adjusts the amount of wheel spin allowed for smoother driving off road. This is adjustable A-TRAC. ATRAC was made available on all Off Road 4x4 Tacomas in 2009.

****CRAWL is just a cruise control when you are creeping along or going up or down steep, rocky or rutted grades. All you need to do is steer. Only hit the brakes if you need to stop.

>>> Rear Locking Differential: The original traction aid above 4WD only, prevents one tire from spining while the opposide side tire does nothing (see My Cousin Vinny for explanation, lol). The locker removes the differential's action so both tire together rotate together. Do not try to turn on dry surfaces and only use for emergency stucks! The newer A-TRAC and MTS really eliminate the need for lockers since they use the ABS brake syatem with spin sensors to brake a tire that spins to match the rotation of the opposite tire with NO issues of difficulty of turning the truck, beyond what 4WD does.

One final word: The best, simple improvement for traction off road, resistance to rock punctures, and floatation on deep sand is to LOWER the AIR pressure in your tires! Get a good, electric air pump (that clips onto your battery), to refill the tires when you return to pavement. Lower about 1/3 for dirt road driving and about 2/3 for sand driving. The exact numbers will depend on the type of tires, the load of the truck, and the ground surface condition. For my truck running Hankook Dynapro ATM tires, my street pressure is 34 psi, my dirt road pressure is 22 psi, and my sand pressure range is 18 psi to 14 psi.

 

Time to learn. Between the manual and this site you can learn more than you imagined.

YouTube is ok. IF you have enough mechanical background (and you say you don't) to discern the good from the sketchy.

If you want to learn start with the basics. Operations of features, fluid types and intervals, maintenance of safety items.

 

I'm in the same boat. Most years, I put less then 2500 on my truck. Hopefully you have a garage to keep it in. I keep mine on a Noco 1 amp battery charger with the hood up (to minimize attractive concealed spaces for mice) and change the oil once a year. I also drive it for at least 30 min at least every other weekend while cycling the AC compressor, transfer case and other stuff. Keeps seals wet, gets some heat cycles in, keeps tires round, and dissuades mice from setting up shop. Come to think of it, it's a lot of time, money, and effort in a vehicle I rarely use, so I can preserve it and not use it in the future

 

Welcome to the forum Congratulations on the new truck.

Just about any question you may want to ask is in the owners manual. Start there, there is a great deal of information contained within, if you want further clarification you can search here.

You Tube is great -- with a caveat -- anyone can post videos, that doesn't mean they know what they are talking about. Without some mechanical knowledge it can be difficult to sort a competent person from a well spoken hack.

 

Congratulations on your new truck. You're going to get lots of opinions about maintenance around here. The owners manual gives a schedule for maintaining your truck.

 

Welcome to TW!

 

Pretty hard to grease them when these newer trucks have no zerks.

 

Didn't know they changed those! F**k it then, my bad!

 

Yeah, I guess they did away with them around 2020 as my truck hasn't any.