Manual Transmission Question - How smooth/easy are the shifts?

How well can you drive stick? My '16 was a 5sp manual and was smooooth. The clutch wasn't sloppy or tight, it was juuuuust right for the truck

 

^this
(Yes, Some people SHOULD have automatics)

I only found a manual taco to test drive AFTER I had placed my ‘order’. And it was by chance.

I’ll take any manual gearbox over any auto any day - especially these days…

Said that, the taco gearbox is very good. The gearbox is smooth, the stick is very reachable (for shorter arms like my wife’s) and it is compliant & very easy to shift. The shifting is smooth. The clutch is light. My wife drives it fine.

 

Dank - Did you bypass it or dremel a groove in the accumulator?

 

Going slowly up hills (alot of my driving) in 2nd gear is really nice and smooth. The gearing on the 6MT is very nice. No annoying upshift/downshift that I had in my old auto.

 

Yup clunky been driving sticks since I was 16 Tacoma has the most clunky transmission.it’s not misinformation. It’s a fact driven tons of manuals and Tacoma has by far the worst manual .you must have not driven many manuals to state that it’s the most smoothest transmission . You are the one misinforming people . They asked my opinion about my experience with the truck . I gave it to them i don’t shit on your comments just because I don’t agree with it .

 

I did the bypass. I'm considering going back and dremeling it for the stock appearance but I've been too lazy

 

I bought mine without test driving first. My 2000 was a manual, my 91 and my 85 were both manuals. I knew what I was getting into, and I've loved every moment since buying it.

 

If you compare it to a Honda/Acura manual it's honestly nothing but disappointment. It's not bad, but it certainly doesn't feel the same.

 

Some people need to keep there comments to themselves .

 

Just picked up my 21' DCOR MT last night. Drove the 40 miles into the city for work today and loved it. It has been years since I have daily'd a MT but this one is smooth and light. The clutch is taking some getting used to, but I think that will come in time. Overall, it is smooth, but not sports car smooth as should be expected. It is a fun truck to drive, isn't to difficult and I don't think that my wife will have any issues with it at all.

Very glad i got the MT, at least at this point.

 

Ok?

Ive driven everything from old school 4spd fords to 180sx, subarus, civics etc.

If you can’t drive your taco MT smoothly, there is something wrong with your transmission/clutch or your footwork.

It feels like an auto when I drive most of the time, it’s that smooth.

You want clunky? Go drive a 3rd gen ranger and report back.

 

I guess I’ll join the pissing contest and take sides with GotSand?18. I’ve driven about a dozen or so sedans, sports cars, hatch backs, and SUVs; the Tacoma is the first truck. I’m VERY adept with MTs and machinery in general. If I need to give myself credibility, I have driven over 100 miles with a clutch that wouldn’t disengage just by floating the gears by feel—and I didn’t grind the gears if you’re wondering. My friends all trust me with their MTs and even ask me for advice to shift better.

…that said, I drove this truck like dog “excrement” during the test drive (bad enough that the sales rep probably didn’t believe I had EVER drive an MT before) and then for a while after. Even today, I’m not totally satisfied with my shifting. Granted, I have very high standards, but still, at some point I think it’s fair to PARTLY blame the machine and not ENTIRELY the operator. For one, the very idea of an accumulator is insulting and totally ruins the feel of the shifting. It actually creates an interesting dynamic between the “commanded” vs actual clutch position that is virtually impossible to predict. I’ve gotten around this by developing fairly consistent shifting patterns that produce desired results, but I really don’t feel like I have developed mastery of the MT.
Furthermore, I get clunks from the transmission ALL the time, especially on 1-2 gear engagement even with the clutch fully depressed. There’s also some kind of racket that IIRC is related to the throw out bearing?

Add to that the terrible DBW. Even when you shift smoothly, the power output from the motor isn’t always smooth. So often I’ll shift into 2nd, 3rd, etc and get on the gas and the truck almost seems like it’s “thinking” for a second or so before abruptly kicks in. IIRC this is a function of different throttle gains that are gear dependent and it takes a second for the truck to realize what gear it’s is in (correct me if I’m wrong).

Point is, I surely wouldn’t call it silky smooth and my inability to fully master the accumulator doesn’t help.

 

Interesting.

I had absolutely no issues on the test drive, I was amazed how easy and smooth the tranny is.

The accumulator... yes it sucks. The only clunks I had was when shifting from 5-6, but not all the time. Also my truck shuddered a bit when starting up hills, once the accumulator was removed the clunk and the shudder was gone.

I drove with the accumulator for about a year and the most annoying thing was rev matching, I could never get it right. Otherwise it drove great. All I’m gonna say is I’m glad I removed that POS, rev matching now is way better.

Other than that I never had issues with power delivery, clunk 1-2 and throw out bearing noise. Not sure what to tell you, ive been driving for only about 17 years and I have absolutely no issues driving my taco super smooth. It really feels like you are in a AT vehicle most of the time.

 

My workaround for this was to rev 1st until 3k RPM and slowly depress the clutch and release throttle. If I don't do it slowly, I get that same clunk. It is finicky, especially if you're picky like me. I've had a few friends drive it that are used to harsh clutches and driving aggresively, and they think it is super smooth. So maybe it's each person's past experience playing into it?

I think it certainly can be smooth, but it is no Subaru or Civic. Those are a joke they're so smooth. And I imagine it can never be since it's a truck.

 

For me, a smooth transmission is when you can drive with no clunks, jerkiness, or funny noises. Also, I consider it smooth if you passengers feel like they are in an AT vehicle most of the time. That’s actually my goal most of the time.

 

I'm going to test drive one first and I'll take my wife with me. The local dealership is expecting a manual in about two weeks. Thanks for the input folks!

 

Let us know!

 

I have to agree with the folks saying it's clunky and shit to drive, at least for a while. The combination of the neutered engine and too high gearing make it a chore to drive, especially at first. I wasn't at all considering an auto though, so it is what it is.

Clunk if you push the clutch in too fast, revs that hang forever like the flywheel is 100lbs, engine braking that cuts out at a certain rpm and sends you freewheeling, reverse gear is 2x too high, the difference between 1st and 2nd is way too big so on certain low speed hills you're either revving the tits out of 1st or lugging 2nd. The travel is crazy long but the engagement point is in one inch at the end of travel.

OVtune helped (although OV in general is a dumpster fire, you have to read through 900 pages and be pretty computer adept to make it worthwhile. Its constantly changing delivery systems etc - that is if youre an early adopter, might be easier now), accumulator delete helped, 2lo mod is awesome, and not driving any other stick vehicles helps you forget what a shit job they did matching the engine and trans.

All that said I wouldn't get an auto if they offered me 10k to switch, I would get a full size truck in that case. I just like rowing the gears. You certainly get used to it and after a while even enjoy it, but on the first test drive I was blown away how bad the throttle response was and how numb everything felt. Pretty fun on gravel roads though

 

I can't directly answer your question, however the manual is one of the main reasons I began looking at the Tacoma more seriously.

In my research I was advised this MT is very forgiving and great for people just learning or out of practice.

The main reason I didn't want it was because I didn't want to constantly shift all the time. I'm in a hilly part of the country and drive 45 minutes to work every day. It is nice to just put it in drive and not worry about it.

 

Is this your first manual pick up?