Toyota Tacoma 2005+

1sttacoma

ouch is right.

apparently, there is a black one on the lot in my area right now. my dealer said someone returned it after encountering some financial issues. it has 5k on it so i wouldn't have to break it in and could use it just in time for mountain biking season up in Whistler!

does anyone know how i can tell if the previous owner broke it in properly?

as i mentioned, i've never owned a tacoma before (in fact the only truck i ever owned was a 1971 Datsun 210. bought it for $100 and when it stopped running, i sold it for $100) so i'm a bit unfamiliar with the whole "break in" thing.

dkelly - i'm sorry to hear that your delivery date would be in august or september...but, it did make me feel a bit better!

imin2mx

hammaa - I'll try and take some pictures today after work. What's a good site for posting pics on?

taco05x

I've tried using different zip codes from across the country, as well as the double cab models with the sports package, but it is never an option. Any ideas? Thanks

geogecko

Probably no real way to tell if it's been broken in properly. If they drove it like a normal human would drive it, then it probably was.

Have someone drive behind you when you test drive it, and tell them to watch the tailpipe for smoke. Check the oil level, and that's probably about all you can do. Might want to take a look under the truck, for signs of an off-road drive-the-crap-out-of-it-since-I'm-no-longer-going-to-keep-it type adventure.

hammaa

imin2mx - I've actually never done that myself. But I think that yahoo! lets you post pictures there (at least if you use their internet service). I know that there's some posters in here that have pics...where's a good website for that, gang? :confuse:

ladeerider

Hi,
I've got the 4cyl. 5spd Tacoma. I bought some after market fog lights and the lights fit but it needs some type of cover to cover the holes/slits around the light.

Is there any way you could send me a picture of your Tacoma fog lights so that I can see what the factory lights look like?

I would greatly appreciate your time in this matter.

Best Regards,
Ann

1violinist

I think Speedway Blue is only available on the X-Runner.

volley

Many people use car domain. You can also use Tinypic or someplace like that.

nstg8r

Thanks for the advice, hammaa and imin2mx.

I like what you guys picked out, I was also looking at Weld's Racing Rims the Cheyenne Six, I believe. I just wished there were more options for trucks. I guess I'll end up with the Fabtech lift and maybe Weld Rims on 32". The only way to be different is to try it out for yourself I guess.

stephg

first time on this site. very interesting so far.

i ordered a Tacoma DC Sport 5A LB with towing package in indigo ink on March 18th from a dealer in Ottawa. My dealer in Timmins (Ontario) wasn't interested in sweetening the deal. the production date was supposed to be end of April, but now they tell me that production has been delayed until the week of May 16th. this truck was on their allocation list, but i had the colour changed from speedway blue. so basically, 2.5 months is what I'll be waiting... it's a long wait!

i plan to have the tires replaced as soon as i get it. will have to go a little bigger since there are no LT tires in 265x65x17. also plan to go to synthetic oil after the break-in, so I'm happy to see those discussions going on here.

bdstuart

try searching by state instead of zip code through toyota.com
First dealership on the list for VA has two different speedway blue, 4x4, DCs with off-road...might be others in the state...just remember seeing those 2

Just saw another...Oak Ridge Auto Mall in VA was a speeedway blue, 4x4, DC, Sport package...they exist

bdstuart

Tacomas nowhere to be seen is no longer true (at least in the US) depending on the part of the country you are in.
There are dealers with 40-50 on their lots

deluxechev

My first post, but I’ve been reading this forum the last two days since I stumbled across it, and thank god I did, I’ve learned so much!

My Taco’s go 3200 miles on her (and not so much as a hick-up) and I’ll be changing the oil in a few weeks, around 4500 miles. Last week I had a Flowmaster (Original 40 series, as recommended previously on a post) installed at my local muffler shop. I love it! It gets maybe a little louder than I would have liked in the cab, but nothing turning up the radio a tad won’t fix. I was planning on upgrading my speakers anyway, and if need be, an amp as well. But the Flowmaster sounds great!

I’m planning on switching over toAmsoil SAE 5W-30 Synthetic Motor Oil after I cash in on the free oil change coupon from the dealership that sold me my baby.

