Hello! Potential new owner worries

Just business - my main office commute is 120 miles roundtrip - usually 7 days a week.

We own a small horse farm - we are out in a small town -where it is 45-60 miles to a real city. My 'offroad' time, is not hard core by any means, but rather around pastures and around the river area/mud and river rock (our farm is boarded by a small river).

 

As for me, Took my Taco for a 1200 mile trip and after all said and done, the transmission issues went away and drive as expected. I've heard once you drive it for a while and it learns your driving style, it will adjust.

 

Ive been very happy with my 2018. But it isnt a landcruiser, and my next 4x4 will be an 80 or a 100 series.

Edited to add, have 82k miles on a 2018 with around 40k miles on 35s and 5.29s

 

Gotcha. I was wondering. I just hit a 70 mile round trip daily commute with my recent move. Can't imagine tacking on another 50 miles. I know what you mean by "offroad" we have a small farm in TX with similar obstacles. Buddy of mine will burn a new truck regardless of brand in about 14 months with 100k+ dirt road and offroad miles getting to the wells he services. Ford, Ram, Chevy, Toyota, they all fail him.

 

Yes…and make sure to not change the oil!

 

I'll be the contrarian in this thread and say the AT transmission tuning really really bugged me. I seriously considered cutting my losses and selling after a year of ownership. If a tree fell on my truck tonight I would seriously look at the competition.

That said with the aftermarket tuning I have done I am now really happy with my truck's performance.

 

Wow teuck burned in 100k miles!
We use for farm as well but our usage might be not be hardcore as your friends farm

 

WOW that MUST be harsh, glad that's not me - I have a good friend that puts a lot of off road miles too - 450-500K on his last Tundra...

 

To be clear is more than 100k at time of death, I think it is in the 200-250k range. Just remember it is over 100k in actual off road. Miles and miles of dirt/rock roads. He could probably drive slower and save the truck longer, but time is money and the more wells he services the more money to make and the area he services is pretty large. I believe his last failure was the front knuckle gave out on the freeway on a Chevy. Lost the front tire and the subsequent damage was enough to total it and get another. Mostly for him I think it has been transmissions grenading.

Not to keep derailing this thread though. The Tacoma is fantastic IMO.

 

1. Automatic tranny.
   
2. Manual tranny

 

Depends on what you value. My wife never noticed anything wrong with the automatic Tacoma. Me personally, I can tell it's pretty bad, even after the factory reflash they did on it. Most people won't notice much wrong with it day to day driving is my guess.

But if you do go driving it back to back with similar vehicles in the segment you will notice quite a bit of difference in how other trucks shift and drive.

 

I’ve had both, 2016 DC-TRD/OR auto, and 2021 DC-TRD/OR manual. There is nothing wrong with the auto, it functions fine and works as intended, it just has some oddities. My biggest gripe was driving at highway speeds in cruise control, especially in hilly areas or towing. The automatic shifts down into 4th to get up hills and then just stays there even after cresting the incline and sometimes for miles afterwards. You have to either turn of cruise and blip the throttle or let it stay in 4th. Same story when towing. Nothing “wrong” with this, just annoying. It bothered me so much in Wyoming (lots of hills/mountains/elevation/wind...) that I sold it to my parents (doesn’t bother my mom at all) and bought a 2017 4runner with the 5 speed auto and it was a night and day difference in performance, no issues at all. Eventually I made my way back to a Taco, and would never buy another auto so long as the manual is offered.

 

I Bought my ‘17 TRD DCLB brand new, never sat in a 3rd Gen, never drove a Tacoma. The DCLB chassis was a need over the want of the manual. No regrets.

 

There goes lunch...

 

Purchase or lease - you WILL be driving the thing for whatever period you have it in your hands... (I do not see how that distinction is relevant...)

I have no comments on the Tacoma A/T-specific habits (I've never driven one) and you are getting some good feedback on that... But I do prefer a manual gearbox on anything over an A/T. I do not enjoy driving any A/T - they annoy me.

My point is that if you have the (increasingly rare) ability to get, and drive a manual, why would you not? It is much more engaging on anything - especially on a 4x4. And apparently particularly on the Tacomas.

I really enjoy driving the Taco - no, it is not fast. But it entertaining and surprisingly good / comfy on long trips. (just did 1,700 miles during spring break)... it just floats over bad pavement / dirt tracks.

 

You had me at manual transmission. To be honest if the manual wasn't offered I would not be driving a tacoma right now. Also with manuals being a dying breed it's nice to enjoy it while we can.

 

Well... I did it… 2021 DoubleCab Tacoma TRD Offroad.



They paid me more for my Civic Si than I bought it for 9 months ago.

The truck fit me really nicely. Seat didn’t put pressure on my tailbone at all (a problem with the Civic seats) and I had zero issues with the driving position. The automatic transmission seemed fine to me. It drove really nice and solidly.

They had no manuals on the lot. I also looked at an SR5 and TRD Sport, as well as scrolling through their incoming allocation. This one was the best fit.

I feel great about the swap. Remind me I said that when gas prices spike.

 

What did you think from test driving them?

 

I haven't had any AT issues in 6 months.

I do "have issues" with the AT, but it's to do with it being indecisive garbage, not from any defect.

 

Nice and congrats!