Hi from Orlando

Greetings fellow tacos! My name is Brian, and I'm a 25 year old financial analyst from Orlando, Fl. Last week my 1994 Mazda B2300 beater finally died with 219K miles, so I bit the bullet and bought an '06 Prerunner SR5 doublecab. My roomate has a 4runner and I've always though the tacoma was great looking truck and thanks to top gear I know they're tough as nails. It has just over 35,000 miles and is still under factory warranty. That being said, I've noticed a couple things that I think I want to have the dealer look at before I go over 36,000:

1. I've noticed all exterior painted plastic parts (overfenders and front bumper) have rediculous orange peel. To the point of not even being glossy. I saw the TSB about it, but is this really an issue I can walk in to the dealership and have them cover? It's obvious there's a asthetic problem, but I've always owned Mazdas in the past and their service centers would laugh at covering something like that under warranty.

2. This is my first automatic transmission vehicle (of course, I've driven tons of other AT's), but I've noticed what seems to be a few oddities in the way the truck shifts. Upshifting from first from a stop happens extremely early (within 5 mph). There is also what feels like a thunk(?) when the truck first starts to move. I've had other cars that did some sort of ABS check at about 7mph, but this seems different as it occurs every time I move from a stop and before my foot is completely off the brake pedal. Also, I noticed that at light acceleration on an upwards incline, the transmission will hunt for a gear briefly. These issues are all very minor and my only concern is that these issues will effect the long-term life of the transmission.

3. I plan to do some towing with the truck as well, and I do not have the factory tow package. I will be towing two jetskis and occasionally a small boat, a car, or similar load. I've read the towing guide on here (which was awesome!) and am also aware of the rear suspension TSB. I do not know if this has been performed, but judging by the condition of the truck, it has never been used for hauling any heavy loads. Is there a way I can check for this, or are there some magic words I can use at the dealer to encourage them to perform it? I've got less 1000 miles left of the warranty, and I doubt I'll have time to haul a load and see if I experience the symptoms.

Other than that I absolutely love this truck! I can't keep myself from modifying cars, so I'm getting some ideas of what I can do with the tacoma. I've already ordered some parts to upgrade the audio system, and I plan to eventually fab a panel to mount a large touchscreen in the dash to use with a car pc setup. I will document this to the best of my ability to help out the rest of the community. Looking forward to talking with some of you!

 

Hi, welcome to TW. As far as the suspension TSB goes, check the rear leaf springs. If there are 3 leafs, the TSB has not been done. They install new leaf spring assemblies that are 4 leafs. If the truck is not a TRD, they will also install 4 new bilstein shocks. There is a thread on here describing how to go about getting it approved. Since you're at 35000 miles, you should look into it asap. Sometimes the dealer will try to stall for a bit. It's definately worth having it done, the truck will ride nicer and handle better. As far as the tranny goes, I can;t give you any advice, but there are some members here who are very good with those things. Good luck.

 

Welcome!

 

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Welcome to TW!

 

Welcome to TW

 

Thanks for the swift replies! Looks like it's 3 leaves for me. I found some good threads on convincing the dealer to do it without hassle, so I'll call a dealer this week.

 

Lots of great info here.Welcome to TW.

 

Welcome to TW!

 

I had the rear TSB done on mine a while back at David Maus in Sanford. They did it wrong the first, long story there, but after a week convincing them that it was wrong they fixed it right up. They were very sorry for messing it up though.

 

That's a bit of a hike for me, but I'll give them a call. I've only got 785 miles left before I'm out of warranty lol. Thanks for the heads up!

 

I actually had to go to Toyota of Orlando to ask them if it was done wrong and they said yes it was. They were going to fix it right for me, but Maus finally came through for me. So maybe Toy of Orlando can help ya.