Honest opinion on the 3rd gens?

09-2015 build date I think, bought late October-2015
Sport DCab v6 4x4, see signature below for factory options

list of minor issues :
1. shifting before the TSB was annoying, we never use the ECT so got use the shift pattern w/o it. with ECT on, the shifting seems weird to me
1a. the cruise control would constantly shift down to 5/4 on slight incline or 10+ mph winds and would never shift back up to 5/6. after tsb everything seems normal, hell it shifts back up to top gear better than my 14 4runner after downshifting

2. front passenger dash squeaks when cold, resolved with sticking a toothpick in between the A pillar and dash
3. pickup from dead stop to 55mph, not as smooth as the 2nd gen v6 4.0, engine surges at around 4k rpm before shifting. after past 35-40 mph engine/transmission acts normal
4. wish the sport had homelink in the mirror like the 2012 we had
5. and as everyone always says, entune could have been better, connectivity issues is the biggest complaint. entune connection via Bluetooth is the biggest pita I have ever seen. better to use the BT connection directly that thru entune
6. front A-arm whistle, resolved with TSB
7. moonroof rattle, resolved with replacement foam


list of things great :
1. overall the truck was great compare to the 2012 TX TRD fully loaded vs the 2016 fully loaded sport
2. love the new interior, especially heated seats, creature comforts compared to our 2012
3. entune when it works is great
4. ride is way better than our 2012
5. since interior was the biggest priority, that had the biggest impact for us.
6. bed withstood abuse by accident. bad calculation on my part overloaded the composite bed by 900 lbs (1400 lbs total). 12x12x1 square cement pavers loaded in the bed and I used the wrong weight to calculate how many I could carry safely in the bed.

I would have to say on the whole its a great replacement for the 2012 Tacoma, but its not a ball out of the park compared to my other 12+ Toyota's. I would have to say since the early 1980's when I started with Toyota's this has been the worst quality Toyota I have ever had. nothing major but the little nit picks is what put it in last place. before this Tacoma, my worst Toyota was a 1984 Cressida that had a bad engine temp display on the dash that would randomly flat line. had to tap the display to get it to go back to actual temp reading.

but as things change we gave up the ghost last week and traded the Tacoma out for a 2018 Tundra Platinum (the only option at that level is whether you get a moonroof or not). we needed a bigger truck since we haul 1-2 dogs at a time in the back seat with someone back there also for hunting, and the Tacoma was cramped in that situation. the crew cab in the tundra resolved all our interior issues.

we didn't trade off the Tacoma because of issues with the truck, it was purely space constraints as the major deciding factor.

edit : the other minor issues helped with pushing us over the edge on switching. we wanted a tundra back in 2015 but the wife (primary driver) need a smaller truck to fit in the garage for our brutal winters. but she has started pheasant hunting the last 2 years and the space for dogs and friends pushed us.

and the wife refuses to put the dog in the bed, the dog rides in the cab with her. and its a liver GSP.

 

I'll pile on to the "I like it fine" group.

I have a DCSB TRD Off-Road with a v6 & 6 speed manual.

Positives:
- I tow a 6400lb 23' boat with it without trouble. The brakes are powerful, the chassis is stable.
- It hauls 2 dirt bikes in the bed with the tailgate down.
- It has a fantastic turning radius for maneuvering in tight places.
- The manual is well executed and nice to use, especially for a truck.
- With a manual, it's pretty quick. Not fast - but quick enough. I did not like the auto at all. I would not have purchased if stick wasn't an option.
- The OR's soft suspension is great on rural dirt roads washboarded up from gas industry water tankers as well as on all the crap asphalt here in PA.
- It is really good in snow, mud, game lands forest roads and pole lines, etc.
- I can take 4 other people and a pile of skis up an icy mountain road in a blizzard when Raptors dare not tread
- Fits in a normal garage with room to walk around it.

Negatives:
- No leather heated seats without tech package so I have the fart saver cloth. It's already showing signs of wear on the bolster closest to the door where you slide across getting in/out.
- The Nav/Entune system is restrictive and not well executed. (read that: junk) It works and sounds ok but I'll replace it with an Android head unit that lets me install whatever I want (waze, signal, google search) oh... say... riiiight after this xmas

Problems:
- My diff whines. It hasn't got louder in 15k miles and it may not be a problem. But it also might be. I have made sure I have a trail of complaining about it in paperwork so if it goes after the warranty I have a case. Not much else to do there except turn the radio up.
- I had a small but really annoying rattle in the A-pillar. I fixed it myself with some 3M adhesive backed foam. $3.

