Toyota Tacoma 2005+

wes240

Just got a new '05 two weeks ago, have 1000 miles on it. Put it in 4WD for the second time this morning. When reversing into a parking spot, wheels turned in 4H the truck did not want to go. Felt like the parking brake was on, but it definatly was not. Had to really rev the engine to get her to move. Put the truck back in 2WD and the problem went away.

 

Then I went to drop my daughter off at this morning before work, had it in 4WD due to the icy conditions here in Maryland. Their driveway has a sharp decline down toward the house. Inched onto their drive to make sure it wasn't icy, saw that it was clear. Let go of the brake and the truck sat there like the parking brake was on. Had the clutch in. Had to put it in first and rev the engine to get it to go DOWN a hill. Anybody else have any issues in 1st gear or reverse in 4WD? It feels like the back wheels are kind of locked up.

valance2

Do you have the traction control package on your truck? The HSC and HDC do wierd things. I'm just guessing here.

eldenslack

What you are experiencing is the lack of slip in the 4x4 tranfer case. The Tacoma's tranfer case locks the front and rear drive shafts together in 4x4 mode. In even a slight turn, the front and rear want to travel different distances and that difference must be made up by slipping the tires on the road. When you rev-ed the engine there was enough torque to slip a tire and the truck started to move.

 

This is different from the full-time 4x4 or all wheel drive systems that allow slip in the transfer case.

 

What this all means is that Tacoma's are made to be put in 4x4 only when there is snow or ice or dirt on the road that will allow the tires to slip.

wes240

Thanks for the info eldenslack. My only previous 4WD was a Jeep Grand Cherokee which was all time 4WD. Makes perfect sense what you say, and I had a feeling it was something like that because it only happened when I had the wheel turned.

 

Just to further talk about this - I assume it is still ok to keep her in 4WD in moderate icy conditions - a very typical situation here in MD. The road will have patches of ice/snow. You'll see 5 miles of fairly clear road, then 1/4 mile of icy/snowy road. Or just a few patches of snow/ice that are 20 yards long or so. This won't hurt the truck when you are making right hand 90 degree turns in 4WD on a clear spot in the road? I assume of course it wouldn't.

 

PS: No - I do not have traction control.

bigandy

RE: Just got a new '05 two weeks ago, have 1000 miles on it. Put it in 4WD for the second time this morning. When reversing into a parking spot, wheels turned in 4H the truck did not want to go. Felt like the parking brake was on

 

Don't know if you have driven a 4x4 before, but this sounds like pretty normal behavior with the 4 wheel drive engaged and turning hard in one direction or the other. I'm usually at the end of 50 miles of gravel road when I encounter this, but I find I definitely have to use more gas to overcome the resistance of the tires in 4x4. You have to remember that in H2, the front tires spin freely and in H4, that is no longer so.

nickt1

Dude, please tell me you don't do that! If the wheels start binding in H4, you should immediately back off and shift into H2 to complete a turn. By pressing the gas pedal to force the truck to complete the turn in H4, you're putting incredible stresses on the entire drivetrain.

geogecko

I'd say no in that case. If you read the next guy's reply, the drivetrain needs to have slippage in order to keep dangerous stresses off the drivetrain.

 

You will be shortening the life of your Taco by doing this very often. I'd leave it in H2, unless you either get stuck, or are on top of an ice patch. There is probably only a rare time when careful driving, and H2 won't get you by most of the time.

geogecko

Just an update on the "Dealerrunaround."

 

If I could call it an update. Still have not heard back from my sales person. I left a message today, basically saying, that I just wanted to know if this was normal... Maybe I'll hear something tomorrow.

 

I just don't understand this. It seems like an out of character thing for a sales person to do. I mean, what kind of sales person doesn't want to sell a car?

 

I can see where some of you are coming from, about them wanting to sell you what they have on the lot. It irritates me when they ask me what I want, and I tell them, then they question why I would need a 4x4. Then they try and justify why I could get by on a Prerunner, which they currently happen to have on the lot. That's annoying. If they just ordered more of a variety of trucks, they wouldn't have this problem.