My question (I know, took me long enough) is regarding air filters. I’ve read Amsoil makes a great air filters that do a better job filtering the air than both K&N stock replacement air filters and the high performance intakes. I’ve also read the K&N’s suck in more air. Does anyone run an Amsoil filter or K&N on an 05 Taco?

blackmamba

I have a K&N air filter in my 05 TACO DC V6 auto. I installed it right when I got it. I cannot tell you if there was any change since I only drove it a few miles without it in. I get about 20 mpg on mostly city driving. I purchased a case of Amsoil 0-30 racing oil from ebay and am waiting for the truck to hit 5,000 miles before changing to such a slippery oil. I think it needs to properly break in first. I recommend the air filter, I have used it in all my cars for the past 10 years as well as used Amsoil. Glad to hear you are a believer too. Good luck!

wooddorker

I bought an additional set of bed D rings to install in the front. I planned on installing them in the existing holes, after I enlarge them to fit.

The instructions included with the D rings describe them mounted to the sides of the bed, about 3" up and 3" back.

Has anyone put them on the floor? I'm not planning on towing anything or lifting the truck with these rings. I see no structural differences in the bed between the two locations.

Comments?

bearcrkrd

I looked the last couple weeks at just 3 dealerships in my area. Regular Cab very hard to find, not so with other models. Two of the dealers had 4-5 fancy ones with all the goodies. I guess that's really not many, but at the third lot there were a bunch (15?) just arrived from Fremont (Nummi) last Friday. No Reg Cabs, some real fancy ones, then one was the bottom of the line, 4x2 two-door with 5spd and the little back seats. First one of those I'd seen w/no frills or dressing. I wanted something shorter, so went with a Reg cab Base 4x2 4AT at one of the other lots. Only 100 miles so far, but looks like a good choice.

megamole

volley took those picks of the my truck with the westin Tubes Steps and the Westin BullBar. Need your email address or a way to let you view the pics.

imin2mx

Okay, I took some pictures today. Copy and Paste the link below to view my DC longbed taco with a 3 inch lift in front, 1" in rear. The truck doesn't look as long with the lift. Hope the link works . If not, send me your e-mail and I will send them directly.
imin2mx

http://www.kodakgallery.com/BrowsePhotos.jsp?showSlide=true&Uc=tye9qcn.t2dedzb&Uy=h9of0g&U- x=1

bigandy

I took my 2005 Access Cab 4x4 to the car wash a couple of days ago and was shocked to see the location of the exhaust pipe as it crosses to the driver side underneath. It is vulnerable, totally unprotected and if I hadn't seen it, would very likely have gotten crunched on one of my many trips on gravel and 4x4 roads in Death Valley and other Cal desert destinations. I know there has been mention of this problem here before, but to me, someone at Toyota was asleep at the wheel when they figured this one out. Doesn't even appear that adding some sort of shielding in front of it is even possible. Anyone else got a strategy for dealing with this potential nightmare?

nstg8r

Hey nice truck imin2mx, was wondering how the revtech lift system's like. How's the ride with the lift vs. the stock?
The revtech lift seems easy to install compared to the leaf system correct?

Those wheels turned out nice too.

pb2themax

You can send the pics to me and I'll post them so everyone can see. kkeller6@cinci.rr.com

hammaa

"imin2mx" - that truck is gorgeous. Man, I want to get a lift now. Remind me...did you get the rear spacers or the add-a-leaf? How does it ride? What were the tire and rim sizes? We've got the same identical trucks (if yours is also a pre-runner), so I'm totally drooling as I look at these killer pics!!

rsj

Hey Guys,

I have just purchased a 2005 tacoma, with 4x4, Access cab,and the off Rd. package. The dealer really pushed to sell me the extended warranty. I told him I would think about it. The premium warranty was about $1800.00. It covers the vehicle bumper to bumper for 7yrs or 100,000 miles, Road tire hazard, and car care service plan.

To me, $1800.00 sounds like a lot until you look at your service schedule package. The package includes coupons on the scheduled services. The coupons add up to $1500.00 or $1600.00 worth of maintaince work(can't remember exactly how much). So I am not sure if it is a good deal or not. Will Toyota honor their warranty on my vehicle if I don't get it serviced by them? The owners manual doesn't even tell you how to change the oil.

