my toyota tacoma is a love-hate thing.

[vash]

solid reliability.

but damn..what issues. i had to get a rusty frame inspection. so i took it in. i had a 25% off oil change so wtf.. i dont have my tools with me in my apartment, and that "maint req" light is making me crazy.

the shop guy taps in my VIN and gets an "oh o" look on his face. i have a safety recall. my rear leaf springs can snap and rip a gushing hole in the fuel tank sending me and my wife careening off a cliff in a fire ball. he needs to get it done and he has the parts.

okay. if you know anything about tacomas. if you put a decent load in the back of the truck the springs bottom out. i fixed it by installing Add-a-leafs. it lifted the back 1.5" so i chased it at the front and lifted it a tiny bit less by putting new springs up front. all was great in my world. no bottoming out fully loaded..i didnt lift is all up in the air to require new wheels/tires. so now i have a problem. he puts on the new springs and my tail is now back at OEM height and doing the "bro lean" i look really stupid in flat billed caps, so i begged him to move the AAL's over. he said yes.

i am worried, the mechanic is under some mandate not to move non-OEM parts over on safety recalls. they didnt even put my weathertech floor mats back in during the gas pedal safety recall. i found them in the bed of the truck!!

oh boy.

[flatbutt]

I feel ya bro. I've had my Taco 10 years and thought about trading in for a new one. But I've had so many fixes done that I believe it's as good as a new one. I no longer use the dealer for anything other than recalls and mine says they won't fix mine unless a leaf breaks! My neighbors Tundra just broke a leaf and they told him it's not covered under the recall. Toyota sux.

[Steve Carlton]

You should call Toyota directly and see what they say.

[craigster59]

I have 190k on my '07 4x4. Gas pedal done but still have the leaf springs and seat belts to do. So far I have repaired my compass/ temp and center console lid and heater blower wire harness. Otherwise just regular maintenance, still runs like a champ. I do have to say, I love the location of the oil filter.

[craigster59]

Originally Posted by vash

....and that "maint req" light is making me crazy.

You do know you just hold the mileage reset button in while you turn the ignition to "accessory" and it resets itself to 5k?

[vash]

Haha. I know.

My temp compass. I've soldered it twice. Second time my friend that build circuit boards did it. It's out again. Whatever.


Sent via Jedi mind trick.

[vash]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

I feel ya bro. I've had my Taco 10 years and thought about trading in for a new one. But I've had so many fixes done that I believe it's as good as a new one. I no longer use the dealer for anything other than recalls and mine says they won't fix mine unless a leaf breaks! My neighbors Tundra just broke a leaf and they told him it's not covered under the recall. Toyota sux.

Really? Mine made it sound required.

[vash]

And what seatbelt recall???!!


Sent via Jedi mind trick.

[fingpilot]

They discovered that the seat belts failed every time the truck went off of a cliff after the broken leaf punctures the fuel tank and ignites the rear half of the truck.

[IROC]

Maybe they don't make them like they used to? I had a 2001 Tacoma DoubleCab that I bought new in 2000. I never had any issues with it. Oil changes, brake pads, a couple of batteries and an O2 sensor. That's it. I sold it to a buddy of mine here at work a couple of years ago. I see him every day, so I get "updates". After two more years of ownership, he had to - gasp! - clean the mass air flow sensor wire for a total cost of $6 for a can of cleaner. It has ~160k miles on it now. No "fixes" whatsoever.

Another buddy of mine has an '09 Tacoma that he complains about all the time. Squeaks, rattles, leaks, recalls, etc. He claims that Toyota cheaped out on the newer Tacomas trying to outsell GM and become the largest car mfg in the world.

Maybe so. I'll just keep driving my 1997 Land Cruiser.

[speeder]

I've never owned a new one, (or even a very recent one at this point), 'cause I'm a cheap SOB but they definitely used to be made not to break. It was pretty incredible, really.

[berettafan]

my '01 standard cab was a dearly loved truck.

didn't care for the tacos that came after that gen.

[Jim Richards]

Originally Posted by fingpilot

They discovered that the seat belts failed every time the truck went off of a cliff after the broken leaf punctures the fuel tank and ignites the rear half of the truck.

Toyota...Putting safety first.

[flatbutt]

[QUOTE=craigster59;9143035]I have 190k on my '07 4x4. Gas pedal done but still have the leaf springs and seat belts to do. So far I have repaired my compass/ temp and center console lid and heater blower wire harness. Otherwise just regular maintenance, still runs like a champ. I do have to say, I love the location of the oil filter.[/QUOTE]

Yeah me too. I had an SR5 years ago that could not would not die. Followed that one with a 1980 SR5 that just might still be running. The current one has 135k on the clock.

[sammyg2]

You'd think they could make them go to 250,000 miles before anything goes wrong!
What a piece of junk!

[syncroid]

It's a love thing for me. I love my 2001 Taco! 145K and going strong as an ox. I have been religious with the servicing. Oil and filter every 5000 on the dot. Full service every 30k. I did all belts, water pump, tensioner, etc. at 90K. It still looks like new except for the faded fender lips.
Sorry your newer one is having issues Cliff.

[impactbumper]

My uncle has a Toyota Tacoma trd, new one. From day 1 he had vibration issues. Truck is okay. Under powered, always searching for a gear.... Not like the old Tacomas made the reputation. My uncle is a piece of ****, probably he deserves it.

[Bugsinrugs]

My 99 Tacoma is going strong with 340,000 miles. Oil changes and timing belts are done by me. Brakes too.

[Cajundaddy]

Different strokes.

I have a fleet of them and have probably owned 40-50 Toys over the years. My service techs beat the living scheit outa those trucks and they just keep on running. Several have over 300k with original motors, most needed a trans along the way and ball joints/ shocks are a maintenance item at 100k miles.

There are no perfect trucks. I had a Chevy Silverado for 10 years and 180k miles and it was the best USA truck I have ever owned. Still had a lot of little niggling issues like the LCD dash failed, heater would often turn itself on in summer, door latches and tailgate mechanism failed It was pretty tired and the interior was turning to dust when I sold it. Ford left such a bad taste in my mouth during the 90s I can't go there yet.

[gatotom]

Ahhh, I do love my 1996 Chevy 1500 4x4 with 5 speed manual transmission with only 123000 miles. Since owning it new, I only blew up the motor once shooting a rod thru the pan because a internal leak of antifreeze.

Drove it to Portland and back a few weeks ago and got 19.5 mpg, not bad running it hard 85 mph up hwy 84 and 97.