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Toyota Tundra 2000
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Comments
Do not let MY vibration problem keep you from buying a Tundra. In my case, I had EXTREMELY uneven tire pressure AND unbalanced wheels. I corrected the P.S.I. and the tire shop balanced my wheels. I have NO vibration whatsoever and I ABSOLUTELY love this truck. I think you will, too.
I am interested in Eoster's theory regarding HIS vibration problem.
Eusasc,
Thanks for the speaker info....I have some decisions to make. Just curious, did you put the amp under the seat? Thanks.
I assume your Tundra is and SR5, what was the cost of the color keyed flares. I have an SR5 and would like to add those but the dealer said they were not yet available. Maybe not available to purchase throught the parts department.
-and quad, I think it's great that you want to buy "American", but as you know and everyone else on this page knows, this truck is built in America and a huge part of the revenue stays right here. Many jobs. Take your blinders off and just drive the damn truck.
Yes the backseat is terrible, worse than my T100 which is actually semi-comfortable. The six speaker 6disc 3 in1 radio/CD sounded better than the 3 in radio/CD I tried. Is the amp better in the 6 disc cd/radio? By T100 factory 6 speaker am/fm/cassette still sounds better.
Is the vibration problem more noticeable with the bench seat or with the captain's chairs and console?
May order a Tundra Limited 4x4 this week.
(weather it be in japan or the USA)to Gulf States
port in Houston or another one in Florida. It is at the port where some of the optional equipment is installed. In the Tundra, only tan color leather is available from the factory so i ordered mine with gray cloth and Gulf States will
put in gray leather. Is all this clear as mud?
The main reason I will not go to an aftermarket system just for the sake of changing is this usually causes rattles and squeaks. At least in my experiences with such applications, once the orginal "guts" and dashwork are disassembled and pieced back together, things don't fit exactly right. NOW, if I have trouble, this is the only method available to repair the problem and I have no choice. I hold my breath the first time I drive the vehicle once that work is done.
In my last T100 extracab 4x4, I had new speakers and a CD changer w/remote installed. It sounded much better than the factory, but not as good as my upgrade Tundra LTD.
Maybe I just got the "cream of the crop" in my truck and the rest are seconds. The only thing that matters to me is that I am happy with my truck. So far, I am very, very happy! Got 16.5 mpg on the first tank in my 4x4 Limited.
Albert
You are also correct on installations, but even places with good reputations do bad jobs. Look at some of the complaints with this mysterious steering balance. Toyota has one of the highest quality ratings and yet, some people have problems.
One thing to remember, lots of parts that go into the assembling of automobiles are made by outside suppliers who provide these parts to the manufactures. In a sense, they are aftermarket from the factory. Tires are the first thing which come to mind and quite possibly could be the first or second most important part on a truck. Afterall, tires are the ONLY thing which touch the road! Again, you get what you pay for.
Horns:
Am I the only person who thinks the Tundra's horn needs a little extra ooommph?...especially when you need to get those slow Silverados and F150s out of the way! I'm looking into adding a couple of Hella air horns(it looks like an easy swap) soon. Any thoughts from anyone on this? I'm sure Quad will have something to say.
The horn is typical Japanese. I can't figure out why they don't want to put a loud horn in their vehicles. Don't they realize we need the horn to be heard over those window breaking, bass thumping stereos. :-) Switching out with some kind of duel horn setup like in the Cadillac should be easy, heck there's enough room under the hood to hide a body. Another option is airhorns. I had a set of the Hella horns I got from Performance Products in my 1st 4-Runner and they were much louder then the OEM. They would actually startle people when I hit the horn.
As for the day time running lights, if you didn't get the option you can always just leave the lights on all the time. When you turn off the ignition the lights automatically shut off. I've gone days without realizing I had my lights on in my 4-Runner.
Just a question you may want to ask your dealer: Are the parts that are being put on my Tundra real Toyota parts? The reason I bring this up is that most dealers will sell you a vehicle, promise something like wood grain dash, charge the Toyota price of say $300, put on aftermarket wood grain that costs them $100, and never tell you. Then a year or two down the road when it starts discoloring or pealing off, you take it to Toyota to get it fixed, and they say they can't cover it because it is aftermarket, not Toyota. I have a Tundra on order, but also recently purchased a Camry for the wife. She wanted a spoiler on her XLE, which costs them around $500 for the kit. They tried to put on an aftermarket spoiler, which looks extremely similar, and only costs them $150. Fortunately my uncle works for Toyota, set up the deal,and "brought it to their attention" when he checked up on it for us. He said what they were doing was illegal because they didn't tell me about it and the only reason he caught it was they mentioned their local "port" installers were putting on the spoiler. Normally only Toyota service installs Toyota parts. If you're paying for Toyota, make sure you're getting Toyota. Just my 2 cents.
