Manual or Automatic?!?!?!

Texting and driving in North Carolina is now illegal and a $100 ticket and $200 the second offense...but that is true hard to eat and drink and drive...might spill something..and if i get drunk my girlfriend can drive the auto home

 

Another reason to go auto. If you get your girlfriend drunk you don't want to keep hitting her head against the steering wheel when you have to shift.

 

You know what...you may be a genius...lol

 

I would not go that far, but I agree on the odd feel. Out of my succession of DDs (all MTs), this took the most adjusting on my part. The shifts also feel "mushy"- no where near the snappy feeling of older Toyotas or dare I say Ford ranger 5 spds.

Some other considerations not yet brought up:

Manual trans is mechanically simpler. It has a user replaceable wear item (clutch). You can limp home with a dry trans/punctured housing better than an auto.

What if your brakes fail? I used to drive an '83 Mercedes 240D, 4 spd MT. Lost all brake power 25 miles from home. Getting home was not a problem at all with careful driving.

I assume you are looking at 4.0 Tacomas only? I say in that case it is all personal preference with an edge ultimately to the auto if you are 50/50. However, why not look at a 2.7 AC? On 4 bangers, there is no debate- MT all the way.

 

yeah im looking at the V6 models...and just cant make up my mind..both have goods and bads

 

In that case it is a tough choice. If I had to buy another post 05 4.0 Tacoma, it would still be the 6MT. Auto shift points tend to drive me nuts.

 

Based on personal experience, the choice between auto and manual was a function of age and income.

I wanted and/or accepted manual from 16 to 32. First reason, auto was $1,000 that I did not have.

When I got older and could afford auto, then manual was no longer a consideration.

I just manually shift my auto in the situations that I feel necessary; when I am towing, want compression braking or playing Ricky Racer.

In my DD manual transmission gets to be a pain in the a$$ when you have to drive in traffic like on 101 out of LA or 281 out of San Antonio.

 

I've read some horror stories on here related to the 6 speed transmission.

Do a search for "throwout bearing"
Here is one example.
Here's another.
And here's one related to the clutch.

I'm sure you can find more.

Cheers.

 

all that worries me... and i'll be drive to the city everyday and you know going out at night ...but im going drive both of them before i choose

 

You'll be 21 soon and going out drinking as well. Do your friends, family, girlfriend(s) know how to drive the MT if you get loaded?

 

no thats why my girl friend wants me to get the A/T

 

I had a manual 93 toyota truck and i swore that i would never get an automatic. Now I have a 05 auto ( it was the only used one I could find), and it has treated me well. No shifting in heavy traffic, pulls better when towing a trailer. A few years back there was a truck pulling contest and the autos pulled a lot more than the manuals. The manuals just dug themselves up while the autos pulled. Finally, going hunting in my usual spots (rough), with the manual I had to play with the clutch in the really rocky spots and with the auto i didn't have to worry about that.

 

I must be behind the times, but this is good news.

OP- I always thought having a MT would be good from the standpoint of girlfriends not asking to drive it all the time, but unfortunately the the current (and looks to be permanent) old lady drives a MT as well.

 

yeah i have a 91 manual and im thinking the same way..thanks man

 

I had a TOB go bad on a 300zx and it was never anything more than just an annoyance. Sound would go away w/ the pedal depressed. Pretty easy fix though.

 

Here in Canada the Manual is 1000 more than the auto, figure that out?!? i still went manual though...personally more fun!

 

My '06 manual just lost the clutch master cylinder and did $2K damage to a bunch of components. Now I wish I had got the auto.

First gear is very low - almost too low to start off in most situations unless towing, hauling cargo or starting on a hill. I've only ever owned manual transmissions and this was the first issue I've ever had.

 

The master cylinder did damage to other components? What else went bad at the same time? That seems strange to me.

 

The toyota site says that there is a gas mileage difference, 14-18 for the MT and 16-20 for the AT. Has anyone found this to be true?

 

I've always preferred automatics. I laugh at my buddy who drives a stick and has to put his cell phone down while driving. Whatta damn inconvenience!