Future Tacoma Improvements

Please school me, auto wipers, do they turn on when the windshield gets wet?

Oh and speaking of auto stuff, they cold have had an auto lights setting.

 

Yes, correct. Rain sensor on windshield turns them on and off and adjusts speed of delay. Works really well.

I have an auto lights setting in my truck.

 

k, thats what i thought. did the auto lights come because of limited or was it something that came with one of the tech packages that I wouldn't get?

 

It's in the tech package.

Limited here is a little different than US version. For instance, you can't get JBL in anything but the Limited, not even as an option. Plus oval tube steps instead of the tonneau, and different wheels (we have Sport wheels). A few other things that come with all models here, like tow packages on all 4x4's and floor mats (both sets).

 

Re: Drum brakes

I am a retired mechanical engineer (MSME MIT '68) who worked in machinery design and manufacturing from the late 60s through the mid 80s. There is nothing inherent in the materials, manufacture, or assembly of a drum brake system that would make it any less expensive to produce as compared to a disc system--in fact I would not be surprised to find that casting and machining a drum costs more than making a disc; and that final assembly costs for a drum brake are higher that that of a disc assembly...

 

As a mechanical engineer myself. I dont disagree with you. BUT.... in the end you and I (the consumer) pays that extra cost to produce the drum brakes. Toyota is out nothing.

Now, R&D (research and development, for those of you not in the design world) for Toyota to change a system to something different?... thats money Toyota wont get back.

So yeah, it still makes sense financially for Toyota to "keep on keeping on."

 

I had a professor years ago (

$474 Internal Combustion Engine Fundamentals

John B. Heywood) who told us not use the word "but" unless you mean it; as it negates everything you said prior to using it.

That my "new-to-me" '09 has drum brakes on the ass-end was not even close to a deal breaker for me...

 

How about just improving Q/C? There seem to be a lot of serious issues going on with the 3rd gen, some of which should have been caught much earlier.

 

I thought I saw a utube vid on a Toyota rep explaining why they stayed with the drum instead of going with discs in the rear. Vid was about demo on the crawl control.

 

okay.. fine... you were wrong because you didn't factor in all variables. better?

 

Other Toyotas have crawl control and rear discs.

 

fwiw, my 16 sr5 has a temp display.

 

my 17 has the outside temp on my display

 

my stock sr5 toyo opencountry tires break loose in the rain without having to press any buttons, especially on any sort of an incline.

 

I just got used to shutting that stuff off with my 4 banger 09, the last month I had it, I destroyed the tires, in fact had a rock sticking out in one, smoothed that out in no time.

 

We all have our little complaints.

But one thing for sure we can't complain about is our RESALE VALUE !! Best in the industry!!

 

Retired ME here also, and I used to think this was the case ... but with multi-piston calipers and vented rotors, plus the whole e-brake issue, it may be possible for drums to be cheaper. Plus there's the possibility that if the Gen 3 brakes are identical to the Gen 2 brakes, then the tooling and design costs are fully amortized, and that helped pay for the TRD GoPro mount. When GoPro goes belly up and our Tacos are still going strong, that piece of plastic will be a conversation piece.