Tacoma Longevity, Just Hit 180k

It’s really easy to get on this site and feel like you’re behind the curve in comparison to other owners. But, the reality is everyone on this site is like the top 5-10% of taco owners who go above and beyond what the maintenance schedule may even call for. Plenty of 200k plus tacomas on the road that have never seen a drop of new fluid other than engine oil. You’ll be fine. I would just follow a 30k-60k schedule for everything going forward.

 

FWIW this is my 21 month old 180k plus mile SR5.

 

are your shocks still original ? any undercoating been applied ?

 

121k on the Clock

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/diy-full-flush-for-automatic-transmission.68462/

I use this method every 60-70k miles. My truck has 175,000 miles as of today. I usually do this every two years, I put 30k miles on my truck a year.

 

I had all fluids drained/refilled at 60k. I’m usually having to turn down the extra maintenance requests with standard service. Usually I just follow the factory maintenance schedule in the manual to avoid unnecessary stuff.

Also, glad to see more problem free threads. My 3rd gen has also been perfect. I regularly load up the bed with heavy loads, tow a couple times a month, and have done some light off roading. Hoping to keep this truck for a long time.

 

O

Original shocks. Bilstein 8100 series for front and rear should arrive this week. I have no issues with the original shocks.

No undercoating. I sprayed everything the day after I got the truck with a 2 part epoxy paint used on tugboats. I can take some pics of the frame and stuff next week when I’m in Buenos Aires getting the suspension replaced.

 

Here’s a pic of part of the frame that was sprayed with the two part epoxy marine paint back in March of 2023.

It’s chipped from tons of rocks but nothing through the original frame coating. Without it the frame would be exposed to all the crap I drive through.

Seeing that after all this time makes me glad I took the time to remove the bed and disassemble everything to spray the frame.



Edit: and as an add-on, I paid the shop to clean out under the truck. They laughed when I walk over from the hotel earlier to take some pics. They told me they easily got more than 60 to 70 lbs of dried mud out from underneath. They are going to finish cleaning in the am. Then it’s 8112 and 8100 time.

 

Economically you come out better never changing AT fluid. Manufacturers who build good transmissions will last 400,000+ miles on the original fluid. Some cheap econo-box cars are only good for 150,000 miles. Changing the fluid doesn't make either last any longer.

It doesn't serve the same purpose as engine oil and as long as you never let it get too hot the truck will almost always end up in the scrap yard for other reasons before the transmission dies with the factory fluid in it. The guys who change it every 30,000 miles will literally spend more on maintenance than it will cost to have the transmission rebuilt. And it will need to be rebuilt at about the same miles whether you change it or not.

I've been driving over 50 years. Never once changed the transmission fluid in any vehicle. That's several million trouble free miles. There is nearly 700,000 combined miles sitting in my driveway between 4 vehicles. 250,000 on my Tacoma, and they all have the factory fluid in them. In fact, I don't know anyone who has ever changed their fluid, never heard of anyone having a fluid related problem. If one of mine dies tomorrow I'm way ahead financially.

If your transmission isn't already compromised it doesn't hurt anything to change it. Doesn't help anything either. But most reputable shops won't do it to anything over 100,000 miles. If the transmission is starting to go bad you will buy some time before it dies if you keep the old fluid in there. New fluid in a compromised transmission will lead to complete failure within days or weeks. A reputable shop doesn't want to risk the bad publicity of customers blaming them for the dead transmission. Unreputable shops will take your money and then they may or may not actually change it.

 

Interesting thoughts - I bought 2 Corollas (new) in 2004/2005. Both are still running and have 120k+ on them.
Never changed it in either of those. They're beat to hell for sure but the daum things ( knock wood ) are still running.

 

Change all fluids, lube all fittings, replace filters and plugs then keep driving.

 

Im og owner of my 2017. I'm passing 248k miles . I have early maintenance intervals. Since 200k mi I change my oil every 3k mi. I service my transmission once a year . Service my coolant once a year . Every few months I service my power steering fluid . Twice a year I service my gear oils, that would be front diff, transfer case, and rear end . I use amsoil for tranny fluid . For gear oils it's amsoil or Valvoline full synthetic. Any questions message me.

 

lol this is so true.

also I bet in JEEP threads people are thrilled to even get to 180K

 

Love this. I aspire to be better with DIY maintenance so I can do this kind of stuff. Just need someone to show me or I can watch some you tubes I guess.

 

The 3rd Gen automatic probably shifts twice as much as any normal transmission, because of the way it's programmed. Does it make a difference? No idea.