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

I wish I had more experience with Manuals, but this was my first and the one I learned on.

If I depress the clutch too fast, there is a "clunk". If I release it too fast, it jerks the tranny a bit. You can feel something "catches up" and you feel it no matter where you are in the vehicle.

So I've learned that this tranny likes to rev high, and shift slower than your honda civic would. Dont release the clutch too fast, be smooth, hold it half a second longer than you think you should. Let the engine build torque/hp before you change gears.

That's what I do and my tranny feels smooth. Perhaps not like a Honda tranny would but smooth for a truck for sure.

Just fyi, I have test driven a few other manual cars. So I'm not talking completely put my ass when I say that this tranny will take a bit of practice but it rides pretty good for what it is.

Just remember, it's not a race car. It's a slow truck, be smooth and she'll be happy.

 

12k in. Love this truck. So fun to drive. Love my MT. Once I gave up trying to be some perfect shifting MT god (in a transmission that really doesn't lend itself to that, but also doesnt need it) I enjoy it even more. Yah, a clunk here, a missed 1st engagement there, maybe a throttle pulsing 2nd gear start, nbd, still fun to throw the gears around, who doesn't like being in an arcade game during their commute . I need to try the ADM and 2LO reverse mod! But sometimes its fun feeling like your going 15mph in reverse out of your driveway...right?

 

Stock appearance? The accumulator is nowhere to be seen unless you crawl around under the truck and remove the heat shield.

 

I love manuals but not in the truck. Get an auto and enjoy it.

 

Wall of text warning:
I had my 2017 manual for 3 years. I will admit that I thought it drove like sh!t on the test drive. Even the 2017 calibration felt super weak down low in the rev range, especially going into second.

I am a bit of a car nut and own various manual toyotas and lexus from the 80s and early 2000s. I have driven manual since my first car a 1985 corolla gts. About 17 years now.

You cannot compare the tacomas throttle response, weak low end torque, and slow drive by wire to older vehicles back when emissions and economy regs were much more relaxed.

I came from daily driving a manual 2002 lexus is300 . That car is also cursed with toyotas early drive by wire system. Even so, that car reacted in a much more predictable manner. Im pretty sure it produces 1.5x more low end torque than the tacoma at lower revs, or at least the tune is much better. One of the things that got me on the test drive was the weak power below 2k rpm compared to my lexus. The 3.5 needs to rev a bit to pull the truck.

My taco got progressively better with the toyota calibration updates, but it always felt extremely artificial in the throttle response. The engine likes to mildly stumble at times and a stab in the throttle is met by some thinking, then a lazy opening of the throttle body. Also, if you play with the trottle in neutral, the off idle response is a bit like wearing drunk goggles on your feet. It is difficult to move the rpms precisely right off idle. And the one that always killed my mood, the revs like to hang for what seems 5+ seconds when shifting under certain conditions of spirited driving. I think the crappy feel can be mostly attributed to engine characteristics and tune. The transmission itself is perfect. Clutch aint too bad either.

For a modern vehicle, the taco is good. The shifter has a nice throw and feel, and I will let any small clunks it makes pass as a truck thing LOL. That being said, as soon as hop into my 1987 supra, both the is300 and tacoma feel like complete garbage to shift. Older cars were much more "organic" and just react how the parts were always intended to. No hangs, smooth throttle response, and a cable right to throttle body. Once you get that mechanical intuition, you can drive those smoother than the taco since the reaction of the vehicle is so predictable and consistent.

Sorry I went on a rant and mild flex LOL. I just want to show what I can compare to. In my opinion, anything toyota between the mid 70s and late 90s is "easier" to drive than the taco, but we should take what we can get. Manuals are close to the end. I am still obsessed with them.

