I could use a little re assurance

Hi Guys, I could use a little re assurance here. I'll try and keep it short. I have been a GMC guy for the last 10yrs and Chevy before that. My Sierra didn't owe me a dime, I loved that truck. As I used to say 'it was like driving my couch". I would have kept that truck another few years, but my thinking was it was ten years old, and my wife's car was just paid off so I'm trying to leap frog car payments. Plus there was a lot of rust underneath and I was getting some rattle noises I never had before going over a bumpy road Just got a new 2015 Tacoma double cab, first coming a from a full size seems to be a smooth transition. The big hurdle for me was buying Non-American, I don't want to get in to one of those debates thank you. Having those two issues settled on my own, I've had my eye on the Tacoma's for a few years, I've always thought they were sharp. Here's where I could some re assurance. Are Toyotas STILL as good and reliable as from what I've been hearing all these years or have they like a lot of corporations slacked off on quality and living off their past reputation, and second with my new 2015 is the rusting out of frames a non issue now? I guy I work with had his frame replaced a few years ago, and that always stuck in the back of my mind. Now folks I'll be the first to admit I should have done this research before I bought the truck, but I'm lousy at buying trucks. You put a shiny new truck in front of me and I'm already looking for a place to sign on the dotted line. Thank you in advance guys, and be well.

 

I still think they are reliable, BUT they are more complex. My opinion is there will always be small issues with thing s like air bag sensors and check engine lights. As for engines, transmissions, axles and many other hard ware items, you can plan on 300000 miles and 10 years.

With that said, we also have the power of the internet. With just this site alone, a person should be able solve 90% of the small issues I listed above.

I have no formal Toyota repair training, but in the last 20 years I have only had to take any of my Toyota vehicles to the dealer 3 times for things I could not figure out myself. Of course there is the random recalls, but I don't count anything that costs 0 dollars.

In addition, my last 5 Toyota trucks were wrecks that i bought without being able to hear any of them run. Some people go to the casino to gamble, I buy a wrecked Toyota that I have no idea what could be wrong with the engines. Batting 1000 so far.

 

Yep............. 'cause what are you gonna do if you don't like the answers you get? Lay awake at night wondering what to do?

Now moving on, I think you'll be just fine. If you care for it in the same way as you did the GM products (whether that was good or bad) at the end of 10 years you'll have a much better truck than the GM (even if you still liked it)

Reassurance given.

 

If I were you I'd treat the frame from the get go - the first gens were NG - the 2nd gens R NG and by the time we know if the 2015's R good or not it will be too late. They didn't learn their lesson in the last 15 year - from my own experience so why believe they have learned in now.

 

Morning Jake
I was also a huge GM fan, I had 4 of their pickups in a row, I'm 44 years old so yeah my fist was a 1989 Stepside. Followed by a 1 ton regular cab which fell apart on me. Then an extended card 3/4 ton, milage was high around 150000 miles, basically motor was shot. Last one I had was a 2001 1/2 ton meh it was ok. Anyway my wife had my look at Toyotas in 2006 my first was an 2007 FJ TRD, now I have a 2013 TRD Sport. I too had concerns going back to the FJ but, a big BUT the thing was friggin awesome! The only reason why I traded it was because the SUV platform didn't really work for me so I that's where the Tacoma comes in. Truth be told? I don't EVER want to by another truck besides a Tacoma. Honestly there are a few issues, mind you nothing major. A couple of rattles, that I tracked down and fixed, and the windshield whistle that really has happened once maybe twice. That for me is not a big deal at all, and truly those were all the problems I have had. I'm looking at almost 52000 miles on my Taco with no problems. I feel strongly about my truck, yes used every day about 80 miles round trip for work mixed highway and secondary roads. I live in Southern New Jersey so yeah we have salt on the roads for winter, ok no problem I bought a pressure washer and spray it down the undercarriage every once and a while. Honestly? Haven't seen a dam thing to worry about, and yeah the truck is parked outside all tear long. The hurdle of buying non American? Well there are a shitload of parts on our trucks that are made here. Hell three out of 4 of my GM pickups were Canadian made.
Personally I don't see an issue with our generation Taco, enjoy it, mod it, use it! Puts a smile on my face every time I get into my pickup

 

Another longtime GM owner that made the switch.

I’m at 46500km (drove off the lot at 6km) the more I dive it the more I like it. It seems to be getting better with age if that makes any sense.

Few minor issues all dealt with under warranty, less than a handful. Air intake rattles when it’s cold but goes away soon as the truck warms up (they can’t seem to fix this, and it SO very common LOL), door striker on the passenger side had to be replaced, like I said minor stuff. Although one issue in particular rubbed me the wrong way. Intermediate steering shaft rattle (there is a TSB(Technical Service Bulletin) for it) it was nothing that would seriously affect the truck at all and you would not even realize you had an issue unless you took the truck into the rough stuff. But Toyota knew about this issue back in 2010 and the faulty part was still showing up in trucks in 2012. Sounds like something right out of the GM playbook does it not? That’s why it irked me, too many BS experiences with GM. It was dealt with under warranty and problem solved.

