What did I get myself into?? Busted Brand-New Tacoma Off-Road....

Did you own a 3rd Gen Off Road or Sport before or am I thinking wrong and you had an SR5?

 

Switch into 4 lo and drive it home

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/4x4-stuck-causing-drastic-mpg-loss.454350/

 

Something is definitely wrong with it. Did you tell the dealer about this?

 

I did call the dealer and they said to bring it in once I get it back from the other dealer.

 

If the off-road has a softer ride than the sport I’d hate to see what one drives like. My OR feels stiff as hell. Hit a bump on the thruway and the truck bounces over. Almost like there is 80lbs in the tires or something.

 

Any chance the truck has been stuck in 4 high before you went on your trail ride?

Maybe that actuator has been bad since you bought the truck.

 

Id get the 4runner. But it depends on your needs. I wanted a trd pro 4 runner but i need a bed. Also the sport doesnt have rear lockers and also has the smaller 8in diff. It just depends how much offroading youll be doing. But i agree.. auto trans with this 3.5 sucks. Manageable but not that bad. The 4.0 4 runner is better but not on gas either. Just pros and cons man.. weigh them out

 

You’ll get used to the trans as you increase miles it will adapt to your driving style. Mine gets pretty awful mileage sometimes, with winter mix in a headwind I seen 11.5 mpg with the cruise set at 72 mph. It will pull hills fine, even steep hills at 80 mph, just in 4th gear revving to the sky. The 4 runner mpg won’t be much better but it would probably be more enjoyable pulling hills on the interstate. My buddy has a 15 pro 4runner with a small lift and 33’s and he told me he averages around 13, does a lot of road trips and said sometimes loaded down with stuff on his roof rack he’s seen as low as 9mpg

 

My 18 pro gets 18mpg with lift and 33’s. Mixed city and highway. Had to completely change my driving habits

 

Dick move.
My favorite truck (and first vehicle) had 2 as well. But dick move...


Now, I will add: I've wished this thing had 2 sticks. How cool?

 

I have a 2017 TRD Sport with 16k and in my case Taking the front Air dam off did nothing to my MPG it was and has always been 21City to 25Hwy mpg and I have gotten 26 one time on my way to WY from AZ

 

As some one else noted, give your truck some time. Our trucks are drive-by-wire technology that “learns” your driving habits and adjust accordingly. Mine took a solid 2000 miles before settling in.

Good luck

 

Not sure if it works for 3rd gens but that’s what that’s for is my tacoma, got everything ready to go for tomorrow. Just gotta take the old off and put that bad boy on.

 

Seriously? What does it entail?
Cost?

Oh man. I'm not prone to getting sucked into mods (that I can't afford until I pay this bitch off), but a manual transfer case would be hard for me to pass up!
Is it possible (I mean, I know anything is possible, but I got 3 kids to send to college, ya know?) to do Hi/Lo on a 3rd stick like my 'ol F-150?

 

After having two 2017s, I am still amazed by how much these third gens vary. Some have no issues, some have a ton. Some get great gas mileage, some are stuck with 14 or 15. They are all over the place. My advice - if you got a bad one, try something else. The 4runner is a fantastic machine and after making the jump to a 2nd gen (2013 with the 4.0) I am much happier with the powertrain. If your truck is having issues and getting awful mpg, capitalize on the amazing resale value that Tacomas have and get something that works better for you.

 

If you use the cruise a lot, I'd say no. I've driven two 5th gen 4runners (2013 sr5, 2016 trail premium) quite a bit, they downshift and rev pretty hard on any significant hill if you have the cruise control set. If you drive without the cruise you can feather the pedal and prevent most of the excessive downshifts. They get pretty good mileage though. The 2013 would get 19 consistently, highway or city. The 2016 gets 17-22 depending on what you do with it. On my last long trip my best tank was 21.6 with mixed highway/interstate driving.

The 5th gen 4runners suck to drive in a crosswind though, without a doubt the squirrliest vehicles I've ever driven in a crosswind. Both of them have been this way, you can find several complaints about if if you google it. Some say turning the caster up and getting heavier tires helps, we haven't tried that yet though.

 

I'm averaging 16-18mpg mixed w/ 32s and full suspension lift. This is the first Tacoma I've owned and probably the last because car notes suck. But overall I love the truck does what I need it to do. My Taco is 6MT so I didn't have the issues that the Autos have.

CHeers!

 

The difference you feel in trucks is probably because you last drove your truck in 4wd. Stuff breaks, atleast they covering it and have you in a really similar vehicle to use.

 

If the actuator is on back order, I would ask if they would pull one off of a new truck in their lot.

I like my Sport, but I wanted an ACLB with an MT. If there was and OR ACLB MT, it would have been a difficult choice.