 

I will deal with one more dealership about this, if this current one doesn't work out. At that point, if I still can't get what I want, I'll have to say goodbye to the Taco, and go with something else. Mr. Toyota, if you're reading this, get your dealers a clue, or fire them. I'm a willing consumer, but if you're not willing to sell to me, what am I to do?

chris007

I know what you mean Geogecko. I ordered my double cab, long bed 4X4 over eight weeks ago, and I am still getting the run around. They tried their best to get me to buy the PreRunner on the lot, but when I told them I wanted it in 4X4 they said it might be awhile.

chilehead

ecotrklvr: My thinking on the noise from the top vents is that you are restricting the air flow (with a damper/door) and so the increased resistance (turbulence) makes noise. When the damper is open all the way, there is no noise.

ecotrklvr

You're right, that's how it's doing it. My question remains, though - why didn't Toyota somehow manage do do what GM, Ford, Nissan, Honda, Mazda, etc. have done, and figure out a way to have it make less noise? At full fan speed, it's pretty dang LOUD! I mean, c'mon - anyone with me on this? Check your heaters in whatever you drive. Isn't the Floor Only mode the quietest, not the loudest? If I lived in Michigan again, this would be a deal breaker. Otherwise, love the truck...

wes240

This morning while driving on the interstate I experienced a severe loss of power. It was about 12 degrees outside. Taco was running great, I have the V6 double cab manual transmission. I get about 12-14 miles from the house, driving about 80 mph and it felt like someone slowly put my emergency brake just enough to not lock up the tires. Gas petal felt dead. Within 1/2 mile, I could not even drive 30 mph, so I pulled over. I have only 1100 miles on my Taco and wondered if I had made a mistake! I had no clue what was wrong. I wait a minute on the shoulder then decide to try and get her to the next exit. I pull off the shoulder and am able to get her back up to around 60 mph until it happens again - dead gas petal, back to the shoulder I go. I sit there again for a minute, then I'm able to drive on the shoulder for the next 2 miles at about 30 mph to the next exit. At this point I do wonder if it's a frozen gas line since it's sort of an off and on thing. Even though I still have over 1/4 tank left, I fill her up. She seems to run ok after that, 30-35 more miles to work. Anybody else have this problem? I've never had a gas line freeze on me before. I hope this isn't an issue with the new Tacos, it gets this cold all the time where I live and will be this cold for the next week or so.

seminole_kev

..do you get gas from "name brand" stations, or the cheaper, "no name" stations? Just wondering if you could have got a tank of bad gas?

wes240

That gas tank was 87 octane from a Citgo station. Hope it is a bad tank of gas. However, there were no signs that it was for the 3/4 tank that I burned. Dunno, it'll be cold for the next few days and I will continue to update whether or not it happens again

nickt1

That is NOT a frozen gas line. Gas lines don't freeze in the middle of driving 80 mph. They only freeze when the vehicle has been sitting overnight, and you won't be able to start it the next morning. If I were you, I'd bring the truck back to the dealer and explain what happened, because it's not normal. 12 degrees is not cold enough to affect the operation of the vehicle.

seminole_kev

Also, there might be codes that the dealer could find that might help deduce what happened.

chilehead

I agree, it's louder than most vehicles. Perhaps the damper is closer to the top vent opening than on other vehicles. Maybe when someone here springs for a shop manual, we can figure out how to shut the top vent down completely. Not sure it's worth the bother though.

chilehead

I know what you mean about them being hard to find. Luckily, my dealer was willing to do a trade with another dealer--400 miles away!

geogecko

The flash point temperature of gasoline is -97 degrees F. I don't think the gas line is freezing. I store all my lawn equipment outside, and while it's not 12 degrees, it does get down to 24 or so, and I still don't get frozen gasoline.

 

Maybe there is another problem somewhere.

bigandy

RE: Then they try and justify why I could get by on a Prerunner, which they currently happen to have on the lot. That's annoying. If they just ordered more of a variety of trucks, they wouldn't have this problem.

 

GeoG, when I bought my 4x4 Access Cab/6speed/V6/OG package, I had them pull a printout of all the like vehicles in Northern California. At that time in early December, there were around 7 or 8 in the colors I wanted. They can get you any one of those by negotiating with the dealers that have them and working a trade. They had one that matched my specs in a day and it is common practice. Have you approached them about such an arrangement? If your dealer won't, then I'd say you need to find one who will. What it comes down to is that every vehicle within about 150 or 200 miles is available for your purchase, not just that PreRunner they want you to take.

 

Also, Costco has a program to aid their members in auto purchases and though I was skeptical about it, turned out it really helped lower my cost. The dealer gets a lot of business through the Costco connection and they were very serious about making sure I was happy. They need to protect that relationship with Costco and it works out to the consumer's advantage.

ecotrklvr

Wow - scary story about a new truck. I've had this happen to me, in the 70's in a carbureted vehicle. Seems the cold air rushing through the carb's throttle (throttle body these days) can freeze whatever moisture's in the air, and slowly restrict air and fuel passages. It hasn't happened to me in a loooong time. Most of the newer FI cars route a hose to bring some nice warm engine coolant to this area, exactly for this reason. Please let us know how this one turns out?

