[Doobiewah]

Hello, all.

Previous BIG Toyota fan, with my last 6 vehicles being Toyota's. Then came the '16 re-designed Toyota Tacoma. My salesman just kept raving about it last summer and I was looking for a mid-size truck (Full Size won't fit in my garage and it snows here too much in the winter to park a vehicle outside, IMHO). Ordered a loaded Limited and boy, have we been disappointed. I will leave it at that; however, neither Toyota nor my dealership were helpful and I gave up on trying to do what I could to make this truck work for me. A close friend recommended a local Honda dealer and my wife (who hated driving the Taco, BTW.....) and I went in and were able to test drive a fresh off the truck RL RTL-E in pearl white with black interior. We both loved it, took a bath on the Taco (better to lose money than your sanity, I say) and are now anxiously awaiting the add-ons to be installed (front clear bra, tint, mud flaps, etc).

Excited to pick it up on Monday! Amazed at the comfort, quiet, handling and overall features. And, the wife INSISTED that we just dump the Taco, take the hit, and buy it.

Looking forward to all of the input and comments on the forum!

 

[Cochise111]

Hello, all.

Previous BIG Toyota fan, with my last 6 vehicles being Toyota's. Then came the '16 re-designed Toyota Tacoma. My salesman just kept raving about it last summer and I was looking for a mid-size truck (Full Size won't fit in my garage and it snows here too much in the winter to park a vehicle outside, IMHO). Ordered a loaded Limited and boy, have we been disappointed. I will leave it at that; however, neither Toyota nor my dealership were helpful and I gave up on trying to do what I could to make this truck work for me. A close friend recommended a local Honda dealer and my wife (who hated driving the Taco, BTW.....) and I went in and were able to test drive a fresh off the truck RL RTL-E in pearl white with black interior. We both loved it, took a bath on the Taco (better to lose money than your sanity, I say) and are now anxiously awaiting the add-ons to be installed (front clear bra, tint, mud flaps, etc).

Excited to pick it up on Monday! Amazed at the comfort, quiet, handling and overall features. And, the wife INSISTED that we just dump the Taco, take the hit, and buy it.

Looking forward to all of the input and comments on the forum!

What sorts of issues were you having with the Tacoma, if you don't mind me asking?

 

[AG87BlkLX]

That's a few known issues with the 16 Tacoma.

Funky gear shifting, some come with low transmission fluid.

Whistling sound.

Dreaded drive line vibes.

On the positive side, no reported rusted out frames.

 

[Doobiewah]

That's a few known issues with the 16 Tacoma.

Funky gear shifting, some come with low transmission fluid.

Whistling sound.

Dreaded drive line vibes.

On the positive side, no reported rusted out frames.

Unfortunately, that is the short list....a lot of potential and, IMHO, ultimately a failed upgrade from the Gen2. Lost a lot of money but glad to be out from under it and anxiously awaiting my Ridgeline, which I can pick up Monday!:grin:

 

[Doobiewah]

What sorts of issues were you having with the Tacoma, if you don't mind me asking?

Main issue was buzziness in the steering wheel at 2100-2400RPM: Put my hands and arms to sleep on highway trips. Toyota Corporate sent out a team of engineers and sent me a letter saying that "the steering functions as designed" and closed the complaint (even though the engineers told me they could feel it exactly as I explained it). I was unable to drive the truck anywhere but locally because of this. You could also feel it in the floor boards and gas pedal; however, I could have tolerated that. The numb hands and arms were a safety issue, to me.

Side issues were the seating position, which was not adjustable much at all and I had trouble finding a comfortable position. Truck got horrible gas mileage, no matter how easy I was on the throttle (like 17mpg, not bad if the design was 10 years old...). The A/T was 'difficult' at times, the vehicle had to be coaxed into it's power band (which was quite high in RPM's) and, once there, it reminded me of an old two stroke motorcycle engine as it took off almost like a turbo hitting it's stride). Back seat was tight. Cruise control was quirky and a total programming fail. I could go on and on; however, my mistake was thinking it would be an upgrade over the previous gen (which I liked, BTW) which it was not. IMHO, they took a step backwards. I could go on and on, but you get the picture.

I could have tolerated the little things; however, the buzziness was a deal killer and, in the end, losing thousands of dollars trading it in was the right decision. In all my years of car buying, I have NEVER regretted a purchase like this one. I made the mistake of trusting Toyota and pre-ordering the truck. During my brief test drive upon delivery late last September, the buzziness was not noticeable as I never had a chance to get it on a highway at 70 or 80. Took a business trip to Las Vegas and ended up there with numb arms and hands. I spent almost 9 months trying to get some action from both Toyota and my dealer with no luck and nothing from the dealer except: "If we get a TSB, we'll let you know."

I'm not the only one with this issue; however, it is apparently not an issue that Toyota is willing to address. Discussions on toyotanation and tacomaworld have pin-pointed the problems to the solid exhaust manifold and the hard rubber mounts. The engine is a Lexus 3.5; however, the Lexus has oil filled, hydraulic, electronically controlled engine mounts versus the Toyota hard rubber. The Taco also was given a solid piece exhaust manifold whereas the Lexus had a multi-piece one.

I could go on and on about this one; however, what it came down to was my sanity. The stress of dealing with Toyota on their poor design problem was getting too much. I am grateful that the Ridgeline came along and is the smooth, comfortable, quiet, mid-size hauler that it is.

Glad to be rid of the Taco and on to a product that is well-designed and truly functional.

 

[Carsmak]

What a shame the Taco, was so bad.

Congrats & Welcome to the ROC

Good Luck & Enjoy the Ride!!!

 

[tmy3329]

Congrats on your purchase & Welcome to the ROC!

 

[reinhold]

...And, the wife INSISTED that we just dump the Taco, take the hit, and buy it...

who could say 'No' to that?? :laugh:

welcome to the ROC to AZ from AK!

and excellent work with all the posts/feedback/input/participation so far.