Who actually likes their 3rd gen?

Yes I test drove one but it was like a mile drive. I didn’t notice all these issue but kind of hard to get that in a less than mile loop around dealership. It was just happenstance since that was the only new one within 250 miles of me on a lot. It was a 2WD version. It seemed to ride ok, I was mainly worried about the seat adjustment and it seemed ok to me. I was able to find a good driving position. It rode fine for a truck. I didn’t notice shifting problems but it sounds like it’s a luck of the draw on shifting issues.
It seems like I was falsely under the impression that people loved the Tacoma and it was a high quality reliable vehicle but people only love the Tacoma to modify it. 40k for a crap shoot of quality and reliability is not really what I thought I was bargaining for.

I will do some light modifications but mainly wanted it to be good out the box. It’s why I went with trail edition. It has a slight lift/level and semi-custom wheels already. So the main expensive modifications are already done. The rest would be small cosmetic personalization things from now or small upgrades to bed lighting and such. However, it seems most only like them because they plan to highly modify it.

 

Do u always let strangers on the internet make your decisions for you? Your likely to miss out on a lot of things and be misled alot if you do.

 

I bought a brand new 1992 Toyota Truck 3.0L V6 5spd Extra-cab 4X4. Loved that truck. Head gaskets failed twice in and out of warranty. Toyota and the dealership fixed it both times at no cost to me. Not one other issue. Drove and had adventures for 14 years. Never broke down or left me stranded. I still sold it for an awesome resale.

In 2020 I was finally able to get into a Toyota Truck again. Purchased mine over the phone without even a test drive. 2.5 years later and not one issue. Love this truck too.

My truck is stock except one tire size up. I think you’re reading too much into this forum. 1.5 million 3rd gens are happily on the road. See if you can find another to test drive. The trail edition is an awesome trim level.

At some point this truck is not for everyone. But these trucks remain hugely popular and command great resale value.

I don’t see the huge risk that has you rethinking your purchase. No vehicle is perfect. Maybe this truck is not for you.

 

If I was an enterprising marketing manager for brand X's shitbox pickup, I might would exist in here to do a lot of things; Put numbers to brand loyalty, take away what real owners genuinely dislike and market the inverse, or even embed negative posters, influencers, and content creators into a community like TW to cleave off some market share.

 

Would have preferred to keep the 4l, but overall I love it. It has a little less power, and I find that I get slightly worse fuel mileage than my 13. Granted I went from an access to a 4 door. Not horrible, but noticeable. The gear hunting is a little more prevalent as well. I'm told this calms down after your trans fluid change? The biggest upside is it doesn't have the tacoma tick at idle.

 

Have been on this forum since ‘14. What I have learned…The people who bitch the most are the ones who modify them the most, those guys are never satisfied. Have modded my old Toyotas. This one is staying stock. The more you mess with it, the more that will go wrong.

As @Canadian Caber said, maybe this vehicle isn’t for you. Sounds like you’re condemning it before even actually owning one. Which tends to happen a lot, people say something is junk without having any experience with it. Heck, I like Toyotas but won’t know if mine is any good until it reaches 200K miles, by then it will have the data of what failed, if anything. My old truck didn’t start giving trouble until 250K. Assuming this one will do the same.

Funny, find it the most comfortable, fits me about perfect. The seats in my old Trooper were awful, felt like I was sitting on barstool, legs would go numb on long drives.

Everyone is built differently, one size doesn’t fit all.

 

Beautiful answer. When you modify anything, don't expect it to keep running as designed.

 

Thank you. One of the first things majority of people do is to toss on larger tires, then they bitch about the gas mileage.

 

And or wheel bearings. Keep it factory plus and you'll be happy

 

Its the perfect utility vehicle...not my daily..i tried..but i like going around corners, stopping quickly and reaching 60 in less than 5 seconds...i could go on...its does all the truck stuff i ask of it...jmho

 

I've owed a few trucks in the past All GM products - 88 Chevy S10 4cyl 2wd manual tranny, 03 GMC Sierra 4wd, 09 Silverado 4wd Z71.
I've owned my 23 TRD OR for about a month now with 1800 miles on it. I'd say it's my favorite truck so far. Cab size is fine for a mid size truck - I didn't want another full size truck. The driver's seat (10 way power) is great. I find it very comfortable, but I wish the steering wheel extended a bit further out.

