MT owners: any problems going in to reverse when you meant to go in 1st?

Availability and knowledge play a MUCH bigger factor, surely.

 

Yeah... not crazy about the shift pattern, or the lack of a lockout for reverse. I'd prefer to have reverse down and to the left, or have a collar type lockout for it. Been driving stick longer than some on here have been alive, but I still put the damn truck into reverse instead of first sometimes.

 

And, the transmission of choice for cars that end up inside convenience stores, inside of living rooms, and launched into the second story of buildings is? It seems to me that 97% of the population struggles with just two pedals. . .

 

LoL!

And still find a way to blame the machine.

 

I work in a company that supplies OEM products to the US auto industry, and it has been discussed may times, by multiple customers during new product development that the diminishing number of MT vehicles being built has to do almost exclusively with customer preference and, to a lesser extent, gas mileage.

 

I don't disagree, but for the vehicles that I have owned, the MTs meet or exceed the MPG ratings in daily driving that is nothing like the test cycle. It is always a struggle to get close with the ATs, esp city and average.

 

and so which one of you here have now decided to not buy a MT Tacoma in the future? I'll wait...

 

Ha! I'm the wrong guy to ask that - in Sept '16 I bought an SR5 Auto and I hated every minute of driving it. Four months later I traded it in for a '17 Sport MT.

 

I listened this morning for the beep as I backed out of the garage, you know, that building for vehicles and adult toys. Did get beeped at, been ignoring the sound I guess. Got my 25,000 service done today minus the oil change since I did that a couple months ago myself.
Duane

 

Count me in - never noticed a beep when backing up...

 

As far as not noticing the screen changing, I've got my music playing off my phone, the screen changes every time a new song starts. Not exactly something I've trained myself to keep a close eye on. Especially when sitting in traffic and waiting to move when the light turns green.

 

It's not like a Big truck with back up alarms, it's 1 beep as soon as you push the shifter into reverse.

 

Traveling on business for the next two weeks, but I'll be checking it out as soon as I get home.

 

Fanbois?

Snarky tone aside, I guess the main issue I have with your post above is the implication that because you don't like a design choice it is wrong or misconceived.

You also seem to think that the decision to not add a secondary manipulation was done in a vacuum without any type of feedback from the target demographic.

Having lived in the developoment process of automotive products for the last three decades I can assure you that every single facet of operation of the MT was proposed, surveyed, debated, designed, tested, validated before being finalized by more people than you could ever imagine.

Absolutely no aspect modern vehicle design is the responsibility of a single person sitting whimsically picking and choosing how things operate.

The actual truth is that, a cross-functional team of people in the hundreds had input into the decsion of how to shift our trucks into reverse and your idea was considered...and then rejected, probably on many levels and for many reasons.

 

Deeply confused?

My company designed, developed and manufactures the transmission actuator for two US car makers. This is the mechanical device that actually moves the transmission into "gear" on automatic transmission.

As a lead engineer I was involved in the projects from the earliest concept phases.

I've sat at the table and watched the presentations by the OEM project engineers where they explained the exhaustive marketing and research from multiple large-scale end-user surveys.

You may not like it, but the general public decided what they wanted, was remarkably consistent in their preferences and rankings, and that feedback drove the design direction.

The idea that "bean-counters" have more power and influence over decisions like this has been dead since Harley Earl introduced the idea of cars with large tail fins to the American consumer. Prior to that engineering ruled car design, after that it was all styling and design that called the shots.

So I get the fact that you don't like the decision, but it wasn't flippant or arbitrary, even if you find that hard to comprehend.

 

And I can tell you that the VAG design is not great, for me. I don't like it. Lift collars or heavier detents are just fine to me.

I have been in stressful situations going to 1st or 2nd, never got close to dropping it into reverse. It sounds like it is a problem for you. Muscle memory and habits work for me.

'nuff said.

 

Sometimes I have trouble going 5th to 6th. I get hung up in the middle of the H...


Those dang Toyota people really screwed me on it...

 

I am an engineer also but not in the automotive field. I'm not sure it is worth saying this because you seem to have some hang up on your own opinion.

That said, the MT design is not unsafe. I would hang my rep and license on that.

 

You've made a big step going from not liking the design to it being fundamentally unsafe.

Both designs are currently in production, and neither has any safety issues being reported that are designed-based. If you have something that proves otherwise I'd be happy to take a look at it.

 

Praise the forum Gods.... finally someone else here who understands the design process. I'm an engineer and I approve this message lol.