Have Dunlop 265's with no vibration (captain chairs). However, I do get this sort of shudder when I hit a stiff bump. If I'm hauling or towing it shudders less (obviously). My 97 Dakota had a similar shudder but not as pronounced. I'm not sure if this is a truck characteristic or if I've been unlucky with my last two trucks.
For all those who don't want to shell out several hundred dollars for a liner, maybe consider a rubber mat. I bought an authentic Toyota rubber mat for $85. It's thick, fits nicely in the bed and stops things from sliding around. It obviously has no side or rail protection though.
I've been thinking about switching to synthetic oil. Anyone have any thoughts? How about synthetic ATF?
How about towing with overdrive? When I go fishing I would estimate boat, gear and people to weigh 2000 pounds. On a flat surface it seems ok to drive in overdrive. On hills it shifts to 3rd by itself. I'm quite sure with a heavier load one would want to drive with OD off. Any thoughts on where to draw the line? At 65mph it runs at about 3000 rpm in third gear.
Mileage update:
Burned another 14.6 gallons of gas since my last mileage check. 14.18 MPG------all city driving(still vibration free).
Driving it home was impressive!! I traded in a 96 Patfinder so I compare it to that. The ride and smoothness on the open highway is incredible. The power of this truck makes me cry. This is my first V8 and I will never have anything less again!!! I don't really care about my gas milage so don't look for any updates on that...so How do I keep it under 80mph? oh..no vibration problems here with the captain seats...and yes the stereo well...I'm a aftermarket market kind of guy....
Yahooooo!!!!!
you may have determined the cause of the
vibration problems that many of us are experiencing. Do you have any update for us yet?
Thanks,
sclement
It was my good fortune to get directed to a small local tire chain, St. Lucie Tire and Battery. I called the fellow and he told me to bring it in. If it was OK there would be no charge. Well all the tires were off, not a little off but way off. They rebalanced them for $38.00. The results just smoooooooth!!!! There is still some armrest movement but that has improved. Now that one problem has been fixed I can look to the other. So far I beleive that the passenger seat back lacks lateral stability. When I push or pull the seat back sideways the arm rest vibration almost stops.
Now while others have been especially hard on Dunlop, they may or may not have been part of the problem, it seems to me that the quality of the mechanic is as important as the quality of the product. For whatever reason the steel wheel/tire combination may be more difficult to deal with. On the other hand I have Michelins on my old Toyota pickup and numerous previously owned vehicles. I have been totally satisfied with them.
The only shaking should be at Ford, GM and Chrysler. The Tundra is all I thought it could be and more.
As you may have read in my earlier post, I have the over the rail pendaliner also. The fit is excellent(I did put some foam tape around the edge of the liner for extra protection..that has always worked in the past). I was told that Penda makes all of Toyota's bedliners. Your vibration problem seems to mirror mine...balancing cured my problem 100%, also. Maybe this thing should be a Lexus Tundra...nah, then it would cost $40,000.
jcm1,
So what did you finally purchase? Red, white, gray....SR5, Limited...4x2 or 4x4. Details, details, details!!! Oh yeah, you can sleep in it!! Congratulations.
P.S. Can you believe people are still buying Fords and Chevys????? It blows my mind!!!
Having testdriven a Tundra in May and extensively researching every website I could find for 6 months, I bought a Silverado 1/2 ton 4x4 w/ext.cab. I did not consider Ford or Dodge.
Now why would I buy a Chevy? First let's go over the negatives of a Tundra right now:
1) not much room to deal on price
2) doubt you can order a vehicle with the number they are producing (probably pay MSRP if you could?)
Overall I like the Tundra. However the Silverado is a slightly better truck (design) for the money.
1) Silverado is bigger - a definite positive in my wife's eyes. She will use it for commuting.
2) For 2000 the 5.3L's power is up to 285hp, and 325 ft-lb torque.
3) From postings here the 5.3L is getting about 16-18 mpg.
4) Tow rating is now 8500lb.