Thanks,

Randy

adventurer1

Just wanted to throw in some observations on a few matters. My 05 DC, SB, 5sp auto, TRD off road-pkg has been getting around 18.5 mpg city. A 70/30 mix of highway/city yielded 21 mpg. I feel 22+ should be possible. I now have 2000 miles on mine and it still has the engine "tick" around 1800 to 2000 rpms. Don't notice it as much as I did though. A friend of mine just bought a DC, LB, 5sp auto, TRD sport, vin# approx 1000 higher than mine and the engine sounds exactly like mine. I guess this is just a trait of this engine. Power is great and it pulls a 3000lb boat very well. Installed the front "D" rings on the side of the bed and they seem to be sturdy even though you are bolting them through a composite bed wall. Running a K&N filter with the hydrocarbon filter removed. Overall very happy with my Mexican built Toy with no problems to report!

skibum18

Where did you get them,what brand,&how much did they cost? :confuse:

robsatx

I saw these on ebay, they are pretty cool . . .
I was thinking about getting these, you said you were going to make some. I don't want to waste time cutting, buying and sizing wood.

Link to speakers mounts on ebay

stereo speaker dash mount kit on ebay . . made out of heavy duty plastic.

toytruck

I bought an additional set of bed D rings to install in the front. I planned on installing them in the existing holes, after I enlarge them to fit.

>The instructions included with the D rings describe them mounted to the sides of >the bed, about 3" up and 3" back.

>Has anyone put them on the floor? I'm not planning on towing anything or lifting >the truck with these rings. I see no structural differences in the bed between the >two locations.

>Comments?<>

If you put them on the floor just use the front bed mounting bolts. Of course if they're not where Toyota recommends and you tie down a motorcycle for example and it falls over you would be on your own. Such is life!!

wooddorker

"Okay, I took some pictures today."

We have to join to look at anything other than thumbnails.

wooddorker

"If you put them on the floor just use the front bed mounting bolts. Of course if they're not where Toyota recommends and you tie down a motorcycle for example and it falls over you would be on your own. Such is life!!"

I just want to keep a Kayak nose, or boards running over the raised tailgate, held down against the floor.

My bikes have pedals, so I just drop them in the back, they won't get hurt laying down. The bed mat keeps 'em in place.

Thanks!

hobo

Check with Toyota of Greenfield MA -- I got a 7yr/100K extended warranty for $875. I too was being pushed by my dealer to buy the extended warranty from them -- $1200 for the 6yr/70K miles. Luckily I heard (on this board) about Greenfield.

I asked about oil changes w.r.t. warranty -- they said that you could do it yourself or at another shop, but to document it all. For more major work/tuneups, I'd probably stick with a dealer.

bdstuart

Do they deal with people out of state (Greenfield MA Toyota)? How does that work?

What is your deductible on the 7yr/100K

volley

I have heard nothing but good things about Amsoil filters. A little pricey but good. Many people run K&N also and seem to be happy with them. K&N is probably a little more readily available.....

By the way, glad to hear you like the Flowmaster. I love mine as well. It will quiet down some after it has really broken in. However, if you add a higher flowing air filter that will make the exhaust louder. Just food for thought. You will probably always hear it (with the radio down/off) driving through town, but now that mine has broken in it is much much quieter in the cab on the highway.

volley

megamole - thanks! My email is tacomaoffroadgrl@msn dot com

volley

Don't pay $1800 for the warranty! I have a link somewhere for a dealer that is offering them for much less than that. Also, try the dealer that someone else posted. You can get a warranty from ANY Toyota dealer and it has to be honored at your local dealer or whatever dealer you choose to have the service done.

imin2mx

I purchased the revtek lift for two reasons: They were the first one to have a lift for the &#145;05, and their system of coil spacers and top-out spacers seemed to offer the benefit each respective type (just top-out vs just coil spacer) with the least effects to stock suspension performance. In the rear, there is a 1&#148; spacer, which I assume doesn&#146;t change the suspension action at all. The ride is slightly stiffer than stock, but not nearly as stiff as an &#146;04 TRD. Actually, the tires affected the overall stiffness of the ride more than the lift did. The stock passenger (P) tires have softer side wall than Light Truck (LT) tires, and air pressure greatly affects ride. They originally had 40 PSI in the rear tires and it was noticeably stiffer even though the spring rate didn&#146;t change.

I didn&#146;t install the lift myself… the dealer owed me a favor and did it for me. If you do it yourself, you will need a spring compressor and tie rod puller. Autozone lends these tools out in many cases (that&#146;s where I was going to get them). Also, an air compressor is a must to drive down the spring compressor.