 

How do you like the truck otherwise?

wes240

Will definately update on the issue.....

 

ABSOULUTELY LOVE the truck otherwise. It's everything I've ever wanted in a truck. This issue does scare me though, I do alot of highway driving.

moparbad

You do understand that it is not gasoline that freezes, it is water in the gasoline. And the water will freeze at 24;) Gasoline anti-freeze products such as Heet mix with water and prevent it from freezing.

geogecko

BigAndy. Thank you for your reply.

 

They had the exact truck that I wanted, up North, but it had sold a few days before I was looking. Not sure if there are more in the area now.

 

It's interesting that you bring up Costco. Reason being, I'm married, with no kids, so there was never really a reason to have such a membership. Talked to a co-worker though, that had a Sam's Club membership, and he told me about the auto buying program. I went down to my local Sam's Club and bought a membership. Then I located the only dealer in the north Dallas area that participated, and this is what I got. They originally told me that all Sam's club members got $100 over "invoice", but when I went in, and told him I wanted an '05 Tacoma, he then said, well, we are actually offering that vehicle at $600 over "invoice." Whatever that means.

 

It may sound like it's time to complain to Sam's Club about this. First the lack of service, secondly, the $500 jack up in price.

geogecko

Ahh... I see. I would think that they would still make the freezing point (of the combined mixture) well below what any engine running off of it would see. What about people in Alaska and further north?

 

Can the water separate out of the gasoline or something? Maybe it is true that he got a bad batch of gas or something.

ecotrklvr

The other posters have the right idea here - it's the water that freezes, when it gets cooled by all the air rushing through the throttle body. And, it isn't just off-brand gas that gets water in it - any brand can get it, just from moist air, or leaky underground tanks, or whatever. Running some Drygas or other brand of gasoline water-treatment would be a good, cheap place to start.

wes240

ecotrklvr - maybe you're on to something. I did have the truck running hard into the wind at about 80 mph for 7-8 minutes when it happened. This would also explain why pulling over for a minute helped briefly. I avoided the highway for the next 30 or so minutes after that and when I did get on the highway, I took it easy. I didn't want to get caught out in the fast lane in heavy traffic if it were to happen again.

bigandy

GeoG: Since the 2005 Tacomas are new and in much demand, I felt pretty good about getting mine for $400 over invoice. If you can get them to come down a bit from the $600 over invoice (which is dealer cost, if you can get the straight story on the invoice and not deal with holdbacks and area-wide advertising costs, etc.) I'd say you're doing pretty well. In fact, I'd say $600 over is acceptable.

 

Remember that anything they tell you is posturing for a negotiation, so I'd go back and counter an offer of $400 over invoice and see if they bite. What you're doing is offering to put 4 nice crisp hundred dollar bills on the desk between you and asking them if they want to keep them.

geogecko

Oh, I totally agree. The problem is that "invoice" that they give you, is not really invoice. Being that this truck is so popular, I'm willing to give them $600 over their "invoice", and that's it. If this were an older body style, I would probably offer them just under invoice, as the invoice that I got a copy of from the dealer does include the "hold back" and "advertising" costs. I'd go into it more, but it's already been talked about the whole hold back scam. Anyway. I feel like I'm getting a good deal if I can get somewhere around $500 over their invoice price, however, from what I remember, the HB and advertising were around $500 on this truck...

stove1

Be sure to use the Toyota web site to build your truck, then take it to the dealer. Do not trust what the salesman present as the 'invoice'.

 

I was cheated out of thousand dollars by the crook who sold me my 4runner.

volley

I didn't have this exact thing happen but just a week after buying my truck I did have the gas line freeze. It was 40 some degrees one day then overnight it dropped to around 0 with wind chills well below freezing. I only had less than 1/4 tank of gas (half way between 1/4 and E). I started the truck to warm it for a few minutes. Seemed fine. I went to leave for work and got about 1/2 mile and the truck died. It wouldn't even start back up. Fortunately a Toyota dealer is about 1 1/2 from my house. Got a ride down and the dealer towed it in. They said that the line had frozen chunks in it. They thawed it out, treated the gas probably with dry gas or Heet or something and I haven't had the problem since. I was a little suprised because I am originally from Michigan and we had some much colder days than here in MD and I stupidly would run my gas down until the light came on and I never had a gas line freeze. I was suprised a new truck would freeze, I thought technology was a little better and the lines/tank would be better insulated these days. Oh well. If it is going to be very cold I keep the tank above 1/4 and no problems so far. Love the truck anyway!

wes240

volley, you are in Maryland? I'm also here in MD, living in Mt. Airy. I didn't have the issue happen to me today - I still have about 3/4 tank. However, I did avoid the highway for the first 30 or so miles on my commute into work.

