Poll: Are you happy with your Tacoma?

yeah no kiddin, they said they have to replace the whole airbag system and its pretty pricey... ive been working and paying my way through college so the money just isnt there.

 

I have a 1998 Extra Cab 4 cyl, 5 speed manual TRD SR5. I bought it new and have been the only driver.....except for a couple of X-wives. It has 312,000 miles on it. It does not use or leak lube of any kind. Put 3,000 miles on it and the oil level is still right on the full mark. It has a few chips in the paint, a couple of very small dents and the rear bumper has some rust. Oh yeah, the drivers door power lock does not work.....it tries to but has lost it's strength.

Now, here is the truck's history.

First, the unbelievable but I swear it is true. It gets 125,000 miles on a set of tires. They are Michelin's that were installed new by the dealer when the original GY Wranglers could not get balanced. It is on it's 3rd set of Michelin's now.

Early on, the exhaust manifold cracked. I found a used one and put it on. It cracked too. I learned that Toyota had a new design so I bought a new one from the dealer. It cracked as well. By now, the truck was 8-10 years old. I installed a set of headers made by LC Engineering (I think that is their name) and fixed the problem. Wish I would have done it years before as the power went up along with better gas mileage.

At about 200,000 miles I replaced the spark plugs. I tried to get warranty credit but it did not work.(g) The old plugs were toast. Shortly after, I replaced all four shocks.

About a year ago I parked the truck for several months. As soon as I pulled out of the drive, there was a loud bearing roar coming from the rear. I pulled the chunk and saw a great looking ring and pinion BUT I could also see bearings with pits. I found a used locker chunk with 21,000 miles on it so I installed it. I also put new wheel bearing on the rear axle while I was at it. (Duhammmm. Getting the old bearings off was a bitch. No one would touch them at a machine shop so I beat the bearings off the axle. Then, they pressed the new ones on for me. Make sure you have plenty of beer for strength to beat the bearings and whiskey for the pain when you bust your fingers.

The front wheel bearing started to growl shortly thereafter so they were replaced along with new shoes. (It has new shoes all the way around now.)

Just the other day I notices a gap in one of the fan belt grooves so I put a new belt on. Did not realize how noisy the original one was. I may write to the manufacturer
of the belt explaining that I am not happy it only lasted 300,000 miles.

It has had a couple new batteries and another set of shoes that I did not mention, but that is about it. I put a topper on it and a carpet kit in the bed when the truck was new. It has a Kenwood radio with Sirius radio and a 6 CD changer.

I just bought a 2011 a couple of weeks ago. Not sure what I am gonna do with the 98. It was easy to divorce my x-wives but it is kinda hard to let go of my Taco when it has never let me down.

 

I am a car guy who just converted into the truck world. I love my taco thus far, but would change a few things if I could. It irritates me that friends of mine in full size trucks get the same mileage as I; but it pleases me that I can pull out of deeper holes than they can!
I wish it had more power and a few more interior options, but overall to this point I am very pleased! I have always wanted one but couldn't move from car to truck till now. We'll see in 6 months if I feel the same.

 

Like it fine, but MPG sucks, as I knew going into ownership and the V6 sounds like a wind up toy when accelerating. My wifes Nissan Murano V6 is silky smooth by comparison. But yes, overall I like the truck

 

Add me to the "Are you kiddin me? I frickin love my Taco!" category. In fact I just ended my lease today (two months early) and rolled it into a loan. So now I know Toyota isn't getting my truck back!

 

Maybe I have not had my 2011 long enough but I have no complaints or problem been treated very well by the dealer they are putting in 4 leaf springs no questions asked it's quiet it's got more then enough power no "clicking" engine no blower motor noise and I get 19+ mpg with the V6 6spd. If the interior was as nice as my all leather VW it would be an outstanding truck. I have owned Hilux through Tacoma's my old one left the other day it had 247K on it and ran as well as it did new. I advertised the "97" and 5 mins after the ad ran I sold the truck no one asks me any more why I buy Toyota's.

 

Not sure if I posted in here before, too lazy to read through haha. The Tacoma has a couple quirks/things I'd change here or there(no vehicle is perfect) but all in all, I love the truck. Happy with the purpose and it's been awesome thus far in the 1.5 years or so I've had it. Only big downside is the constantly shrinking bank account lol.

 

I like my tacoma I would never buy a different truck. It gets the job done anywhere you go.