The rims are Pro Comp 1079. Size is 16X8 6-5.5 with 4&#148; Back space. These dimension are a must for whatever rims you install. Revtek recommends a max tire size of 285/75-16 (that&#146;s what I installed), which calculates out to 32.8&#148;X11.2&#148;. I wouldn&#146;t recommend any bigger with a 3&#148; lift either as they rub slightly when turning sharp. They rub on the buldge in mud flaps where they bolt to the truck.

Overall, I am very happy with the look and ride of the truck. I should have taken a picture of my Taco next to my wife&#146;s pathfinder for reference though.

Here is a link to the pics that doesn&#146;t require a login.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/imin2mx/album?.dir=/1261&.src=ph&.tok=phlEQ3CBhZC.kZsE

Good Luck!

pelts

I did not purchase the extended warranty. My dealer tryed hard to push it also, giving me 3 choices. I stood firm and rejected it. I have read they are not worth it. Also there must be a reason they try to push it so hard, like getting extra money in their pocket.

wooddorker

"I asked about oil changes w.r.t. warranty -- they said that you could do it yourself or at another shop, but to document it all. For more major work/tuneups, I'd probably stick with a dealer."

My truck came with a Toyota pamphlet titled along the lines of "Self Maintainer's Guide to Warranty Coverage". It's the official, WRITTEN version of what you can do, what to save, etc... I'd put a lot more faith in the book than anything oral.

Barry

dkelly400

""There are dealers with 40-50 on their lots""

Man, they could put all 50 on a train, send em up North (Canada) and they'd be gone in a day. My dealer did a search of all Canadian dealerships and his pipeline and I'm still looking at 4 months minimum for delivery of a DC w the factory tow package..... but of course the way Toyota Canada bundles things like the tow package on only one model is, IMHO, nuts.

msibille

What is the deductible or co-pay in this policy?

Also, do you know if this is a "listed" warranty or "exclusionary" warranty?

(In a listed warranty only those parts specifically listed in the policy are covered. In a non-listed or exclusionary policy, all parts are covered UNLESS they are listed in the policy. The latter is obviously better as you will often find some fuel system or electrical system part with oodles of hrs of labor isn't covered because it's got some weird name.)

Is it a Toyota policy, or an aftermarket?

Thanks!

1violinist

I was browsing thru Tacoma accessories and couldn't find a hard bed cover that has gas-filled shocks and a lock. It's very practical when you want to leave your stuff in the back, and I hear it reduces drag. Any idea if it's available from Toyota or aftermarket?

miniviper

Anyone know if you can buy OEM parts like the X-runner bumper from somewhere? Still trying to figure out how to make a DC look like an X-runner.

hobo

I got the $0 deductible copay. It's a listed warranty. And it's a Toyota product, so you can go to any dealer with this. When I've had to deal with it, I talked to Toyota Financial Services directly, not the dealer.

I had never bought an extended warranty before. I didn't when I bought the new 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee (first year for the new model) and I wish I had. A lot of fixes done under warranty (many TSBs) but a few afterwards that would have been covered by an extended warranty had I bought it. Not saying that Toyota will have the same quality issues as Jeep, but I got the extended warranty just in case for this brand new model.

philg87

Awesome truck it looks great!!

dr_turbo

What is your opinion on white, it is between white or silver.
I also wanted to find out what you think of the toyota step tubes or running boards? Are they worth it? How do they look? Thanks

paul

megamole

Check out the Westin Stuff they warranty stuff forever! Talking about Life Time Rust Warranty for $300. plus mounts up really easy. I have silver wash it every week or other you can't really tell it is dirty, but when you wash it, boy does it shine really nice in the sun!

1sttacoma

I had my dealer do a search aswell...and came up with nuthin. July it is. :surprise:

pb2themax

Here's some pics of 'megamole's' Taco with Westin Platinum Series Tube steps and Bull bar.

wht_taco

Just got a white 05 Taco with base cab, 2.7 motor and 4 spd automatic. I am very happy with the looks and performance, but am worried about parking this in public lots. My other cars have rapidly turned in to "ding magnets" and don't want to see this happen to the Taco. Has anyone installed door side molding and where did you get it? I'm thinking about some thing in black or white, about 2" wide.

msibille

Thanks, Hobo.

Much appreciated.

-M

volley

Thanks for posting the pics. Looks awesome!