 

Thanks for the post, I really was hoping it was something minor like a frozen gas line.

cooch

I recently purchased an '05 Taco. Did not want all the extra crap so I got an Access Cab 4X4, 4 Cyl with the SR5 Convenience package.... I like the truck a lot, but I am bummed by the two large bumper holes where the fog lamps go... There are not fog lamps...........Can I install them? Are the available from Toyota? Will they easily plug into existing wiring harness? Any help appreciated..........Cooch

xwesx

I've always found the 4 cylinder very capable of handling everything I've thrown at them. They don't tow worth a poo, but they'll haul far more than the truck is designed to carry. If you don't plan to tow anything more than perhaps an ATV, snowmachine, or small boat, the 4 is a great option.

juliagoolia

Below is a link were I found some after market ones on e-bay.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&tc=p- hoto&item=7948401304&category=36476

ecotrklvr

About the fog lights - read the fine print. Theirs are NOT the ones shown on the Tacoma - those are the factory ones. Who knows what theirs fit like? I saw this ad a couple of days ago, and thought it was pretty deceptive. It is eBay, I suppose.

xwesx

Wes,

 

Sounds like maybe some excess moisture in the system for sure. Heet should do the trick. Adding a bottle of it every 6 months or so will ensure that you do not have any freeze up problems regardless of how low you run your tank. I rarely fill up before E and it isn't a problem, even at -50F. If you experience the same problem after you've added Heet, you probably have a real problem. You might want to test it just to see if it happens again, though maybe not during your commute!

tacofan4life

05 Tacoma Access Cab 4x4 V6 6-speed manual TRD Offroad Package #2 with towing Impluse Red.

 

MSRP is $27,265 and I paid $25,161 which is the invoice price including the hold back of course but still a great deal! The truck is at sea right now and will be here by next week! I was going to by it a couple of months ago but I saved about $1500 by waiting!

 

The dealer was great and I didn't have to haggle with the internet sales manager at all. I requested a quote and he sent it back with the invoice price. I also didn't have a trade so I didn't have to worry about getting ripped off on that either. Went in and signed the paperwork and was out of there in less than an hour. Now all I have to do is wait for my truck to be delivered.

geogecko

05 Tacoma Double Cab 4x4 V6 Auto TRD Sport Package #2, Silver with Graphite Interior and Leather Package

 

After numerous attempts at trying to get an answer as to why my other dealer was not getting a date for getting the vehicle I ordered, I decided to contact another dealer.

 

I sent an e-mail to the sales manager at the new dealer, stating what I was looking for, and my offer. He called me back in a couple hours, and told me that Toyota was not making the truck with the options I wanted (mainly a TRD Sport with the 6 disc changer radio). He said that it will be a long time coming if I stick to that, and that he could get me one, that just had the AM/FM/CD radio a lot faster.

 

I decided that the 6-disc thing wasn't that big of a deal, since I'll probably end up using my iPod in some manner, so I went ahead and went in to visit. They have the above vehicle showing up at the port city on 02/04/05, so it should be here 3-10 days after that.

 

I test drove the silver TRD Sport Prerunner they had, to get a feel for the Sport package. It drove a lot smoother than I anticipated, and had a good amount of power. I didn't really get after it, since the sales person was with me.

 

They were very nice in dealing with me, and I didn't have to haggle too much, just had to get them out of the mode of talking in monthly payments, and everything went much faster. Basically, I got the truck for $1100 over their invoice, or about $2200 off MSRP, which isn't too bad, but, I made up for some of that in my trade-in, as I think I got at least $500 more than my car was worth. Having some body damage and a speedometer that doesn't work half the time wasn't going to help me sell it myself any easier.