For me, the positives outweigh the negatives and it's a pleasant workhorse to spend time in. I don't really get emotionally attached to pickups. It does what I need or it doesn't. The Taco does that and it doesn't punish me too badly for it either financially or in ride comfort.

So, there you go. As always YMMV.

 

If you're an automotive engineer or mechanic like most people TW here seem to be I would stay away from the AT. If you have no mechanical savy I would get whatever fits your lifestyle and just drive the shit out of the vehicle. Get the better vehicle and get the MT for the better price point and avoid most "issues".

I've had the chirping high pressure fuel pump. Not resolved but this exact pump has same sound on other vehicles and it's NOT FAILING. Also had Diff "seepage" as it appeared but the fluid is not low. Simple level check and retorque. Hood adhesive sepperation that was fixed by Toyota and I believe newer hoods have better bracketing. I did have a few interior rattles I troubleshooted and fixed myself.

That's not really a review just what I've personally experienced w my vehicle. Keep in mind what ever you choose it's going to be a coin flip as to what "issues" yours will have with any make/model/company etc. To be honest you probably wouldn't even know about these issues if you didn't read Tacomaworld.

 

Got my first Taco on Memorial Day weekend 2016, TRD Off Road. It’s stock and now has 22k miles on it. The first 6 months were concerning with the trans issues. The first 1k miles it had rough down shifts but went away. It also had some gear searching thru 4-5-6. The upshifts/downshifts made no sense and non-existent at times without putting the pedal to the floor. Two TSBs later, the shifting issues are mostly gone. Edit: It does have the occasional diff howl.

The only issue now is there’s a significant drop off from 4th to 5th gears which is a result from the gearing. It will drop to 4th on the highway to get back up to speed. Some here on TW cannot stand it. I’m okay with it. Could it use a little more giddy-up? Yes, especially seeing what Ford has done with its turbos. But I bought a truck and not a mustang.

Love the styling inside and out. Quiet on the inside for a midsize truck. Great ride on or off road. Wish I got JBL. Today I can honestly say I love my Taco and don’t be afraid of 3rd gen bc of some of the haters.

 

The bull of those issues were on first production 2016s.

 

'17 Auto, DCSB Offroad V6, ,most commutes I hyper-mile and get average of 24-27mpg. Sure, it doesn't have low end hard punch but when it needs to it moves just fine. I still don't get what people are whining about. Having driven a lot of 2nd gen's (where my truck search started) the 3rd gen is quite a ways nicer for damn near the same money. 2nd gen people just cant let it go...

 

So, to sum up... noises are not actual problems. Some are normal and some are not. This forum has a lot of whiny c*nts who should have bought a Lexus. 3rd gens are sweet. Some of them break. All of them come with a warranty.

 

Had an 06 2nd gen and loved it. Loving my 2016 even more. No issues with mine at all.

G.

 

Pleasantly surprised how this thread turned out. Usually a question like that brings out the trolls.

Get a M/T!

 

I like my truck. BTW there are 3 engine types...at least when I bought mine in 2016.

The way I see it you have several options:

1. Buy a used Tacoma and pay the "almost new price".

2. Buy a Ford, Chevy or other brand and worry about bailing out of it before 100,000-150,000 miles or so.

3. Buy a new Taco.

 

Like many others on here, I too have had one of each generation Tacoma.

I think the tail end of the first gen was one of the best trucks ever built. They had that simple yet home run "90's Japanese interior" feel that was cozy, easy to operate, and held up well enough. And mechanically if you could kill a first gen, you were pretty good. I still miss the ground clearance, how shallow the bed was (SO easy to get stuff out of the side by reaching in) and how narrow it was, but I don't miss the valiant little 3.4L struggling on hills and such. That truck got 20-21mpg in my daily use. I got attached to that truck and I still miss it (sold it to my friend and he lets me drive it sometimes).

I had a 2005 4.0L manual shift TRD sport. Sweet low end power. Absolutely awesome grunt for a 6 cylinder and the gearing was bang on for daily use. I have never seen another Japanese vehicle with gearing that perfect for the power/weight/use. However, you needed a beefly leg for the clutch though. If I drove it off a cliff I might get 18.5mpg (pretty terrible, but it didn't change with my 1 size taller tires). This truck was much bigger than my first gen, which I didn't need, but it still fit in my garage so I was ok. The power was awesome, the storage space was awesome, the radio was abysmal, and it was kind of loud, but being 600lbs heavier than my first gen and quite a bit longer and wider, it rode a lot better and didn't wander all over in the wind.

