Third gen still bulletproof?

I hear ya! However, considering one of those techs is a close buddy of mine since jr. high school days, I tend to believe what he says.

 

I will say the stickied 2GR failure thread isn’t an encouraging sign haha. Lots of horror stories there it looks like.

While I am a fan of the 1GR since it was explicitly designed for 4x4 use all around the world, I think it’d be pretty dumb to say the 2GR isn’t a solid motor.

I’d argue the 2GR has been road tested 10x more than the 1GR, just by the fact the 3.5 is in just about every Toyota on the road. Sure, it gear hunts but it ain’t going to leave you stranded.

 

The engine has nothing to do with gear hunting... that is the transmission programming. Not really an engine reliability issue.

 

Just curious, how is a 3rd gen a “Camry with 4 wheel drive”?

 

I get what he is saying, ive had the same feeling. It doesnt drive like a truck at all.

 

Idk why people think the 3rd gen is worse than the 2nd gen. The 2nd gen had its share of issues, including a very high failure rate in the secondary air pump valve (I think they finally addressed it in 2013). The 3.5L isn’t an engine specific to the Tacoma amongst other Toyota/Lexus vehicles, I’m willing to bet with good maintenance practices and a hand full of small issues, these engines will last 300K+ easy.

Not sure why the guys with 1st and 2nd gen Tacomas are haters. Just wait till their trucks finally do die and they are forced to get a new one, they’ll change their tune.

I owned a 2012 2nd gen and it was an awesome truck. Love my 2021 Pro, and excited to see what the 4th gen brings

 

Had a 2013 Taco, then a 2018 Diesel Colorado, now a 2022 Taco... compared to the Chevy my tacos definitely feel like a truck. They have the cab layout of a camry, but drive like a truck. IMHO

 

Just saw one of my neighbors this morning with a new gray 2022 trd. I wonder why he got rid of his 2019 red trd. Had very low miles on it. B

Their just jealous they don't own one. These trucks are outstanding. I can't asked for a better mid size 4wd truck.

 

I like the 3rd Gen, as long as you can hit the road and enjoy the drive it’s all good. I have never driven one but occasionally you guys complain about gear hunting and not using cruise control on a hilly drive. I don’t think you should have to spend another grand on ov tune to enjoy the drive.
If it’s fixed with the 21/22 great!

 

around 185K on my 2019...no issues so far, many of those miles in 4WD...I'll probably be over 200K before the end of the year...only thing I have to address often is gas, oil changes/tire rotations (and buying tires)...if not bullet proof it certainly is dependable enough for me.

 

I've got the 2020, no transmission hunting....just gotta make sure i use 87 grade gas....actually 89 is ok to. Its premium 92 that these trucks don't like.

 

Hm, still trying to understand it.

Tows just fine, drives at max payload just fine and excellent off-road. Great all around truck IMO.

 

Did Toyota really make all that many changes from 2nd gen to 3rd gen?

 

Land Rover at the top, they must be trolling surely.

 

Well they did put in a minivan/Camry/Lexus engine, and a new tranny, but otherwise they are pretty similar.

 

Don’t forget that they finally got rid of those god awful 2nd Gen fender flares too.

 

Yes yes they did. And that 90s style interior is gone as well.

 

I see so many of those on the road and most of them look like they’ve hardly aged at all. I’d rather have one of those than another 80 series I think.

The only issues with the GX are the dumb starter location, cracking exhaust manifolds, and somewhat weak tie rod ends. Also for some reason Toyota gave the 2uz-fe weaker conrods compared to the 1uz and 3uz. Not sure why they did that. Still a fantastic engine though; they don’t burn and leak oil like the old straight six tractor motors.

 

Feels like a truck to me. Certainly noisy as fuck like a truck lol. The problem is the gearing. It really needs either an 8spd transmission or 490+ rear end.

 

The GX470 I sold to a friend had 255k miles. He still takes it off roading. My LX470 has 225k miles. The UZ engine family is proven super reliable.

They do tend to leak from valve cover gaskets with high mileage. But that's like every Toyota engine, and is a DIY job for most.