First Toyota Tacoma and I am starting to HATE it

I bought my first and only 2017 Toyota Tacoma SR Utility package about 9 months ago.. and I am really starting to not like this truck..
I bought the truck with the 100k warranty and paid out the door $28k

I am coming from owning MANY Ford trucks two 2006 F-150's and one 2005 F-250 which I found to be quite comfortable and solid trucks but just a fortune to maintain and fill up with gas so I decided to give the Tacoma a try because I know they have a very reliable background

Firstly: (I didn't know this prior to purchase) but the truck does not come with cruise control... I literally had no idea any NEW car or truck wouldn't include a basic feature like cruise control..
Secondly: the truck doesn't come with keyless entry despite having automatic locks...
Thirdly: the shifting is WONKY to say the least.. sometimes going up slight hills the truck will SLAM into a lower gear with quite a jolt and it feels almost as if the transmission is already faulty with 9000 miles on it..
Fourthly: The steering wheel and brake pedal vibrate/shake when I apply the brakes going more than 70 mph... it's been like this since I got the truck with 4 miles on it...
Fifthly: there is a random vibration noise coming from the glove box area... I have removed everything from my truck trying to pin point where this noise is coming from and it is obvious it is coming from the internals of the dash unit... its a small noise that fluctuates in loudness but if I am just trying to have some silence in my truck it can get extremely annoying...

I REALLY want to like this truck because it looks so damn cool and its pretty comfortable and functional despite the lack of basic functions...

I've already brought up the noise, vibration, and shifting issues when I brought the truck in for the first service and they said they didnt notice anything I pointed out...

This is the first brand new truck I have purchased and I am starting to HATE it when I compare it to all the used cars/trucks I have owned in the past

Does anyone have any info or anything that will put my mind at ease haha? Kind of going crazy over this expensive disappointment of a truck.

 

Are you hating your utility so you can say you were the first person to hate a utility? Is that what’s happening here?


That dashboard area sound can be fixed, there’s a thread around here somewhere. You may have glazed your brakes. And I can’t help you with the auto trans. Nobody can.

 

Few have complained about the shifting issue. I haven't noticed it on my '17. Hope you get that figured out.

Vibration could be warped discs. If you've done a lot of hard braking, it could've caused disc "warping" (not really warping, but that's the most common lingo).

Rattles.....not sure on that, either. It would drive me insane, too.

The first two....don't know what to tell you. It was clearly in the description of that specific model. Easy enough to add on, though.

 

Well you did buy the lowest version so that's one of the reasons why it's missing cruise control but yeah I do think it should be standard in all vehicles.

People have some complains about the transmission going up and down to often but not to the extent of "SLAMMING" like it's gonna break, it it's that bad then it could be faulty.

Vibration when braking could be that the rotors are warped, can happen if you drive and brake a lot on hills, I got mine replaced at around 15k when I had a 2016 sr.

There is a thread in here with a mod to add cruise control for very cheap:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2016-2017-cruise-control-mod.400854/

Also try driving in ECT PWR mode and see if it gets better during highway driving, if not then put it in S5 and along ect and see how you like it.

 

For the issues you're experiencing, take it in and have them look it over. Search here on TW for more info.

For the cruise and keyless, you can do mod's to gain these features, but this is something you should have checked when you bought it, but I know that sucks to hear.

 

Add cruise control, pretty simple to do...as far as the other stuff goes you have a warranty for a reason. Bring it to the dealer.

 

1 and 2 are features you would need to have purchased an SR5 to get and these would have been clearly outlined in your features and noticeable on a test drive. Sadly the SR utility package is generally used as a work or fleet truck by many where bells and whistles are unnecessary and folks want to keep costs to a minimum. Still a great truck but you forgo some creature comforts at that price.
3 is a characteristic of the truck, which many of us don't like - there are options to help address this that vary in price and function. Shift Sense Pro helps with the shifting from what i've heard and can be found on the forum.
4 may be related to an open TSB as some folks have either had issues with out of round drums on the rear or misaligned driveshaft that would be covered under warranty.
5 no clue on this one, some have found the rattle to be in the dash around the tweeters (if your SR has them?) but otherwise it would simply be trial and error to figure it out and fix it but any rattles ARE fixable once you find them...

Good luck!

 

Ain’t even Friday yet

 

Welcome to TW. Here's a couple of links you might want to read. Hopefully the dealer will resolve your vibration issues

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...d-rattle-and-vibration-noise-resolved.462969/

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2016-2017-cruise-control-mod.400854/page-11#post-16687872

 

The transmission has what I call 'three modes'. There's the 'grampa mode'. That's when you put it in drive and forget about it. You may find that in grampa mode it tends to hunt for gears at certain speeds and load ranges. This is fixed simply by putting the transmission into 'sport mode' enabling you to lock out the sixth gear. (or whatever gear you set it at). The third mode is the fun mode. That's when you set the ECT Power button to 'on'. I find the transmission works fine but it does require a little more user input than other vehicles out there. Also, I don't agree that the engine is under-powered. It has plenty of power as long as you understand that it needs more RPM's to deliver that power. Don't be afraid to rev it up!

 

Keyword: UTILITY Package

These were meant to be used as fleet vehicles where you wouldn't need creature comforts like cruise control, power seats, tilt steering, etc.

 

Actually, you can get those features on an SR. Just add the Convenience Pkg for $230.

 

And another impulse buyer bites the dust.

Had any long trips yet? Guessing leg numbness will be up on the list soon.

How about intermittent wipers? Did it come with those?

 

Only a matter of time. But before I exit. Just want to add why someone buys a 30k vehicle blindly... You have no one to blame but yourself. Take some responsibility and don't blame Toyota.

 

Cool story but you bought the basic model. My tacoma has push start, keyless entry cruise etc etc. i have no vibe issues. If you like the tacoma trade in for a sport or if u go off road an off road. Not hard to trade a car in if you hate it that much.

 

Learn something new every day, and honestly that's not a bad deal either!

 

OR if he's locked into that <$30k price range, buy a 2014-2015 TRD and call it a day for the same coin...

 

Sounds like it's operating as designed to me. I'm sorry but you're not the only unhappy one around here. best bet is to take it to the dealership and prepare to become even more pissed off. On the bright side it's very reliable and it'll run and make you miserable for as long as you own it with proper maintenance.