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Toyota Tacoma: Problems & Solutions
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Comments
My mother is a die-hard Chevy fan. It's not that she's so much of a fan, as that she wouldn't think of buying any other brand because of the small town relationship she has with the local dealer. She has all sorts of problems with her Chevy's, though. Even had the dealer take one back under the Az lemon laws. So I guess all manufacturers have their problems. I've seen enough Toyota's to believe in them.
But it's nice to hear other people's opinion on it. Exactly what I was wanting to hear. Again, thanks.
What other seats would fit the Taco that wouldn't require drilling etc.? Next month the Wrangler is paid off so I'll have something extra at payday to do things with.
Also, have you checked your plug wires or had them tested?
There are no fuses blowing or check engine lights coming on or anything other than crappy performance which makes the vehicle much less fun to drive and extremely unsafe in a passing situation.
I don't know what to do. Neither does anyone else especially the dealerships!
I'm hoping Toyota will send out some cracker jack mechanic. You know the type, they hardly ever say anything just smile!
The noise sounds a bit like a diesel but only at low idle when hot. No other problems, just noisy.
Dealer 1 couldn't hear it (maybe not hot enough); dealer 2 could and said maybe it was a problem and documented it. Said either valve train noise or exhaust noise, maybe. Couldn't see a reason to tear the engine down at that point. No noise when the engine revs up or when cold.
Do any tacoma owners have such 'noise' in your 4 cyls.??
Thanks...
No, the noise can best be described as the same type of sound a 4 cyl diesel like some of the vw's. When i park next to a building wall, it really echoes and is noticable.
When i first heard it, i was looking around at the stop light for the diesel i was near! It is not as bad (rattly) as a diesel but the same low-engine noise at idle (sort of a light rumble); it goes away on the taco as you rev the engine.
I did ask the toyota mechanic if it could be low oil pressure at hot idle and he laughed... he'd never heard of a toyota losing oil pressure.
I do hear light injector noise, but it's a higher pitched sound, i think...
Appreciate your's (and everyones) feedback
Toyota never returned my call as they had promised. Not a peep!
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davedave1, I also have the 2.4L with the ticking noise. Sounds like the valves ticking, I have a 1999 with only 18,000 miles. I figure it's not an Issue. For the most part a bullet proof engine.
Now I have a question: When I shut my truck off and remove the key, the air bag light and the gear shift "P" (auto) lights stay on. The radio also works. It's like it stuck in ACC. position. I removed/installed the battery cable and it stops for awhile. Any ideas.
I have read ( with increasing interest ) your posts as I will go to Toyota tomorrow with my 1st to 2nd shifting problem that has so correctly been described here as "notchy" or difficult shifting.Mine actually grinds a little in a "quick shift". I own a 2003 Tacoma xtra cab w/ the 4cyl. It has been lovingly broken in and now has 3K on it. Sadly, it isn't 1/2 the truck my '85 Toyota xtra was, and I may actually trade my son after the '85 is finished getting the timing chain, and re-paint done. Did anybody find out if the trannys in the 4Runner and the Tacoma are of the same type or design lineage ? This really smacks of a long-entrenched design flaw in the actual conception or execution of the synchro's in this particular trans. I discussed this and the seemingly inordinate amount of play in the drive-train which causes a ringing slap between 1 &2nd, or 2nd & 3rd sometimes. My "85 is a quieter truck at the august age of almost 20 yrs. and 280K miles. I was told by my local service rep that it was because of the "long driveshaft". Mostly I just heard shaft. I really appreciate all the info available here, and will update when I get the most updated excuse.
You may want to try that before giving up all hope.
Runs perfect!
It has been a quite a learning experience for me as far as what to expect from an authorized service dept. and the factory.
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I like the idea of changing the tranny fluid - I think mine is either overdue (or almost due) for its next change. I know that I had a problem (that went away) before I changed it, and then a different problem since it was changed (by a dealer).