 

I wish the doors were heavier. I would like a factory sunroof. Better tires. Hood insultation.Better suspension on rear and kick ass shocks. Could use a higher quality paint job near rockers. Besides these few minor things, I like the truck on whole. Would I buy it again? Still up in the air.I compare the performance to my Charger, and I have to stop that because it is a truck ,not a high performance car.

 

Why would you want to add weight to the doors? They close just fine and don't way a ton doing it...

As for the others, just upgrade Gotta pay to play

 

Love my taco!! Wish it was a 4x4 though, and my rear window brackets weren't broken. Other than that I'm glad I went with my tacoma. Not even at 80k yet, I'm sure ill have this truck by my side for a long ways to come.

 

1st truck, '81 Toyota Pickup, 2nd truck, '96 Toyota tacoma. I love it, it is stone stock minus the stereo. Single cab and almost smaller than my corolla. I wish it was big enough to haul more people and 4X4. Next Truck, 2012 tacoma Dbl cab long bed TRD sport. This should fix the minor issues I have with mine. Both trucks so far...and the corolla...have been bullet proof.

my $0.02

 

toyota trucks are just simply amazing my taco has i think 160k on it and trust me if i put my foot in it itll sit up a little bit then roast the tires, my 81 has a 20r and a four speed tranny with over 460k on her and shes still going great

 

its a warning lol ome of these time your gonna get in and go to start it a WAM airbag in yo face lol its just waiting for the perfect time

 

I love mine. Only has 183 miles on it.

 

Now I've had mine for a year and ~14K miles I can say I like it quite a bit. Like most people, I had to do some things to get here though...

I don't do off-paved-road driving much but because I want it capable when I do big (265-75) moderately aggressive AT tires were first. Second was the rear suspension TSB. Third, cause it suddenly got too tall for use even without a lift, side steps then tri-fold tonneau. Last, a rear sway bar to make it handle great with rear spring clamps to fix the annoying axle-wrap clunks.

Done. I'm good with it now!

All-in-all, not nearly as many mods as most people do and I'm not just talking about 'customizing' mods. I mean honest-to-God adds to utility mods. I've come to realize, pickups are a different breed of vehicle in that they generally need them to suit the way you want to use the vehicle. I think that's because there are so many ways you CAN use it.

Now I'm done I think it's great to know Toyota doesn't put to much annoying stuff on it to drive up the cost even more, like Ford does with the Raptor. Even the TRD is too bloated with (to me) totally unnecessary crap that just drives up the cost.

What all this means to me is that Toyota will have a hard time competing straight-on with Ford in the complete pickup market unless they come out with as complete a line as they have. That because there are way to many ways people use pickups and one truck can't do it all without complaints from people who buy the wrong one for their purpose.

 

I know I love my truck because I've already added a few things, like my K&N, a tonneau and an old school TOYOTA logo on the tailgate. I had a crappy PT Cruiser for 5 years before this and I hated that thing. I didn't do anything to it except gas and maintenance, because it felt like the POS that it was. My wife says I look happy when I drive my truck. I keep thinking of what I am going to do next! By the way, a shot of my tailgate with my old school decal. ​

 

LOL I had an HHR for awhile...But it was a good car. Gas mileage was amazing for the cargo space. I wished my wife liked it. I would replace her RAV with another one. But she likes sitting higher and so do I. So those days will not be revisited. I can't complain about it though, All the TSBs were done with no hassles. Never had a breakdown. I just wanted a G37....for some idiot reason and decided on a Honda Accord Coupe instead in a moment of sanity, That car was terrible. Rode like a truck was loud but had plenty of giddy up MPGs were 29 on highway 22 around town. Not bad for a 6. but the car had zero space for carrying anything.

Traded it practically key to key for the Taco to limit further appreciation going forward. Tacoma is not as "refined" in terms of creature comforts and odd noises and vibes. but it is certainly far more practical on many levels than a 2 door sporty coupe.

 

Good...Glad you guys like it cause just about in the next couple days trade my 2006 chev silverado in for a new 2011 Tacoma......I have hated that Chev since I bought it used in 2008..

 

I love my Taocma. My wife and I bought a 2002 Tacoma as our first new truck. We've taken it all over Alaska with not one problem or repair. I just did all the regular maintenance and it served us well. It started every time even when I left it sit for four days at 20 below temperatures. So when I wanted a new truck I drove everything else first and still ended up with a Tacoma. I love this truck..