Looking to buy my first manual Tacoma

Well when I was out looking at trucks they had (from what I remember 6 years ago and not knowing much about trucks) a decent lifted first gen tacoma that was manual. The guy offered to let me test drive it around and teach me how to drive stick. My dad had taught me already but I just wanted an automatic out of convenience. I'd rather have a smaller, faster vehicle if I'm going to be manually shifting.

 

I agree 100%, which is why I wasn't even sure to the answer to my question -- very well put.

I do know that under normal driving conditions (not loaded, towing, climbing, or aggressively accelerating) that my engine speed usually varies between 2K and 2.5K RPM, and while I don't use engine speed to judge shift points, I was pretty sure I rarely hit 3,800 RPM, even with the a/c on (again, "normal" driving conditions).

I only brought it up because most "newbies" will be watching the tach to use as a guide until they can get their own feel for it...so it would be counter-productive to provide misleading information.

 

I always seem to shift around 2500 rpm or so...but then again I'm used to big diesels..so if you're turning 1800 rpm that's pretty high...

 

I too shift around 2500 in my Tacoma but that's mostly a fuel mileage reason. My 6MT 330i, it's around 4000 to redline.

I lean towards manuals because I happen to enjoy shifting, more so in a sports sedan but since I bought my 6MT Tacoma in December, I find the 6MT has a great side effect. No one wants to borrow it to haul stuff because they can't drive a manual. Bonus for me! I feel sorry for them though because they have gotten this far in life without driving a sports coupe/sedan where you row your own gears on the back roads. Pathetic..

 

Exactly. I will take a manual over a slush box every time.

 

I have testicles and have no problem saying " No " when people want to borrow my truck , but , good for you

 

I hate to say it, but go auto. Driving a manual proficiently takes lots of practice, not trying to discourage you or anything. Find a buddy or someone with a manual car and ask them if they would be willing to teach you how to do it, then once you get really good at it think about that manual Tacoma!

 

Get what you want.

 

Testicles, maybe but I have the "stick"..

 

I drove a manual truck for 14 years prior to this one , so , meh

 

sorry if I mis led the rpm spec, the transistion on the v6 w/ six speeds requires an intial first to second gear higher rev to allow yourself (if you are inexperienced) a softer shift because of the added delay of second gear engagement. However after leaving second gear in any rpm with a smooth clutch engagement would be fine. Typically during mild acceleration ive found 3000 rpm to be sround the sweet spot from 2nd to 3rd. After a good bit of experience shifting from 1st to 2nd you should be able to feel out any rpm that gets it done. I will stay in second as long as possible, even roll start in second however it can dog the engine down if not careful. Ive noticed that on my truck that first is almost a granny gear so a higher rpm does help me, howeverbit may very well differ truck to truck. Good luck OP, make what ever decision you decide based upon what driving style you enjoy.

 

step 1 - buy cheap stick car
step 2 - learn on stick car, meh few weeks?
step 3 - sell cheap stick car
step 4 - buy Tacoma
step 5 - drive Tacoma like a BOSS

edit: dont listen to some people, if you want a stick, get the stick. maybe you might hate driving a stick, you will figure that out on a POS rather then a $30,000 Tacoma.

 

Well the OP never said 4 cyl or v6, that is kind of important

If V6, get the auto. It's just as quick and gets better mileage. Of modern synchronized transmissions, the Taco's 6 speed is likely the most difficult there is to operate, period. I've put 120k miles on manual transmissions in my lifetime (enough time to learn you'd think) and now 11k miles into the ownership of this truck I can FINALLY get a smooth swift shift from 2nd to 3rd gear at high rpm without missing the gear. Think mack truck...

At least with the 4 cylinder there's good incentive to get the 5 speed, cuz with the auto it's ...sluggish, the way 4cyl autos of any vehicle type pretty much always are. At least the 5 speed is stupid easy to run. Something else I thought of - if you're a newbie stick driver and you get the bad luck of a Luk clutch on a 4 cylinder, it'll rear its ugly head well within your bumper-to-bumper and you can get the Aisin clutch TSB.

Either learn on a beater or find a buddy who already owns a stick and have him/her teach you all the bad habits to avoid.

Though there's one thing I read in here the stick-newbie needs to be aware of -- 3800 rpm shift points?! I can tell you why you're stuck in the 18s mpg (unless that's with very very generous throttle and really hoofing it down the road, which mileage wise at that rpm is far better than smooth steady acceleration). The V6 makes more torque than either the old Ford 302ci V8 or the beastly 300ci straight 6 truck engines. 2000 rpm is MORE than enough, and yes it can be accelerated smoothly with shift points as low as you'd ever need if you know how to do it. Not even my 91ci Fit with all of its 105 lbf torque needed to be run to 3800 rpm for a shift, like ever, unless it was thrashing day.

 

All good points. I actually paid attention on the way home from work today, and I definitely get nowhere near 3800 RPM in any gear during "normal" driving conditions, was definitely more in the 2500-2800 range when accelerating, and a bit lower than that when "cruising".

Question: I just recently bought my 2012 Tacoma with a manual transmission, and I see a lot of posts here about the shifting not being "smooth" with issues getting into 2nd and/or 3rd gear. I personally find the transmission in my new truck as easy to drive as any other manual trans vehicle I've ever owned. Mine did come with the "TRD Quickshifter" option though, and I have to wonder if that really makes a big difference in the driving experience, or I should expect my transmission to worsen as time goes on?

 

From what I've read the TRD shifter helps a lot. If you can outrun the drive-by-wire you can get smooth shifts and the short shifter would probably help. The problem is that rev hang. The driver instinctively tries to wait to rev match, but the ECU's logic wants to hang the throttle for a second and then clap it shut, suddenly plunging the rpm so fast you can't catch the next gear's proper rpm. You pretty much have to have it in gear and already have the clutch coming out just as it starts to do that rpm plunge.

It gets better over time. Mine had all manner of shifting problems (gear lockouts mostly) but they've diminished the the point it's getting - dare I say - easy to drive.

My 2nd gear is a pain when getting on it because it's either get a bucking shift or bark the tires - no in between thanks to the soft axle leaves. 3rd used to lock me out but with some changes to my shifting technique it goes right in now. I was pushing the stick too far right; to smoothly go from 2 to 3 I almost have to act like I'm pushing straight to 1st (it kicks itself to the right hard enough to not have a problem).

 

I like my stick...not for every body?!?!

 

I've had both in a Tacoma. I love my 6 speed, but I'd stick with the auto if I were you. You'll still love it.

 

Look man....if a manual is what you want then go for it. I bought my first toyota back in '94...it was a '93 reg cab 4cyl 5 spd....never drove a stick before...hopped it all the way home...learned to drive it....loved it....

 

^This, If you get V6, go with the Automatic. If you go 4Cyl, get the manual. Manual transmission is easy to learn and fun. Never gets tiring to drive for me.

 

I've owned a 05 and an 09 taco before my 12. All manuals.

The 12 has a much improved transmission over the other two. There is no documentation on it, but I am convinced that Toyota or their supplier made a substantial change to it.

Reverse is still too tall though. You can do like 35 in reverse.