They had to remove seat, and take it apart to install new part. Still doesn't work. They say now it needs a new switch, had to order another new one. We'll see. In the meantime, when they took the seat apart and reinstalled it, it now squeaks, rattles and the bottom of the seat feels like something is broken. I'm going to request they replace the seat with a new one.
Anyone know what can be done? I haven't been able to replicate at dealer.
I imagine this is normal and is from the entire transmission flexing a bit. Anyone else have this experience? Normal for a Tacoma 4x2 or 4x4? If not, I am headed to the shop. Thanks.
I'm driving a new 03 Tacoma 4x4 SR5 stepside with automatic and TRD pkg. My previous truck was a 90 Toy 4x4 SR5 with automatic tranny and electronically controlled t-case - and it caused me many problems for the first 30K miles.
I often see a vehicle w/rot and say, "If only one knew years ago where the rot will be...they could have sprayed oil or something on it".. So now that I have my new 02 Taco (bought it last year) I wonder "Where will the rot be?" Anyone have any Ideas on this? I plan on keeping my Taco for a long time.
Koko
My thought is that it doesn't have enough oil up in the valves and lifters?
Any feedback on #715 (poor gas mileage?)
Also changed the tranny fluid (early) to see if it would help, and it seemed to help. Now if I could find such an inexpensive fix to the uncomfortable seats...
You could try to find some 4Runner Limited seats, they have adjustable support.
I sat in a new Tacoma at the LA auto show in January, and thought the seats were better than ours, but not different enough for me to want to get another Tacoma. It is hard to get committed to doing something about the seats when I plan to trade it in as soon as I get on the right side of the note. I'm hoping that we'll be able to work more on it now that the Wrangler is paid off.
I thought about trying to do something with the spring, but I think the thing to do is just replace the seats, keeping the original seats in shrink wrap. You can put them back in when you sell the truck or, lawd forbid, wreck it, then you will have your custom seats for your next vehicle. I plan to alternate my Recaros every few years to keep from wearing one more than the other (passenger and driver are interchangable with controls on both sides of each). The lightly used original seats should make the truck a little more valuable at selling time.
When you price the Tacoma next time, just tally in $1000 for a set of Corbeau seats. If the price is then too high, buy something with better seats.
It is already too late for me to have "lightly used" seats if I take the originals out, but a good idea for a possible future vehicle. And I won't worry about rotating the seats - my husband and I carpool to work (we work for the same employer). He drives down to work, I drive home, so the seats get close to equal wear (I am so lucky that way).
Tell me more about these seats - I am interested.
Having said all that, I know that not everyone wants to put major dollars in seats, and the Corbeau seats might be a good happy median. Many reviews say they are comfortable, but I have not seen anything on the web about their durability.
The Recaro Trend model will get you up there just short of $1800, but consider the additional price of leather in a new car, even if it is stretched over a crappy seat like the Tacoma. I don't like slipping and sliding on leather seats, but I will pay more for something that makes 600-800 mile trips more bearable, and I know the Recaros will do that. What's more, they should last the rest of my life.
You might want to do a search on the web for the brands I have mentioned, and there are others. It is all a question of how important seats are TO YOU. A 20 year old with a back that can be comfortably molded to a rail is not really going to give a rat's a**, but to me the seats come in fourth behind the engine, transmission and suspension. And that makes them very important to me.
It all comes down to one thing - how much do we want to keep the Taco? Putting $1,000 into new seats and then keeping it for another 3-4 years would be cheaper than taking a $2,000 hit on the loan and another $25,000 for a new car! I wonder if I can get another 150,000 miles out of it? Is it unreasonable to ask for 270,000 miles from a vehicle? Our Nissan hardbody had 290,000 on it when I sold it. The engine was in great shape, but the auto tranny couldn't handle my commute (I went through 2 of them in a year).
Is it reasonable to think I can get that type of mileage out of this truck?