5) Standard ABS and 4-wheel disk brakes
6) Autotrac 4wd option (no delay in engagement)
7) Chevy makes the best auto. transmissions
As far as quality goes, I don't think there is a big difference these days. They're all good - take a look at J.D. Powers and they're saying the company with 1.2 defects is better than the one with 1.6 defects. It's like weighing yourself and thinking you're fit if you're 175 lb. but fat if 180 lb.
Again not bashing the Tundra as it was our second choice, but take a good look at the engineering. Also don't compare GM's 4.8L with the Tundra V-8, the 5.3L is the optional one to compare.
P.S. I noticed you chose the 2000 Silverado for your comparison. I believe that is the new Silverado's second year of production. I'll be interested in Toyota's changes for 2001. We'll see what happens. Could MORE refinement be possible?!
Curious mind would like to know who paid for your upgrade to Michelin. The Clasic Toyota in Round Rock/Texas said there is nothing wrong with my Tundra steering wheel vibration. The Toyota Regional Rep don't even call me eventhough I had contacted Toyota National Customer service twice. Lucky you, Oester. We expect to hearing your advices soon.
I realize these are isolated, but if you look at chevy owners as a whole their discussions seem to be oriented more toward problems with their vehicles.
I really wanted a Silverado or Sierra but their reliablity record, fit and finish, and prone to rattle and squeak as they age discouraged me. I still want to know how GM came up with the phrase "the longest lasting most dependable trucks on the road". I don't believe there is a perfect truck but the Tundra fit's MY needs best, I can live with a clock that's too low easier than a truck that doesn't run. I still feel like it was NOT wise of me to buy a truck for only $500 under MSRP, but i do love the Tundra!
Back to Tundras. If you have a problem contact your dealer and find out when the regional service rep will be by. Make an appointment to meet with him. He really controls the decisions. While I did complain about the vibration, I was always positive towards the product and always praised the features that I find commendable. Fit, finish, engineering, attention to detail, performance. Put yourself in his position. All he hears is complaints, all day every day. Be prepared to spend the day at the dealer. I know its hard to find the time. Just resolve yourself to that. LET THEM KNOW THAT YOU WILL BE THERE UNTIL THEY FIX THE PROBLEM. Don't ever tell them you don't have the time. I have found a cooler and cell phone to be good props. A folding beach chair can also be helpful. Ask them to switch wheels with another Tundra that doesn't have a problem. If they tell you they haven't got the time set your beach chair up at the entrance to the dealership. People driving in will ask you what you are doing. Merely tell them they don't have the time to fix your brand new truck, so you're waiting.
To address the issue of balance, check the numbers on the side of your tires. They should be the same (matched set). Different numbers mean different production runs. For some reason the Coats tire balancer/ and or operator had problems with my tires/wheels. When I went to St. Lucie Tire (reputed the best in my area) they also used a Coats balancer with very different results. I like computers and technology, but I had gotten to the point where I was going to buy one of those bubble level balancers. They use to work fine if you spent a little time with them. No vibration or sign of imbalance to well over 120 mph on cars 30 years ago. I think they will still work today. The Tire Rack web site has a wealth of information on wheel vibration and tire information. Unfortunately there is no easy way, but it always helps to be informed.
You could also go to the best tire store in your area, ideally one where the deal with truck tires. You should be on your way for less than $40.
Did you sleep in your truck last night?
Have any of you Tundra-bashers read the latest edition of Truck Trend? Did you see the cover? They tested the Siverado, Ram, F150 and Tundra 1/2 ton, extended cab 2WDs. All big 3 had larger displacement engines! Who do you think finished first as the "Best Pickup in America"?
Give you a hint... it's was the one with only 3 doors in the extended cab!
Earlier someone said it; MOST people with 1/2 ton pickups don't tow anywhere near the tow capacity of the trucks. If you do, you'd be far, far better off buying a 2500/3500 Dodge Cummins diesel which is made to do such work.
The statement should have read, "it was NOT the one with only 3 doors in the extended cab!"
One criteria I want, range. To be able to drive non-stop from my home near Denver, to Green River or Moab Utah, in the dark of night, pulling a trailer comfortably, without worrying if I will find gasoline in Utah.
I can go 600+ miles inbetween stops with the 34 gallon capacity of my regular cab, long bed. Before, I would have to make an extra stop in Grand Junction, or Glenwood Springs for fuel.
I will pass you at the pump on the way to taking your space at the campsite, gladly.