The V6 motor is also fine for me...my last vehicle was a Crosstrek, so the power is adequate enough for me. If I want speed...I take a motorcycle! As for towing capacity, I only tow a small 5x8 aluminum utility trailer every now and then.

Gas mileage is what it is...I knew what I was getting into. I'm getting 20.5 avg right now.

I like the fact that the Tacoma doesn't have too much electronics....I like that the climate control still has manual knobs. Our outback has a huge screen that controls just about everything, and it's a pain to use in my opinion. I do wish I had heated seats though!

I haven't really experienced any tranny hunting in this yet, so can't speak to that.

All in all....I'm quite happy with this truck!

 

After thinking about it overnight. I decided I will just go through with purchase. I have always wanted a Tacoma and if it doesn’t work out then I should be able to not lose a ton of money. I have only personally daily driven economy cars since 2004 and never noticed huge flaws in them so the Tacoma can’t be that bad.

 

And it snowballs from there

Would say the guys who heavily modified their trucks the most, are the most unhappy, otherwise they would leave well enough alone.

 

I bought a 2016 last summer (the worst time I could’ve bought one) and to be honest, until I read posts on this forum, the truck was amazing in my opinion. However, once I saw people complaining about the tune, I immediately noticed how bad it was and got a KDMax tune. There were other little fit and finish issues that bothered me but nothing deal breaking. After that, I drove it for about 7 months and traded it for a 23 OR.

I absolutely LOVE my 23. Threw the wheels from my old truck on it and she’s perfect. The tune is light years ahead of the the early 3rd gens, and the overall fit and finish is just better. It’s really the little things I notice. It could be because my other one had 80k on it compared to brand new, but they just feel a little different. In a good way.

 

Mount Taco’s motor loves it @ 3500’, best get out of the way after 3500rpm! Not bad for a stock V6.

 

Meh. It’s ok. I bought it knowing that it could fill my absolute needs as a vehicle and most of my needs as a truck.

But I bought it knowing that it was temporary for me.

over the past 5K miles I have realized that it will be even more temporary for me.

 

Placebo effect

 

Cool, would least give it a chance and form an opinion of it yourself, if you like it keep it, if not trade it in on something else. No big deal they are just machines.

There are times could use a full-size truck, times where a cheap commuter car would do. The Tacoma is comprise vehicle, it does nothing great, but also checks off a lot of boxes.

 

Definitely agree. When I first sat in a 2016 Tacoma at an auto show my impression was so so about it.
A few year later looking to replace a jeep suv before it became unreliable my feelings about it totally changed. After looking at Colorado, Nissan, and test driving Ranger, GMC, and Tacoma Then talking to other Taco owners and looking at their trucks Tacoma was the clear winner.
I'm not at all disappointed with my Tacoma 2.5 years later. It's not perfect nothing is, but everything good about it out weighs anything bad. That and the Tacoma owners community and aftermarket is full of people that have innovative ideas to make it better.
Maybe the Tacoma or a truck isn't for you. Only you can answer that. I'd say that a Civic Si is a great car too. It's all in what you like.

I would agree the trail addition is a sweet trim. I have the SR5 4x4 that it's based on. For me it's a great truck. I added bigger tires and would like to add mods to make mine more like the trail addition.

 

Reading your posts I would assume that you are a thrifty pragmatic sort of person. I can relate. Vehicles are a big black hole we foolishly dump money in. But if I'm going to waste my money on a Pick-up truck for our family's hobbies and outdoor pursuits I feel the Tacoma is the best bang for the buck IMHO. You going from practical economy cars then switching into a truck may be a downer for you after years of thrifty, practical economy cars. Do you really have a use for a truck to do it all other than just always wanting a Tacoma?

The fantasy of finally having a Tacoma Truck to own and drive Vs the realities of daily use can be disappointing for some. Despite being pragmatic myself and owning an expensive vehicle I still love it. I smile everyday I drive it. I hope you find the same thing. If not, as others have mentioned you can sell it for good resale and get the boring, practical econo box. Lol....