Is 3rd Gen 3.5 Tacoma really a good truck?

Decent trucks...stock I think they leave a little to be desired for what they cost, but with a little aftermarket love I like mine just fine.
Biggest complaint is that my F250 gets similar gas mileage as my Tacoma and weighs as much as two and a half Tacomas.... Also the Superduty can mop the floor with my Tacoma in a race

 

Yes, I did and at the time I really liked the looks of the truck more than what the research said. It has been a very reliable truck with only routine maintenance and that is coming from an actual owner that has put 260,000 miles on it.

 

Been considering a SD for my next rig, looked at a godzilla 2024 lariat ($68k) w/tremor pkg. How has it been, would you recommend or any things to look for?

 

I bought a 2021 not knowing about previous years glitches/recalls until after-the-fact...the 3rd light leak issue being one I read.

You're right about the complaint-driven thread starts; I view them with a grain of salt.

It's been 3 years since I took delivery of mine and she has been a great experience...I still look back when I park/walk away.

 

Everyone with a turd-gen Tacoma should replace it with a Cybertruck.

 

Both of my F250s have been great, both equipped with the 6.2 with 6 speed and have been relatively bare bones (XLT with some options) but they have been awesome rigs. I know people say Ford is terrible but my first one spent its whole life in oil field service and only had one issue in 160K miles(coil pack died). The 2020 is currently at 105K and hasn't had any issues at all, Ford SYNC sucks for the most part but the same can be said for Toyota's infotainment systems haha. Both trucks weighed in at about 9900lbs. 2016 got pretty terrible mileage at like 9-10mpg, 2020 I can get 14-15.

 

Guess I need to look for a 6.2 then if I jump. My dad's 14, now 18 Raptors have been trouble free besides like you said Sync or dumb stuff like that, not even the dreaded cam phasers.

 

Considering almost everyone you asked has one, I’d say ya

 

If I had the money I'd go out and buy 2 or 3 of the 2023's and just sit on 'em.

I suspect in 10-20 years people will talk with a gleam in their eye about the good-ole-days when the Tacoma sported the V6
and not the newfangled Turbo. Then they will point and say...... there goes one now.... because they will still be running strong.

 

I agree completely!

 

Let the data do the talking. Sales figures of around 200,000 per year started around 2019 and the next best is the Colorado at 70,000 units. Put that into perspective against a few dozen or hundred people on a forum who have reported engine issues. I’d guess about 75-90% of those in the 2019+ are happy with purchase.

You will likely only see issues posted to these sites, so they are not the best place to judge how good something is. The coolant pipe seems to be the most prevalent inevitability of repair. Excited to see how the turbo mess plays out.

 

I have a '22 and it has been solid and reliable and good looking...but I am anxiously awaiting next week when I take delivery of my '12.

There was nothing wrong with it...beyond maybe some build stuff like body misalignment, but I just didn't like it that much and ultimately I didn't feel it's worth it to me.

But to the original question, is it a good truck? I think as a truck, in the sense of work truck, it's very 'meh' and probably closer to a Maverick than an F-150. This will be quoted and refuted with "Oh yeah? Look what I hauled!" pictures. But a look at the spec sheet will reveal that heavy work is not what these were made for. And something something, low end torque, 6MT reverse ratio..

An off road truck..well, it does that pretty well. Stock for stock, probably next best thing to a Jeep? This is not my area to pretend to be an expert. But it impressed the hell out of me last summer when I accidentally went down a trail way more difficult/technical/tight than expected on stock, slightly over-inflated tires. Deep ruts, rock formations, mud, branches and limbs...I thought I was going to find out how much an off road extraction was going to cost, but, it just walked right up/down/over/around and got me back with hilariously little drama. Bashed up the "skid foil" a bit, but that was it (and I had been wanting a TRD plate anyway).

A reasonably well built, reliable truck? There's very little dispute about this aspect. That's all.

 

You ain’t gonna hear about the ones that don’t have issues lol

 

I had the option for going with a 2023 or waiting a few weeks on a 2024.

I chose the 2023 for a couple reasons. As many years as it's been out, they've been able to work most of the bugs out that you hear people complain with on here.

It's the last year a Tacoma will ever have a V6. Sure a 4-cyl is now producing more power, but I wanted more cylinders and I bet others will want it too in the future.

Stock form the truck is great minus shifting more than a teenage girl trying to make up their mind. Throw in an OTT tune and premium fuel and it's mostly fixed. 20mpg all day long too.

 

Until your engine needs replaced or your rear axle falls off due to welding debris

 

Or a “Who’s gone through the most 3rd Gens?” Thread?

As others have also experienced, they are great trucks. I don’t know the real numbers, but I’d bet the satisfaction rating is very high for them vs. the number of dissatisfied people. You can’t use the number of complaints posted here as a reliable indicator, as most people who don’t have issues would probably not post about how good they are, but the others would post about the issues they are having. Mostly for good reason; for advice and for help, and there will always be a couple others who just expect Tacos to be perfect.

 

Welding debris has already been handled by a recall.

Motor I'm not worried about. Good maintenance and don't baby it.

Better than the crap I've dealt with on previous trucks. Had a recall on a previous vehicle for immediate fire danger. Another one had the transmission whine worse than straight cut gears and was told it's "normal".

 

First sentence. In general people who take care of their stuff reap the benefits.

My sister is usually in a different (new or damn close) vehicle every 3-4 years. Repair bills start adding up because she doesn't maintain them and is a dumbass when driving. I've been in my truck almost 12 yrs.

I've said many times about many things..think about a customer service department. How many calls do you think are questions/issues..and how many are compliments? Same basic idea.

Complaint threads are good. Gives the new shopper/owner ideas about what could be cropping up. Because my wife's 96 had the frame rot I knew that on my 2010 it might pop up down the line and was vigilant about waiting for the word from Toyota, doing what they said when they said it, etc. My reward was a new frame at no cost.

 

Very good truck.

Especially what’s currently offered by Toyota and other manufacturers.

I’ve had none of the “TW issues” and so do everyone that I talk to. There are tons of 3Gs up here.

 

'Twas a just a joke