I now have a 2017 TRD sport 6spd manual. I can't believe how many people were brave enough to buy the autos. The manual transmission usually creates the illusion of power where you wouldn't normally have any, but with this engine, the amount you depress the gas pedal is no indication of how much of the available power the engine will give you, and that is still killing me. You press the pedal down at a lower RPM and if you floor it or just touch it, it feels like the engine says "I will decide how fast we go now..." It is so frustrating. However! I think it is a combination of terrible throttle tuning (which can be fixed if I want to void my warranty) and strange gearing. Because, when I tow or haul, the mileage and drive dynamics don't change. It doesn't really get any slower (thankfully, because it's already a super dog). I've only had one car that was worse at passing, and that was my 1991 non turbo Saab. That aside, there is less storage space. Every compartment a 2nd gen had, is still there, but smaller, and the truck is bigger, wtf. I think it looks sweet and I do like the mileage (20 combined, I've had 25.4mpg stuck in 50mph line of traffic). I have had the rear leaf spring bushings and the front body mount replaced on TSB, and the dashboard still squeaks on the passenger side, so I'm going to fix that myself since the dealer can't seem to. It was also out of alignment when I took delivery which they fixed the next day. I have had my truck since April and it has 18,000 miles on it, about 50% of the time it is being used as a truck with stuff in the bed or on a trailer. Mechanically it's been fine, the diff hums a bit but that is common in the little Jap trucks, they always have and they never get worse. I have no trouble with the infotainment system. My older Android phone works fine with it.

So this 2017 is a nice truck, and if you like what it looks like, you should buy one. If you like what the 2nd gen looks like and don't mind a mileage hit, I'd totally get a 2nd gen though. You can't go wrong either way. But I would recommend the manual shift in either truck )

Keith

p.s. In response to the guy a few posts up. A $34,000 truck shouldn't come with a squeak in it off the showroom. Only after reasonable use

 

Congrats on a new vehicle! I've never purchased new either, and I'm thinking a Taco may be my first. Either that or a Jeep JKU. The negative comments on here give me pause, but I'm also reading a lot of good things in this thread as well, so there's hope yet, haha.

 

I love my 2017 TRD OR DCSB. It does great, I'm averaging around 20-21MPG on my commuting. Pulls my pop up camper fine. Does great offroad. The leaf springs squeak now but that after a lot of dusty road driving. I have the squeak in the passenger side dash speaker thing I need to fix. Piece of rubber wedged in there or felt or something should do it, no biggie.

I haven't had any other issues at all. It does everything I need it to. Yeah it takes a bit to get used to accessing where the power band is, but it will go if you need it to.

 

Interesting thread... I was just checking in to see what if anything else had happened to improve the 3rd gen v-6/autos because I really wanted one bad. So many nice upgrades and refinements and still *by far* the best looking small trucks out there.

I test drove one about a year ago and could not stand the tranny shifting down 2 gears on almost negligible inclines or winds. Granted I had only 15 miles or so test drive but it was obvious and a deal breaker for me coming from my 2009 Sport. I don't know if that truck had had the first TSB or not and it could not have had the most recent. But I decided to upgrade the head unit again in my 2009 to a nice Pioneer GPS with all the bells and whistles and drive it for another few years and see what uncle Toyota brings out then. Maybe I need to go back and see how the '18s drive on that same test loop.

 

Coming from a 2004, I agree the plastic beds suck.

 

My wife hates/refuses to drive my truck

 

I think i need a lift. I don't think she'd like climbing up. But then she'd probably like it up there.
Dammit!

 

My take on it is that it's not the kind of truck you want to dump gravel into. If you bought it for that, you're confused about different kinds of trucks. A Tacoma is not the droid you seek. Get you a Ram 2500 Diesel, or a Ford F250. Personally I'd go Dodge because you can still get a stick.

Anyway, just saying. Get a truck if you want a truck. Get a Tacoma if you want a badass all around Swiss Army knife of vehicles.

 

Coming from 11 years with a plastic bed, it hasn't been an issue. Occasionally I used my personal truck for work to access remote areas with the welder.

Lincoln classic + fuel + tools + unfriendly terrain.

Rode flat, but never an issue, multiple times a year. I regularly load 750lbs or so year round and power wise it drives just fine for what it is.