 

Where are you located? Post in the regional thread I’m sure someone would let you try it out if you can’t find one

 

The tacomas manual transmission on my 19 sport is the smoothest , with the lightest
Pedal of the dozen or so vehicles that I've owned over 5 decades .
Of course thats assuming you and your wife know how to drive a manual .
In the winter let it warm up a little and shift in the appropriate rpms for the
Power band ( gear your in ) the synchronized gears will slip you right in .
you cant get past a page or two on this forum without hearing about , accelleration ,
Shuddering , vibrations , crazy shifting problems . None of those complaints will be from
Honest manual tacoma drivers . THE MANUAL TACOMA IS CORRECTLY GEARED (4.30)
From the factory , as long as you don’t go crazy with lifts and weight .
If you want a Tacoma take a long test drive , compare the auto vs the manual ,
That’s what i did , it was a no brainer .
Good luck with what ever you decide

 

If you are leaning toward the manual transmission, just take the plunge. There is nothing wrong with it, despite the criticisms of some members. Toyota has been making these for a long time and knows exactly what they are doing.

 

Good advice to let the truck warm up fully before driving in winter...

I started the drive from Crested Butte to Salt Lake City early while it was -20F outside. I let it idle for about 20 minutes, but those first few shifts were scary. Clutch pedal felt like it was a million pounds.

After about 30 mins of driving it was all good.

 

Vehicles warm up faster when being driven. Even in the middle of winter, I can let my truck warm up for 30 seconds or a few minutes, and the heat will kick in at almost the same spot on my daily drive. Vehicle need to run long enough for oil coat, then everything after is a waste.

 

Except when the 6 speed first came out there was a lot of parts revisions and TSBs because they shifted like poop in the 2nd gen.

They can't even make a clutch pedal that doesn't turn to shit after a while.

 

You have to be smarter than the transmission.

 

Got mine in April '21 and honestly it took some getting used to. At 4k miles now, it's much better - either the Truck got broken in or I got better - hard to say, maybe both. But yeah, the term "clunky" could be used to describe the first 1000 miles. Getting into reverse was downright odd at first , but I'm tuned in to that now. I would definitely make the same choice again, just not an automatic transmission kind of guy.

 

First stop light out of the dealer....tried to reverse into the guy behind...I like manual, but will never claim to be that good at it.

 

LOL! My first 10 minutes were a bit dangerous for myself and others.

 

impossible

 

The complaints on here seem pretty nitpicky from people who have had tons of other manuals.

I was on the fence with a manual 2009 a while ago and just took the plunge and never regretted it. It’s a good truck to learn manual in. I loved it enough to get a manual 2017 dcsb once the family grew a little.

I agree it’s weak in the lower rpm range…but that’s the whole reason to have a manual…to control the shift points and get the torque you need.

 

I find my '19 Taco smoother and easier shifting than my '93 MR2. The Taco clutch engages sooner, and the MR2 clutch is more off/on while the taco shifts best if one feathers the clutch pedal release after up shifting.

The Tacoma engine power does not really come on until after 3,500 rpm so I rarely drive around below 2,000rpm and upshift well past 3,000rpm. So having more control of rpm and shift points really does make the M/T a great choice for a Tacoma vs auto tranny.

The biggest negative with the Taco drive train is the way too tall reverse gear that requires high revving and riding the clutch to prevent stalling in reverse (or just shift into low range).

Another problem with the Taco drive train is when the ecu changes from direct injection to port injection (or it could be the other way around) there is sometimes a shudder or hesitation at low rpm. The "fix" is to stomp on the throttle.

 

just a little FYI about all that... the current good quality tunes available change the character of the motor performance so that there is no off-on like switch below & above 3500rpm, and same with direct & port injection transition. for many, it's the greatest thing about these tunes' driveability. much of the 3500+ surge is brought down lower where you need it, and makes it much smoother and more predictable to drive.

 

I am pretty sure that it is 2 of the 4 valves per cylinder that open up at around 3,800rpm that provide a surge in power, so yeah, having the extra valves open sooner will improve driveability but worsen full economy. OTOH, my driving at high rpm kills fuel economy on it's own. I probably would get an OV Tune if there was a shop doing the install near where I live.