 

In the long run, I probably could have gotten the truck a little cheaper, but being a new model, and still really popular, I think I came away happy. I also was in and out within an hour and a half, much better than the days of my mom and step-dad going in for the entire Saturday to haggle.

volley

I saw some on ebay that were for the 05s. I believe they may have even been factory ones. Check there first.

volley

Definitely keep an eye on it. These next few days might be a real test. I'm in Hagerstown so it might get a little bit colder on this side of the mountain. I hope mine doesn't do it again either. Buying some Heet or other product may not be a bad idea to at least have on hand... Keep us posted!

volley

Congrats Tacofan and Geogeck on the purchase of your new trucks! Hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoy mine! My first Toyota and loving every minute!

buffalonickel

maxpowers413:

 

Same problem on driver's side. I have an 03 Tacoma and no problems for 2 years until the deluge we had in St. Louis last week. Maybe it takes as much rain as STL or LAX was hit with within a 24 hour period to leak?

 

B

wes240

Still no new problems to report. I will definatly purchase some Heet to have just in case. On a side note, this is also my first Toyota and it does damn good in the snow. We had some wintery mix yesterday and she didn't slip a bit in 4WD. Had some fun in 2WD though. Very impressed. The back end doesn't even feel all that light like a typical truck - might be because I have the double cab with the short bed and the center of gravity is evened up some.

stephen1

My Toyota Highlander did not come with foglights either - just the holes plugged. I purchased the foglights and bracket assembly from Toyota and they popped right in. Looks much, much better. At this time, mine are nonfunctional because I did not purchase the wiring harness, relay, switch, etc. I'm considering the Tacoma right now and I'll do the same if the one I get does not already have the foglights.

jdvailco

Hey

 

I was thinking about doing the same thing! I want the look but don't need the light itself. How much were lights and brackets?

alan_432

This is gonna sound like a familiar story, but here goes:

 

I visited a few Toyota Dealers...what I had originally wanted was Taco Access Cab 4x4 v6 6spd manual Sport Package w/ Tow and 6-disc changer in Indigo Ink Pearl. Well there wasn't a 6 disc changer in all of the Central atlantic region....oddly enough I DO believe the dealers at Koons which claim to be the 2nd largest Toyota Dealer in the Nation...well they woudn't discuss a price on ordering one with the 6-disc changer (that wouldn't play MP3s or CD-Rs), and I wasn't too fond of the cosmetic hood scoop...and after seeing the indigo ink pearl truck in person...decided to totally revamp my decision. The Off-road sticker on the Indigo Ink Pearl truck looks funny due to the Red color of the sticker (looks kinda cheap to me, different strokes for different folks)

 

I switched to the Impulse Red, went for the Off-Road Package w/ Tow, and nixed the CD-changer. Of course they didn't have exactly what I wanted unless I wanted it to come in from another dealer with 200 miles on it (which I didn't want, i'm picky like that)...so I opted to order it only after we discussed price.

 

the price that we settled on was $500 over invoice...well over the invoice that they showed me for a similar vehicle..the invoice included Holdback, Advertising, and couple other 'F-U' charges. Final Price: $25,750 (yes, i can hear the guy that paid $600 less than me smiling already).

 

I haven't a clue when it's coming in exactly, actually they're supposed to get back to me today/tomorrow to tell me when to expect it. I made a $300 non-refundable deposit for them to order it for this price.

chilehead

Incredible that fog lights don't come with a $2500 add-on package. Those empty holes really look ugly. I bet Toyota wants big bucks for the entire kit.

 

On our truck, the SR5 package could be had with steel or (for more $) aluminum wheels. We sprang for the aluminums, but now after cleaning them, I wish I had gone with after-market wheels. Whoever designed these things ought to be shot. I've never seen a wheel with so many hard to clean nooks and crannies!

geogecko

ALAN.

 

I'm glad you figured the whole thing out about the 6 disc changer, way before I did. Waiting 5 weeks to find out that Toyota won't offer a package that way, is not very nice of a dealer to do. At least tell me that I'm asking for a truck that's never been made before...

 

Hope you get a date soon. I made a deposit on that one I ordered, but later put a stop payment on the check, and went elsewhere. (Lo and behold, guess who I get a call from the day after I made another deal...I'm sure you can guess.)

 

CHILEHEAD.

 

The next time you wax your truck, consider waxing the wheels along with it. You will be so amazed at how well brake dust and dirt comes off waxed wheels. Usually, all it takes is a quick blast from your spray hose, and then a little towel work, and you're done.

volley

I have the same truck and played in the little bit of snow we had yesterday too. Did very well. I was pleasantly impressed. I definitely think the weight of the double cab and having the short box helps. I was a little concerned how light the composite bed might be even though it is steel on the outside. Sounds like this weekend we will get an even better chance to see how they handle in snow!