We use a lot of salt on the roads here, I undercoated my truck soon as it came off the lot. Do so every year. So far the frame is perfect and don’t baby it by washing it through the winter, constant pressure washing kind defeats the purpose of good undercoating IMO.

Undercoat it, take care of the general maintenance and the truck will keep you smiling Oh yes, truck is great off road, enjoy!

 

Lots of good stuff written already.

But dont sweat the made in america thing. Most Tacomas are made here, with american made parts and put together by american hands, this money then gets circulated into our economy. Toyota is just as american as GM and Ford.

 

And look at the NHTSA AALA reports. A 2015 Sierra is 45% American parts content. A 2015 Tacoma is 60%.

Now, if you were comparing an F150's "American-ness", that's an entirely different ball game.

 

Long time GM buyer here. Still own a Corvette and a Yukon. Both are great cars.

Earlier this year I traded my 2008 GMC Sierra SLT Z71 4x4 for a new Tacoma. The GMC had 79864 miles on it and had the engine worked on twice AFTER my 5 year 100,000 mile warranty was out. The last time all 8 pistons and rings had to be replaced because of carbon build up from the Active Fuel Management system. I really loved this truck which was loaded with all the options I wanted. But this lack of durability drove me from GM to Toyota. The fact that my son has over 200,000 trouble free miles on his 2002 Tundra was the clincher.

My Tacoma was built in San Antonia, Texas so in that sense it is American built by American workers. Yes I know profits go to Japan, but the Big 3 American auto manufacturers continue to lag behind the Japanese companies in overall quality in my opinion.

So far I am very happy with my 2015 TRD Off Road. Time will tell if mine holds up better than my GMC truck.

I think you made a good decision.

 

I've had three Toyota trucks, alongside two fords, and while all have been great, the toyotas are by far more reliable. I've had some issues with the fords requiring major service under warranty (6.0l engine leaks, as an example) but the toyotas have needed just routine maintenance, with one going to 219k miles.

That truck did get purchased back by Toyota with a rusty frame, and I was so impressed how Toyota handled it that I bought another recently.

My only fear is the frame on my 2012 and I've taken on a fluid film regimen to try to prevent an issue long term.

I think you made a wise choice!

 

Im not shy. Before i got mine, i would just walk up to tacoma owners when i saw them at the store etc, and ask if they were happy with the truck. I would even talk to them at red lights everyone of them was happy to talk about their trucks. I got all positive feedback, only complaint was one guy didn't like that the 4x4 was controlled by the electronic switch. So yes, good choice.

 

I think Tacoma's are excellent trucks, if they will fit your needs. I have owned 2 of them, but currently have a ram 1500 hemi. For now , the Tacoma is just not big enough for me.

I think Toyotas in general are very well built automobiles. I still have a 2014 rav4 and a Prius...

If my needs change, I would not hesitate to buy a Tacoma...I especially like what I am reading about the 2016...

 

Thank you guys for your time to reply to my concerns I greatly appreciate it

 

And you know this how?







Can't let this just slide by...

 

Happened to me once. Guy walked up to me in the Home Depot parking lot and asked me how I liked my truck. He had a Sierra 2500 I think and he said it was just too much for daily driving and he wanted to pick up something else, but couldn't bring himself to buy anything but a pickup truck.

 

I snooped through somebodies frontier the other day He parks near my work, so I finally asked him if i could look. I was curious because the used car lot that has treated my family good for years tried to get me to take their frontier. They were searching for a trd tacoma for me at their auctions, but they couldnt find one. They almost never get tacomas, she told me they are so expensive even at the huge auctions, that she just cant make money on them. They had the frontier on their lot already. I said no

 

This has happened to us 5 times with the wifes 1998 standard can, 4 x 4.

It amazes us that people will walk up to you and ask if you are thinking of selling a 17 year old truck.

In the wifes defence, she does keep it clean.

 

almost 20k miles on mine and runs flawlessly now if I could get rid of some little rattles... The way I see Tacomas is mechanically they will run through hell and high waters

 

The Taco is still quite a reliable vehicle . That said , they are not the die-hard durable reputation from the older generations - the new ones are built like beer cans in comparison . Compare my '08 Taco to the old '77 FJ40 , for example is like comparing a military 6x6 to a Yugo . Yes , not in the same league but Toyota is going the route of taking a lot of shortcuts like all the other auto makers to increase profit margins . If you plan to use a Taco as a real truck , good luck with that as it's not built to do that job - despite Toyota's claims .

Guess I'm disappointed to say the least - I miss the older trucks that could take a beating for several hundred thousand miles , be re-built and do it again . The new ones are just too complicated and delicate to start with - they will not last under hard use or even come close without shoveling a lot of money in repairs . There are small businesses now that source out older trucks and completely restore them with new parts a lot cheaper than a new vehicle - I'm actually leaning this direction ....

Sarge